COLEOPTERA 145 



Family Cantharidae 



The Soldier-beetles and others 



The family Cantharidae includes those genera that were formerly 

 included in the family Lampyridse as the subfamily Telephorinas. 



The application of the name Cantharidae to this family is the result 

 of one of those unfortunate changes in generic names rendered necessary 

 by our code of nomenclature. In this case the change is especially un- 

 fortunate, as the generic name Cantharis has been commonly applied to 

 certain blister-beetles and is used in that sense in many medical works 

 and in most text-books of entomology. The change is sure to result in 

 much confusion. 



The most common members of this family are the soldier-beetles, 

 Chauliognathus. These are very abundant in late summer and autumn 

 on various flowers, but especially on those of goldenrod. The most com- 

 mon species in the East are the Pennsylvania 

 soldier-beetle, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus, 

 which is yellow, with a black spot in the mid- 

 dle of the prothorax and one near the tip of 

 each wing-cover (Fig. 244); and the margined 

 soldier-beetle, C. margindtus. This species 

 (Fig. 245) can be distinguished from the for- 

 mer by the head and lower parts of the 

 femora being orange. The beetles of this genus FlG ' 245 ' 



are remarkable for having an extensible, fleshy filament attached to each 

 maxilla. These filaments are probably used in collecting pollen and 

 nectar from flowers. 



This family is represented in our fauna by nine genera which include 

 more than one hundred and fifty species. 



Family Meloid^e 

 ■The Blister-beetles 



The blister-beetles are of medium or large size. The body is com- 

 paratively soft; the head is broad, vertical, and abruptly narrowed into 

 a neck; the prothorax is narrower than the wing-covers, which are soft 

 and flexible; the legs are long and slender; the hind tarsi are four- 

 jointed, and the fore and middle tarsi are five-jointed. 



These beetles are found on foliage and on flowers, on which they feed 

 in the adult state; some of the species are very common on goldenrod in 

 the autumn; and several species feed on the leaves of potato. 



The blister-beetles are so called because they are used for making 

 blister-plasters. The beetles are killed, dried, and pulverized, and the 

 powder thus obtained is made into a paste, which when applied to the 

 skin produces a blister. The species most commonly used is a European 

 one, commonly known as the Spanish-fly; but our American species 

 possess the same blistering property. 



The transformations of blister-beetles are remarkable; not only do 

 these insects undergo wonderful changes in form, but the number of 

 these changes is greater than is usual with insects. On this account their 

 mode of development is termed hyper metamorphosis. 



