Subfamily Pselaphinae 



Raffray (1908, p. 10) defines this large subfamily in general terms by 

 stating that the mouth-parts are well-developed for chewing; the abdomen 

 with from two to six tergites and six stemites ; antennae of from five to eleven 

 segments, with the last segment never having a wholly truncate, setose apex; 

 without trichomes or setose bundles at the base of the first visible tergite and 

 apical elytral margins. 



For our purposes, the neotropical Pselaphinae can be separated by having 

 five or more antennal segments. It is possible that in time students may either 

 break the family into a number of subfamilies, or merge the Pselaphinae and 

 Clavigerinae, since the trend is to bridge the gap between these two sub- 

 families. Thus the Arhytodini and Attapsenini have mouth-parts intermediate 

 between primitive Pselaphinae and Clavigerinae; the Attapsenini have trich- 

 omoid setae at the base of the tergum. Therefore the Pselaphinae are with 

 certainty separated from Clavigerinae only by more primitive chewing man- 

 dibles, and conversely, the number of abdominal segments, number of anten- 

 nomeres, and presence of trichomes is of less value than formerly. 



The neotropical Pselaphinae number sixteen out of seventeen tribes known 

 for the region, and this subfamily is divisible into two sections, the Brachyscelia 

 and Macroscelia (Raffray, 1908, p. 11). This separation is very consistent, 

 and, since the Clavigerinae are typically macrosceline, it might be more logical 

 to divide the family into two subfamilies, Brachyscelinae and Macroscelinae 

 — or if one prefers, the Pselaphinae (limited to brachyscelines) and the Macro- 

 scelinae. For more discussion of the status of clavigerines the student is re- 

 quested to see page 350. 



