CHECKLIST OF THE COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS 

 OF MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, THE WEST 

 INDIES, AND SOUTH AMERICA 



Part i 



Compiled by Richard E. Blackwelder 



INTRODUCTION 



The study of systematic entomology during the past hundred years at 

 least has been greatly facilitated by the use of checklists and catalogs of 

 the species found in various regions of the earth. These lists have fre- 

 quently been restricted to one order of insects and to some particular 

 region. In some cases new editions or new lists have appeared periodically 

 so that a relatively high degree of accuracy was attained in the later edi- 

 tions. In other cases new lists have scarcely kept pace with the new 

 discoveries, so that the latest list can be considered hardly more than an 

 index to the names, with a large percentage of undiscovered errors. There 

 are still other cases in which large regions are entirely without lists of any 

 kind, with no single source for the local species in many important groups 

 of insects. 



The fact that Latin America is found in the last group is one of the anom- 

 alies of taxonomy, since the tropical portions of this region are particularly 

 rich in insects of unusual interest and attractiveness and have been for 

 many years the principal region of interest of many prolific and able ento- 

 mologists. Nevertheless, there has been no checklist or descriptive catalog 

 of the beetles of this region, although the known species now number 

 nearly 50,000 and possess great importance in systematic entomology as 

 well as in agriculture. 



In attempting to contribute as much as possible to the removal of this 

 serious lack of fundamental reference books in the libraries of entomolo- 

 gists both in Latin America and abroad, the Smithsonian Institution and 

 the United vStates National Museum believed that the possession of a 

 checklist and bibliography is a basic need and shoidd logically precede the 

 more detailed descriptive studies of classification, distribution, develop- 

 ment, habits, control, and so forth, which are equally needed. The 

 present list, therefore, is intended to include the names of all beetles 



1 



