86 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. 



The followiug- table shows the principal N. American genera of Melo- 

 lonthides, east of the Eocky Mountains : 



A. Elytra narrowed and sometimes separate at their tips ; tarsal claws equal and simple ; whole hody, 



except elytra, covered with long dense haira LicH-N.vsthe, 4. 



A A. Elytra not dehiscent ; some or all of the tarsal claws bitid ; body not conspicuously hairy. 



K. TibiiP with one spur, and hind tarsi with a single entire claw Hoi'Li.v, 11. 



B B. Tibiif with two spurs ; all the tai-si with two bifid claws. 



C. Club of antennte with seven leafets in the male and six in the female ; body spotted or stri- 



l)('d with short, prostrate, whitish hairs I'oLyi'HYLLA, 7. 



C C. Club of antenna' with 3 leafets ; color generally uniform. 

 D. Claws chelate or capable of being folded down ujion the last tarsal Joint, minutely cleft at 

 the end, the teeth lying side by side; body parallel and dejiressed.. .Dkiielonvcii.4, 14. 

 D D. Claws not chelate, strongly bifid, one tooth above the other; body convex. 



E. Anterior coxiv not prominent ; ventral segments soldered together with their sutures 

 indistinct ; medium or large insects, usually more than half an inch in length : 



9 PHYLL01'II.\(;.\, 66. 



E E. Anterior cosie elongated and prominent; ventral segments distinct; small species; 

 le.ss than half an inch in J^gth. 



E. Body densely clothed wi^Fochreous scales ; tarsi very long I^Eacuodactviais, 3. 



E F. Body usually clothed with a fine silken pubescense; ventral segments six; hind 



coxa) very broad Skrica, 16. 



E F r. Body naked; glabrous; ventral segments five; hind coxa' normal : 



I)ii-lotaxi.s, 39. 



Lk'hnanthe rulpina, ITeutz, is a little more than half an inch long, 

 and is at once distinguished by its elytra being narrowed and separated 

 at their ends, and by the body being densely clothed with long rust- 

 yellow hairs. It is quite a rare insect. 



The L. liipma, LeConte, found on the Atlantic coast, is much smaller 

 tlian the above, and less densely clothed with cinereous hairs. The ely- 

 tra in this species do not separate at the tip. 



The iroplia frifasciata, Say, is about a third of an inch long, reddish 

 brown, and more or less covered with whitish scales, which are so ar- 

 ranged on the elytra as to form three imperfect transverse bands. 

 //. iH(>(Irsf<(, llahl., is smaller and paler, and the clothing of the elytra 

 resembles hairs more than scales. The other species are more rare, and 

 several of them inhabit California. Two species of Polyphylla are 

 found in the Eastern States : P. occidentalism Linn., in the Southern At- " 

 laiitic States — often more than an inch in length, with the white down 

 on^lie elytra arranged in regular stripes ; and, P. variolosa, Uentz, 

 Ibund in the Middle States, and as far North as Massachusetts — less 

 thau an inch in length, and haAing the elytra irregularly spotted in- 

 stead of striped. The club of the antenuie is much longer in the males 

 than in the females, a character not peculiar, however, to this genus. 



J)ichelo>iycha, Kirby, is composed of a considerable number of small, 

 elongated, depressed species, usually having the elytra more or less 

 tinted with brassy-green, and often requiring a close examination to 

 distinguish one species from another. Our two common species are the 

 cloiKjata, Fab., and the linearis of Gyllenhal. They differ slightly in 



