24 COLEOPTETiA OF 1X1)1AX.\. 



mm. = i-oinoh; 20 mm. = finch. The divisions of the scale sepa- 

 rated by the longer lines 1, 2, 3, etc., are centimetres. 



Bihltof/idphij and H!)ii(nri)iiiij. Tlu' titles, with names of the 

 antliors, of the principnl papers used in the preparation of the 

 "Descriptive Cataloone" are given nnder each family, trihe or 

 genus. These papers have been nsed freely, but in general no credit 

 has been given them. This was not from a lack of a sense of 

 "justice due," but solely in order to save space. Wherever possible 

 the species in hand has been studied in connection with the original 

 (Icscription and the citation given after the name of each species is 

 to that description alone. However, in the case of species described 

 by Thomas Say, the citation is not only to the place of original 

 description, but after the term "ibid," to the volume and page of 

 the Leeonte edition of Say's works, which is the one in common use. 



Aside from the papers mentioned in the body of the work there 

 is one to which especial tribute should be paid, and without which 

 the preparation of this or any other paper dealing with the ma- 

 jority of families and genera of North American Coleoptera would 

 be practically impossible. This f>ine qua non is Leeonte and Horn's 

 "Classification of the Coleoptera of North America," published in 

 1883 as No. 507 of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. It is 

 a veritable storehouse of knowledge, ^\diich is a lasting monument 

 to the fame of the two greatest Coleopterists which this country ever 

 had or probably ever will have. From it iTave been taken the main 

 facts used in characterizing the faiuilies and most of the genera 

 represented in Indiana. The only fault to find with the "Classifi- 

 cation" is its extensive use of technical language, which renders it 

 a kind of "bug-bear" to beginners. This I have tried to remedy 

 by simplifying, in many instances, the terms there used, even at the 

 expense of space which could be ill spared. 



In addition to the "Classification," LeBaron's "Fourth Annual 

 Report on the Noxious and Beneficial Insects of Illinois," Com- 

 stoek's "Manual for the Study of Insects," and Sharp's "Insects — 

 Part II." have been the general works most used. 



