FSYCHE. 



THE SCALES OF COLEOPTERA. 



BY GEORGE DIMiMOCK, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



Altho the following paper is mainly 

 a description of a few forms of scales 

 of coleoptera, on some of which the 

 scales have not before been noticed, and 

 on others of which they have been more 

 or less fullv described, a brief outline 

 of the historv and bibliographv of the 

 knowledge of the scales of insects in 

 general and of coleoptera in particular 

 may not be amiss as an introduction to 

 these descriptions. 



According to Mayer' and Schneider^ 

 the scales of lepidoptera were first 

 mentioned, by Fabricius, in 1600, were 

 later mentioned by Malpighi, in 1650, 

 and since then by many other observers. 

 Up to the beginning of the present 

 century the literature of this subject is 

 of little importance except historically, 

 antl I will cite onlv tlie names of 

 Bonanni, Lederiiuiller, Reaumur, Rosel 

 and Swammerdamm, who made men- 

 tion, to a greater or less extent, of the 



' Mayer. F. J. C. Ueber den SLiub der 

 Schmetterlingsfliigel. (Allgem. med. Cen- 

 tral-Zeit.. 1S60, jahrg. jg, p. 772-774.) Ha- 

 ge7i.^ Bibl. entom. 



^ Schneider, R. Die Schuppen an den ver- 

 schiedenen Fltigel- und Korpertheilen der 

 Lepidopteren. Dissertatio . . . Halis Saxo- 

 num. 1878. .\lso (Zeitschr. f. ges. Naturw.. 

 T878.) 



scales of lepidoptera in their works. 

 During the present century the literature 

 of this subject has increased rapidlv, 

 and among the authors of leading 

 papers which treat mainly or consider- 

 ably of the scales of lepidoptera are, in 

 chronological order, Deschamps (183^),' 

 Bowerbank (1838),^ Craig (1839),* 

 Ratzeburg (1840),* de la Rue (1852),' 

 Semper (1857)," Kettelhoit (i86o),9 



' Deschamps, B. Recherches microsco- 

 piques sur I'organisation des ailes des 1dpi- 

 dopteres. (Ann. sci. nat., 1835, s. 2. v. 3. p. 

 111-137.) 



* Bowerbank, J. S. On the structure of 

 the scales on the wings of" lepidopterous in- 

 sects. (Entom. mag., 1838, v. 5, p. 300-304.) 



' Craig, E. On the configuration of the 

 scale of butterflies' wings, as exhibited in 

 the microscope. (Edinb. philos. mag.. 1S39, 

 s. 2. V. 15, p. 279-2S2, fig.) 



'' Ratzeburg, J. T. C. Die Forstinsekten . . . 

 Bd. 2. 1S40. 



' de la Rue, W. On the markings on the 

 scales of Ama/fiiisia horsfieldii. (Trans, mi- 

 cros, soc. Loud., 1S52, V. 3, p. 36-40, pi. 2.) 



* Semper, C. Beobachtungiiberdie Bildung 

 der Flugel, Schuppen und Haare bei den 

 Lepidopteren. (Zeitschr. f wiss. Zool., 

 1S57, V. S, p. 326-339, pi. 13.) 



' Kettelhoit. T. De squamis lepidoptero- 

 rum. Dissertatio . . . Bonnae, i860. 



