ABNORMALITIES AND REGENERATION IN CICINDELA.* 
By Victor E. SHELFORD. 
I. INTRODUCTION. 
The occurrence of certain abnormalities of the elytra and 
labrum of Cicindela collected in the wild state and in adults 
reared in the laboratory and the almost entire absence of abnor- 
malities of the legs and antenne led me to bring together the 
main facts at my disposal and to perform a few experiments to 
determine if possible the cause of the abnormalities. It is the 
purpose of this paper to point out the possibility of the use of 
the material for studies of the physiology of melanin pigment 
distribution by operative experiments during development. 
Il. Types oF ABNORMALITIES. 
The abnormalities noted are confined chiefly to the elytra 
and the labrum. Figure 1 shows an abnormal labrum of a 
specimen of Cicindela tranquebarica of the green Nevada type 
with the small spots on the margin of the elytron as the only 
vestige of the usual markings of the species (Wickham ’06). 
This labrum has a slender smooth and shiny projection at one 
side but suggesting a tearing from the center toward the outside 
which resulted in the slender strip being left hanging down 
freely. Such abnormalities are not common. 
A second and relatively common type is shown (figures 4 
and 5) in which one elytron is longer than the other and the 
form and color pattern sometimes modified. No abnormal 
legs have been noted in collected specimens. 
III. THE PRODUCTION OF ABNORMALITIES IN EXPERIMENTS. 
To learn something of the abnormalities of the labrum and 
legs twenty-six late larve and six pup of Cicindela punctulata 
were operated on. The operations were performed with sterile 
scissors and the larve placed in vertical burrows in sterile soil 
kept moist with a hydrogen peroxide solution. The operations 
were confined to the labrum and right hind leg. 
* Contribution from the Zoological Laboratory of the University of Illinois. 
No. 46. 
291 
