THE PHYLOGENY OF THE ELATERIDAE BASED ON 

 LARVAL CHARACTERS. 



By J. A. Hyslop, Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D. C. 



The object of the present paper is to accentuate the value of 

 studies of the larval characters in attempting a natural classifica- 

 tion of the Coleoptera, and to present a new arrangement of the 

 Elateridag based upon such studies. The paper is preliminary 

 and based largely upon the external characters of the larvae. 

 Seventy-nine names have been recognized at one time or another 

 for genera occurring in our fauna, but, after considering synon- 

 omy and misidentification, this number can be reduced to 

 between forty and fifty. Practically all of the common holo- 

 artic genera are represented. Specimens of the larvae of thirty- 

 eight genera have been studied. The fourteen or more genera 

 whose larvae are still unknown are as follows: The genus Mel- 

 anades, containing seven species, two of which are quite com- 

 mon; the genus Esthesopiis, containing six species; Paranomus, 

 four; Leptoschema, three; Oxygonus, Eniconyx and Meristhiis, 

 two each; and Nothodes, Bladus, Elatrinus, Blauta, Oedostethus, 

 Aptopiis and Coptostethus, one each. In the absence of reared 

 material, the characters of the genera Ischnodes, Ectinus, 

 Adrastiis, Ilypnoidus and Leptiir aides were drawn from liter- 

 ature. With these exceptions, the larvae of species representing 

 all the genera herein treated were examined by the writer and 

 the generic characters drawn from the last larval exuvium of 

 individuals of which the imago was reared and carefully 

 determined. In many of the genera several species were 

 examined. 



I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. E. A. Schwarz, 

 of the U. S. National Museum, without whose kindly assistance 

 the work would have been impossible; to the late Professor 

 F. M. Webster, who permitted the use of the material in the 

 Division collection; to Mr. H. S. Barber, who facilitated the use 

 of the Museum material; to Mr. C. W. Johnson, of the Boston 

 Society of Natural History, who very kindly allowed me to use 

 the material in the Thaddeus Harris collection; and to Dr. 

 A. D. Hopkins and Mr. F. C. Craighead, of the Division of 



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