262 POMONA COLLEGE JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY 



4. Larvae with large branched spines, and small branching spines or bristles. 



Larvae are oval or somewhat elongated and are herbivorous. The nymphs 

 remain partially within the skins of the larvae in their transformations. 



5. Larv£e with skins for the secretion of white filaments. These larvae vary 



in their food-habits ; the nymphs remain within the skins of the larvae. 



Family Characters of the Nymphs of Cocclnellidse* 



Color — The colors of the nymphs of the family Coccinellidae are generally 

 showy, this show of colors being the reason of their being called this name. 

 Like the larvae they are protected from the ravages of insectivorous animals 

 by offensive secretions. In consequence these insects, during their trans- 

 formations to the adult, remain in exposed places. The distribution of the 

 marks vary considerably within the same species, but the color is one of 

 the chief characteristics in their classification. 



Antennae — These are small and inconspicuous like those of the larvae. 

 In the nymphs they are hidden from the dorsal view, being bent under the 

 prothorax dorsally and posteriorily from the point of insertion. The tips 

 of the antennae extend upon the femur of the first pair of legs. 



Elytra — These are large, and when viewed dorsally with one of the 

 elytra turned sufficiently on its base, the surface of the abdomen may be viewed 

 as, in the case with the nymphs of the Coleoptera in general. The elytra 

 commonly hide the dorsal surface and almost all of the sides back to the 

 third abdominal segment. They are somewhat bent until they meet in a 

 median line and usually hide the greater part of the posterior feet. Such 

 a peculiarity is mentioned by Letzner (1857). The marking of the elytra 

 of the nymphs do not correspond to that of the adult, but is an important 

 character of the nymphs and should be mentioned in all descriptions of them. 

 The marking is somewhat variable within the species, but this character 

 is very essential and is usually constant. 



Spiracles — Those of the thorax are hidden. Those of the first five ab- 

 dominal segments are prominent, and those of the remaining segments are 

 smaller. In the nymphs of Chilochonts the margins of the spiracles of the 

 first abdominal segments are formed into a prolonged conspicuous tube. 



Surface — Smooth, downy, or bristly, according to the species. The 

 nymphs, in descriptions, are characterized by their colors and the distribution 

 of the down and bristles. 



Dorsal View — The head is not visible from a direct dorsal view, due to 

 the fact that it is completely bent under the ventral surface of the prothorax. 



Prothorax — Equal to or exceeding in length the mesothoracic and meta- 

 thoracic joints but doubled ventrally nearly at right angles to the axis of 

 the body. The position when viewed ventrally appears like the transverse 

 segment before the mesothorax and elytra ; larger than the metathorax. 



Mesothorax — Trapezoidal in shajie and narrower and much shorter than 

 the prothorax ; its width is greater than its length, the anterior margin is 

 greater than the posterior, and the base of the elytra are united at the con- 

 verging lateral margins. 



••Geo. W. Dlmmock in Report of Estacion Central Agronomlca, Cuba. 



