862 Pomona College Journal op Entomology 



UNTERSUCIIUNGEN UBER BAU UND DIE LEBENSWEISE DER 



LYMEXYLONIDEN, SPEGIELL DES HYLECOETUS 



DERMESTOIDES L. 



F. GEBMER 



Zeit. Wiss. Zool. CI Bd. H. 4, 1912. 



The male and female beetles have different maxillary palpi. In the male 

 they are greatly modified and in them terminate large nerves of smell in 

 olfactory terminal organs. These serve to find the female and are necessary 

 organs for this purpose. The antenna^ are also important sensory organs. 



The imago takes no nourishment during its short life. The larva takes 

 a little over a year in development. These larvae burrow in wood but none 

 of it passes through their alimentary tracts. A fungus is found in the burrows 

 in which the larva? live. It is Endomyeces hyocoeti; it probably grows on the 

 ground wood of the cavities. It is upon the spores of this fungus that the 

 larvaj live. 



In H. flabellicornis, the male antennae are modified, the palpi normal. The 

 female has simple mouth parts. 



In Lymexylon navalc the male palpi are modified. 



In tropical forms of this group the palpi or antennje are modified in the 

 male. W. H. 



THE EVOLUTION OF THE VERTEBRATES AND THEIR KIN 



v7illl\m patten 

 p. Blakiston's Son & Co., Phila., Pa., 1912. 

 Those who are familiar with Prof. Patten's previous work will not be 

 surprised that he considers arthropods and especially arachnids as being the 

 nearest to present day vertebrates. The chief basis of work is the king crab 

 Limulus and there are numerous figures showing the anatomy and all stages 

 of development of this animal, given in comparison with living and fossil verte- 

 brates, arthropods, and other groups. Tlie book is a i-ather large one, having 

 nearly five hundred pages, and is illustrated by about three hundred figures, 

 practically all of which are original. Many of the figures are simply line cuts, 

 but are beautifully done. The whole book is well compiled and much inter- 

 esting information is given the reader. The whole plan of the work, of course, 

 is to support the author's theory and whether one accepts his conclusions or 

 not, it is necessary to admit that the work itself appears to be one well worth 

 careful consideration. W. H, 



EVOLUTION OP THE WEBS OF SPIDERS 

 A concise and comprehensive abstract of an article on this subject by 

 J. H. Comstock of Cornell University appeared in the Annals of the Ento- 

 mological Society of America for March, 1912. The discussion tegins with 

 the statement that, since all spiders use silk in caring for their eggs, while 



