74 Psyche [June 



In reviewing the carnivorous Coleoptera it has been repeatedly 

 shown that anthophily prevails to a much greater extent in those 

 families which seek their prey on vegetation than in those which 

 live wholly on the ground; and among the former there may occur 

 genera which both in the larval and adult stages feed on flower food 

 alone. In only one genus, Chauliognathus, have the mouthparts 

 become specialized for sucking nectar. Comparatively few species 

 are anthophilous and ownng to the irregularity and uncertainty of 

 their flight they are of little value in pollination; but on the other 

 hand they are detrimental only to a small extent. They have been 

 taken chiefly on small densely aggregated flowers with visible 

 nectar, or nearly visible nectar, as Cornus, Viburnum, Rhus, 

 Spiraea, Fragaria, Rubus, Crataegus, Pyrus, Prunus, Ceanothus, 

 Daucus, Solidago, and a variety of other umbelliferous and com- 

 posite flowers. They also often visit pollen flowers, as Rosa, 

 Anemone, Papaver and Sambucus; but in general they feed more 

 freely on pollen than nectar, partly because it is more easily 

 obtained, and partly perhaps because it more nearly resembles in 

 its chemical composition the animal food to which they are accus- 

 tomed. Since all of the anthophilous genera and probably most 

 of the anthophilous species have evidently acquired this habit 

 independently, it may be inferred that the sarcophagous famihes 

 had very nearly attained their present stage of development before 

 they began to visit flowers. 



Anthophily of the Phytophagous Families. 



Among the families, which live upon vegetable substances both 

 in the larval and adult stages, anthophily assumes much greater 

 importance than among the carnivorous forms. The phytopha- 

 gous species are naturally brought into proximity with flowers, and 

 it is an easy step to acquire the habit of feeding* on pollen and 

 nectar; but in a vast number of tubular and zygomorphic flowers 

 the nectar is so deeply placed that it is beyond the reach of beetles. 

 The larvae of the Elateridae or click beetles, infest the roots of 

 grains and grasses; while the adult beetles live under the bark, or 

 on the foliage of trees or herbage, and are, according to Morris, 

 very fond of sunshine. The New" England list contains 13 genera 

 and 39 species, a greater number than Knuth enumerates for 

 Europe and the Arctic regions. The convex head is deeply in- 



