78 Psyche [June 



ous. As in 41 instances the species were observed by the writer 

 sucking nectar on the flowers of Aralia hispida and in only two 

 cases eating pollen, they would appear to manifest a preference for 

 nectar, as do the allied genera Typocerus and Strangalia. Both 

 lobes of the maxillae are fringed with long bristly hairs, which 

 enables them to lick up nectar easily. But pilosity of the maxillae, 

 either of one or both lobes, must not be regarded as a character 

 peculiar to the Lepturini; for, according to Leconte and Horn, 

 the entire family of the Cerambycidae is characterized by having 

 "the maxillae furnished with bristles." At my request, Frost ex- 

 amined species belonging to 13 tribes, found in North America, 

 and in all cases there were bristly hairs on the apices of the 

 maxillae. All, therefore, that can be claimed for the Lepturini is 

 that the maxillary hairs are in general longer and less bristle-like 

 than in other tribes; and this statement is sustained by the 

 examination of microscopic preparations of the maxillae of various 

 species. It was further believed by Mtiller that the elongation of 

 the head forwards, a neck-like constriction behind the eyes and con- 

 sequently the power to direct the head forwards, and the prothorax 

 elongated and narrowed anteriorly were structural characters ac- 

 quired for feeding on nectar whether superficially or more deeply 

 placed. 1 These conclusions, although they have long been accepted 

 without question, appear to the writer doubtful. In Miiller's time 

 structural modifications, which enabled insects to obtain flower 

 food, were readily assumed to have been developed specially for that 

 purpose, often without careful consideration. that they might have 

 been determined at an earlier period by the habits of the insect. 



The Lepturini are wood-borers and their narrow cylindrical forms 

 have been determined by their well-known economy. The trans- 

 formations of the larvae take place in their burrows in the solid 

 wood, and the imagoes are compelled to gnaw their way to the 

 surface, for which purpose an elongated head which could be 

 directed forwards would be a great advantage. Moreover a con- 

 striction of the head behind the eyes occurs in beetles which are 

 unknown on flowers. The form of Leptura vittata is very narrow 

 (a specimen before me is 3mra. wide and 14 mm. long) and the 

 elongated thorax is correlated with the elongated cylindrical 

 abdomen; in L. chrysocoma the abdomen is broader and the thorax 



1 Muller, H., "The Fertilization of Flowers," p. 35. 



