( oxxxi ) 



long and rostrate ; the gnathoi are short, finely membranous, 

 with an ovate termination. The sedceagus is a short, simple 

 tube. The dorsal armature is composed of a bifid hood with 

 cuneate laterals, above which, under the tegumen proper, 

 are two pair of fine apophyses with shagreened tips. 



Halesus auricollis, Pict. 



This is probably a primitive genus, and I bring it forward 

 here merely to show the segmentation of the abdomen ; the 

 first tergite is unusually well developed — though it is well 

 developed in a large number of the Trichoptera — whilst the 

 ninth segment is also very evident as the cingula of the geni- 

 talia; the harpagones, the tegumen, and other parts at the 

 extreme termination of the abdomen representing the tenth 

 segment. 



COLEOPTERA. 



It is of course quite impossible for any one but a Coleopterist 

 to deal with the genitalia of this vast order, the anatomy of 

 which is as yet very imperfectly known ; in fact, I suppose I 

 should be correct in saying that the fringe of it has only been 

 touched at present. A few friends have, however, kindly 

 supplied me with specimens of different genera in some of 

 the families, but they are not sufficient to generalise on satis- 

 factorily. They are, however, of great interest, and point 

 to a very wide field of research that would be of the utmost 

 value to the entomological world. The natural supposition 

 is that clasping organs are most useful to the most active 

 and nervous species, we find, however, the genus Psalidura 

 (Curculionidae) with very large external organs; now this is 

 a genus that cannot fly and that is very sedentary in its habits, 

 the inference therefore would be that external organs are not 

 needed, but the facts are that, needed or not, the external 

 organs are developed enormously; this, however, is not the 

 case with other genera in this family, and I am very doubtfu 

 if they serve any clasping purpose. In the Staphylinidae 

 and the Clavicornia (to mention only a couple of groups), we 

 find no external organs at all, or only quite minute and 

 insignificant developments. 



