PREFACE. IX 



pear in connection with the descriptions of North American Coleoptera, 

 or the elucidation of their natural history. 



Much of the value of a work intended, like the present, for the inex- 

 perienced student, must depend upon accurately executed figures of the 

 insects treated of, and the details of their organization. An appropri- 

 ation for this purpose by the (xeneral Assembly has enabled me to illus- 

 trate the present work to a reasonable extent. Most of these figures 

 have been drawn by Mr. C. V. Riley, State Eutomologist of Missouri, 

 and engraved under his direction, which is a sufficient guarantee of their 

 accuracy. Many of these have already been published in illustration of 

 his own official reports, but a considerable number of them have been 

 prepared originally for this work. A small proportion of the figures 

 have been obtained from Dr. Packard's Guide to the study of Insects, 

 from Westwood's Introduction, and a few from other sources. 



The straight hair-line frequently placed at the side of a figure, shows 

 the natural length of the insect. 



