of Buprestidee and Elateride. 191 
are more complete, more carefully adjusted and balanced, the 
greater is the power and accuracy with which the animal exer- 
cises its springing faculty, and the more often can it repeat it ; 
in the same degree as the skeleton is harder and more naked, 
the prothorax longer (whereby the clicking-joint is placed more 
in the middle), its bind quarters longer and more pointed, the 
joint between the elytron and pronotum more free, the root of 
the elytra thicker and their ribs higher, the more perfect is the 
performance of the clicker. 
We possess even in our native species a more than sufficiently 
rich series of exemplifications of all these and many more modi- 
fications of the different parts composing this machinery, which 
are combined in infinitely varied ways. 
But if it be so (and after all that has been said I do not sup- 
pose that anybody will doubt it), that this ‘ clicker-business ” 
really is the fundamental peculiarity in the Elater-type, why, 
then, is it that entomologists refuse to admit into the family of 
Elateride a numerous series of beetles (such as Throscide, Me- 
lasidee, HEucnemidze, Cebrionidz) in which the selfsame structure 
recurs in all its essential points, but which are not considered 
true, genuine, and bond fide clickers? What is the difference ? 
If the question is put in this straightforward manner, the an- 
swer is not difficult. The fact is evidently this, that the spring- 
ing-apparatus has not yet been so thoroughly studied that the 
type of it can be recognized with certainty in the cases where 
it is not carried out to its fullest perfection. Only thus can 
it have happened that this feature of the structure is so far 
from having been brought forward as an essential and fun- 
damental character, that, on the contrary, it has been given up 
in despair, as “leading to entirely illusory characters” (Lacor- 
daire, Gen. d. Coléopt. iv. 1. p. 181), and unfit to distinguish the 
family of Elateridz either from the intermediate divisions just 
mentioned, or even from Buprestide. But if this at present is 
the whole upshot and result of scientific inquiry in the matter, 
it is quite clear that neither Elateridee nur Buprestide are really 
understood. That they are nevertheless constantly placed side 
by side in the systems is therefore owing merely to the similarity 
of their external habitus ; and then the loss of that mark of dis- 
tinction, which was shown to be valueless in the preceding part 
of this paper, will be severely felt. The great question which 
still is unanswered, and which we shall next attempt to solve, is 
this :— Does the similarity in shape of Elateridze and Buprestidee 
signify one and the same thing, express one and the same type? 
Only when this is answered can we hope to be liberated froin 
the spell of illusion. 
Let us then, first of all, on some Buprestis lift the prosternal 
