﻿Descriptions 
  of 
  New 
  Species 
  o/Coleoptera, 
  from 
  California. 
  

   By 
  John 
  L. 
  LeConte. 
  Read 
  Sept. 
  15th, 
  1851. 
  

  

  The 
  present 
  Essay 
  contains 
  diagnoses 
  of 
  nondescript 
  spe- 
  

   cies, 
  collected 
  by 
  me, 
  during 
  the 
  year 
  1850 
  and 
  part 
  of 
  1851. 
  

  

  Being 
  desirous 
  of 
  making 
  statistical 
  comparisons 
  between 
  

   the 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  eastern 
  and 
  western 
  slopes 
  of 
  the 
  continent, 
  

   I 
  have 
  taken 
  this 
  as 
  the 
  most 
  speedy 
  means 
  of 
  making 
  known 
  

   the 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  new 
  species 
  collected. 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  seen, 
  

   that 
  although 
  the 
  number 
  previously 
  known 
  from 
  Western 
  

   America 
  was 
  but 
  small, 
  this 
  was 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  limited 
  ex- 
  

   ploration 
  ; 
  each 
  locality 
  furnishing 
  but 
  few 
  kinds, 
  which, 
  

   however, 
  are 
  all 
  confined 
  within 
  narrow 
  limits. 
  Thus 
  I 
  failed 
  

   to 
  obtain 
  many 
  of 
  those 
  already 
  described 
  by 
  Eschscholtz 
  & 
  

   Mannerheim, 
  because 
  I 
  was 
  unable 
  to 
  visit 
  the 
  localities 
  from 
  

   which 
  their 
  specimens 
  were 
  collected. 
  

  

  My 
  collection 
  was 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  manner 
  : 
  At 
  

   San 
  Francisco 
  — 
  in 
  February, 
  April, 
  and 
  part 
  of 
  August, 
  (the 
  

   latter 
  month 
  furnishing 
  scarcely 
  any 
  species 
  :) 
  San 
  Jose, 
  in 
  

   March 
  ; 
  San 
  Diego, 
  in 
  May, 
  June 
  and 
  September 
  ; 
  Yalle- 
  

   citas 
  and 
  the 
  Desert 
  of 
  the 
  Colorado, 
  in 
  October 
  and 
  November 
  ; 
  

   Colorado 
  River, 
  December 
  and 
  March 
  ; 
  Valley 
  of 
  the 
  Gila, 
  in 
  

   January 
  and 
  February. 
  

  

  The 
  families 
  will 
  succeed 
  each 
  other 
  in 
  the 
  order 
  most 
  

   ccnvenient 
  for 
  study. 
  At 
  present, 
  the 
  want 
  of 
  certain 
  books 
  

   prevents 
  me 
  from 
  beginning 
  with 
  the 
  Carabica. 
  

  

  Occasionally 
  species 
  from 
  Oregon 
  are 
  introduced. 
  The 
  

   notes 
  contain 
  species 
  from 
  the 
  interior 
  of 
  the 
  continent, 
  which 
  

   serve 
  to 
  illustrate 
  the 
  Pacific 
  species.* 
  

  

  I 
  cannot 
  refrain 
  from 
  expressing 
  my 
  very 
  great 
  obligation 
  

   to 
  the 
  junior 
  officers 
  of 
  the 
  military 
  posts 
  at 
  San 
  Diego 
  and 
  

  

  * 
  I 
  have 
  omitted 
  four 
  species 
  of 
  Mordella, 
  and 
  two 
  of 
  Nemognatlia 
  for 
  future 
  

   study. 
  

  

  