CHAP, xv.] THE NEARCTIC REGION. 123 



forms. A considerable number of Neotropical types enter the 

 southern States ; but there are hardly any peculiar genera, except 

 one of the Lycsenidse and perhaps a few among the Hesperidae. 

 The most conspicuous feature of the region is its fine group of 

 Papilios, belonging to types (P. turnus and P. troilus) which are 

 characteristically Nearctic. It is also as rich as the Palsearctic 

 region in some genera which we are accustomed to consider 

 as pre-eminently European ; such as Argynnis, Melitcea, Grapta, 

 Chionftbas, and a few others. Still, we must acknowledge, that 

 if we formed our conclusions from the butterflies alone, we could 

 hardly separate the Nearctic from the Palsearctic region. This 

 identity probably dates from the Miocene period ; for when our 

 existing arctic regions supported a luxuriant vegetation, butterflies 

 would have been plentiful ; and as the cold came on, these would 

 move southwards both in America and Europe, and, owing to the 

 long continuance of the generic types of insects, would remain 

 little modified till now. 



Coleoptera. Only a few indications can be given of the 

 peculiarities of the Nearctic coleoptera. In Cicindelidse the 

 region possesses, besides the cosmopolite Cicindela, four other 

 genera, two of which AmblyckMjt and Omus are peculiar to 

 the West Coast and the Rocky Mountains. Of Carabidae it 

 possesses Diccelus, Pasimachus, JEuryirichus, Sphceroderus, Pina- 

 codera, and a number of smaller genera, altogether peculiar to it; 

 Helluomorpha, Galerita, Callida, and Tetragonoderus, in common 

 with South America; and a large number of characteristic 

 European forms. 



The Lucanidae are all of European types. The region is poor 

 in Cetoniidae, but has representatives of the South American 

 Euphoria, as well as of four European genera. Of Buprestidse 

 it has the South American Actenodes ; a single species of the 

 Ethiopian and Eastern Belionota, in California ; and about a 

 dozen other genera of European and wide distribution. 



Among Longicorns it possesses fifty-nine peculiar genera, 

 representatives of five Neotropical, and thirteen Palsearctic genera; 

 as well as many of wider distribution. Prionus is the chief 

 representative of the Prionidae; Leptura and Crossidim of the 



