of Buprestidse and Elateridse. 101 



are more complete, more carefully adjusted and balanced, the 

 greater is the power and accuracy with which the animal exer- 

 cises its spriug;ing 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 hind 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 -E/a/er-type, why, 

 then, is it that entomologists refuse to admit into the family of 

 Elateridse a numerous series of beetles (such as Throscidse, Me- 

 lasidae, Eucnemidse, Cebrionidse) 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. Coleopt, iv. 1. p. 131), and unfit to distinguish the 

 family of Elateridse either from the intermediate divisions just 

 mentioned, or even from Buprestidse. But if this at present is 

 the whole upshot and result of scientific inquiry in the matter, 

 it is quite clear that neither Elateridse nor Buprestida 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 Elateridse and Buprestidae 

 signify one and the same thing, express one and the same type? 

 Only when this is answered can we hope to be liberated from 

 the spell of illusion. 



Let us then, first of all, on some Buprestis lift the prosternal 



