tE^llomas Hincoln Caficp Jfunb 



LARVAE OF THE ELATERID BEETLES 



OF THE TRIBE LEPTUROIDINI 



(COLEOPTERA: ELATERIDAE) 



By ROBERT GLEN i 



Research Coordinator, Division of Entomology, Science Service, 

 Department of Agriculture, Ottazva, Canada 



INTRODUCTION 



Characters for the identification of species are sadly lacking for 

 most of the larval Elateridae. This lack of fundamental information 

 is not surprising because most elaterid larvae are difficult to find and 

 they require several years to mature. The task of collecting and 

 rearing them is so great that only a small proportion of the specie§ 

 is known in the larval stage, and progress in larval taxonomy has 

 been handicapped constantly by insufficient representation to charac- 

 terize the genera. This is particularly true of the Lepturoidini, which 

 includes important crop pests throughout the world, especially in 

 western North America. Many of these pest species are now known 

 to react differentially to factors of weather, soil, and culture, and the 

 control program to be prescribed depends largely upon the species 

 involved. Thus, accurate specific identification is the first need of 

 the economic investigator. 



It was largely to fill such a need that the present study arose. 

 In 1922 K. M. King, Officer in Charge of the Dominion Entomo- 

 logical Laboratory, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, initiated investigations 

 upon wireworm control in the Prairie Provinces, and as an integral 

 part of the project he included studies of larval morphology. He 

 continued this work, as time permitted, until 1929 and succeeded in 

 rearing several of the pest species and in obtaining characters for 

 the separation of their larvae in the field. The author was then made 

 responsible for the furtherance of this work, and in 193 1 he prepared 

 descriptions of the larvae of 18 Saskatchewan species. This experi- 



1 Formerly in charge Wireworm Investigations, Dominion Entomological 

 Laboratory, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. 



SMITHSOMIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS, VOL. Ill, NO. 11 



