NO. II LARVAE OF THE ELATERID BEETLES- — GLEN 7 



world, they mark the first step toward this goal. Of the species de- 

 scribed, 17 belong to the tribe Lepturoidini. Keys are given to 7 

 species of Ludins, to 5 species of Athous, and to 10 species of Elater 

 (tribe Elaterini). Unique features of this work are an excellent 

 description of the general morphology of an elaterid larva and a syn- 

 optic table summarizing, for each species studied, the "form of the 

 body," "color and sculpture," "length," "nasale," "muscular impres- 

 sions of the abdominal segments," "ninth abdominal segment," and 

 "other remarks." These characters form the basis of Henriksen's 

 descriptions, and many other characters are quite overlooked, some of 

 which would have assisted in the separation of closely related species. 

 The illustrations are good for gross structure but are not at all reliable 

 for such details as setal characters. However, these are but minor 

 defects in an outstanding work. 



Xambeu, Le Capitaine, 1912-1914: Xambeu has brought to- 

 gether his observations on the elaterid larvae, which he published 

 piecemeal over a period of some 20 years. He describes the larvae of 

 yG species, 32 belonging to the tribe Lepturoidini and 1 5 to the genus 

 Ludhts. In making this inclusive study he has drawn freely from the 

 writings of Beling, Perris, Schiodte, and Rey. His descriptions of 

 the larvae of Ludhts melancholictts (Olivier) and Ludhts amplicoUis 

 (Germar) are original contributions, and these species apparently 

 have not been redescribed by subsequent writers. Unfortunately, 

 most of his descriptions are too general to provide specific distinc- 

 tion, and he gives no keys or figures. The chief merits of the work 

 are the large number of species included and the addition of pertinent 

 new observations on biology, especially on the food of the larvae. 



Hyslop, J. A., 1917: The object of this study was the charac- 

 terizing of the major subdivisions of the family. Supporting his con- 

 clusions by both adult and larval studies, Hyslop improved upon 

 the pioneer work of Schiodte and Henriksen and established a relia- 

 ble basis for progress in this field of research. His 3 subfamilies (ex- 

 clusive of the Physodactilinae) are subdivided into 10 well-defined 

 tribes and several other tribes that are included provisionally for 

 forms not represented in the larval material examined. The relative 

 ordinal value of the characters used seems to have been gauged wisely, 

 considering the material available. The study included an examination 

 of larval exuviae of reared specimens representing 33 genera. Char- 

 acters of 5 other genera were taken from the literature. Excellent 

 figures illuminate the brief tribal descriptions. Genera are not dis- 

 tinguished, and no keys are given. The paleontological record is re- 

 viewed, and the phylogeny of the family is discussed. 



