Il8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. Ill 



tended and probably not mature; 3.0 mm. across fourth abdominal 

 segment. 



The specimens examined were received through the courtesy of 

 R. E. Balch and are deposited in the Canadian national collection. 



LUDIUS NIGRICORNIS (Panzer) (?) 



Figure 23, d, f 



Elater nigricornis Panzer, Fauna Insectorum Germaniae Initia, fasc. 61, No. 5, 



1799. 

 Corymbites nigricornis (Panzer), Candeze, Monographic des elaterides, vol. 4, 



p. 159, 1863. 

 Corymbites (Selatosomus) nigricornis (Panzer), Schenkling, Coleopt. Cat. 



(ed. Junk), vol. 2, pt. 88, p. 379, 1927. 



On the basis of adult characters, the European species nigricornis 

 (Panzer) has been found by Brown (1936a, pp. 17-19) and other 

 taxonomists to be closely allied to the North American species that 

 constitute the mtidulus group. For this reason, two unidentified 

 larvae from Hildesheim and Dresden, Germany, which strongly re- 

 semble the known American larvae of this group, have been regarded 

 as larvae of nicp-icornis or of a closely related species. 



Nothing is known of the larval habits except that one of these 

 specimens was found burrowing into a mushroom. 



The chief distinguishing characters of these larvae are: Uro- 

 gomphal prongs (fig. 23, /) subequal or outer prongs only slightly 

 larger; nasale and adjoining area of frons deeply sunken, nasale be- 

 ing in lowest plane ; nasale (fig. 23, d) with tridentate tip, all denticles 

 narrow and subrectangular and pointing forward; and presternum 

 of prothorax with posterior median piece reduced to a narrow elon- 

 gate sclerite about one-half as large as in nitidulus (prst, fig. 13, a) 

 and in rufopleuralis ( ?). The larger of the two specimens measured 

 21 mm. in length. 



The specimens examined are the property of the British Museum 

 and of Dr. van Emden. 



LUDIUS DIVARICATUS (LeConte) 



Figures 12, e; 24 



Corymbites divaricatus LeConte, cf, Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc, new ser., vol. 10, 



p. 446, 1853. 

 Corymbites crassus LeConte, ?, Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc, new ser., vol. 10, 



p. 440, 1853. 

 Ludius divaricatus (LeConte), Van Dyke, Proc. California Acad. Sci., vol. 20, 



p. 427, 1932. 



I 



