170 MISC. PUBLIVATION 657, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
The Lucanidae contain 7 genera and about 31 species in North 
America, of which 5 genera are important enough in the eastern part 
of North America to be mentioned here. Two species of Lucanus Scop. 
are frequently found in the roots of dead stumps, whereas Platycorus 
quercus Web., Ceruchus piceus (Web.), and Dorcus paralleus Say are 
all found in moist logs, so decayed that they can be readily torn apart 
with the hands. Sinodendron rugosum Mann. is a very rugose, 
cylindrical, black beetle which breeds in decayed alder, willow, aspen, 
and other poplars, and is not abundant in eastern North America. The 
numerous western species breed largely in decayed fir, redwood, and 
other coniferous logs. 
Famitry SCARABAEIDAE 
The Lamellicorn Leaf Chafers 
The Scarabaeidae are a very large family containing about 1,000 
American species, most of which are represented in eastern North 
America. They vary greatly in size and form, but usually are stout 
bodied and awkward at both crawling and flying. The last 3 to 6 
or 7 segments of the antennae are flat and leaflike, and are capable of 
being opened. and closed. The front legs are fitted for digging. 
On the basis of their feeding habits, the scarabaeids may ‘be divided 
into two well-defined groups: The lamellicorn scavengers, ordinarily 
known as dung beetles; and the lamellicorn leaf chafers, containing 
the forms known as the June beetles (in some regions known as May 
beetles and June bugs), flower beetles, rose chafers. goldsmith beetles, 
fizeaters, the Japanese beetle, the Asiatic garden beetle, and numerous 
other groups more or less unimportant from the forestry viewpoint. 
Only the leaf chafer group will be considered in this discussion, as the 
scavengers, in both the adult and larval forms, feed chiefly on animal 
wastes, and therefore have little direct effect on the forests. 
The lamellicorn leaf chafers may be injurious in both the adult and 
larval stages, but they are by far the more destructive in the latter 
stage. The adults feed chiefly on leaves of plants, the larvae on 
living roots, decaying vegetable matter, rotten wood, leafmold, and 
in some cases, old manure. The leaf-eating and root-eating species 
are of considerable economic importance in the forests. The June 
beetles, the most common type, are often abundant in woodlands or 
in sod and waste areas, and in some areas appear in large flights every 
2, 3, 4, or 5 years, depending on the time required for “their develop- 
ment. In other areas, such as the Carolinas, the overlapping of 
generations appears to be such that the beetles occur in about the same 
number from year to year. 
The periodic or annual flights of these beetles occasionally cause 
serious defoliation to forest trees around fields or woodlots. The 
larvae of these and certain other forms have proved to be destructive 
pests in nurseries and young plantations, particularly to some of those 
on recently cleared ground or in hardwood forest or shrub growth. 
During the early thirties in the Lake States, New England, the South 
Atlantic States, and elsewhere, losses of 10 to 90 percent due to these 
erubs have occurred in many plantations, the smaller figure being 
by no means uncommon. 
The root-eating larvae in this family apparently are not selective 
feeders as, under experimental conditions they consumed both hard- 
