THE SYNTHETICAL METHOD. 405 



of Latreille's Malacoderma will ultimately find a place in 

 this group ; but however this may be. the Linnaean genus 

 Staphylinus certainly reconducts us from these insects to 

 the Chilopodiform tribe of larvae. 



The opposite sides of the Coleopterous circle appear to 

 meet in the cases of Silpha and Cassida. But here I must 

 desist, as there is reason to fear that I have already gone 

 more minutely into this subject, than my knowledge of it 

 warrants. Some modern groups, indeed, I scarcely dare 

 venture upon, particularly the Melasomes, Taxicornes, and 

 Sternly tres of Latreille. These, as their names import, are 

 so many magazines, which it will cost the Entomologist no 

 small labour to elucidate. 



Pentamerous insects seem chiefly to belong to the tribes 

 of Chilopodiform and Chilognathiform larvae. Apod larvae 

 seem almost all by metamorphosis to become Tetramerous 

 Insects ; Anopluriform larvae either Tetramerous or Trime- 

 rous ; and Thysanuriform larvae either Heteromerous or 

 Pentamerous. The nature of this variation in the number 

 of joints in the tarsi, ought not to escape our notice. 



If my observations had been sufficiently extensive to au- 

 thorize the determination of the following problem, namely, 

 whether the Rectocera and Petalocera ought to be consi- 

 dered as referable to one type of the subdivisions of the 

 tribe, or to two, I might have ventured to designate the 

 Stirpes into which the Iuliform larvae may be divided, and 

 consequently from analogy might have obtained more de- 

 finite ideas of the composition of the tribe. To say the 

 truth, however, I am inclined to think that the three Lin- 

 naean genera Scarabaus, Lucanus, and Hister, may be dis- 

 covered hereafter to be all referable to one peculiar type. 

 But this is mere matter of suspicion, or at least I can give 



2 H 



