652 



FAMILY XXVII. L AT HRIDII DJE . 



elytra entirely covering the abdomen, or very rarely slightly trun- 

 cate and with the punctures usually arranged in six to eight rows ; 

 prosternum more or less visible between the front coxge, the side 

 pieces not separate, the coxal cavities usually enclosed; abdomen 

 with five, rarely six, free ventral segments which are subequal in 

 length; front coxa? conical, prominent, usually more or less sepa- 

 rated; middle coxae rounded and less prominent; hind coxee trans- 

 verse, widely separated; legs moderate, tibiae slender without ter- 

 minal spurs; tarsi 3-jointed, the third joint equal in length to the 

 other two ; claws simple. 



The most important papers treating of the North American 

 members of the family are as follows : 



Bom.— ' Synopsis of the Lathridiides of the United States and 



Northern Contiguous Territories," in Proc. Phil. Acad. Nat. 



Sci., VII, 1855, 299-305. 

 Fall,— 11 Revision of the Lathridiidae of Boreal America," in 



Trans, Amer. Ent. Soc, XXVI, 1899, 101-190. 

 According to the latter paper, this family is represented in 

 North America by 103 species, distributed among 13 genera. The 

 family is divided by Fall into four tribes. Two of these are known 

 to be represented in Indiana, while a third probably occurs. 



KEY TO INDIANA TRIBES OF LATHRIDIIDAE. 



a. Front coxal cavities open behind, the coxae separated by a prosternal 

 plate ; antennae clavate ; body not costate. 



Tribe I. Merophysiini, p. 652. 



aa. Front coxal cavities closed behind. 



&. Body often costate, glabrous or virtually so, the hairs, when present, 

 sparse and erect ; epistoma or lower face on a lower plane than the 

 front and separated from it by a deep suture. 



Tribe II. Lathridiini, p. 653. 

 &&. Body never costate, always pubescent, the hairs more or less inclined 

 or recurved; epistoma on the same plane as the front, separated 

 from it by a distinct but scarcely impressed suture. 



Tribe III. Corticariini, p. 656. 



Tribe I. MEROPHYSIINI. 



One genus, Holoparamecus, represents this tribe in the United 

 States. Belonging to it are six species, two of which may occur in 

 Indiana. They have the antennas 9-jointed in the male, 10-jointed 

 in the female ; thorax bistriate at base, hind angles without fovea ; 

 elytra with an entire sutural stria but without rows of punctures. 



B. ragusce Reitt., dull yellow, 1-1.2 mm. in length, eyes small, 

 distant about their own diameter from the antennaa, thorax without 

 discal fovea, is known from Pennsylvania and Missouri. 



