154 
Psyche 
[March 
feature is unknown elsewhere in the family. It is more like Meloinae 
and Nemognathinae than Eleticinae in that the apices of the elytra 
are not swollen and provided with a pit in the male (as they are in 
all Eleticinae but Spasticini: Anthicoxenina : Iselma). 
It would be difficult to associate Tha?nbospasta with Iselma in the 
Eleticinae on the basis of the similarity of the male genitalia and 
lack of elytral pits, because Thambospasta males have abdominal ter- 
gum VIII heavily sclerotized and would therefore become associated 
with Eleticini, the other tribe in the subfamily in Selander’s classi- 
fication. It differs from all Eleticinae in that vein 2A 2 of the hind 
wings is joined to the base of 2 A, a condition approached in some 
Eleticinae, however, and in being nocturnal rather than diurnal, as 
the few Eleticinae for which records are available seem to be. If 
Selander’s 2A3 of the Nemognathinae: Nemognathini : Zonitina: 
Pseudozonitis were counted as a primitive vein, rather than a spe- 
cialization as he argues (1966), that genus would also have 2A 2 
joined to the base of 2A. 
Returning to the features that Selander lists as being shared by 
all subfamilies of Meloidae, Thambospasta differs in several probably 
important ways: fore coxal cavities open externally but closed in- 
ternally (open in all others) ; female abdominal sternum VIII with 
a long anterior apodeme (none at all in others) ; last segment of 
maxilliary palpi narrowly securiform (never securiform in others) ; 
and cross-vein r apparently present (never in others). It also is un- 
like most Meloidae in that the male genitalia lack a sclerotized ejacu- 
latory rod ( lacking also in Eleticinae : Eleticini : Eospastina : Eospasta 
and in many Nemognathinae) ; and in that the tarsal claws lack a 
process arising from the lateral side of the base (lacking also in 
some specialized Meloinae and Nemognathinae). A possible third 
feature is that the aedeagus lacks a hook on its ventral side at or near 
the apex, a condition that is universal in Meloinae and present also 
in part of the Eleticinae. A feature not mentioned by Selander that 
is probably universal in Meloidae is the lack of microspines on the 
tibial spurs such as are seen in Thambospasta. 
References 
Selander, Richard B. 
1964. Sexual behavior in blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae). I. 
The genus Pyrota. Canadian Entomologist 96(8): 1037-82. 
1966. A classification of the genera and higher taxa of the meloid 
subfamily Eleticinae (Coleoptera). Op. cit. 98(5): 449-81. 
