Conn.J 
42 
[Nov. 7, 
The resolution was unanimously adopted. 
Prof. H. W. Conn then read a paper on “Coleopterous Larvae 
and their Relations to Adults.” 
COLEOPTEROUS LARViE AND THEIR RELATIONS 
TO ADULTS. 
By H. W. CONN. 
[ABSTRACT.] 
The present paper is the first of a series of investigations which 
it is my purpose to carry on in connection with larvae and their rela- 
tions to adults. My studies are confined to the post ovarian stages 
and in this discussion the term larva is used to indicate such condi- 
tions only. It is my purpose to inquire into the origin of larval 
forms, both ancestral and acquired, and to compare the results of 
the study of the larvae of the various groups of the animal kingdom 
with the results of the study of adults. The following questions 
are among those for which an answer is sought. 
To what extent are larval forms representatives of ancestral 
stages in the history of animals and to what extent are they adapta- 
tions on the part of the larvae, and therefore secondary? 
How far is it possible to assign reasons for the larval departures 
from ancestral type? 
Has the larval departure from an ancestral type, where it has 
taken place, occurred in numerous individuals simultaneously, or 
have the variations appeared in one individual and then been trans- 
mitted from it to a long line of posterity? 
Have the form and habits of the adult any direct influence on 
the larvae, or those of the larvae on the adult? 
Are larvae reliable as a basis of classification ? 
Are larvae of any value in teaching the past history of animals? 
Are larvae of any value in teaching relations? 
In cases where larvae are departures from the ancestral type and 
therefore secondary, are they of any value in teaching past history 
or present classification? 
Are larvae more or less variable than adults? 
Are adaptive larval characters inherited by succeeding larvae? 
The present paper is the result of the study of the larvae of bee- 
tles, this group being first selected as showing the greatest amount 
