PREFACE. 
IX 
pear in connection with the descriptions of North American Coleoptera, 
or the elucidation of their natural history. 
Much of the value of a work intended, like the present, for the inex- 
perienced student, must depend upon accurately executed figures of the 
insects treated of, and the details of their organization. An appropri- 
ation for this purpose by the General Assembly has enabled me to illus- 
trate the present work to a reasonable extent. Most of these figures 
have been drawn by Mr. G. V. Riley, State Entomologist of Missouri, 
and engraved under his direction, which is a sufficient guarantee of their 
accuracy. Many of these have already been published in illustration of 
his own official reports, but a considerable number of them have been 
prepared originally for this work. A small proportion of the figures 
have been obtained from Dr. Packard’s Guide to the study of Insects, 
from Westwood’s Introduction, and a few from other sources. 
The straight hair-line frequently placed at the side of a figure, shows 
the natural length of the insect. 
