LAEVAE OF NORTH AMERICAN BEETLES OF THE FAMILY CLERIDAE. By Adam G. Boving and A. B. Champlain, Of the Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture. INTRODUCTION. The insects of this family are with few exceptions beneficial and of some economic importance in the preservation of forest trees be-cause they in all stages feed on destructive wood and bark boring beetles. The larval stages of the numerous genera and species of North American Cleridae have not been systematically described or figured, and but little has been published on their general habits and seasonal history in this country. The present publication is a contribution from the Division of Forest Insect Investigations, Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture, and has been worked out according to suggestions of Dr. A. D. Hopkins, forest entomologist in charge of forest insect investigations. It consists of two independent parts. The first part, by A. G. Boving, deals with the morphology and taxonomy of the larvae of North American Cleridae and is mainly based on the valuable ma-terial, which has been accumulated in the collections in the office of the Forest Entomologist in the United States National Museum, Washington, District of Columbia. The second part, by A. B. Cham-plain, now Curator of Insects, Pennsylvania Bureau of Plant Indus-try, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, deals with the general habits and seasonal history of the Cleridae from notes on file in the same office, critically considered and considerably added to by pereonal observa-tions of the author. PART 1. A. BRIEF CHARACTERIZATION OF THE LARVAE OF THE FAMILY CLERIDAE. Legs with fused tarsus and claw. Body straight with dorsal and ventral surface equally long or nearly so. Intersegmental membranes present. Tenth abdominal segment developed as a locomotory organ, extending from the ventral side of the ninth abdominal segment. No Proceedings U, S. National Museum, Vol. 57— No. 2323. 575
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