Suborder Polyphaga - Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles

Excellent source of much scarab life cycle information.

The product of over 30 years of research.

Ritcher, P.O. 1966. White Grubs and Their Allies, a Study of North American Scarabaeoid Larvae. Monograph Series No. 4. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis. 219 pp.

About the author:

Dr. Paul Ritcher is well known for his work on scarab larvae. This work culminated in his 1966 book entitled White Grubs and Their Allies published by the Oregon State University Press. Ritcher worked as an Assistant and then Associate Entomologist for the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station from 1936 to 1949 and as a Research Professor of Entomology at North Carolina State College from 1949-1952. He was a Professor of Entomology and chair of the Department of Entomology at Oregon State University from 1952-1974, and he served as the curator of the insect collection from 1971 to 1974. Ritcher also served as the President of the Entomological Society of America in 1970, President of the Coleopterists Society in 1975, and President of the Oregon Entomological Society in 1955-56. He had 81 publications and one book, and approximately 41 publications were related to scarabs.

20 new genera, 38 new species, 28 new synonyms and 179 new combinations. For our fauna, only fimetarius remains in Aphodius. One example, the widespread Aphodius campestris is now Blackburneus aegrotus. Several genera have only one or two species.

With 246 figures, this 1946 publication is still the visual reference for Hippodamia. (Gordon(1) and American Beetles both refer to it.) Chapin examined thousands of specimens of each species, and illustrated the complete range of dorsal patterns for each. The male genitalia of each species is also illustrated.

Range maps, though limited, accurately depict type localities. Species names match modern taxonomy, but subspecies are outdated.