The above family is of immense extent and attains, in the tropics, a considerable development in the size of its members, though not equalling in this respect its wood-eating neighbours, the Cerambycidæ. Towards the north, many groups fade out entirely and the large or gaily-coloured species decrease in number. Nevertheless, the representation in Canada is quite considerable, and since many of the species are closely allied and separate with some difficulty, while tables of genera are widely scattered, or, in many cases, not readily accessible, it has been deemed worth while to bring together the salient characters by means of which the collector in Eastern Canada may hope to identify his captures.