BUPRESTIS. BUPRESTIS. 
r . -y . K , ^ 
Generic Character. 
Antennce sctacefe, longi- 
' tudine thoracis. 
Caput dimidium intra tho- 
racem retractum. 
Antennae setaceous, of the 
length of the thorax. 
Head half withdrawn be- 
neath the thorax. 
Me splendid genus Buprestis stands conspi- 
cuous among the coleopterous insects, on account 
of the superior brilliancy of its colours, which, in 
many of the larger exotic species in particular, 
shine with a metallic lustre. It is a very numer- 
ous genus, but by far the major part of the species 
are exotic. Among these the Buprestis gigantea 
is the largest hitherto discovered, measuring two 
inches and a half in length: the thorax is smooth, 
resembling the colour of polished bell-metal, and 
the wing-sheaths are of a gilded copper-colour, 
with a cast of blue-^reen, and are wrinkled in a 
longitudinal direction with slight, prominent ra- 
mifications. It is a native of India, China, and 
many other parts of Asia, and is also found in 
South-America. The large size, metallic colours, 
and wrinkled surface of the wing-shells in this 
insect, have induced the Chinese to attempt imi- 
tations of it in bronze, in which they succeed 
