INTRODUCTION 



STEUCTURE, &o. 



The Coleoptera, or Beetles, form the largest of all 

 the Orders of Insects, numbering, as is estimated, 

 about 130,000 species, whilst the total number of 

 insects known is about 300,000. In this country 

 we have over 3,000 species, which is about one-fourth 

 of the British insect fauna. 



Beetles are distinguished from other insects by 

 having a pair of hard or leathery wing-cases, or 

 elytra, which cover the true wings, which are 

 membranous. The elytra generally meet in a straight 

 line down the back, known as the suture. 



The body of a beetle is divided into head, thorax, 

 and abdomen. 



The head is free from the thorax, and only slightly 

 narrowed behind. It is broader laterally than 

 vertically, and is often prolonged into a proboscis, 

 or trunk (as in the AVeevils). The top of the head 

 between the eyes, above, is called the vertex, and 



