1 72 Zoology of Colorado 



lady beetles which prey on other insects are mostly red with 

 black spots, and belong to a number of different species. One 

 species, found on the University campus, has the elytra black, 

 each with a large red spot. It is called Chilocorus bivulnerus, 

 the specific name meaning twice wounded, on account of the two 

 red spots. This is one of the important enemies of scale insects 

 on trees. 



Thoreau, in "Walden," refers to the beautiful bug which 

 came out of the furniture. This was a Buprestis, of the family 

 Buprestidae, generally known by the peculiar form, wedge- 

 shaped posteriorly. Such a species is Buprestis aurulenta, which 

 came from a board walk at Las Vegas, New Mexico, the larva 

 having occupied a tunnel in the wood. It is about three quarters 

 of an inch long, emerald green, the elytra with rosy margins. 

 Col. Casey described a supposed new species, B. aemula, from 

 Boulder County, Colorado, but it is considered to represent only a 

 variation of this B. aurulent i. 



Another very beautiful species found in our region is B. 

 langi, bright green with two yellow marks on each elytron. It 

 was originally described from Sitka, Alaska, but S. A. Rohwer 

 found it on willow at Boulder. Col. Casey thought the Boulder 

 County form should be separated, and called it B. graminea, the 

 name meaning grass-green. A much smaller but no less beautiful 

 member of the family is Chrysophana placida, which was found 

 near Allen's Park in July. It is about three-eights of an inch long, 

 bright green, with a broad rosy-red band down the middle of each 

 elytron. The Elateridae, or click-beetles, somewhat resemble 

 the Buprestidae, but are more slender, more obtuse posteriorly, 

 and dull colored in nearly all cases, black to reddish. The pos- 

 terior corners of the thorax, as seen from above, are more or less 

 elongated and pointed. The larvae live in decaying wood or in 

 the earth, and are called wire-worms. We have many species 

 in Colorado, but they attract little attention. Perhaps the most 

 interesting is Anthracopteryx hiemalis, peculiar to Colorado, and 

 found only during the early months of the year. It seems to be 

 allied to Australian and Patagonian genera. 



The Scarabaeidae are lamellicorn beetles; that is the club 

 or end part of the antennae is composed of a number of laterally 

 elongated joints, closely pressed together, but separable. This is 



