COLEOPTERA. 41 



propriety call them richards, on account of the rich and brilliant 

 colors wherewith many of them are adorned. The Buprestians, 

 then, according to the Linnaean application or rather misapplica- 

 tion of the name, are hard-shelled beetles, often brilliantly col- 

 ored, of an elliptical or oblong oval form, obtuse before, tapering 

 behind, and broader than thick, so that, when cut in two trans- 

 versely, the section is oval. The head is sunk to the eyes in the 

 forepart of the thorax ; and the antennae are rather short, and 

 notched on one side like the teeth of a saw. The thorax is 

 broadest behind, and usually fits very closely to the shoulders of 

 the wing-covers. The legs are rather short, and the feet are 

 formed for standing firmly, rather than for rapid motion ; the 

 soles being composed of four rather wide joints, covered with lit- 

 tle spongy cushions beneath, and terminated by a fifth joint, 

 which is armed with two claws. Most beetles, as already stated, 

 have a little triangular piece, called the scutel, wedged between 

 the bases of the wing-covers and the hinder part of the thorax, 

 commonly of a triangular or semicircular form, and in the greater 

 number of coleopterous insects quite conspicuous ; in the Bupres- 

 tians, however, the scutel is generally very small, and sometimes 

 hardly perceptible. These beetles are frequently seen on the 

 trunks and limbs of trees basking in the sun. They walk slowly, 

 and, at the approach of danger, fold up their legs and antennae and 

 fall to the ground. Being furnished with ample wings, their flight 

 is swift and attended with a whizzing noise. They keep con- 

 cealed in the night, and are in motion only during the day. 



The larvae are wood-eaters or borers. Our forests and orchards 

 are more or less subject to their attacks, especially after the trees 

 have passed their prime. The transformations of these insects 

 take place in the trunks and limbs of trees. The larvae that are 

 known to me have a close resemblance to each other ; a general 

 idea of them can be formed from a description of that which 

 attacks the pig-nut hickory. It is of a yellowish white color, very 

 long, narrow, and depressed in form, but abruptly widened near 

 the anterior extremity. The head is brownish, small, and sunk in 

 the forepart of the first segment ; the upper jaws are provided with 

 three teeth, and are of a black color ; and the antennae are very 

 short. The segment which receives the head is short and trans- 

 6 



