ORDETl COLEOPTEPvA. 



Mandibulate insects ; wings, four ; the first pair (or elytra) 

 horny or leathery, covering the membranous hind wings when 

 closed, and meeting down the back in a straight suture ; larva, 

 with six legs, or apodous ; pupa, inactive. 



The Coleoptera, or Beetles, form an exceedingly numerous and 

 compact order, and the insects of which it is composed have 

 usually so strong a family likeness that they are seldom likely to 

 be mistaken for those of any other order. They have been more 

 assiduously studied than any other insects, and consequently, out 

 of the 270,000 insects known at present, about 120,000 are 

 beetles. In this country about 3000 species are known to occur, 

 amounting to one-fourth of our native insects. It is, however, pro- 

 bable that the actual number of species of beetles existing will be 

 found to be less than those of the Hymenoptera and Diptera, when 

 these Orders have been collected and studied with equal assiduity. 



Beetles and their larvas feed on a great variety of substances, 

 both animal and vegetable ; a few abnormal forms are parasitic 

 on bees and wasps, but this is quite exceptional. Some are 

 carnivorous, feeding on other insects ; others feed on dung, carrion, 

 and other animal products ; and others again live on the roots, 

 leaves, etc., of living plants, — some feeding in long galleries which 

 they excavate in the solid wood of trees. 



Beetles and their larvae frequently live in concealment, but 

 many species live quite exposed, and are found on flowers and 

 bushes, or running on the ground in the heat of the day. 



Generally speaking, the wings are ample, but occasionally the 

 wings are absent. In this case, the elytra may either be moveable, 

 soldered together, or completely absent. In some families, the 

 elytra are shorter than the abdomen, more or less of the extremity 

 of which is left exposed. However, in these insects the wings are 

 generally ample, being folded under the sJMjrt elytra. 



Tlie pupaj of beetles an; necromorphuus, or miinimy-likc, the 

 pupa-skin closely enveloping the difl'erent organs of the future 



