174 THE OKDER OF COLEOPTERA. 



rived from a Greek word meaning a flea^ in allusion to their power of 

 leaping. 



Subfamily HISPIDES. 



[Fig. 88.] This sub-family is founded upon the genus Hispa^ of 



Linnteus, a contraction of the Latin word hispida, meaning 

 rough, ju allusion to the deep sculpturing of the elytra, 

 which usually consists in a number of elevated ribs with 

 a double series of deep punctures between them. The an- 

 'T '^ tenute are short, straight, compact, closely approximate 

 b, b e'^^tie— afTer at basc and regularly divergent at tip. These characters, 

 weatwood. together with their oblong and usually somewhat quadrate 



form, renders them one of the more easily recognizable groups in the 

 whole order of Coleoptera. They are usually about a quarter of an inch 

 in length or a little less, and their colors are black and red, either singly 

 or combined. They seem to be a good deal confined to particular locali- 

 ties, and therefore are not very commonly met with. The larvse are leaf- 

 miners, feeding between the upper and lower laminae. They differ in 

 form from other Chrysomelide larvae, and resemble more the larvae of 

 the Cerambycidse, the head being much narrower than the body, and 

 the three first segments being wider than the following ones. Their 

 form and habits were first described by Dr. T. W. Harris, from species 

 found upon the Oak, the Apple and the Locust. 



TheHispides present two strongly marked genera: Sispa, moderately 

 elongated and with strongly sculptured elytra, and Stenispa, much elon- 

 gated and narrow, and with the elytra smooth and shining, and very 

 faintly puncto-striate. The latter contains but two known species : the 

 metallica, Fab., of a shining brassy black color, not quite a quarter of 

 an inch long ; and the eollaris, of Baly, similar but having the thorax 

 red. The former is widely distributed, and the latter inhabits the Indian 

 Territory. 



Hispa proper is limited to the small black European species, originally 

 described by Linnaeus, to which the term hispid is peculiarly appropriate, 

 being beset with minute spines. The American sj)eeies have been divi. 

 ded into two genera : 



A. AntenniB 11-jointed; sculpture regular and distinct Odontota. 



A A. Anteunaj 8-joiuted ; sculpture usually irregular or imperfect Mickokhopala. 



The regular sculpturing consists of deep punctures upon the thorax, 

 and elevated ribs fcostcej uj)on the elytra, with a double row of numer- 

 ous punctures between them. The species of Odontota, Chev., (same as 

 Anoplitis, Kirby,) may be arranged according to their color, as follows. 

 The length of each species is added in decimals of an inch ; thus 0.24 

 exx)resses twenty-four hundredths of an inch. 



