﻿CHAPTER II. 



EEMAEKS UPON THE STEUCTUEE, METAMOEPHOSES, 

 ETC., OF COLEOPTEEA. 



The Coleoptera, or Beetles^ have two horny or leathery- 

 elytra (wing-cases), two membranous under-wings, and 

 the mouth with transverse jaws. In their pupa state 

 they are not covered by a uniform hard case, as in the 

 Lepidopiera, nor active, as in the Hemiptera, but exhibit 

 all the parts of the future insect in a rudimentary con- 

 dition, covered by a continuous, tight-fitting outer skin, 

 which renders them incapable of motion by means of the 

 limbs. In the most perfect forms the elytra are hard, 

 reaching to the end of the body, and, in repose, meeting 

 straight down the back, with an evenly-joined suture, 

 — the wings, which are very large, folding beneath 

 them ; but in those of less development, the elytra are 

 often shortened, lapped over each other and soft, or hard 

 and soldered together, and tlie wings frequently absent. 

 They pass through the ordinary metamorphoses of 

 egg, larva, and pupa, before arriving at the perfect state. 

 The eggs, which are usually oblong, or oval, and soft, 

 are laid in places where the larva, when hatched, will be 

 likely to obtain proper food, according to the habits of 

 the different species. The larvse are mostly worm-like, 



