COLEOPTERA. 23 



to conceal themselves by drawing two or three leaves together, 

 and holding them in this position with their long unequal claws. 

 In some seasons they occur in profusion, and then may be ob- 

 tained in great quantities by shaking the young trees on which 

 they are lodged in the daytime, as they do not attempt to fly 

 when thus disturbed, but fall at once to the ground. The larvae 

 of these insects are not known ; probably they live in the ground 

 upon the roots of plants. The group to which the goldsmith- 

 beetle belongs may be called Rutilians (rutilad^), from 

 Rutela^ or more correctly Rutila, signifying shining, the name 

 of.the principal genus included in it. Tne Rutilians connect the 

 ground-beetles with the tree-beetles of the following group, hav- 

 ing the short and robust legs of the former, with the leaf-eating 

 habits of the latter. 



The spotted Pelidnota, PcUdnota punctata^ is also arranged 

 among the Rutilians. This large beetle is found on the culti- 

 vated and wild grape-vine, sometimes in great abundance, during 

 the months of July and August. It is of an oblong oval shape, 

 and about an inch long. The wing-covers are tile-colored, or 

 dull brownish yellow, with three distant black dots on each ; the 

 thorax is darker, and slightly bronzed, with a black dot on each 

 side ; the body, beneath, and the legs, are of a deep bronzed green 

 color. These beetles fly by day ; but may also be seen at the 

 same time on the leaves of the grape, which are their only food. 

 They sometimes prove very injurious to the vine. The only 

 method of destroying them, is to pick them off by hand, and 

 crush them under foot. The larvae live in rotten wood, such as 

 the stumps and roots of dead trees ; and do not difl^er essentially 

 from those of other Scarabseians. 



Among the tree-beetles those commonly called dors, chafers; 

 May-bugs, and rose-bugs, are the most interesting to the farmer 

 and gardener, on account of their extensive ravages, both in the 

 winged and larva states. They were included by Fabricius in the 

 genus Melalojitha, a word used by the ancient Greeks to distin- 

 guish the same kind of insects, which were supposed by them to 

 be produced from, or with the flowers of apple-trees, as the name 

 itself implies. These beetles, together with many others, for 

 which no common names exist in our language, are now united in 



