THE ROSY HISPA. 121 



small ; the antennae are short, thickened towards the end, 

 and of a black color ; the thorax is narrow 

 before and wide behind, rough above, striped 

 with deep red on each side ; the wing-covers 

 taken together form an oblong square ; there 

 are three smooth longitudinal lines or ribs on 

 each of them, spotted with blood-red, and the 

 spaces between these lines are deeply punc- 

 tured in double rows ; the under side of the body is black, 

 and the legs are short and reddish. They measure about 

 one fifth of an mch in length. These beetles may be found 

 on the leaves of the a[)ple-tree, and very abundantly on 

 those of the shad-bush (^Amelaneliier ovalis)^ and choke-berry 

 (^Pijrus arhutifolia), during the latter part of IVIay and the 

 beginning of June. 



In the middle of June, another kind of Ilispa may be 

 found pairing and laying eggs on the leaves of the locust- 

 tree. The gixibs appear during the month of July, and are 

 transformed to beetles in August. They measure nearly 

 one quarter of an inch in length, are of a ■ tawny yellow 

 color, with a black lonmtudinal line on the middle of the 

 back, partly on one and partly on the other wing-cover, the 

 inner edges of which meet together and form what is called 

 the suture ; whence this species was named Hispa suturaUs 

 by Fabricius ; the head, antennas, body beneath, and legs are 

 black ; and the wing-covers are not so square behind as in 

 the rosy Hispa. 



The tortoise-beetles, as they are familiarly called from 

 their shape, are leaf-eating insects, belonging to the family 

 Cassidad.e. This name, derived from a word signifying a 

 helmet, is applied to them because the fore part of the 

 semicircular thorax generally projects over the head like the 

 front of a helmet. In these beetles the body is broad oval 

 or rounded, flat beneath, and slightly convex above. The 

 antennas are short, slightly thickened at the end, and inserted 

 close together on the crown of the head. The latter is small, 

 10 



