56 AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGY. 



have seen. It alighted on the apron of a gig, near this city, and 

 was carefully secured by Mr. James P. Parke, who kindly pre- 

 sented it to me. It remained lively and active for several days 

 in a glass vessel on my table, and I was frequently amused by its 

 dexterity in catching the flies which were introduced for its 

 nourishment. It moved very slowly and cautiously towards its 

 victim, and when at the proper distance, the fore-feet were thrown 

 forwards, and again retracted, with a rapidity of motion that the 

 eye could not follow, bringing the fly with them to the mouth. 

 These feet are used almost exclusively as arms and hands, in 

 various positions for the convenience of mastication ; they are 

 rarely used in locomotion, but when the insect advances by means 

 of the other feet, these are folded up, and rest on each side of 

 the long anterior segment of the thorax. The two or three flies 

 first given to this little animal, were entirely devoured, so that 

 not a fragment remained ; but having abated its hunger it ex- 

 tracted the fluids chiefly, of those afterwards placed within its 

 reach. 



The upper figure ; below, is an enlarged representation of a 

 wing, and a posterior foot. 



BUPRESTIS. Plate XXVI. 



Body firm ; head vertically inserted in the thorax to the eyes ; 

 antennae short, filiform, serrated ; palpi very short, filiform, or 

 but slightly enlarged towards the tip ; mandibles entire at tip ; 

 maxillse bifid at the extremity ; thorax with its posterior edge 

 applied to the base of the elytra, the posterior angles not elon- 

 gated; anterior margin of the pectus advanced towards the 

 mouth, its opposite extremity elongated in the form of a horn, 

 which is received into a sinus of the postpectus, and is not con- 

 cealed in it; feet short, tarsi dilated, somewhat triangular, the 

 penultimate one bilobated. 



Obs. A large and very natural assemblage of insects, remain- 

 ing at the present day, nearly as it was founded by Linne. A 

 few of his smaller species have been separated from it, by Fabri- 

 cius, under the name of Trachys, chiefly distinguished by the 

 shorter, more dilated, and sub-triangular form of the body. Two 

 or three very small species, discovered since his time, and referred 

 to this genus by Fabricius and Olivier, have been generically 



