COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 87 



most vivid tints of green. As examples ot tms, the 

 British genera Otiorhynchus and Phyllobius may be 

 cited, and the foreign ones Brachycerus and Entimus, 

 The elegant tribe ofCetonidce, which find their suste- 

 nance on plants, and which are represented in this 

 country by the Rose-chafer (Cetonia aurata), an 

 avant-courrier of those " flying gems" that delight 

 the eyes of the Entomologist in his progress south- 

 ward — are generally of a fine green, often accompa- 

 nied with a delicate schiller or play of colour, resem- 

 bling the floating light on the surface of some pre- 

 cious stones ; and they are sometimes spotted, or varie- 

 gated with lines and bands contrasting strongly with 

 the rest of the body. The Chrysomelidce — a term 

 which signifies an apple of gold — are most com- 

 monly of a pretty uniform golden-green, highly po- 

 lished and lustrou9, and streaked occasionally along 

 the back with parallel lines of purple and blue ; 

 while the Coccinellidce, or Lady-birds, are never dis- 

 tinguished by metallic splendour, but are prettily 

 marked with round spots of black on a red or yellow 

 ground, or with red spots on a ground of black. 



The species in which some of these fine colours 

 are combined with a high degree of lustre, and di- 

 versified markings, must evidently be objects of no 

 mean beauty. An eye accustomed to the brilliant 

 shades of green and purple that adorn many of the 

 Buprestidae — the blue and coppery hues of the Eu- 

 molpi — the varied delineations of the Cetonidae— 

 and the warm but delicate tinting of the Ceramby- 



