COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS 217 



tra are reddish brown, with a streak of white across 

 the base : the scutellum is likewise margined with 

 white, and has a narrow patch of the same down 

 the middle. The under side and thighs are black, 

 with a mixture of green ; the other parts of the leg 

 are black. 



Many of the most ornamental of the lamellicorn 

 beetles are arranged in the extensive genus Ceto- 

 nia, and others closely allied, which have recently 

 been separated from it. The true Cetoniae present 

 the following characters : — body nearly ovate, ra- 

 ther obtuse behind, the back somewhat depressed : 

 thorax gradually widening towards the hinder mar- 

 gin, which forms the base of a triangle with the 

 apex truncated : scutellum distinct : mentum never 

 transverse, and more or less emarginate in the mid- 

 dle of its upper edge : terminal lobe of the maxillae 

 ending in a tuft of fine hair. In the perfect state, 

 these insects feed on vegetable juices and the honey 

 of flowers. Rosel informs us that he kept the species 

 known in this country by the name of Rosechafer 

 alive for upwards of three years, by feeding it with 

 fruit and moistened white bread. The species are nu- 

 merous, amounting to upwards of 130, and in many 

 of them, as Mr Macleay has remarked, nothing can 

 exceed the beauty and lustre of the polish, or the 

 admirable variety of ornament, with which their ely- 

 tra are adorned. They occur in almost every coun- 

 try, except in the colder parts of the temperate 

 zone, and the regions verging towards the poles. 



