THE 



BRITISH CYC LOPPED I 



CETONIID^E (MacLeay). A family of cole- 

 opterous insects, belonging to the section Pentamera, 

 and to the sub-section Lamellicornes, forming a por- 

 tion of the great Linnaean genus Scarabceus, and 

 corresponding with the section Melitophila of the 

 Regne Animal. The body is depressed, generally 

 oval, and gaily coloured ; the head and thorax seldom 

 cornuted ; the thorax ovate-quadrate, or suborbi- 



The Rose-chaffer in its different shapes, 

 cular ; a corneous plate (forming portion of the sides 

 of the meso-thorax, greatly developed,) occupies the 

 space between the posterior and lateral margins of 

 the thorax, and the external base of the elytra. The 

 elytra are generally shorter than the body, the 

 extremity of which is consequently exposed ; the 

 sternum is often prolonged into a point, thus resem- 

 bling the Buprestidce; the scutellum is generally 

 distinct, and the tarsi are provided with equal sized 

 simple claws ; the antennae are ten jointed, the club 

 being composed of three joints. The structure of 

 the mouth, which affords so complete an idea of the 

 nature of the food of insects, is here remarkable. The 

 upper lip and jaws, instead of being horny, as in the 

 majority of beetles, are reduced to thin membranous 

 plates, incapable of gnawing ; the maxilhp are also 

 terminated by a very hairy lobe, in the shape of a 

 pencil, without horny teeth, and are only furnished 

 with a single palpus. Now, on comparing this 

 description with the figure of the under jaw of a pre- 

 dacious beetle, given in our article CARABID^., the 

 difference will be perceived to be very striking. In 

 NAT. HIST. Vol.. II. 



the latter, the structure indicates strong biting and 

 lacerating powers ; but in the Cetonia:, the formation 

 will serve only for lapping up vegetable juices, and 

 we accordingly find that some of the species prefer 

 the sap which flows from the wounds of trees, whilst 

 others sip, with evident delight, the nectar of flowers. 



These insects are distinguished from the family of 

 cock-chaffers (Melolonthida:}, by the maxillae not being 

 terminated by several robust teeth as in the latter, by 

 the upper lip being concealed by the clypeus, and by 

 the antennae, which are terminated only by a three- 

 jointed fan. 



The green rose-chaffer ( Cetonia auratd) is one of 

 the commonest, as well as one of the most beautiful, 

 of our British beetles. It is found, very abundantly, 

 during the summer months, especially in gardens, 

 and frequenting the flowers of the rose, elder, peonv, 

 &( We have also noticed that it is extremely 

 partial to the privet, having observed a hedge of that 

 tree, in the neighbourhood of Fulham, completely 

 swarming with them. They fly well, with a consider- 

 able humming noise, during the hottest part of the day. 

 Tliis species is of a fine golden green colour, very 

 shining above, and of a bright copper colour beneath ; 

 the wing covers are ornamented, near the tips, with 

 numerous transverse narrow white markings. Ac- 

 cording to Latreille, these insects do not attack the 

 essential parts of flowers, contenting themselves with 

 merely sucking the honey from the bottom of the 

 corolla. However, this may be, it appears that 

 another species of the genus, (the Cetonia hirtd), is 

 very injurious to the flowers of the apricot in Malta 

 an account of its ravages having been published by 

 M. St. John, in the Magazine of Natural History, 

 No. XXIII. Of this insect, which the Maltese call 

 Bouzuff, and the English inhabitants the Botany Bay, 

 this author observes, " After he has filled himself, he 

 retires under ground till the March apricot blossoms, 

 when he emerges, and I am, for two months, obliged 

 to have people employed solely to pick him off the 

 blossoms, of which he readily eats the nectary, and 

 having eaten one he goes to the next ; he is very 

 active, and flies like a bee. When the roses are in 

 blossom, these beasts are so fond of them, that you 

 may take twenty out of one flower, and in ten 

 minutes as many more a dark-coloured flower they 

 never touch." Upon the commencement of this 

 passage we would, however, observe, that it would 

 therefrom be naturally inferred, that the writer sup- 

 posed either that the animal maintained the same form 

 on emerging in March, as it possessed on retiring 

 under ground, or, at least, that the grub of the cetonia 

 A 



