CHRYSOPHRIS CHRYSOTOSUS. 



41 



Lalrcille has arranged the groups of which this 

 division (Cyclica) is composed, from a consideration 

 of the various habits of the larvie, as follows: 1st, 

 those which cover themselves with their own excre- 

 ments (Cassidce}. 2nd, those which reside in portable 

 cases (Clytkra, &c.). 3rd, naked larva;. 4th, larvae 

 living' in the interior of leaves, feeding upon the 

 parenchyma (Haltica) : but it is to be borne in mind, 

 that this mode of distribution must be cautiously 

 regarded, since the Galerucidcc, to which the Halticce 

 are referable, are naked, and it is by no means de- 

 cided that the larvae of the latter are internal feeders. 



The three divisions or families above mentioned, 

 may be readily distinguished by the following cha- 

 racters : 



1. Cassidid(E. Antennae arising close together, con- 

 cealed at the base by the thorax. 



2. Chrysomclidce. Antennae remote from each other 

 at the base. 



8. Galcracidce. Antennae close together at the base, 

 and not concealed by the thorax. 



The family Chrysomelidu; have the body oval, more 

 or less tending to a globular or an oblong shape ; the 

 antennie are generally slightly thickened towards the 

 tips, and the legs are nearly of an equal size. These 

 beetles, notwithstanding their small or but moderate 

 size, are amongst the most beautiful of coleopterous 

 insects ; they are highly polished, and their colours 

 are greatly variegated, green and gold, bine, purple, 

 and crimson, being very conspicuous in the majority. 

 Some of the species are social, as that found upon 

 the leaves of the willow (C. vitellince}, the larvae of 

 which feed in regular rows along the leaves. These 

 larvae have the body thick and fleshy, and terminated 

 by a fleshy tubercle, which is employed as an addi- 

 tional seventh leg. The larvae of one of the largest 

 British, species (C. populi}, emits a disagreeable 

 scent, a yellow oily fluid being discharged from 

 the limbs when the insect is disturbed. Some of the 

 larvae undergo their transformations under ground. 

 The pupaj, which does not present any peculiar cha- 

 racters, is of an oval form, and affixed by its posterior 

 extremity to the leaves, the perfect insect making its 

 appearance at the end of several weeks, or occasion- 

 ally in a few days. 



The family comprises two very distinct sections. 

 1st. Those having the head but slightly deflexed 

 and exposed to view, the antennae seldom exceeding 

 half the length of the body, and slightly thickened to 

 the tips, with the body of an oval form. Here belon^ 

 the genera Phaedon, Melasoma, Ckrysomcla, Helodes, 

 and Timarcha, all of which are British ; and Coltupit, 

 Podontia, Phyllocharis, Doryphora, Paropsis, Trocha- 

 lonota, Cyrtonus, which are exotic. 



The genus Chrysomda, as restricted in the latest 

 works, is distinguished by having the palpi somewhat 

 hatchet-shaped, the thorax transverse, the elytra se- 

 parated, and the body furnished with wings. The 

 tibia> also have a tooth or tubercle on the outside 

 near the extremity, fringed with hairs. There are 

 nearly thirty British species of this elegant genus, ol 

 which the Clirysomela sanguinolenta of Linnaeus is one 

 of the most common examples; it is about one-third 

 of an inch long, of a blue-black colour, with the 

 elytra widely margined with red. 



The second section of this family comprises those 

 species which have the head vertically immersed into 

 the frontal cavityof the thorax, so that the body form 

 a kind of thickened cylinder, having the anterior part 



cut oil' perpendicularly. The antennae in the majority 

 an; almost as long as the body, and slender to the tips. 

 Here belong the genera Cryptoccpkulus, Eumolpus, 

 Colaspis, and Clythra, all of which are British, toge- 

 ther with Cklamys, Lamprosoma and Euryopc, exotic 

 jenera. The second genus comprises the Emffotput 

 itis, Fabricius, a species which has become distin- 

 guished by its ravages upon the vines in the wine 

 countries of Europe ; its larva appearing in the 

 spring, and devouring the leaves of this plant, as well 

 as the young buds, as soon as they appear on the 

 stems ; it also gnaws the footstalk of the bunch of 

 grapes as soon as it is exposed, causing it to droop 

 and die ; sometimes however the shoot is sufficiently 

 strong to survive the injury, but the grapes in these 

 bunches are of small size on that part which cor- 

 responds with the injury, in consequence of. their 

 receiving but a small portion of sap. The perl'ect 

 insect is of a black colour, and pubescent, with the 

 elytra, the base of the antennae and tibiae, of a reddish- 

 brown. The genus Clythra has the antenna; very 

 short and serrated ; the larva; reside in tubular ense.^ 

 of a leather-like texture, which they bear about with 

 them. There are several British species. 



CHRYSOPHRIS. A genus of spinous-finned 

 fishes, belonging to the gilt-head family SPAROID^E, 

 under which some notice of the genera composing 

 that family will be found. 



CHRYSOPHYLLUM (Linnzeus). West Indian 

 fruit trees of large size, yielding useful fruit called the 

 star apple. Linnaean class and order Pcntandria 

 Monogynia ; natural order Sapotca:. Generic charac- 

 ter : calyx five parted ; corolla bell-shaped and rotate ; 

 limb divided into five spreading petals ; stamens 

 inserted in the tube of the corolla ; stigma almost 

 sitting, peltate, and of ten lobes ; fruit, a round apple 

 of from five to ten cells, each containing one seed 

 covered with a bony shell. The foliage of these 

 trees is beautiful, for which they have a place in our 

 hot-houses ; but they never arrive at that amplitude 

 to produce their fruit. They are increased by cuttings 

 like other stove plants. 



CHRYSOSPLENIUM (Linnjeus). A genus of 

 three species of plants, two of them British, and 

 frequently found on wet boggy ground, and known by 

 the trivial name of golden saxifrage. They belong 

 to the tenth class of Linnaeus, and to the natural order 

 Saxifragcce. 



CHRYSOTOSUS. A genus of spinous fishes, 

 belonging to the mackarel family, of which the 

 characters are : a total absence of teeth, a single 

 dorsal fin furnished with spines, the body compressed, 

 the scales remarkably small, and the eyes placed late- 

 rally, with the exception of the coryphenes to which 

 they are nearly allied, this genus is one of the most 

 beautiful that inhabits the ocean. There is one spe- 

 cies which is occasionally met with in our seas, though 

 it is a ranging fish, and therefore is but rarely caught. 

 When a specimen is met with, its beauty draws a 

 considerable degree of attention, and therefore it has 

 had many names bestowed upon it. It is the ophah 

 of Pennant, the Zeus imperialis of Shaw, and the moon- 

 fish of other writers. It is a fish of considerable size, 

 and so much compressed, that when seen laterally its 

 figure is nearly round. Its caudal fin is white, and 

 very much forked ; its dorsal fin is very elevated and 

 sithe-shaped ; its ventral fins are very long ; and 

 all the fins excepting the caudal are bright red. The 

 ground colour of the bodv is a beautiful violet, 



