110 INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM G. 



ORDER COLEOPTERA. 



The insects which belong to the order Coleoptera have four 



wings. The two first are hard and 

 horny, and are called the elytra; 

 the two others are thin, transparent 

 and membranous ; they close them by 

 folding them transversely, and then 

 place them under the first wings, 

 which cover them like a sheath. 

 This can be seen very well in a 

 cockchafer which has just been 

 stopped in its flight ; the wings 

 are still unfolded, and reaching be- 

 yond the elytra, under which they 

 are gradually seen to disappear. 

 Great Cockchafer, Male. Coleoptera undergo a perfect meta- 



morphosis. They have all lateral jaws for bruising. They can 

 in some cases bite with them, but they do not pierce like gnats. 

 They have no poison apparatus at the end of their abdomen like 

 bees. A beetle can therefore always be safely taken into the hand 

 to examine it, for it can do no injury beyond nipping the skin, 

 sometimes a little roughly, with its mandibles. 



Cicindelidce. These are small carnivorous beetles, and con- 

 sequently useful to man. The cicindelidae, or tiger beetles, are 

 known by having their corslet (which is that portion of the thorax 

 between the neck and the base of the wings) narrower than the 

 head and elytra. These are insects which fly in full sunshine. 

 Some species are of a beautiful green, with yellow spots. They 

 are swift, and pursue their prey, which always consists of small 

 insects, with great eagerness. In the larva state, the cicindelidce 

 dig a cylindrical hole in the ground, carrying away the earth 

 and gravel. Their head has a hollow above which they 

 use for a hod ; they go and empty it away from the hole, 



