158 



Crra&irg of Natural ^f 



beautiful white. These shells are often 

 found upon rocks, where they constantly 

 remain, and form a very irregular outline 

 at the circumference, agreeing with the shape 



of the particular part to which they are at- 

 tached. One species frequently fixes itself 

 upon other living shells, particularly upon 

 the Purpura, wliosc movements it of course 

 follows. The specimen we have here figured 

 is the Crepidula porcellana. 



CRINOIDEANS. The name given to an 

 extinct class of invertebrate animals, having 

 a radiated, lily-shaped disc, supported on a 

 jointed stem ; and having a crustaceous or 

 coriaceous covering. When this stem is 

 cylindrical, the species are termed Encri- 

 nites ; when it is pentagonal, Pentacrinites. 

 [See ENCRINITES.] 



CRIOCERIS. A genus of Coleopterous 

 insects, belonging to the family Eupoda. 

 They live upon aquatic plants, asparagus, 

 &c. ; their larvas feeding upon the same. 

 They have the body soft, short, and swollen ; 

 and descend into the earth to become pupae. 

 One species, Crioccris Asparagi (the As- 

 paragus Beetle), is of a blue colour, with the 

 thorax red, and the elytra yellowish-white 

 with blue markings. In its larva state it 

 feeds upon the young sprigs of asparagus, 

 and is sometimes so abundant as to do con- 

 siderable damage to the plants. 



CRIOCERIDHXE. A group of oblong 

 leaf-beetles, distinguished by the following 

 characters. The eyes are nearly round and 

 prominent; the antennae are of moderate 

 length, composed of short, nearly cylindrical 

 or beaded joints, and are implanted before 

 the eyes ; the abdomen is narrow and almost 

 cylindrical or square, rounded behind, and 

 much wider than the thorax ; and the 

 thighs of the hind legs are often thickened in 

 the middle. 



Crioceris trilineata, or Three-lined Leaf- 

 beetle (a North American species), will serve 

 to exemplify the habits of the greater part 

 of the insects of this family. Dr. Harris 

 of Boston, in his truly original work on the 

 Insects of Massachusetts, has described them 

 at length, and it is principally from his work 

 that we are indebted for our notice. This 

 beetle is about one quarter of an inch long, 

 of a rusty buff or nankin-yellow colour, 

 with two black dots on the thorax, and 

 three black stripes on the back, namely, 

 one on the outer side of each wing- cover, 

 and one in the middle on the inner edges of 

 the same ; the antennae (except the first 

 joint) and the feet are dusky ; the thorax is 



abruptly narrowed or pinched in on the 

 middle of each side. When held between 

 the fingers, these insects make a creaking 

 sound like the Capricorn-beetles. They 

 appear early in June on the leaves of the 

 potato-vines, having at that time recently 

 come out of the ground, where they pass the 

 winter in the pupa state. They eat the 

 leaves of the potato, gnawing irregular holes 

 through them ; and in the course of a few days 

 begin to lay their oblong oval golden yellow 

 eggs, which are glued to the leaves, in parcels 

 of six or eight together. The grubs, which 

 are hatched in about a fortnight afterwards, 

 are of a dirty yellowish or ashen white 

 colour, with a darker coloured head, and two 

 dark spots on the top of the first ring. They 

 are rather short, approaching to a cylin- 

 drical form, but thickest in the middle, and 

 have six legs, arranged in pairs beneatli the 

 three first rings. After making a hearty 

 meal upon the leaves of the potato, they 

 cover themselves with their own filth. The 

 vent is situated on the upper side of the last 

 ring, so that their dung falls upon their 

 backs, and, by motions of the body made 

 for this purpose, is pushed forwards, as fast 

 as it accumulates, towards the head, until 

 the whole of the back is entirely coated with 

 it. This covering shelters their soft and 

 tender bodies from the heat of the sun, and 

 probably serves to secure them from the 

 attacks of their enemies. When it becomes 

 too heavy or too dry, it is thrown off, but 

 replaced again by a fresh coat in the course 

 of a few hours. In eating, the grubs move 

 backwards, never devouring the portion of 

 the leaf immediately before the head, but 

 that which lies under it. Their numbers are 

 sometimes very great, and the leaves are 

 then covered and nearly consumed by these 

 filthy insects. When about fifteen days old 

 they throw off their loads, creep down the 

 plant, and bury themselves in the ground. 

 Here each one forms for itself a little cell of 

 earth cemented and varnished within by a 

 gummy fluid discharged from its mouth, 

 and when this is done it changes to a pupa. 

 In about a fortnight more the insect throws 

 off its pupa skin, breaks open its earthen 

 cell, and crawls out of the ground. The 

 beetles come out towards the end of July 

 or early in August, and lay their eggs for a 

 second brood of grubs. The latter come to 

 their growth and go into the ground in the 

 autumn, and remain there in the pupa form 

 during the winter. 



CROCODILE. A Saurian reptile of the 

 first magnitude, and celebrated from the 

 remotest antiquity for its terror-striking 

 aspect and destructive power. We of course 

 now allude to the species which inhabits the 

 Nile and other large rivers of Africa ; but 

 as we have given the general character and 

 habits of Crocodiles under the head " ALLI- 

 GATOR," the species peculiar to the American 

 continent, that account should be referred 

 to, and read in connection with what fol- 

 lows -.Crocodiles, like the rest of the La- 

 certae, are oviparous : they deposit their eggs 

 in the sand or mud near or on the banks of 

 the rivers they frequent, and the young, 



