118 COLEOPTERA. 



body and a narrow or cylindrical thorax, and resemble very 

 much some of the Lepturians, with which Linnasus included 

 them. Others, and indeed the greater number, have the 

 body oval, broad, and often very convex. 



The oblong leaf-beetles, called Criocerians (CRIOCERIDID^E), 

 have some resemblance to the Capricorn-beetles. They are 

 distinguished by the following characters. The eyes are 

 prominent and nearly round ; the antennae are of moderate 

 length, composed of short, nearly cylindrical or beaded joints, 

 and are implanted before the eyes ; the thorax is narrow and 

 almost cylindrical or square ; the wing-covers, taken together, 

 form an oblong square, rounded behind, and much wider 

 than the thorax ; and the thighs of the hind legs are often 

 thickened in the middle. 



The three-lined leaf-beetle, Crioceris trilineata of Olivier, 13 

 (Fig. 53,) will serve to exemplify the habits of 

 the greater part of the insects of this family. 

 This beetle is about one quarter of an inch long, 

 of a rusty buff or nankin-yellow color, 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), the 

 outside of the shins, 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 creak- 

 ing 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. Within a few years, these insects have 

 excited some attention, on account of their prevalence in 

 some parts of the country, and from a mistaken notion that 

 they were the cause of the potato-rot. They eat the leaves 



[18 The germs Crioceris as now restricted contains only species indigenous to the 

 o'her continent, although one of them, C. rtfpnragi, has been recently introduced 

 from Europe, and is found abundantly near Brooklyn, New York. The species 

 above mentioned belongs to Lema. LEC.] 



