CLASS I. INSECTA: ORDER 1. COLEOPTERA. 



555 



THE PHYTOPHAGA. 



This term is derived from the Greek phytos, a plant, and phago^ to eat. These insects rarely 



attain any great size, and many of them are very minute ; their 

 colors, howevei", especially in the larger exotic species, are often very, 

 splendid, in some cases, perhaps, exceeding in brilliancy those of any 

 other beetles. They feed upon plants both in the larva and the per- 

 fect state, and many of them do great damage to crops. The Euro- 

 pean Turnip-Fly, Haltica nemorum, one of the most destructive 

 species, belongs to a group in which the posterior thighs are much 

 thickened for jumping. 

 Among the American species, here called Leapers, are the If. chahjbca, infesting grape-vines : 



the H. cucumeris, found on cucumber-vines, and the H. striolata, feeding on the horse-radish, 



mustard, and turnip. 



THE T0ENIP-FLr MAGNIFIED. 



THE POPLAK-TEEK GOLDEN BUG. 



THE CASSIDA GIBBOSA. 



THE GARDEN LOUSE. 



The most singular insects belonging to this tribe are the Cassididce, or Helmet-Beetles, in 

 which the body is rather flat, margined all round with dilatations of the thorax and elytra. The 

 dilated portion of the former completely conceals even the head. They are slow-moving ani- 

 mals, which always draw up their limbs and mimic death when disturbed. Their larva3 are ftir- 



nished with a caudal fork, projecting forward over the 

 back. Upon this they collect their excrement, whicli 

 thus forms a portable shelter. The Cassida gihbosu 

 of Brazil, three-quarters of an incli long, is one of the 

 larger species. The Toktoise-Beetle, Cassida clavata, 

 is nearly one-fourth of an inch long, and a few years ago 

 ravaared the locust-trees in Western Pennsylvania. 



The Galeruca riistica is a common European species, 

 called Garden Louse ; the G.vittata, found in this coun- 

 try, is called the Cap Beetle. The Poplak-tree Golden Bug, Chrysomela po2mli, of a bluish- 

 green, has a strong odor, and on being touched discharges a yellow liquid : found in Central 



Europe. 



THE TPJMEEA. 



Tlds term is from the Greek treis, three, and mera, divisions, and includes 

 a single tribe, distinguished by having, apparently, only three joints in the 

 tarsi, though, in fact, a small joint exists at the base of the last joint. Some 

 naturalists call them Pseudo-trimera. 



THE COCCINELLID^. 

 A well known example of this family in this country as well as in other 

 parts of the world, is the Lady-Bird, of which there are several species, 

 the largest being the common European species, the Coccinella septeni- 

 punctata, or Seven-spotted Lady-Bird. In France these insects are 

 called Vaches a Dieu and Betes du bon Dieu — that is. Cows of the Lord, 

 and Insects of the Lord. The numerous species of Coccinellce feed upon 

 Aphides, or Plant Lice, both in the larva and perfect states, and are often 

 seen on fruit-trees, as the pear, peach, and plum, and on rose-bushes and 



