OF THE ORDER COLEOPTERA. Q63 



Hope, which that gentleman names D. tuberculata. It is 

 above, greenish black ; the thorax and elytra tuberculate, with 

 two small yellow spots on each side of the elytra ; beneath 

 black, with the upper lip and palpi yellowish white, and is 

 an inhabitant of Africa. 



The name of Carabus is very ancient in the language of 

 naturalists, having been employed by Aristotle to designate 

 certain species of crabs, and by Oppian, who appears to de- 

 note by the term Kapag'o? that species of octopus which walks 

 upon its head, rui x^pa /Satvw. Be this as it may, Linnaeus is 

 the first author who has applied this term to insects, and 

 though Geoffroy set his face against the usage of it, it has 

 nevertheless maintained its place in the science, and it is most 

 probable that it will continue to do so, as it is now restricted. 



Geoffroy gave to most of those species, now comprehended 

 under this name, that of Bujjrestis, an expression which 

 signifies the power of causing oxen to swell, and there is 

 room to believe that if any insects can produce such an effect, 

 it is those with which we are engaged. Nevertheless, this 

 term buprestis has been otherwise employed, and in particular 

 applied to the species to which Geoffroy gave the Latin name 

 of Cuciijus. Finally, to fill up the measure of confusion and 

 difficulty, the latter name has been applied by Fabricius to 

 insects equally remote from both the genera now mentioned. 



All the tribe of carabici, in their first and final state, feed 

 on living prey, and particularly on insects, which they catch 

 by running. The species of this tribe are all terrestrial, their 

 feet being solely formed for running. Their larvae are like- 

 wise wholly terrestrial, and respire in the ordinary way. In 

 this they are distinguished from the Hydroca"nthari, a 

 third tribe of the same family of carnivora, whose larvae are 

 aquatic, and receive the air by the anus, or by lateral fins 

 resembling gills. The carabici differ from the cicindeletae, in 

 that the point or crotchet of the superior extremity of their 



