COLEOPTERA. 



i55 



found chiefly 011 leguminous plants. The larvae live in the seeds, eating- up all the 

 internal parts and changing to pupae within the outer shell. These beetles were at 

 one time classed with the weevils, 

 but are now generally recognised 

 as being more nearly allied to the 

 next family. They are illustrated 

 on p. 1, where Fig. 1 is the pea- 

 bruchus (Bruchus pis/) ; Fig. 2, 

 the bean-bruchus (B. rujimamis); 

 and Fig. 3, B. granarius, and 

 larva ; all of them being enlarged. 

 The Chrysomelidee, more com- 

 monly known as the Phytophaga 

 — though this name is equally 

 applicable to many other beetles 

 — all live upon plants, feeding 

 chiefly upon the foliage, while some 

 also attack the flowers. They arc 

 almost as numerous as the weevils, 

 and in their own way quite as 

 destructive to vegetation. The 

 family is divided into four sections. 

 The Eupoda include those forms 

 which most resemble the Longi- 

 corns. Many of the beetles belong- 



1, Rhagiwm indagator, with larva and pupa-case ; 

 2, Rhagiwm bifasciatum. (Nat. size.) 



Neq/dalis major (nat. size; 



ing to this section have 

 thickened hind-legs, but 

 instead of being active 

 jumpers, as might be 

 suspected, they arc really 

 very slow and awkward 

 in their movements. In 

 the males of the genus 

 Sagra, the hind-legs are 

 enormously developed, 

 the species of this genus 

 1 icing for that reason 

 sometimes known as 

 kangaroo-beetles. The 

 Donacina live upon 

 aquatic plants of various 

 kinds; they have a 

 bright metallic colora- 

 tion, which in many 

 species is veiled by a 

 delicate covering of 



