24 OOLEOPTERA. 



ill their habiti i:i the larva and adult states. They are all 

 easily distinguished by their short movable horns, or anten- 

 nse, ending with a knob, composed of three or more leaf-like 

 pieces, which open like the petals of a flower-bud. Another 

 feature that they possess in common is the projecting ridge 

 (dypeus) of the forehead, Avhieh extends more or less over 

 the face, like the visor or brim of a cap, and beneath the 

 sides of this A-isor the antennaa are implanted. Moreover, 

 the legs of these beetles, particularly the first pair, are fitted 

 for digging, being deeply notched or furnished with several 

 strong teeth on the outer edges ; and the feet are five-jointed. 

 This very extensive family of insects is subdivided into sev- 

 eral smaller groups, each composed of beetles distinguished 

 by various peculiarities of structure and habits. Some live 

 mostly upon or beneath the surface of the earth, and were, 

 therefore, called ground-beetles by De Geer ; some, in their 

 winged state, are found on trees, the leaves of A\hich they 

 devour, — they are the tree-beetles of the same author ; and 

 others, during the same period of their lives, frequent flowers, 

 and are called flower-boetles. The ground-beetles, including 

 the earth-borers (^Creotrivpidce), and dung-beetles (^Ooprididce 

 and Aphodiadfe), which, in all their states, are found in excre- 

 ment, the skin-beetles {Troijida'), which inhabit dried animal 

 substances, and the gigantic Hercules-beetles {Bynastidce), 

 which live in rotten wood or beneath old dung-heaps, must 

 be passed over without further comment. The other groups 

 contain insects that are \eYy injurious to vegetation, and 

 therefore require to be more particularly noticed. 



One of the most common, and the most beautiful of the 

 tree-beetles of this country, is the Areoda lanicjera,^ or woolly 

 Areoda, sometimes also called the goldsmith-beetle (Plate 

 II. Fig. 20). It is about nine tenths of an inch in length, 

 broad oval hi shape, of a lemon-yellow color above, wlitterincr 



[2 Areodn lamrjern, now c.illed Qttalpn lanigera; the genus Cotalpa, cstablisliprl 

 by Burmeister, differs from the true Areoda by not having the last joint of tile 

 tarsi aimed beneath with an angular projection. — Lec] 



