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MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



soft and , yielding condition of the elytra, or the absence of 

 both elytra and wings). The eyes are always compound, 

 generally circular, oval, or reniform, but sometimes completely 

 divided. The antennae are extremely variable in form, gene- 

 rally of eleven joints, sometimes of fewer, rarely of twelve. 

 The thorax is composed of a pro-meso- and meta-thorax, but 

 when the elytra are closed, only the pro-thorax and a little 

 plate (" scutellum") belonging to the meso-thorax are visible. 

 The tarsus is generally composed of five joints, sometimes 

 fewer, never more, and its last joint is usually furnished with 

 two hooked claws. 



Fig. 5g.— rt Rose-chafer {Cetonia attrata) and larva; h Vine-weevil 

 {Curcitlio sulcatus). 



The larvae of Coleoptera are generally composed of thirteen 

 segments, including the head. The body is generally soft and 

 fleshy, the head homy, and the mouth adapted for mastication. 

 The antennse are small, usually of three or four joints, with 

 ocelli at their base. They have three pairs of legs attached to 

 the thorax, and sometimes anal pro-legs or fleshy tubercles. 

 The pupa is sometimes enclosed in a cocoon, and the parts 

 of the perfect insect are always distinctly recognisable in the 

 pupa. 



The order Coleoptera includes all those, insects commonly 

 known as " Beetles," and comprises an enormous number of 

 genera and species. They are remarkable, as a general rule, 

 for their hard polished integument, their glittering, often me- 

 tallic colours, and their voracious habits. They are grouped 

 by Latreille in the following four sections : — 



