24 COLEOPTEEA. 



in their habits in the larva and adult states. They are all 

 easily distinguished by their short movable horns, or anten- 

 nae, 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 

 (clypeus) of the forehead, which extends more or less over 

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

 sides of this visor the antennae 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 which 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-beetles. The ground-beetles, including 

 the earth-borers QG-eotrupidoe) , and dung-beetles QCoprididoe 

 and AjjJwdiadce), winch, in all their states, are found in excre- 

 ment, the skin-beetles (Trogidce), which inhabit dried animal 

 substances, and the gigantic Hercules-beetles ( K Dynastidce~), 

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

 be passed over without further comment. The other groups 

 contain insects that are very 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 lanigera, 2 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 in shape, of a lemon-yellow color above, glittering 



[ 2 Areoda lanigera, now called Cotalpa lanigera ; the genus Cotalpa, established 

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

 tarsi armed beneath with an angular projection. — Lec] 



