126 COLEOPTERA. 



found in the second volume of the " New England Farmer,"* 

 and in Fessenden's " New American Gardener," f under the 

 article Cucumber. 



The cucumber flea-beetle above mentioned, a little, black, 

 jumping insect, well known for the injury done by it, in the 

 spring, to young cucumber plants, belongs to another family 

 of the Chrysomelian tribe, called Halticad^e. The following 

 are the chief peculiarities of the beetles of this family. The 

 body is oval and very convex above ; the thorax is short, 

 nearly or quite as wide as the wing-covers behind, and nar- 

 rowed before ; the head is pretty broad ; the antennas are 

 slender, about half the length of the body, and are implanted 

 nearly on the middle of the forehead ; the hindmost thighs 

 are very thick, being formed for leaping ; hence these insects 

 have been called flea-beetles, and the scientific name Haltica, 

 derived from a word signifying to leap, has been applied to 

 them. The surface of the body is smooth, generally polished, 

 and often prettily or brilliantly colored. The claws are 

 very thick at one end, are deeply notched towards the other, 

 and terminate with a long curved and sharp point, which 

 enables the insect to lay hold firmly upon the leaves of 

 the plants on which they live. These beetles eat the leaves 

 of vegetables, preferring especially plants of the cabbage, 

 turnip, mustard, cress, radish, and horse-radish kind, or 

 those which, in botanical language, are called cruciferous 

 plants, to which they are often exceedingly injurious. The 

 turnip-fly, or more properly turnip flea-beetle, is one of 

 these Halticas, which lays waste the turnip-fields in Europe, 

 devouring the seed-leaves of the plants as soon as they 

 appear above the ground, and continuing their ravages upon 

 new crops throughout the summer. Another small flea- 

 beetle is often very injurious to the grape-vines in Europe, 

 and a larger species attacks the same plant in this country. 

 The flea-beetles conceal themselves during the winter, in dry 

 places, under stones, in tufts of withered grass and moss, 



* Page 305. t Sixth edition, p. 91. 



