CHAPTER XII. 



THE BEETLES, AND THE GREAT ORDER COLEOPTERA. 



f EUHAPS the best defined of all the 

 . /^y» orders of insects is that of the Beetle 

 "" tribe, classed nnder the general head 

 ^?~,}\- of " Coleoptera ;" that is, having 

 t\ their wings concealed and protected by a 

 \ shield or case. The entomological term 

 " Coleoptera" ranks among the most an- 

 X i cient of those still in use, being, in fact, 

 one of those invented by the father of natural history, 

 Aristotle himself. The Greek philosopher and 

 naturalist included in his class " Coleoptera" all 

 insects that have their wings either entirely or 

 partially shielded by a horny covering ; and even 

 Linnaeus, in the earlier editions of his " Systema 

 Naturae," in adopting the term Coleoptera, as other 

 modern classifiers had done before him, still re- 

 tained in the order Grasshoppers, Cockroaches, and 

 Earwigs ; all now separated from Coleoptera, Even 

 in its restricted form, however, the order Coleoptera 



