COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 
217 
tra are reddish brown, with a streak of white across 
the base : the scutellum is likewise margined with 
white, and has a narrow patch of the same down 
the middle. The under side and thighs are black, 
with a mixture of green ; the other parts of the leg 
are black. 
Many of the most ornamental of the lamellicorn 
beetles are arranged in the extensive genus Ceto- 
nia, and others closely allied, which have recently 
been separated from it. The true Cetoniae present 
the following characters : — body nearly ovate, ra- 
ther obtuse behind, the back somewhat depressed : 
thorax gradually widening towards the hinder mar- 
gin, which forms the base of a triangle with the 
apex truncated : scutellum distinct : mentum never 
transverse, and more or less emarginate in the mid- 
dle of its upper edge : terminal lobe of the maxillae 
ending in a tuft of fine hair. In the perfect state, 
these insects feed on vegetable juices and the honey 
of flowers. Rosel informs us that he kept the species 
known in this country by the name of Rosechafer 
alive for upwards of three years, by feeding it with 
fruit and moistened white bread. The species are nu- 
merous, amounting to upwards of 130, and in many 
of them, as Mr Macleay has remarked, nothing can 
exceed the beauty and lustre of the polish, or the 
admirable variety of ornament, with which their ely- 
tra are adorned. They occur in almost every coun- 
try, except in the colder parts of the temperate 
zone, and the regions verging towards the poles. 
