THE CHRYSOMELIANS. 
123 
specimens of this little beetle, which he found to be injurious 
to the sweet-potato vine, by eating large holes through the 
leaves. This beetle is very broad oval in shape, and about 
one fifth of an inch in length. When living, it has the 
power of changing its hues, at one time appearing only of 
a dull yellow color, and at other times shining with the 
splendor of polished brass or gold, tinged sometimes also 
with the variable tints of pearl. The body of the insect is 
blackish beneath, and the legs are dull yellow. It loses its 
brilliancy after death. The wing-covers, the parts which ex¬ 
hibit the change of color, are lined beneath with an orange- 
colored paint, which seems to be filled with little vessels ; 
and these are probably the som’ce of the changeable bril¬ 
liancy of the insect. 
The Chrysomelians (Chrysomeladje) compose an exten¬ 
sive tribe of leaf-eating beetles, formerly included in the 
old genus Chrysomela. The meaning of this word is golden 
beetle, and many of the insects to which it was applied by 
Linnaeus are of brilliant and metallic colors. They differ, 
however, so much in their essential characters, their forms, 
and their habits, that they are now very properly distributed 
into four separate groups or families. The first of these, 
called Galerucad^, or Galerucians, consists mostly of dull- 
colored beetles; having an oblong oval, slightly convex body; 
a short, and rather narrow, and uneven thorax ; slender 
antennae, more than half the length of the body, and im¬ 
planted close together on the forehead ; slender legs, which are 
nearly equal in size ; and claws split at the end. They fly 
mostly by day, and are by nature either very timid or very 
cunning, for, when we attempt to take hold of them, they 
draw up their legs, and fall to the ground. They sometimes 
do great injury to plants, eating large holes in the leaves, or 
consuming entirely those that are young and tender. The 
larvas are rather short cylindrical gmbs, generally of a black¬ 
ish color, and are provided with six legs. They live and 
feed together in swarms, and sometimes appear in very great 
