46 
COLEOPTERA. 
the French, with greater propriety, call them richards , on 
account of the rich and brilliant colors wherewith many of 
them are adorned. The Buprestians, then, according to the 
Linnaean application, or rather misapplication, of the name, 
are hard-shelled beetles, often brilliantly colored, of an ellip- 
tical or oblong oval form, obtuse before, tapering behind, and 
broader than thick, so that, when cut in two transversely, the 
section is oval. The head is sunk to the eyes in the fore part 
of the thorax ; and the antennae are rather short, and notched 
on one side like the teeth of a saw. The thorax is broadest 
behind, and usually fits very closely to the shoulders of the 
wing-covers. The legs are rather short, and the feet are 
formed for standing firmly, rather than for rapid motion ; the 
soles being composed of four rather wide joints, covered with 
little spongy cushions beneath, and terminated by a fifth joint, 
which is armed with two claws. Most beetles, as already 
stated, have a little triangular piece, called the scutel, wedged 
between the bases of the wing-covers and the hinder part of 
the thorax, commonly of a triangular or semicircular form, and 
in the greater number of coleopterous insects quite conspicu- 
ous ; in the Buprestians, however, the scutel is generally 
very small, and sometimes hardly perceptible. These beetles 
are frequently seen on the trunks and limbs of trees basking 
in the sun. They walk slowly, and, at the approach of 
danger, fold up their legs and antenna) and fall to the ground. 
Being furnished with ample wings, their flight is swift, and 
attended with a whizzing noise. They keep concealed in 
the night, and are in motion only during the day. 
The larvae are wood-eaters or borers. Our forests and 
orchards are more or less subject to their attacks, especially 
after the trees have passed their prime. The transforma- 
tions of these insects take place in the trunks and limbs of 
trees. The larvae that are known to me have a close 
resemblance to each other ; a general idea of them can be 
formed from a description of that which attacks the pig-nut 
hickory (Fig. 21). It is of a yellowish-white color, very 
