. Coleoptera. Beetles. 364 NATURAL msTUHY UF F].^ 417. Eui'lifiJina ijiijiutttii. The faniilv of Bupkestid.*; iiK-hides a large iiuiuber of beetles which .somewhat i-esemble the Elatei-icl;e, but differ from them in not possessing the power of springing when j)lac'ed iijion the back, and couseqtieiitly they do not li:ive the prothorax very freely mov- able upon the mesothorax. They also differ from the Elateriihe in having tlie first and second ven- tral seuinents connate. The eleven-jciinted an- tennie of the Ihipri'stida' are almost invariably serrate ; the head is small atid re
. Coleoptera. Beetles. 364 NATURAL msTUHY UF F].^ 417. Eui'lifiJina ijiijiutttii. The faniilv of Bupkestid.*; iiK-hides a large iiuiuber of beetles which .somewhat i-esemble the Elatei-icl;e, but differ from them in not possessing the power of springing when j)lac'ed iijion the back, and couseqtieiitly they do not li:ive the prothorax very freely mov- able upon the mesothorax. They also differ from the Elateriihe in having tlie first and second ven- tral seuinents connate. The eleven-jciinted an- tennie of the Ihipri'stida' are almost invariably serrate ; the head is small atid retractile to the eves in tlie ; the jxisterior end of tlie l)odv is off to a ])oint; the ornamentation is usijally with metallic colors, anil the surface is often highly polished. In Poli/bothrh, a genus \ found in Aladagascai', the coloration during life !*»Y is glistening metallic, which, as in (A(fsi(/(( of the Chrysonielidte, disappears upon the death of the insect. The tropical species of Bujirestidie are often large, EurliCdiiKi <ji</aiite(i from Brazil reaching a length nf •!.''' inches, an<l a bivadth yf over an inch ; the si/.e of the sjiecies becomes graduallv less ii, apprnaching the tem])erate and colder regions. These insects freipient flowers sit upon bark, and are most active in bright sunlight; upon approach, many kinds fly away with great ra])idit3', others retract their short legs and drojj to the ground, feigning death. The larv:e of Buprestidie usually bore ellijitical jiassages in living and dead wood ; a few, like those of TrarJii/f:, mine in leaves, and still fewer (e. //. /h'ji/tiia-ania aarijjua) live in galls, 'i'lie l:ir\a' lia\c a \cry characteristic form diU' to excessive enlargement and ])artial chitinization of the [irothoracic segnu'nt, into which the liead is retractile. There are \w ocelli and no feet, the latter organs being in a few species by little fleshy tnbci'clcs; the autenine are M'ry sho
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcollectionbiodiversity, booksubjectbeetles, bookyear1884
