CASTE

Tetramerous Coleopterans, generally known by the name of tortoise-beetles, distinguished by having straight short filiform antenna;, inserted close together in the upper surface of the head; mouth situated on the under surface of the head, with strong and broad mandibles; legs short, with the tarsi flattened, the third joint deeply cleft, receiving between its lobes the terminal joint,- margins of the thorax and elytra much dilated, so as to give the insects the appearance of small tortoises The larva of the Ca ididcB is remarkable for an apparatus, or anal fork, by which it collects and forms of its excrements a kind of parachute, or defensive covering. The genera oiCa ididce are, Alurmis, Hispa, Chalepus, Inuitidium, and Ca ida; the latter is the only indigenous genus, and of this the most common example is the Ca ida equestria of Fabric i us. [s. 212]