Buprestidan

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Buprestidan \Bu*pres"ti*dan\, n. [L. buprestis, Gr. ?, a
     poisonous beetle, which, being eaten by cattle in the grass,
     caused them to swell up and and die; ? ox, cow + ? to blow
     up, swell out.] (Zool.)
     One of a tribe of beetles, of the genus {Buprestis} and
     allied genera, usually with brilliant metallic colors. The


     larv[ae] are usually borers in timber, or beneath bark, and
     are often very destructive to trees.
     [1913 Webster] Bur