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.] (Zoöl.) One of a tribe of beetles, of
the genus Buprestis and allied genera, usually with brilliant
metallic colors. The larvæ are usually borers in timber, or beneath
bark, and are often very destructive to trees.