\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.] (Zo["o]l.)
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.