a. [f. Gr. κολεόπτερ-ος + -OUS: see COLEOPTERA.] Belonging to the Coleoptera or Beetles; having elytra.
1791. Trans. Linnæan Soc., I. 87. I discovered several small coleopterous insects in its crevices.
1804. Carlisle, in Phil. Trans., XCV. 25. Coleopterous insects become torpid at 34°.
1871. Darwin, Desc. Man, I. x. 381. The stridulating organs in the different coleopterous families.
