LIBRARY OF 
 
 1885- IQ56 
 
INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
HH(i/Vtf>- '/ fH 
 
INSECTS AT HOME 
 
 BEING A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF 
 
 INSECTS, 
 
 THEIR • 
 
 STEUCTUEE, HABITS, AND TRANSFOEMATIONS. 
 
 • BY THE 
 
 EEV. J. G. WOOD, M.A. F.L.S. &c. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 « HOMES WITHOUT HANDS ' ' BIBLE AXDIALS * ' COMMON OBJECTS OF THE SEA -SHORE AND COUNTRY ' 
 
 ETC. 
 
 WITH UPWARDS OF 700 FIGURES BY E. A. SMITH AND J. B. ZWECKER. 
 ENGRAVED BY G. PEARSON. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER AND COMPANY, 
 
 1872. 
 
RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: 
 PRINTED BY H. O. HOUGHTON AND COJIPANT. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 As this is not a work on comparative anatomy, but treats of 
 ' Insects at Home,' a greater stress is laid on the habits of the 
 insects than on their anatomy. Still, inasmuch as a general 
 knowledge of the various parts of an insect and of the terms 
 applied to them is absolutely necessary for all who wish to 
 study the subject, however superficially, I have given, together 
 with the different groups of insects, those portions of their 
 structure which serve to distinguish them from their fellows. 
 
 Moreover, there will be found prefixed to the description of 
 the chief groups chart-drawings of their anatomy, so as to 
 enable the reader to recognise the various portions of an insect 
 when he examines it. I am led to do this by the remem- 
 brance of the difl&culties undergone by myself during my earlier 
 years of entomology. In those days the only works which 
 gave illustrations as well as names were so few, and so costly, 
 that they were positively out of my reach as much as if they 
 had never existed. I have therefore endeavoured in this work 
 to supply that want which I felt so severely, and have so 
 arranged the work that no reader need be puzzled as to the 
 difference between mandible, maxilla, labium, and mentum, 
 as I was in former days. For example, the chart-drawing on 
 page 9 describes fully the structure of a Beetle, and is in fact 
 a key to that of all insects ; that on page 296 gives all those 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 points in which the Bees, Wasps, Ants and their kin differ 
 from the Beetles ; and that on page 385 performs the same 
 service with regard to the Moths and Butterflies. 
 
 In the Woodcuts which are inserted in the text the num- 
 bered figures represent insects, and those to which letters are 
 attached represent the most important details of those insects. 
 It is by means of such details that entomologists are enabled 
 to arrange insects in some definite system, and so to enable 
 anyone who is acquainted with them to identify an insect 
 which he has never before seen. 
 
 The reader may probably notice that these figures of 
 insects are but slightly shaded, and in many cases are little 
 but outline. This is intentional, and the shading is omitted 
 in order that the reader may supply its place by colour. In 
 every case where red, yellow, or light hues of any tint are to be 
 used, their place is left as nearly blank as possible ; and, as 
 the insects are described fully in the text, there will be no 
 diflSculty in applying the colours. I would recommend a 
 liberal use of ox-gall in mixing the colours, so as to neutralise 
 the oily lines of the printer's ink. 
 
 Should the reader wish to colour the page-size engravings, 
 he must first prepare them with a little size, or otherwise the 
 colours will run. It will be found better, in order to bring 
 out the insects more boldly, either to leave the background 
 uncoloured, or to put in the colours as lightly as possible. I 
 very strongly recommend the possessor of the work to colour 
 these illustrations, as he will thus fix the insects firmly in 
 his mind, and quadruple the value of the volume to other 
 readers. 
 
 October 1871. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CH. I. iNTROnrCTION 1 
 
 11. — Geodephaga . . . . . . , . , .14 
 
 III.— Geodephaga — continued 31 
 
 IV. — Hydradephaga 53 
 
 V. — Beachelytba 66 
 
 VI. — Neceophaga •....,,... 86 
 
 VII. — Lamellicoenes . .112 
 
 VIII. f^TEE>-'^XI . , . , 126 
 
 IX. — Maxacodeemi 133 
 
 X. — Heteromeea . . . 143 
 
 XI. — Ehynchophora, oe Weevils .161 
 
 XII. — LONGICOENES .......... 191 
 
 XIII. — EupoDA 203 
 
 XIV. — PSEUDOTEIMERA 215 
 
 DERMAPTERA 225 
 
 ORTHOPTERA 235 
 
 THYSANOPTERA 259 
 
 NEUROPTERA . 
 
 TRICHOPTERA 
 
 263 
 
 287 
 
 HYMENOPTERA— 
 Ch. I. — Saw-Flies . . . . 
 II. — The Ichneumon Flies 
 III. — Ants and Diggers . 
 IV. — Wasps and Solitary Bees 
 V. — Social Bees 
 
 295 
 320 
 335 
 348 
 S68 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 LEPIDOPTERA— 
 
 Ch. I. — Rhopaiocera, oe Butterflies 383 
 
 II. — ILeteroceea, or Moths 412 
 
 III. — G-EOMETR^ 446 
 
 IV. — PSEUDO-BOMBTCE« r)REP4NrT.;E. ANTl Nncm* .... 463 
 
 v. — Deltoides, Ptkalidjss, ani> Ceambiies 487 
 
 VI. — ToRTEiCES, TinejE, A>rD Pterophori 502 
 
 VII. — TiNE^ AND Pterophori 514 
 
 HOMOPTERA 633 
 
 HETEROPTERA— 
 
 Ch. I. — AuRocoRisA, oe Air-Bugs 555 
 
 II. — Hydrocorisa, or Watee-Bugs ... ... 581 
 
 APHANIPTERA— (PuLiciDi:, oe Flkas) 591 
 
 DIPTERA. ,..,..,•.... -099 
 
ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 PLATES. 
 
 FRONTISPIECE. 
 
 1. Tiger Beetle {Cicindcia campestris) 
 
 on the wing. 
 
 2. Great Green Grasshopper (Acrida 
 
 virid/sgi/na) depositing its eggs in 
 the ground. 
 
 3. Dragon Fly (^Mschna grandis) in 
 
 chase of prey. 
 
 4. Great H'wes. {i>ircx gig as) die^ositing 
 
 its eggs. 
 
 5. Hornet ( Ve&pa crabro) eating a Red 
 
 Admiral Butterfly. 
 
 6. Swallow-tail Butterfly {Pax>ilio Ma- 
 
 chaon) flying. 
 
 7. Light Crimson Underwing {Catocala 
 
 prontissa) flying. 
 
 8. British Cicada {Cicada anglica) fly- 
 
 ing. 
 
 9. Humble-Bee Fly (Bomhylius medius) 
 
 feeding while on the wing. 
 
 PLATE I, 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 TIGER BEETLES 
 BARDIER . 
 
 AND BOM- 
 
 Tofacej). 16 
 
 1. Cicindela sylvatica and larva. 
 
 2. Cicindela maritima and larva. 
 
 3. Cicindela germanica and larva. 
 
 4. Broscus cephalotes. 
 
 5. Brachinus crepitans. 
 
 6. Carabus monilis. 
 
 PLA>fTS : — 
 
 Bramble {Bubus fruticosus). Above. 
 Heath {Erica cinerea). Eight of 
 
 middle. 
 Lavender Thrift {Statice Limoniuin). 
 
 Left of middle. 
 Fern {Pteris aquilina). Above heath. 
 
 GROUND BEETLES To face p. Z2 
 
 1. Lebia crux-minor. 
 
 2. Calosoma inquisitor. 
 
 3. Carabiis intricatus. 
 
 4. Cychrus rostratus. 
 
 5. Calosoma, larva in nest of Social 
 
 caterpillar. 
 
 6. Carabus, larva. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Trunk and branch of Oak {Qttercua 
 
 Robur). Above. 
 "Wood Anemone {Anemone oieworosa). 
 
 Across centre. 
 Cowslip {Primula veris). In middle. 
 
 PLATE in. 
 
 WATER BEETLES . To face p. bi 
 
 1. Dyticus marginalis (male). 
 
 2. D}'ticus marginalis (female). 
 
 3. Gyrinus natator (and under). 
 
 4. Dyticus marginalis, larva. 
 0. Gyrinus natator, larva. 
 
 6. Gyrinus natator, pupa case (on 
 arrow-head). 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Arrow-head {Sagittaria sagittifolia). 
 
 Left upper corner. 
 Creeping Mouse-ear {Myosotisr&petis). 
 
 Eight upper corner. 
 Bristle-stalk Club-rush {Scirpus se- 
 
 taceus). Under Myosotis. 
 Water Feather-foil {Hottonia palus- 
 
 tris). Under arrow-head. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 BOVE BEETLES- AND BUSYING 
 BEETLES . To face p. 76 
 
 1. Boletobius atricapillus. 
 
 2. Ocypus olens (egss below). 
 
 3. Staphj'linus caesareus. 
 
 4. Neerophorus liumator, 
 
 5. Neerophorus vespillo. 
 
 6. Neerophorus mortuorum. 
 
 7. Choleva angustata. 
 
 8. Hister bimaeulata. 
 
 9. Nitidula depressa. 
 
 10. Boletobius in gills of mushroom. 
 
 11. Neerophorus humator, larva. 
 
 12. Silpha thoracica, larva. 
 
 13. Ocypus olens, larva. 
 
 14. Silpha thoracica (on body of bird). 
 
 Plant : — 
 
 Edible Mushroom {Agaricus campes- 
 tris). 
 
 PLATE V. 
 
 CHAFES S . . To face p. 114 
 
 1. Cetonia aurata. 
 
 2. Melolontha vulgaris (male). 
 
 3. Geotrupes stercorarius. 
 
 4. Lucanus cervus. 
 
 5. Lucanus eervus, larva (very young). 
 
 6. Cetonia aurata, larva (three parts 
 
 grown). 
 
 7. Cetonia aurata (pupa cases or 
 
 cocoons). 
 
 8. Geotrupes stercorarius, larva 
 
 (young). 
 
 9. Melolontha vulgaris, larva (three 
 
 parts grown). 
 
 Plant: — 
 
 Wild Eose (Sosa canina). 
 
 PLATE VL 
 
 GLOW-WOSM, OIL-BEETLES, 
 WEEVILS, LONG-HOSNS, AND 
 LADY-BISDS . . To face p. 192 
 
 1. Lampyris noetiluca (male). 
 
 2. Lampyris noetiluca (female). 
 
 3. Meloe eieatricosus (male). 
 
 4. Meloe eieatricosus (female). 
 
 5. Meloe eieatricosus, larva (full 
 
 grown). 
 
 6. Phytonomus tigrinus. 
 
 7. Lixus bieolor. 
 
 8. Lixus bieolor, nest. 
 
 9. Aromia moschata. 
 
 10. Clytus arietis. 
 
 11. Cassida murina. 
 
 12. Coecinella septempunetata. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Willow {Salix alba). Above. 
 Wild Carrot {Daucus carota). Left 
 of middle. 
 
 PLATE VIL 
 
 EASWIGS, FIELD-COCKEOACH, 
 AND CRICKETS . To face f. 22% 
 
 1. Porfieula gigantea. 
 
 2. Forficula auricularia. 
 
 3. Blatta germanica. 
 
 4. Blatta germanica (egg-case). 
 
 5. Gryllotalpa vulgaris. 
 
 6. Gryllus campestris. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Great Bindweed {Convolvuhts se- 
 
 pium). Above. 
 Purple Clover {Trifolium fratense). 
 
 Right of middle. 
 
 PLATE VIII. 
 
 DBA G ON- FLIES, MA Y - FLIES, 
 AND CADDIS . To face p. 266 
 
 1. Ephemera vulgata. 
 
 2. Ephemera, larvp. 
 
 3. Libellula depressa. 
 3a.Libellula emerging from pupa- 
 case. 
 
 4. Libellula, larva. 
 
 5. Calopteryx virgo. 
 
 6. Agrion minium. 
 
 7. Phryganea grandis. 
 
 8. Phryganea, larva cases, or caddis. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Flowering Rush (Butomus umbella- 
 
 tus). In centre. 
 Mare's Tail (Hij^puris vulgaris). On 
 
 right. 
 Water Bistort (VoJygmnim amphi' 
 
 hlurti). On left. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 XI 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 SAW-FLIES, GALL-FLIES, AND 
 SIREX . . To face p. 300 
 
 1. Cimbex lutea. 
 
 2. Cimbex, cocoon. 
 
 3. Cimbex, larva. 
 
 4. Lyda hortensis. 
 
 5. Trichiosoma lucorum. 
 
 6. Cynips Kollari. 
 
 7. Sirex juveucus (male). 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Oak, I'ir, and Hawthorn. 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 PAHASITIC HYMENOPTERa. 
 
 To face p. 324 
 
 1. Pezomaehus zonatus and nests of 
 
 spider. 
 
 2. Pezomaehus fasciatus. 
 
 3. Trogns atropos. 
 
 4. Rhyssa persuasoria. 
 
 5. Rhyssa depositing ee^gs. 
 
 6. Chelonus oculator (rather luaani- 
 
 fied). 
 
 Caterpillar of Death's Head Moth. 
 In middle. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Willow. Above. 
 
 Dog-grass {CynosiivKs). In middle, 
 with mnd-nests of Spider. 
 
 Wood Sorrel ( Oxalis acctoseUa). Be- 
 low. 
 
 PLATE XL 
 
 ANTS, WASPS, AND SOLITARY 
 DEES . . To face p. 350 
 
 1. Formica rufa and nest. 
 
 2. Quedius brevis. 
 
 3. Eumenes and nest. 
 
 4. Vespa arborea and nest. 
 
 5. Andrena nitida. 
 
 6. Andrena Trimmerana. 
 
 7. Cilissa haemorrhoidalis. 
 
 8. Nomada ruficornis. 
 
 9. Stylops melittae. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Harebell. 
 
 Common Heath (Erica cinera), with 
 
 nest of Eumenes. 
 Ivy. 
 
 PLATE XII. 
 
 HUMDLE DEES . To face p. 370 
 
 1. Bombus lucorum (female). 
 
 2. Bombus muscorum (female). 
 
 3. Apathus vestalis (female.) 
 
 4. Eucera longicornis (male). 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Hawthorn. Above. 
 
 Sea Campion {Silene maritima). Be- 
 low. 
 
 PLATE XIII. 
 
 DUTTERFLIES . To face p. Z9 
 
 1. Vanessa polychloros. 
 
 2. Vanessa Atalanta. 
 
 3. Vanessa cardui. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Meadow Crane's Bill {Geranium pra- 
 
 tense). Above, on right. 
 Buttercup {Ranunculus hulbosus). In 
 
 middle. 
 
 PLATE XIV. 
 
 HAWK MOTHS . To face p. 422 
 
 1 . Acherontia atropos. 
 
 2. Acherontia larva. 
 
 3. Macroglossa stellatarum. 
 
 4. Macroglossa fuciformis. 
 
 Plant : — 
 
 Potato. 
 
 PLATE XV. 
 
 To face p. 444 
 
 NIGHT FLIERS 
 
 1. Chelonia caja. 
 
 2. Lasiocampa quercus 
 
 3. Saturnia carpini. 
 
 4. Dicranura vinula. 
 
 Plants: — 
 
 Oak and Willow 
 
Xll 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 PLATE XVL 
 
 GEOMETERS AND NOCTUM. 
 
 To /ace p. 462 
 
 1. Agrotis segetum. 
 
 2. Agrotis larva. 
 
 3. Xanthia flavago. 
 
 4. Geometra papilionaria. 
 
 5. Abraxas grossulariata. 
 
 6. Abraxas grossulariata, larva. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Currant and Strawberry. 
 
 PLATE XVn. 
 
 DELTOIDS S, T0RTRICE8, TINEM, 
 AND PTEROPHORI. 
 
 To face J). 504 
 
 1. Hypena proboscidalis. 
 
 2. Hypena proboscidalis, larva. 
 
 3. Tortrix pomonana. 
 
 4. Tortrix pomonana, larva. 
 6. Pterophonis pentadactylus. 
 
 6. Pterophorus pterodactylus. 
 
 7. Nepticula aurella. 
 
 8 Bramble-leaves mined by Nepti- 
 cula. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Apple and Bramble. 
 
 PLATE XVIII. 
 
 TERRESTRIAL HOMOPTERA AND 
 HETEROPTERA . To face p. 538 
 
 1. Ledra aurita. 
 
 2. Ledra aurita, larva. 
 
 3. Triepphora sanguinolenta. 
 
 4. Pentatoma dissimile. 
 
 5. Stenocephalia agilis. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Great Ragwort {Senecio Jacohea). 
 
 Above. 
 White Dead Nettle {Lamimn album). 
 
 Below. 
 
 PLATE XIX. 
 
 AQUATIC HETEROPTERA. 
 
 To face p, 684 
 
 1. Ranatra linearis. 
 
 2. Notonecta glauca. 
 
 3. Nepa glauca. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Duckweed {Lemna). On surface of 
 
 water. 
 Various-leaved Pondweed (Potamnge- 
 
 ton hetercphylhis). 
 Starwort {Aster tripolium). 
 
 PLATE XX. 
 
 DIPTERA. 
 
 1. Tabanus bovinus. 
 
 2. Conops vesicularis. 
 
 3. Gasterophilus equi. 
 
 4. Tachina grossa. 
 
 Plant : — 
 Honeysuckle. 
 
 To face p. 626 
 
LIST OF ILLQSTEATIONS. xiii 
 
 WOODCUTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I.— LucANUs CEUvus. DISSECTION. Parts of the Head. — 1. Mandibles, or 
 jaws. 2. Antennje. 2a. Scape. 2h. Club. 3. Labium, or lower lip. 3a. 
 Labial palpi, or lip-feelers. 4. Maxillae, or lower jaws. 4a. Maxillary 
 palpi, or jaw-feelers. 5. Head, upper surface. 5a. Eyes. 6b. Vertex, or 
 crown, oc. Occiput, or back of head. 5d. Clypeus, or shield. 6. Head, 
 under surface. 6a. Eyes. 6b. Insertion of antennae. Parts of Thorax and 
 Abdomen. — 7. Pronotum, or upper surface of thorax. 7a. Lateral margin. 
 76. Anterior margin. 7c. Posterior angles. Id. Po.sterior margin. 7e. 
 Anterior angles. 8. Prosternum, or under surface of thorax. 8a. Sternum. 
 86. Insertion of coxae. 9. Mesothorax and upper surface of abdomen. 9a. 
 Mesothorax alone. 96. Abdomen, upper surface alone. 10. Metasternum 
 and abdomen. 10a. Metasternum alone. 106. Abdomen, under surface 
 alone. 10c. Parapleura, or side-pieces. \Qd. Episterna, or breast-pieces. 
 12. Scutellum. Legs. — 11. Anterior or first pair of legs. 11a. Tarsi, or 
 feet. 116. Tibia, or shank, lie. Femur, or thigh, lid. Trochanter, 
 lie. Coxa. 13. Intermediate pair of legs. 15. Posterior pair of legs. 
 The Wings.— 14. Elytra. 14a. Suture. 146. Lateral margin. 14c. Apex. 
 I4d. Base. 14c. Disc. 16. AVings folded on abdomen. 17. Left wing 
 expanded. 18. Eight wing folded 9 
 
 II. — 1. Dromius quadrimaculatus. 2. Lebia cyanocephala. 3. Tarus axil- 
 laris. 4. Clivina fossor. 5. Notiophilus biguttatus. a. Dromius, maxilla. 
 
 b. Cicindela, head. c. Cicindela, maxillary palpus, d. Tarus, labial palpi. 
 
 c. Notiophilus, maxillary palpi. /. Lebia, maxillary palpi . . .15 
 
 III. — 1. Nebria brevicoUis. 2. Pogonus luridipennis. 3. Pristonychus terri- 
 eola. 4. Sphodrus leucopthalmus. 6. Calathus cisteloides. a. Nebria, 
 labial palpi. 6. Nebria, maxillary palpus, c. Pogonus, labial palpi, d. 
 Pogonus, maxillary palpus ......... ^^ 
 
 IV.— 1. Anchomenus dorsalis. 2. Pterostichus madidus. 3. Amara obsoleta. 
 4. HiU'palus aeneus. 5. Stenolophus Skrimshiranus. a. Pterostichus, right 
 mandible. 6. Pterostichus, maxillary palpus, c. Harpalus, under side of 
 leg. d. Harpalus, right mandible, e. Harpalus, maxillai^ palpus . . 44 
 
 V. — 1. ^pys marinus. 2. Philocthus biguttatus. 3. Notaphus [Bembidium] 
 fumigatus. 4. Bembidium quadriguttatum. 5. Bembidium pallidipenne. 
 a. ^pys, maxillary palpus. 6. ^pys, labial palpi, c. M^ys, labrum. 
 
 d. -Slpys, right mandible, e. JEpys, antenna ...... 47 
 
 VI. — 1. Agabus biguttatus. 2. Hydrophilus duodecim-pustulatus. 3. Hali- 
 plus variegatus. 4. Cnemidotus caesus. 5. Pelobius Hermanni. a. Dyticus, 
 process of metasternum. 6. Dyticus, maxillary palpus, c. Dyticus, an- 
 terior leg of male. d. Dyticus, labial palpi, e. Gyrinus, posterior leg. 
 f. Gryrinus, antenna 55 
 
nv LIST -OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 VII. — 1. Falagria sulcata. 2. Aleochara fuscipes. " 3. Atemeles emarginatus. 
 4. Oxypoda luteipennis. 5. Homalota brunnea. a. Staphj'linus, anterior 
 tarsus of female, undilated. b. Staphylinus, anterior tarsus of male, 
 dilated, c. Staphylinus, closing its wings with extremity of its tail. d. 
 Falagria, maxillary palpus, e. Falagria, right mandible. /. Falagria, 
 labial palpi, g. Falagria, antenna 68 
 
 VIII. — 1. Gyrophsena gentilis. 2. Quedius dilatatus. 3. Creophilus maxil- 
 ■ losus. 4. Philonthus marginatus. 5. Xantholinus glabratus. a. Philon- 
 thus, right mandible, b. Quedius, right mandible, c. Philonthus, labial 
 palpi, d. Quedius, labial palpi, e. Philonthus, antenna . . . .72 
 
 IX. — 1. Stilicus fragilis. 2. Stenus bimaculatus. 3. Omalium florale. 4. 
 Prognatha quadricornis. 5/ Micralymma brevipenne. a. Stenus, ligula. 
 b. Stenus, left mandible, c. Stilicus, right mandible, d. Prognatha, 
 maxillary palpus, e. Prognatha, labium. /. Stilicus, maxillary palpus. 
 g. Stenus, maxillary palpus ......... 82 
 
 X.^-1. Necrodes littoralis. 2. Scydmsenus tarsatus. 3. Anisotoma cinna- 
 momea, male. 4. Agathidium Isevigatum. 5. Meligethes seneus. a. Scyd- 
 msenus, antenna, b. Meligethes, maxilla, c. Anisotoma, labial palpi, d. 
 Necrodes, maxillary palpus, e. Necrodes, labium. /. Necrodes, antenna. 
 g. Anisotoma, antenna .......... 92 
 
 XI. — 1. Ehizophagus feiTugineus. 2. Colydium elcngatum. 3. Anommatus 
 duodecim-striatus. 4. Cryptophagus pilosus. 5. Mycetophagus quadripus- 
 tulatus. 6. Dermestes murinus. a. Khizophagus, antenna, b. Colydium, 
 antenna, c. Anommatus, antenna, d. Dermestes, pupa. e. Colydium, 
 larva. /. Dermestes, larva, g. Cryptophagus, antenna, h. Mycetophagus, 
 antenna, i. Dermestes, antenna . . . . . . . .100 
 
 XII. — 1. Byrrhus faseiatus. 2. Elmis seneus. 3. Heterocerus flexuosus. 4. 
 Hydrous piceus, male. a. Byrrhus, antenna, b. Ebnis, antenna, c. 
 Heterocerus, antenna, d. Hydrous, fore leg of female, e. Hydrous, an- 
 tenna of male. /. Hydrous, larva 106 
 
 XIII.— 1. Typhoeus fumatus. 2. Cereyon anale. 3. Dorcus parallelopipedus. 
 4. Agrilus biguttatus. 5. Elatcr sanguineus, a. Agrilus, antenna, b. 
 Typhoeus, head of female, c. Elater, antenna, d. Elater, head, under 
 side. e. Elater, larva. /. Agrilus, larva .120 
 
 XIV. — 1. Campy lus linearis. 2. Telephorus fuscus. 3. Clerus formicarius. 
 4. Anobium striatum. 5. Mezium sulcatum, a. Mezium, side view. b. 
 Mezium, antenna, c. Anobium, antenna, d. Anobium, larva, e. Clei-us, 
 larva. /. Telephorus, larva 131 
 
 XV. — 1. Blaps mortisaga. 2. Diaperis boleti. 3. Tenebrio molitor. 4. 
 Melandrya caraboides. 5. Orchesia undulata. a. Blaps, larva, b. Melan- 
 drya, larva, c. Tenebrio, larva, d. Blaps, antenna, e. Diaperis, antenna. 
 /. Tenebrio, antenna, g. Melandrya, antenna, h. Orchesia, antenna . 144 
 
 XV.* — 1. Sitaris humeralis. 2. Clerus apiarius. 3. Drilus flavescens, female. 
 4. Drilus flavescens, male. 5. Rhipiphorus paradoxus, a. Balaninus 
 nueuni, head. b. Rhipiphorxis, larva, c. Rhipiphorus, antenna, male. d. 
 Rhipiphorus, antenna, female, e. Meloe, young larva, magnified . , 147 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 XVI. — 1. Pyrochroa coccinea. 2. Anaspis ruficoUis. 3. Lytta vesicatoria. 
 4. Bruchiis rufimanus. 5. Platyrhinus latirostris. a. Pyrochroa, larva. 
 b. Platyrhinus, larva, c. Bruehus, larva, d. Pyrochroa, antenna, e. 
 Lytta, antenna. /. Bruehus, antenna, g. Platyrhinus, antenna, h. 
 Anaspis, antenna, i. Lytta, claws, j. Platyrhinus, tarsus . . . 149 
 
 XVII. — 1. Attelabus curculionoides. 2. Rhynchites Bacchus. 3. Apion 
 carduorum. 4. Sitones lineatus. 6. Cleonus nebulosus. a. Attelabus, 
 antenna, h. Rhynchites, antenna, c. Apion, antenna, d. Attelabus, 
 tarsus, c. Rhynchites, tarsus. /. Apion, tarsus, g. Rhynchites, maxillary 
 palpus, h. Rhyncliites, labium . . . . . . , .166 
 
 XVIII. — 1. Molytcs germanus. 2. Otiorhynchus picipes. 3. Pissodes pini. 
 4. Authonomus pomorum. 5. Balaninus nucum. u. Otiorhynchus, antenna. 
 b. Otiorhynchus, lorva. c. Authonomus, antenna, d. Authonomus, maxil- 
 lary palpus, e. Anthonomus, labial palpi. /. Balaninus, pupa . . 171 
 
 XIX. — 1. Tychius venustus. 2. Orchestes fagi. 3. Orobites cyaneus. 4. 
 Coeliodes quercus. o. Sitophilus oryzae. a. Coeliodes, head. b. Orchestes, 
 head. c. Orchestes, hind leg. d. Orchestes, antenna . . . .181 
 
 XX. — 1. Hylesinus crenatus. 2. Scolytus destructor. 3. Prionus coriarius. 
 4. Tomicus typographicus. 5. Callidium violaceum. a. Prionus, larva. 
 b. Tomicus, larva, c. Scolytus, larva . . . . . . .187 
 
 XXI. — 1. Gracilia pygmaea. 2. Strangalia armata. 3. Astinomus sedilis. 
 4. Pogonocerus pilosus. 5. Rhagium inquisitor . . , ... 198 
 
 XXn. — 1. Donaeia Menyanthidis. 2. Crioceris merdigera. 3. Chrysomela 
 Staphylsea. 4. Cryptocephalus coryli. 5. Timarcha laevigata, a. Chryso- 
 mela, antenna, b. Cryptocephalus, antenna, c. Cryptocephalus, labial 
 palpi, d. Cryptocephalus, maxillary palpus, e. Donaeia, antenna. /'. 
 Crioceris, antenna ........... 204 
 
 XXIII. — 1. Prasocuris beccabungse. 2. Phyllotreta brassiere. 3. Psylliodes 
 hyoscyami. 4. Cassida viridis. 5. Triplax russica. a. Phyllotreta, larva. 
 
 b. Cassida, larva, c. Cassida, pupa. d. Cassida, maxillary palpus, e. 
 Cassida, labial palpi 210 
 
 XXrV. — 1. Coccinella ocellata. 2. Lycoperdina bovistse. 3. Trichopteryx 
 atomaria. 4. Pselaphus Heisei. 5. Claviger foveolatus. a. Coccinella, 
 larva, b. Coccinella, maxillary palpus, c. Coccinella, labium, d. Cocci- 
 nella, antenna, e. Coccinella, leg ........ 216 
 
 XXV. — 1. Pachytylus migratorius. 2. Thamnotrizon cinereus. a. Forceps 
 of Forfieula gigantea, male. b. Dp. female, c. Do. Forficula auricularia, 
 male. d. Do. female, e. Blatta orientalis, egg-case. f. Do. section, g. 
 Gryllotalpa, inside of front tibia, h. Do. outside, i. Do. labium, j. Do. 
 maxilhi and palpus ........... 226 
 
 XXVI. — 1. Perla marginata. 2. Limucphilus bicolor. 3. Phryganea minor. 
 4. Leptocerus cchraceus. a. Limnephilus, labium, b. Limnephilus, maxilla. 
 
 c. Lalium, female, d. Labium, male. e. Anal appendages, or clasper, 
 male ............. 264 
 
XVI LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 XXVn. — 1. Phlseothrips coriacea. 2. Cordulegaster annulatus. 3. Raphidia 
 ophiopsis. 4. Chrysopa vulgaris. 6. Osmylus chrysops. a. Eggs of 
 Chrysopa 276 
 
 XXVIII. — Anatomy of a htmenopterotjs insect. — the hoenet (tespa 
 CEABHo). 1 . Head and parts of the mouth, a. Lingua, or tongue, b b. 
 Labial palpi, cc. Maxillary palpi, d d. Maxillse. ee. Mandibles, ff. 
 Eyes, g g. Toruli, or beds of the base of the antennae, hh. Ocelli, or 
 simple eyes ; sometimes called Stemmata. i. Clypeus. k. Labrum. I. 
 Epipharyns. 2. Thorax, a. Mesothorax. b b. Teg;ila;. c. Seutellum. 
 d: Prothorax. e. Postscutellum. /. Metathorax. 3. Abdomen, upper 
 surface. 4. Abdomen, profile. 5. Head, front view, a a. Antennae, b b. 
 Eyes, c c. Ocelli, d. Seutellum. e e. Mandibles. 6. Thorax, under sur- 
 face, a. Bed of coxse of pro-legs. b. Sternum, c. Bed of coxse of inter- 
 mediate legs. d. Bed of coxse of posterior legs. e. Bed of neck. 7. 
 Anterior or pro-legs. a. Tarsus, b. Tibia, c. Femur, d. Trochanter. 
 e. Coxa. 8. Middle or intermediate legs. 9. Hinder or posterior legs. 
 10. Right wings, a. Costal celL b. Extern o-medial cell. c. Interno- 
 medial cell. d. Anal cell. e. Marginal cell. /. First Submarginal cell. 
 g. Second Discoidal cell. h. Second Submarginal cell. i. Third Sub- 
 marginal cell. k. Fourth Submarginal cell. I. First Discoidal cell. m. 
 Third Discoidal cell. n. First Apical cell. o. Second Apical cell. 11. 
 Left wings separated . 296 
 
 XXIX. — 1. Hylotoma rosse. 2. Croesus septentrionalis. 3. Athalia spinarum. 
 4. AUantus scrophularia. a. Croesus, larva, b. Athalia, larva, c. Al- 
 lantus, larva, d. Hylotoma, antenna, e. Croesus, antenna. /. Athalia, 
 antenna, g. Allantus, antenna ........ 299 
 
 XXX. — 1. Cimbex lutea. 2. Tenthredo zonatiis. 3. Cryptus pallipes. 4. 
 Lophyrus pini. a. Cimbex, larva, b. Lophyrus, larva, c. Lophyrus, 
 cocoon, d. Do. antenna, male. e. Do. antenna, female .... 301 
 
 XXXI. — 1. Ichneumon proteus. 2. Ichneumon crassorius. 3. Tryphon 
 rutilator. 4. Cryptus migrator. 5. Pimpla instigator, a. Tryphon, larva. 
 b. Pimpla instigator, female, profile of abdomen, c. Do. dried specimen. 
 d. Do. seen from beneath, e. Do. abdomen of male 321 
 
 XXXII. — 1. Microgaster glomeratus. 2. Mymar pulchellus. 3. Teleas 
 elatior. 4. Cleonymus maculipennis. a. Teleas, antenna, female, b. Do. 
 antenna, male. c. Microgaster, larva in caterpillar of cabbage-butterfly. 
 d. Coeoons of Microgaster alvearius 320 
 
 XXXIIL— 1. Chrysis ignita. 2. Mutilla Europsea, female. 3. Mutilla 
 Europsea, male. 4. Formica rufa, winged female. 5. Do. neuter or 
 worker. 6. Do. winged male. a. Formica rufa, labium, b. Do. antenna, 
 male. c. Do. antenna, worker ......... 330 
 
 XXXIV. — 1. Pompilus fuscus. 2. Astata boops. 3. Mellinus arvensis. 4. 
 Crabro quadrimaculatus. 5. Cerceris arvensis. a. Pompilus, maxilla and 
 palpus, b. Do. labium, c. Mellinus, mandible, d. Do. labium, e. Do. 
 maxilla and palpus. /. Crabro, larva, g. Astata, head of female . . 342 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xvil 
 
 XXXV. — 1. Vespa crabro. female. 2. Vespa vulgaris, female. 3. Halictus 
 rubieundus, female. 4. Dasypoda hirtipes, female, a. Vespa crabro, head 
 of male. b. Dasypoda, leg of male. c. Do. liead of male. d. Halictus, 
 head of male. e. Do. abdomen of male. /. Vespa vulgaris, head of male. 
 g. Vespa ai-borea, head. h. Vespa vulgaris, head of female . . . 349 
 
 XXXVI. — 1. Coelioxys simplex, male. 2. Do. female. 3. Melecta armata, 
 feiJiale. 4. Osmia rufa, female. 5. Megachile centuncularis, female . 3G2 
 
 XXXVII. — 1. Anthidiu*m manicatum. 2. Bombus lapidarius, female. 3. 
 Do. neuter. 4. Do. male. a. Tongue of Anthidium. 6. Tongue of Bombus. 
 
 c. Mandible of Anthidium 366 
 
 XXXVIII. — 1. Apis mellifica, female. 2. Do. male. 3. Do. neuter, a. An- 
 tenna, female, b. Hind leg, male. c. Tongue of male. d. Antenna, 
 male. e. Mandible, male. /. Hind leg, neuter, ff. Hind leg, female. 
 k. Sting and venom glands 375 
 
 XXXIX. — I. Front view of head. II. Side view. III. Fore wing. — 1-5. Sub- 
 costal nervules. 6, 7. Discoidal nervules. 8-10. Median nervules. 11. 
 Submedian nervure. 12. Internal nervure. 13-15. Disco-cellular nervules. 
 16. Interno-median nervule. 17- Median nervure. 18. Subcostal nervure. 
 a. Costal nerviu'e. b. Costa, or anterior margin, c. Apex, or anterior angle. 
 
 d. Posterior or hind margin. e. Posterior or anal angle. /. Interior or 
 inner margin, g. Base. k. Discoidal cell. IV. Hind wing. — 1, 2. Sub- 
 costal ner\'ules. 3. Discoidal nervule. 4-6. Median nervules. 7. Sub- 
 median nervure. 8. Precostal nervure. 9. Subcostal nervure. 10. Median • 
 nervure. 11,12. Disco-cellular nervules. a. Costal nervure. 6. Costa, or 
 anterior margin, c. Appx, or anterior angle, d. Hiod margin, e. Tail, 
 or caudal appendage. /. Anal angle, g. Abdominal or inner margin, h. 
 Base. V. Underside of bod^. — 1-7. Abdominal segments. 8. Caudal or 
 anal extremity, a. Antennae, b. Tarsus, c. Tibia, d. Femur, e. Palpi. 
 
 /. The head. g. The thorax, h. Abdomen 385 
 
 XL. — 1. Gonepteryx rhamni. 2. Colias edusa, male. 3. Picris brassicae. 
 a. Pieris, larva, b. Do. pupa. c. Do. egg. e. Do. palpus. /. Do. head. 
 g. Do. claw of foot. d. Larva of Colias 390 
 
 XLL — 1. Vanessa antiopa. 2. Grapta C. album. 3. Argynnis aglaia. a. 
 Argynnis, larva, b. Argynnis, pupa 395 
 
 XLII. — 1. Arge Galathea. '2. Erebia blandina. 3. Apatura Iris. a. Apa- 
 tura, non-walking fore-leg. b. Do. club of antenna, c. Do. larva . . 404 
 
 XLIII. — 1. Polyommatus dispar, female. 2. Do. male, under surface. 3. 
 
 Polyommatus Adonis. 4. Hcsperia Paniseus. 5. Hesperia alveolus, a. 
 
 Polyommatus dispar, larva, b. Do. pupa. c. Do. antenna, d. Do. palpus 409 
 XLIV. — 1. Anthrocera filipendulae. 2. Sesia apiformis. 3. Deilephila 
 
 euphorbiae. a. Deilephila, larva, b. Anthrocera, larva, c. Do. cocoon . 418 
 XLV. — 1. Zeuzera aesculi. 2. Cossus ligniperda. a. Zeuzera, larva. b. 
 
 Cossus, larva ............ 429 
 
 XLVI. — 1. Callimorpha Jacobeae. 2. Deiopeia pulchella. 3. Gastropacha 
 
 quercifolia. a. CaUimorpha, larva, b. Deiopeia, larva, c. Gastropacha, 
 
 larva 435 
 
 a 
 
XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 LXXVII. — 1. Hippobosca equina. 2. Stenopteryx hirundinis. a. Hippo- 
 bosca equina, antenna, b. Do. maxilla, c. Do. fore-leg. d. Stenopteryx 
 hirundinis, fore-leg. e. Do. lip and tongue. /. Do. antenna . . . 641 
 
 LXXVIII.— 1. Hsemobora pallipes. 2. Nyctoribia Latreilli. a. Hsemobora, 
 front view. b. Do. leg. c. Do. mentum. d, Nyctoribia, leg. e. Do. 
 head, side view ........... 644 
 
 LXXIX. — 'Setting' Insects for the cabinet 646 
 
INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 I NT ROD UCTION. 
 
 mHERE is scarcely a branch of science, however interestinj? 
 X it may be, which does not at first repel the intending student 
 Dy the array of strange words with which the treasures of know- 
 ledge are surrounded. This is especially the case in Botany 
 and Zoology, which contain, in addition to the usual technical 
 language, vast numbers of names belonging to various plants 
 or animals, each name consisting of two words, one denoting 
 the genus and the other the species. 
 
 That many have been deterred from pursuing a study hedged 
 about with such difficulties is not a matter of wonder, and it 
 is much to be regretted that writers on science too often 
 increase rather than lessen the difficulties by their purely 
 technical mode of handling the subject. The real cause of the 
 general repugnance to science is to be found in the mode of 
 writing adopted by too many scientific writers, who forget the 
 first principles of instructive writing, and do not identify 
 themselves with the minds of those whom they are endeavour- 
 ing to teach. 
 
 The study of Entomology, or the knowledge of insects, has 
 greatly suffered from this cause. It is one of the most fas- 
 cmating of pursuits. It takes its votaries into the treasure- 
 houses of Nature, and explains some of the wonderful series of 
 links -which form the great chain of creation. It lays open 
 
2 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 before us another world, of which w*^ have been hitherto un- 
 conscious, and shows us that even the tiniest insect, so small' 
 perhaps tnat the "unaided eye can scarcely see it, has its work 
 to do in tne world, and does it. Among the insects, too, we find 
 not only instinct, but reason. We find that in these lesser 
 creatures the passions and emotions of humanity have their 
 counterparts. Love, for example, developes itself in many 
 ways, and so does hate ; and, indeed, if the whole list of human 
 qualities be examined, there is scarcely one which cannot be 
 found in the insect world. 
 
 The habits of insects are very mines of interesting knowledge, 
 and it is impossible carefully to watch the proceedings of any 
 insect, however insignificant, without feeling that no writer of 
 fiction ever invented a drama of such absorbing interest as is 
 acted daily before our eyes, though to indifferent spectators. 
 Thus, even in the mere structure of insects there is more than 
 enough material for the study of a lifetime. Putting aside the 
 wonderful internal mechanism, which ought to be examined 
 when pi-acticable, the outward form is full of interest. We 
 find among insects a variety and brilliancy of colour that not 
 even the most gorgeous tropical flowers can approach, and that 
 some of our dullest and most insigni+^cant little insects are, 
 when placed under the revealing lens of the microscope, ab- 
 solutely blazing with natural jewellery. The variety of form, 
 too, is quite as boundless as that of colour, so that there is 
 much excuse even for the mere collector, who cares nothing for 
 insects unless he can kill them and set them in rows in a cabinet. 
 
 In the following pages I intend to describe, as far as possible 
 within so limited a space. Insects at Home, and, though giving the 
 needful scientific information, to use few technical terms, and 
 always to explain those which of necessity must be employed. 
 
 Our first business is evidently, when treating of Insects at 
 Home, to define precisely what an insect is. This seems to be a 
 simple matter enough ; but it really is not so, the question being 
 one which has occupied systematic zoologists for many years, and 
 which is even now rather a dubious one in several cases. The 
 word insect is, as a rule, employed very loosely by those who have 
 not studied the subject. Spiders, for example, are generally 
 called insects, and so are woodlice, centipedes, and a variety 
 
DEFINITION OF AN INSECT. 3 
 
 of other creatures which have really no right whatever to the 
 'title. We will therefore see what an insect really is. 
 
 Insects are technically described as being ^articulated am- 
 maLy breathing by trachew, divided into three distinct portions 
 — viz. the head, the thorax, and the abdomen— passing through 
 a series of transformations, and having in the perfect o-i 
 " winged " state six articulated legs and two antennas.' 
 
 We will now take this description and examine it in detail. 
 The articulated animal^ are formed on a totally different plan 
 from the vertebrates, molluscs, radiata, or other divisions of 
 the animal kingdom. Their bodies are formed of a series of 
 flattened rings, within which are contained all the muscles 
 and vital apparatus. Jt will be seen that a vast number of 
 animals come within this "definition, which includes not only 
 the insects, but the Crustacea, such as the crabs, lobsters, 
 shrimps, woodlice, and others; the Arachnida, such as the 
 spiders, scorpions, and mites; the Myriapoda, such as the 
 centipedes and millipedes ; and the Annelida, of which the 
 common worm is a familiar example. It is necessary, there- 
 fore, to find some mode of distinguishing the insects from all 
 the other articulates, and, after much trouble, systematic 
 naturalists have agreed upon the short formula which has 
 already been given. 
 
 It is there stated that insects breathe through ' tracheae.' 
 Now trachea are tubes composed of thin membranes, kept 
 open by a fine but stiff wiry thread, which is twisted spirally 
 throughout the whole course of the tube, just as a modem 
 flexible gas-tube is kept open by a spiral wire, no matter how 
 it may be twisted or bent. This is absolutely necessary in 
 insects, for the tracheae are not confined to a single portion of 
 the body, like the lungs of men or the gills of fish, but per- 
 meate the entire insect, passing through all the limbs, and even 
 reaching to the claws which terminate the feet. A-ay of my 
 readers who wish to see the extraordinary manner in which the 
 breathing apparatus is disposed over the whole body -should 
 look at the plates of Strauss Durckheim's wonderful work on 
 the common cockchafer, a work to praise which would be 
 simply impertinent. 
 
 I strongly advise all my readers to examine these marvellous 
 structures for themselves. There is not the least difficulty in 
 
 B 2 
 
4 INSECTS AT H0:ME. 
 
 finding them, for the real difficulty is to dissect any part of 
 the body without finding them. The largest of these tubes* 
 are those which run along the sides of the insect, and are con- 
 nected with the oval openings along the sides, which are pos- 
 sessed by every insect. These openings are called spiracles, 
 from the Latin word sj^iro, because through them the insect 
 breathes. Any insect or caterpillar will furnish the tracheoe, 
 but the larger the better. They should be severed from the 
 body by a pair of fine scissors, then taken out with a pair of 
 forceps, and laid on a glass slide. I have now before me a 
 preparation of the tracheae of a silkworm which I made twenty- 
 two years ago, and it is not the least damaged by keeping. 
 
 These tracheae afford a most important characteristic of the 
 insects, inasmuch as the Crustacea do not possess them at all, 
 and the Arachnida generally, though not always, breathe by 
 means of internal air-sacs. 
 
 Next, the creature must be divided into three distinct portions. 
 This is the signification of the title Insect, which is derived 
 from two Latin words, signifying cut-into, while the familiar 
 Greek name of Entonia (from which the word entomology is 
 formed) has precisely the same signification. This is, perhaps, 
 the most important of all the characteristics, as in the Crustacea 
 and Arachnida the head is merged into the thorax, so that they 
 are divided into two portions instead of three ; while in the 
 Myriapoda and Annelida there is no distinct thorax, and some- 
 times scarcely a distinct head. 
 
 Next we come to the transformations which insects have to 
 undergo before they reach their perfect or adult state. All 
 animals really undergo a course of transformation, but in the 
 insect they take four very distinct forms ; namely, the Egg, 
 the Larva (i.e. caterpillar or grub), the Pupa (or chrysalis), and 
 the Imago, or perfect insect. Any of my readers who have 
 had silkworms will be practically acquainted with this fact, 
 and will also know that the larva changes its skin, or moults, 
 several times before it assumes the pupal form. The reason 
 for this casting of skin is evident. The larva, like the perfect 
 insect, is made of a series of flattened rings, or rather, of a 
 double series of half rings, connected along the sides ly an 
 elastic membrane, so as to permit the creature to breathe and 
 eat. 
 
TRANSFORMATION OF INSECTS. 5 
 
 Now, the upper and lower portions of these rings are com- 
 paratively inelastic, and cannot themselves expand, though 
 they can be opened wider at the sides in proportion to the 
 interior expansion of the body. Meanwhile, the larva continues 
 busily its sole business, that of eating, and increases rapidly in 
 size, so that, within a certain time, its skin is stretched to the 
 utmost, and can expand no more. Still the larva continues to 
 increase, though its tight integuments cause it so much un- 
 easiness that it ceases to eat, and at last the overstretched 
 skin bursts, and the larva emerges, clad with a new skin, which 
 has been forming under the old one. As soon as it is free, it 
 takes a number of deep respirations, and in half an hour, or 
 thereabouts, is so much larger than its cast skin, that to put 
 it back again would be fatal. This process is repeated until 
 the larva is about to assume the third or pupal state. 
 
 In consequence of this mode of development, the whole of 
 the growth is completed during the larval state, and, however 
 long an insect may live, it never grows after it has attained its 
 perfect form ; and, though it is common enough to find insects 
 though of the same species yet of very different sizes, the larger 
 have not grown since their last change, nor will the small 
 specimens ever attain the dimensions of their larger relatives. 
 In a measure, the same rule prevails among mankind, and, 
 though some may be giants and other dwarfs, the dwarf will 
 never become a giant, nor has the giant ever been a dwarf, and, 
 different as are their sizes, both ceased to grow when they 
 attained the age of manhood. 
 
 The modes of passing through the successive changes of form 
 are exceedingly variable in the different orders of insects, and 
 are always most interesting to careful observers. I shall not 
 mention them in this place, but shall give the descriptions of 
 the metamorphoses together with the history of the diflferent 
 species. 
 
 Next in order comes the statement that all true insects 
 have six legs when they have attained the perfect form, or 
 Imago. The reader will see that this definition at once ex- 
 cludes all other Annulata. The Crustacea, for example, have 
 a considerable number of legs, and the Arachnida are eight- 
 legged, while the Myriapoda are, as their name infers, many- 
 legged, and the Annelida have no legs at all. It is true 
 
6 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 that ill some insects there only appear to be four legs, but, 
 in these cases, the apparently missing organs may be dis- 
 covered on careful examination, much reduced in size, but still 
 present. 
 
 A similar observation may be made with regard to the an- 
 tennae, or, as they are popularly called, ' horns,' or ' feelers.' 
 The word antenna is a Latin one, signifying the yard-arm of a 
 ship, and has been appropriately given to these organs. In 
 most cases the antennae give great character to the aspect of 
 an insect. In some of the Beetles, for example, they are slender, 
 and each joint is so lengthened that the antennae are five times 
 as long as the body. In others they are comparatively short, 
 sometimes deeply toothed like combs, sometimes terminated 
 with a round club,' sometimes with the ends developed into a 
 beautiful fan-like apparatus, and sometimes looking like a 
 number of coins joined together by a string running through 
 their centre. The knob-tipped antennae of the butterflies are 
 an unfailing characteristic whereby these insects can be dis- 
 tinguished from the moths, with their sharp-tipped antennae ; 
 while in the latter group of insects, the antennae of the male 
 are often wide and feathered, those of the female being mere 
 jointed threads, without any feathering whatever. Many in- 
 sects seem to be altogether without antennas, but, like the 
 undeveloped legs already mentioned, they can be found in 
 their places, though so small as to escape a hasty observation. 
 
 Having now briefly examined the general characteristics of 
 insects, we will take them in detail. 
 
 Among the insects, the Coleoptera, or Beetles, are acknow- 
 ledged to hold the first rank, their development being more 
 perfect than is found in any of the other orders. The name of 
 Coleoptera is composed of two Greek words, signifying sheath- 
 wings, and is given to this order of insects in consequence of 
 their leading peculiarity, which is, that the upper pair of 
 wings is modified into horny or leathery cases, called elytra, 
 useless in flight, but employed in protecting the membranous 
 under pair of wings, which alone are used in flight. In many 
 Beetles the lower pair of wings is not developed, and in a few 
 both pairs are practically wanting, though the practised eye can 
 always detect them in a rudimentary form. The wings and 
 
DEFINITION OF A BEETLE. 7 
 
 elytra, together with other portions of the Beetle, will presently 
 be figured and described. 
 
 The changes, or metamorphoses, of the Beetles, though sin- 
 gularly interesting, are not easily seen, as Beetle larv^ require 
 food which is, as a rule, not easily procured, and in many cases 
 is so noisome that few persons would like to meddle with it. 
 A great number are carnivorous, feeding upon various living 
 creatures, so that to supply them properly with food is next to 
 impossible ; while, as the majority of them pass two years or 
 more in the larval state, the*process of rearing them is tedious 
 as well as difficult. 
 
 All who have had silkworms, or have been in the habit of 
 watching insects when at liberty, are familiar with the appear- 
 ance of the three principal forms assumed by the moths and 
 butterflies in thei^ different stages of growth — the caterpillar, 
 with its soft, cylindrical, ringed body, the pupa or chrysalis, 
 covered with a hard, shelly case, and the perfect insect, with 
 its beautiful wings. Now, although the Beetles pass through 
 similar changes, they do not assume similar forms. The larva 
 of the Beetle is, like that of the moth or butterfly caterpillar, 
 soft and ringed, and sometimes so resembles the caterpillar 
 tliat it may easily be mistaken by anyone unskilled in ento- 
 mology. Figures of the larvae will be given in connection with 
 the different species. 
 
 Thus far the Beetle and moth bear some resemblance to 
 each other, but when they come to assume the pupal form, 
 they are so dissimilar that no one could possibly mis.take one 
 for the other. In the moth pupa all the limbs are hidden 
 under a hard covering, but in the Beetle pupa all the members 
 of the insect are visible, though they are covered with a skin 
 which binds them down, and prevents them from being used 
 until the insect attains its perfect form, and bursts through the 
 investing skin. A figure of the larva and pupa of a Beetle 
 may be seen by referring to the Bacon Beetle {Dermestes lar- 
 darius). Woodcut XI. 
 
 If the reader will carefully examine the various stages of 
 insect life, he will see that, whether the creature be in the 
 larval, pupal, or perfect state, the number of rings of which 
 it is composed are the same. Take, for example, a Beetle 
 larva, and it will be found to consist of thirteen rings, or 
 
8 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 segments. The first of these forms the head, the next three 
 carry the legs, and the remaining rings constitute the body. 
 Should the same larva be successfully reared, and examined 
 after it has reached the perfect state, it will be found to have 
 precisely the same number of rings, though some are fused 
 together, and others are greatly modified. 
 
 There are few things more marvellous than the development 
 of a Beetle — say, for example, the Stag Beetle, because we shall 
 presently examine one of these insects in detail. In its larval 
 state it is a large, fat, soft grub, with legs so disproportioned 
 to the size of its body that it cannot walk, but can only move 
 about while lying on one side. It lives in the dark, buried in 
 the interior of some tree, and feeds upon the fragments of 
 wood which it bites off with its short but sharp and powerful 
 jaws. In its perfect state, it is furnished with highly developed 
 legs, with two wide and powerful wings, sheltered under their 
 horny elytra, with an elaborately organised mouth, and two 
 enormous jaws, while the antennae and eyes are in themselves 
 absolute wonders of mechanism. The larva of this Beetle is 
 almost exactly like that of the cockchafer, shown in Plate V. ; 
 and the reader will see that it is hardly possible to imagine a 
 more complete contrast than exists between the very shapeless 
 grub and the insect in its perfect form. 
 
 In the accompanying illustration we have an example of the 
 Beetle, taken to pieces so as to show the various parts. The 
 Stag Beetle has been chosen for the purpose. 
 
 "We begin with the head and its appendages. Fig. 1 shows 
 the mandibles, or upper jaws, which in the male Stag Beetle 
 are of very great size. Fig. 4 shows the maxillae, or lower 
 jaws, with the maxillary palpi, or jaw-feelers. Fig. 4a. Fig. 3 
 shows the labium, or lower lip, with the labial palpi, or lip- 
 feelers, 3a. Next come the antennae, or feelers. Fig. 2. These 
 organs are divided into two parts — namely, the scape, or long 
 joint nearest the head, Fig. 2a, and the club, 26. This latter 
 portion is subject to most extraordinary variations of form, as 
 will be seen in the following pages. 
 
 The head itself is shown at Fig. 5, the upper surface being 
 here given. 5aa are the eyes, 5b the vertex, or crown of the 
 head. 5c is the occiput, or back of the head ; and 5d the 
 
ANATOMY OF A BEETLE. ! 
 
 I 
 
 ...at. 
 
 LUCAN0S CER\TJS. DISSECTION. ' 
 
 Parts of (he Head.— \. Mandibles, or jaws. 2. Antennae. 2a. Scape. 26. Club. 3. 
 Labium, or lower lip. 3(/. Labial palpi, or lip- feelers. 4. Maxillce, or lower jaws. 4a. 
 Maxillary palpi, or jaw-feelers. 5. Head, upper surface. 5«. Eyes. 56. Vertex, or crown. 
 5e. Occiput, or back of head. 5d. Clj-peus, or shield. 6. Head, under surface. 6a. Eyes. 
 66. Insertion of antenna. 
 
 Parts of Thorax and Abdomen.— 1. Pronotum, or upper surface of thorax, la. Lateral margin. 
 76. Anterior margin. 7c. Posterior angles. Id. Posterior margin. le. Anterior angles. 
 8. Pro^temum, or under surface of thorax. 8(7. Sternum. 86. Insertion of coxa;. 9. Meso- 
 thorax and upper surface of abdomen. 9<i. Mesothorax alone. 96. Abdomen, upper surface 
 alone. in. Metastemum and abdomen. 10a. Metasternum alone. 106. Abdomen, under 
 
 12. 
 
 10c. Parapleura, or side pieces. lOd. Episterna, or breast-pieces. 
 
 lla. Tarsi, or feet. 115. Tibia, or shank, 
 lie. Coxa. 13. Intermediate pair of legs. 
 
 surface alone, 
 Scutellum. 
 
 Legs.— \\. Anterior, or first pair of legs. 
 Femur, or thigh. \\d. Trochanter. 
 Posterior pair of legs. 
 
 The ^yings.— \i. Eljtra. \ia. Suture. 
 14e. Diic. 16. Wings folded on abdomen. 
 
 lie. 
 15. 
 
 146. Lateral margin. 14f. Apex. Md. Base. 
 17. Left wing expanded. 18. Right wing folded. 
 
10 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 clypeus, or shield, which covers the actual mouth. Fig. 6 
 shows the under side of the head. 6aa are the eyes, 6b the 
 insertion of the antennae. 
 
 As reference has been made to the eyes, it must be men- 
 tioned that these organs, althoilgh apparently only two in 
 number, are in' reality compound eyes, being made of a vast 
 number of facets gathered into two groups, one on each side of 
 the head. There is an apparent exception to this definition in 
 the well-known Whirligig Beetles (Gyrini), which appear to 
 have four eye-groups, two above and two below. This ex- 
 ception is, however, more apparent than real ; the eye-groups 
 being in fact only two, but each pair being crossed by a band 
 of the horny material of which the outer skeleton is composed. 
 The compound eyes can be seen to great perfection in some of 
 the butterflies ; but for this purpose, a careful manipulation of 
 the microscope is needed. 
 
 If the reader should be disposed to prepare a portion of the 
 compound eye for the microscope, he will find that the opera- 
 tion, though a rather tedious one, will well repay him for the 
 trouble. Should he wish to do so, he can so arrange the eye 
 that some small object can be seen through it, when the effect 
 will be extraordinary, the object being apparently multiplied in 
 accordance with the number of facets in the field of the micro- 
 scope. The result is, in fact, exactly the same as that which is 
 produced by looking at any object through an ordinary multi- 
 plying glass. It is not, however, to be imagined that because 
 the compound eye of the insect has so many facets, the insect 
 perceives the object multiplied in proportion to the facets ; for, 
 although the numerous facets give the insect an extended range 
 of vision, they convey but one image to the brain, just as the 
 duplicate eyes and ears of man convey to the mind but one 
 image and one sound. 
 
 In addition to these compound eyes, many insects possess 
 several small simple eyes, called ocelli. They are very small, 
 and in the Beetles are two in number, and placed on the back 
 of the head. They can be very easily seen in some of the 
 Hymenoptera, such as the bees and wasps. The eyes of the 
 spider are of a similar character. 
 
 Haying examined the head, we now take the next division of 
 
P.4ETS OF THE THORAX. 11 
 
 the insect, namely the thorax. This important part bears all the 
 instruments of locomotion, whether they be legs or wings ; and 
 is most wonderfully constructed for the purpose, being supplied 
 in the interior with hard projections that are needed for 
 supporting the powerful muscular apparatus needful for flight, 
 and the less powerful, but still important system by whicli the 
 legs are moved. 
 
 The thorax is internally divided into three parts, which we 
 call prothorax, or front thorax ; mesothorax, or middle thorax ; 
 and metathorax, or hinder thorax. Beginning with the pro- 
 thorax, we find it again divided into two portions, the upper 
 and the lower — the former going by the name of pronotum, i.e. 
 in front of the back, and the other called presternum, i.e. in 
 front of the breast. Fig. 7 shows the pronotum of the Stag 
 Beetje : laa are the lateral margins, 76 is the anterior margin, 
 7cc are the posterior angles, Id the posterior margin, and lee 
 the anterior angles. 
 
 Next we come to the presternum, which is shown at Fig. 8 ; 
 8a being the sternum, and 866 the insertion of the coxa, a joint 
 which will be presently described. 
 
 The mesothorax with the abdomen is shown at Figs. 9 and 10, 
 the former exhibiting the upper, and the latter the under sur- 
 face. In the last figure, a is the metasternum, 6 the abdomen, 
 c the parapleura, or side-pieces (sometimes called paraptera, 
 because they are situated by the wings), and d the episterna, 
 or breast-pieces. 
 
 Each of these portions is set apart for a definite use, and is 
 'employed for the attachment of some portion of the locomotive 
 apparatus. 
 
 The presternum is used to carry the front pair of legs, as 
 can be seen by looking at the under side of any large Beetle, 
 or indeed of any small one, by the aid of a magnifier. 
 
 The mesothorax bears the elytra, or wing cases, and the 
 intermediate pair of legs, the former being attached to the 
 upper part, or mesonotum, and the latter to the lower part, or 
 mesosternum. The reader must remember that the word 
 ' sternum ' always signifies the breast, or under side of the 
 thorax, and 'notum' the back, or upper side. Lastly, the 
 mesothorax Bears the lower, or membranous, wings and the 
 last pair of legs. As before, the wings are attached to the 
 
12 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 upper part, or metanotum, and the legs to the lower part, or 
 metasternum. 
 
 We come now to the legs, the three pairs of which are repre- 
 sented successively at Figs. 11, 13, 15; the first pair being 
 called the anterior legs, the second the internr^ediate legs, and 
 the third the posterior legs. 
 
 These legs are divided into several portions, which are 
 marked at Fig. 11. Beginning at the extremity of the limb, a 
 is the tarsus, or foot, which consists of several joints. There 
 are mostly five joints in the tarsus of Beetles, but in many 
 families one or two of the joints are so small as scarcely to be 
 visible, and only to be detected by a practised eye with the 
 aid of a lens. Next comes the tibia, or shank, which is shown 
 at 6. Then follows the femur, or thigh, as seen at c. This 
 is attached to a small joint called the trochanter, which 
 is drawn at d; and last comes the coxa, or the joint which 
 connects the limb with the thorax. The action of the coxa 
 is very curious, it being a kind of ball-and-socket joi^it, but 
 with a limited range of movement, so that the leg? cannot 
 be spread too far. The same divisions of the joints ar»j found 
 in the three sets of legs. 
 
 We next come to the wings. The upper pair, or elytra, are 
 shown at Fig. 14. For convenience of description they are 
 marked into several divisions. Fig. l-ia is the suture, or line 
 of junction between the two elytra. The apex is shown at c, 
 and the base at d. The middle, or disc, is marked e, and the 
 lateral margin is at b. Fig. 17 shows one of the wings ex- 
 panded, as if for flight; Fig. 18 is the opposite wing, repre- 
 sented as folded, and at Fig. 16 are shown both wings as they 
 appear when the elytra are removed. 
 
 At first sight some of these terms may appear to be harsh, 
 repulsive, and difficult to master. In reality they are not so, 
 and a knowledge of them is absolutely necessary to anyone 
 who wishes to understand the description of an insect, and 
 himself to describe insects intelligibly. They form a kind 
 of shorthand by which knowledge can be rapidly communicated, 
 and the trouble taken in learning them is atnply repaid by the 
 advantage gained by the student, even were the trouble multi- 
 plied tenfold. 
 
 But, in reality, there is scarcely any trouble Heeded. If the 
 
MODE OF DISSECTING BEETLES. 13 
 
 intending entomolooist should content himself with merely 
 learning a string of names by rote, he must expect to find his 
 lesson a hard and repulsive one, and that it will be forgotten 
 almost as soon as. learned. Practical knowledge is ever the 
 best, and the reader who intends to become an entomologist 
 should take some Beetle— the largest he can find— and com- 
 pare it, piece by piece, with the figures and description. 
 
 The most effective plan of all, however, is to take the Beetle 
 entirely to pieces, and to lay out the portions on a card in 
 their proper order, numbering each piece, and wi-iting an 
 index to the numbers. The various portions can be fixed to 
 the card by diamond cement or Kay's coaguline, the latter 
 having the advantage of great holding power, so that a very 
 little is required, perfect transparency, and sufficient elasticity 
 to guard against the tendency to chip away from the object, 
 which is so unpleasant in ordinary gum. I recommend taking 
 two Beetles, so as to show the upper and under sides of each 
 portion. This will be found peculiarly interesting in the 
 thorax. 
 
 Before any attempt at dissecting the Beetle it should be 
 steeped in soft water for a time, until the sof<? parts are 
 thoroughly dissolved. The water should then be poured away, 
 and fresh water substituted until the whole of the muscles and 
 viscera have been washed away. Care must be taken lest any of 
 the smaller joints be lost during this process. When the whole 
 skeleton is fairly laid out, it can be mounted in a glass frame, 
 and, besides serving as an infiilible guide to the external ana- 
 tomy of the Beetle, it is really a pretty and ornamental object. 
 Many years ago, when I first began the study of entomology, 
 I thus prepared several Beetles, and the knowledge thus gained 
 has never been lost. Had I studied books alone, I should 
 not liave been able to gain the information half so easily, or to 
 have retained it half as long. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 THE GEODEPHAGA. 
 
 The word with which this chapter is headed is not a very 
 alluring- one, and yet to an entomologist it would say that the 
 chapter contains the history of the best developed and some of 
 the most interesting of the British Beetles. The term Greode- 
 phaga is formed from two Greek words, signifying earth-de- 
 vourers, and is given to the large group of predacious Beetles 
 which live on the ground. There is another large group, called 
 the Hydradephaga, or water-devourers, i.e. those, predacious 
 Beetles which inhabit the water. We will take these two 
 important groups in succession, selecting such examples as 
 may best illustrate them. 
 
 It must be, in the first place, observed that any Beetle may 
 be recognised as belonging to either of these great groups by 
 the structure of the mouth. In reference to the illustrations 
 already described, the reader will see that each of the maxillae^ 
 (Fig. 4) is furnished with a four-jointed maxillary palpus. All 
 these carnivorous Beetles possess the same organs, but, in addi- 
 tion, they have an inner lobe, which is also furnished with its 
 palpus. Several examples of this structure may be seen by 
 reference to the accompanying illustration (Figs, a, c, e, and/). 
 Both these groups are associated in one large group called 
 Adephaga, the word being a Greek one, and signifying greedy 
 or gluttonous. 
 
 Beginning with the Geodephaga, we take the first family of 
 the group, the Cicindelidse, or Tiger Beetles. In all these 
 Beetles there is a little movable hook at the end of the 
 maxillae, and the ligula is very short, and not appearing beyond 
 the mentum. There is only one genus of these Beetles in- 
 habiting England, and this is the typical genus Cicindela. The 
 
TIGER BEETLES. 
 
 15 
 
 members of this genus vary but little in size, being about half 
 an inch in length, having slender legs and antennae, powerful 
 and curved jaws, and very rounded and prominent eyes. They 
 are all prettily coloured, and some are absolutely magnificent 
 when viewed with the aid of a magnifying glass. 
 
 Never was a popular name more appropriate tlian the title 
 of Tiger Beetles, which has been given to this genus. If we 
 
 COLEOPTERA. 
 
 1. Dromius quadrimaculatus. 2. Lebia cyai.occphala. 3. Tarus axillaris. 4. Cli-vina 
 fossor. 5. Kotiophiliis biguttatus. a. Dromius, maxilla. b. Cicindela, head. c. 
 
 Cicindela, maxiUary palpus. d, Tarus, labial palpi. e. Xotiophilus, maxillary palpi. 
 
 /. Lebia, maxillary palpi. 
 
 can imagine tigers who, in addition to active limbs, their 
 teeth, and their talons, are furnished with large and powerful 
 wings, we can form some idea of the part which these creatures 
 play in the world of insects. 
 
 We will take as our first and typical example the common 
 Green Tiger Beetle or Sparkler {Cicindela campestris). 
 
16 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 At Fig. b of Woodcut II. is shown the head of this insect, 
 magnified some six diameters, in order to show the extremely 
 formidable jaws with which it is armed. These jaws are not 
 only sharp at their points, and strongly cm'ved, but are boldly 
 toothed ; so that when the Beetle has once seized its prey, the 
 unfortunate insect has but little chance of escape. 
 
 The colour of this beautiful beetle is gold-green above, and 
 shining coppei-green below ; and there are several yellowish 
 spots on the elytra, varying much in shape, number, and hue. 
 Sometimes there are only three, but in many specimens there 
 are six. In former times, the variety in the number of spots 
 was thought to indicate that the Beetles belonged to different 
 species, but it is now decisively ascertained that they are only 
 varieties of one single species. 
 
 "When this Beetle is casually examined, the elytra and head 
 5eem to be merely dull green, but when a powerful light is 
 brought to bear on them, and they are placed under a trust- 
 worthy lens, they absolutely blaze with gem-like hues, so that 
 the eye is almost dazzled with their splendour. Scarcely any 
 two specimens are exactly alike, but in all there is a brilliant 
 metallic resplendence, sometimes as of pale gold, and some- 
 times as of red gold. 
 
 If the wing-cases be opened, and the broad membranous wings 
 spread, the upper surface of the abdomen is seen to be deep 
 shining blue, very much like the colour of the ordinary ' blue- 
 bottle ' fly. As the Beetle darts through the air in the sunshine, 
 the light glitters on the burnished blue surface, a circumstance 
 which has earned for the Beetle the popular name of Sparkler. 
 
 One peculiarity of this insect is the strong but pleasing 
 scent which it emits. I well remember the first time that I 
 saw and captured this Beetle. It was on a sandy bank in 
 Bagley Wood, near Oxford, and I could not for some time 
 guess the origin of the pleasant, sweet-briar sort of scent which 
 clung to my hands. For some time I thought that I must 
 have grasped some fragrant herb, and it was not until I had 
 taken the Beetles out of the box (where, by the way, nearly 
 one half had been killed and partly eaten by the other half) 
 that I discovered the real source of the perfume. 
 
 The habits of all the species being very similar, we will pass 
 to another insect belonging to the same genus. 
 
PLATE I. 
 TIGER BEETLES AND BOMBARDIER. 
 
 1. Cicindela sylvatica and larva. 
 
 2. Cicindela maritima and larva. 
 
 3. Cicindela germauica and larva. 
 
 4. Broscus cephaloles. 
 
 5. Bracliinus crepitans. 
 
 6. Carabus monilis. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Bramble (Hubus fruticosus). Above. 
 Heatli (Erica cinered). Right of Middle. 
 Lavender Thi-ift (Statice Limoniitm). Left of Middle. 
 Fem (Pteris aquilina). Above Heath. , 
 
LARVA OF THE TIGER BEETLE. 17 
 
 On Plate I. Fig. 1, is seen the Wood Tiger Beetle {Cicindela 
 sylvatica). This, although a really beautiful insect, cannot lay 
 claim to the splendid colouring which adorns its congener, the 
 Green Tiger Beetle. 
 
 The colour of this insect is brown above, with a decided 
 purple gloss. The elytra have a cream-white curved mark at 
 the base, a narrow wavy mark of the same colour in the 
 middle, and a round spot close to the apex. Below, it is deep 
 bluish-green, often glossed with copper and purple. 
 
 This species is found in various parts of England, and chiefly 
 haunts sandy heaths and similar places. The reason for this 
 habit is, that in such localities the larva can find a home, and 
 the perfect insect a livelihood. The larva of the Tiger Beetle 
 is an odd-looking creature, having a broad flat head, armed with 
 sickle-shaped jaws, and the two next segments very large. 
 The eighth segment is developed to an extraordinary degree, 
 and is furnished on the back with two large tubercles crowned 
 with reddish bristles, and carrying two sharp recurved hooks, the 
 use of which will presently be seen. In consequence of this 
 peculiar form, the larva has been compared in shape to the 
 capital letter Z. The colour is whitish. 
 
 These odd-looking larvse are burrowers, making tunnels in 
 the sandy soil nearly eighteen inches in depth, and a little 
 wider than the diameter of the body. They excavate in rather 
 an ingenious manner. With their jaws, assisted by their front 
 pair of legs, they scrape away the sand, and allow it to rest upon 
 the flat broad head. They then work their way up the tunnel, 
 and, when they have reached the orifice, throw off the biirden. 
 The creature intends to make a perpendicular burrow, but is 
 sometimes obliged to alter its shape, in consequence of coming 
 across a stone or a furze-root. Sometimes, if a stone or root 
 happens to be a large one, the larva is obliged to abandon its 
 unfinished task, and begin another tunnel. 
 
 On Plate I. are shown the tunnels of several species of 
 Cicindela ; the larva being shown in the burrow, and the 
 perfect insect near its mouth. The third btUTow, that of 
 Cicindela germanica, is represented as only partially completed, 
 so that the larva might be shown in its attitude of repose. 
 
 When the larva feels hungry, which is generally the case, it 
 ascends to the mouth of the tunnel, and anchors itself there by 
 
18 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 pressing tlie points of the hooks against the sides, so that no 
 muscular exertion is required in order to keep itself from 
 falling down the burrow. It then opens its jaws widely, and 
 waits for prey. In this position it is all but invisible ; and 
 many a small insect runs heedlessly within its reach, and is 
 instantly seized in the terrible jaws. No sooner is the capture 
 made than the Cicindela larva retires to the end of its tunnel, 
 and there devours its prey in peace. At Fig. 3 of Plate I. is 
 shown the larva at the bottom of the burrow, engaged in eating 
 an ant which it has just caught. 
 
 It is not very easy to procure the larvee, even in places where 
 they are tolerably common. In the first place, their peculiar 
 mode of life keeps them much out of sight. The mouth of the 
 burrow is not large; and when the larva suspects danger, it 
 immediately retreats to the bottom of its tunnel, and there 
 waits until it feels that the danger has passed by. In the next 
 place, even when the creature has been detected, to capture it 
 is a difficult task, owing to the nature of the soil, which is apt 
 to fall in when disturbed, and so to fill up the burrow and hide 
 the inhabitant. The best plan for catching these creatures 
 without injuring them is to introduce into the bmTow a flexible 
 grass-stalk, or something of the same natm-e, and to pass it 
 gently down to the very bottom of the tunnel in which the 
 larva is lying. By carefully digging around the grass-stalk, 
 the hidden grub can be secured. 
 
 More care is required in this operation than might at first 
 seem to be needful. The trowel or ' digger ' should be put 
 into the ground at least eight inches from the mouth of the 
 burrow, and qmte a large hole should be dug ; as, if it be made 
 too small, the point of the trowel is apt to crush the soft- 
 bodied grub. Then, the grass-stalk must be carefully held 
 upright in the left hand, while the right hand is employed in 
 digging ; as, if unsupported, it is sure to fall out of the burrow 
 as soon as the operator has dug within some two or three 
 inches of the bottom of the hole, and then all the labour is 
 lost. These larvae may be found about May, and a second 
 brood about August and the beginning of September. 
 
 Many insects are very voracious in the larval condition, but 
 become comparatively indifferent to food when they reach their 
 perfect state. This, however, is not the case with the Tiger 
 
THE LEBIADJE. 19 
 
 Beetles, which only cease from eating during the short period 
 of their pupal existence. In localities which these insects 
 prefer, such as sand-banks which are totally sheltered from the 
 wind, they may be seen busily engaged in .chasing their prey. 
 They are more active in the air than any other Beetle, having 
 a way of spreading and folding their beautiful wings so instan- 
 taneously that they look more like flies than Beetles. Most 
 Beetles are very deliberate in preparing for flight and alighting 
 after it, but the Tiger Beetles are quite exceptional in this 
 respect, and dash about as easily as if their wings had not to be 
 imfolded and repacked under the elytra. 
 
 One exception to the general rule is found in the Cidndela 
 germanica. 
 
 This is the smallest of the British Cicindelidse, being only 
 five lines in length. Its body is rather cylindrical, and its 
 colour is much like that of the first-mentioned species, the 
 elytra being of a similar dull, but rich green. The elytra have 
 a cream-white spot on the shoulder, one near the middle of the 
 lateral margin, and a crescent-shaped mark at the apex. It is 
 blue-green below, glossed with a copper tinge. 
 
 Contrary to the habits of the other Tiger Beetles, this 
 species prefers wet to dry places, and has a liking for brackish 
 marshes. It does not take to wing as do its congeners, but it 
 is a very rapid runner, and traverses the wet surface of the 
 ground with gi'eat speed. It appears to be one of those species 
 which are at once intermittent and local in their appearance ; 
 being found plentifully in one season in some favoured locality, 
 and then disappearing for years. Black Gang Chine, in the Isle 
 of Wight, is said to be the place most frequented by this insect. 
 
 Another species, Gicindela maritima, is shown on Plate I. 
 Fig. 2. It is purplish or coppery-chocolate above, the coppery 
 hue being plainest along the suture ; and the elytra have a 
 cream-white mark at the base and apex, and a wavy band in 
 the middle. It prefers the sand of the sea-shore, and may be 
 found on many of our sandy coasts. 
 
 We now come to the next family of British Beetles, tho 
 Lebiadae. All the Beetles of this family may be known by the 
 
 c -i 
 
20 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 appearance of the elytra, which do not extend to the end of the 
 abdomen, and are abruptly squared, looking almost as if they 
 had been cut off. If their first pair of legs be examined, the 
 tibise will be seen notched on the inner side. They are all 
 rather small Beetles, and some are very prettily coloured. 
 They are tolerably active when they choose to take the trouble 
 of moving ; but they are much given to hiding themselves in 
 all kinds of crevices, so that some trouble is requisite in order 
 to procure them. 
 
 The young entomologist must always bear in mind that the 
 most unpromising localities will often prove to be singularly 
 rich in insects, and that Beetles especially may be found in 
 any spot where there is a crack or a hole. Large stones are 
 nearly sure to shelter a Beetle or two beneath them ; moss is 
 generally full of them ; and a heap of decaying grass or leaves 
 is a hotbed which seems as well fitted to produce Beetles as to 
 force plants. The loose bark of trees always has Beetles under 
 it; and small Beetles creep into the burrows which larger 
 Beetles have made in the decajdng wood of the tree. When a 
 quantity of long moss is to be seen, it is a good plan to fill a 
 bag with it — a paper bag will do in lieu of anything better — 
 and to bring it home, when it can be carefully examined by 
 shaking it bit by bit over a large sheet of white paper. Grass- 
 tufts can be treated in a similar manner, and mostly with great 
 success. Lumps of dry earth can also be brought home, where 
 they can be broken up and leisurely searched. 
 
 The typical example of this family is shown on Plate IL 
 Fig. 1. Its name is Lehia crux-minor. The insects belonging 
 to this genus have hard and somewhat flattened bodies, and 
 the antennae rather thickened towards the tip. The second 
 joint is the shortest, and the third the longest, the others 
 being of about equal length. One of the maxillary palf)i is 
 drawn on Woodcut II. Fig. /. 
 
 The colour of this species is very decided. The head is 
 black and ' punctated,' i.e. covered with minute holes or punc- 
 tures, and the thorax and elytra are rust-red, the latter being 
 marked with a bold black cross. No' one can mistake this 
 pretty Beetle who has once seen it ; but, unfortunately, to see it 
 except in cabinets is a very rare event, and any entomologist 
 
VAEIETY OF COLOUR AND SIZE. 21 
 
 who is fortunate enough to capture it, is sure to publish the 
 fact. It is probably one of the intermittent and local species, 
 as' it has been taken in some numbers near the Devil's Dyke, 
 at Brighton. The length of the Beetle is about a quarter of 
 an inch. 
 
 Another species of this genus is drawn on Woodcut II. 
 Fig. 2. This is called Lebia cyanocephala. The latter of 
 these two words signifies blue-headed, and is given to the 
 insect because its head, instead of being black, like that of the 
 preceding species, is bluish-green. The thorax is rust-red, and 
 is much punctated, and has a definite though slight groove 
 along its centre. The colour of the elytra is somewhat variable, 
 but is generally greenish-blue, in some specimens being almost 
 entirely green, and in others almost entirely blue. It is bluish- 
 green beneath. 
 
 The size of the insect is as variable as its colour, some 
 specimens being quite a third larger than others. Its average 
 length is a quarter of an inch, or rather less. It is not a 
 common Beetle, but may be found upon the broom in the 
 summer time. 
 
 There is a common species of this beautiful genus also to 
 be procured from the broom. This is Lebia chlorocephala. 
 It much resembles the preceding insect in colour, but may be 
 known by the greater depth of the punctui-es on the head, and 
 the longer and narrower thorax, with the posterior angles more 
 pointed. Like the preceding insect, it is exceedingly variable 
 both in colour and size. Mr. Stephens states that the specimens 
 which he took from the broom in Epping Forest were scarcely 
 half as large as those taken on the same tree in Darenth Wood, 
 * and that in the Epping Beetles the prevailing colour was blue, 
 while in the Darenth specimens it was green. 
 
 The genus Dromius comes next on our list. There are nine 
 sjjecies of Dromius, all of them small and rather pretty insects. 
 Although they are almost invariably found under the bark of 
 trees, they must not be confounded with those little Beetles 
 which devour the bark or bore into the wood. On the con- 
 trary, such insects constitute the food of the Dromii, so that 
 
22 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the latter ought to be encouraged and protected as far as pos- 
 sible. Their bodies are long and flattish, so as to enable them 
 to run about under the bark in search of prey. The maxilla of 
 a Dromius is shown on Woodcut II. Fig. a. 
 
 On the same illustration, at Fig. 1, is shown a Beetle which 
 may be accepted as the type of the genus. Its name is Dro- 
 Tnius quadriTYiaculatus, the latter name being given to it on 
 account of the four white marks upon the elytra. The head of 
 this species is black, and the thorax is rust-red. The elytra 
 are brown, and each of them has two white spots, as shown in 
 the illustration. The length of the Beetle is designated by 
 the line drawn by its side. It can be taken in various localities. 
 Throughout the year it can mostly be found by removing the 
 dead bark of trees, but in winter it can sometimes be found 
 under stones and in heaps of decaying leaves. 
 
 The word Dromius is of Greek origin, signifying a runner, 
 and is given to the members of this genus in consequence of 
 their activity. 
 
 The members of the genus Tarus can be known by examining 
 the structure of their mouths, and especially by looking at the 
 labial palpi, which have the last joint very large, and shaped 
 like an axe-head. This shape is technically termed by ento- 
 mologists ' securiform,' from the Latin word securis, an axe or 
 hatchet. The figure d, of Woodcut No. II., represents the 
 labial palpi of a Tarus, and will at once explain the shape 
 which the word securiform expresses. 
 
 On the same Woodcut, at Fig. 3, is drawn the owner of the 
 securiform palpi in question, Tarus axillaris. 
 
 Three members of this genus are known to inhabit England. 
 They are little Beetles, long bodied, and very flat, so as to 
 enable them to creep into small crevices. They are sombre in 
 hue, and not very easily distinguished from each other. Indeed, 
 even expert entomologists have been perplexed about these 
 Beetles, and some confusion has, in consequence, arisen respect- 
 ing their nomenclature. 
 
 The present species is rather less than the third of an inch 
 in length. Its colour is pitchy-black, but the thorax, legs, and 
 antennae are reddish, and the latter are downy at the tips. 
 The elytra are very polished, and have bold striae covered with 
 
THE BOMBAEDIER BEETLE. 23 
 
 punctures, and there is a dull orange mark on the shoulder, 
 a line of the same hue running along the lateral margin. 
 None of the Tari are common, but they may be found nea the 
 sea-coast, hidden under stones in damp and marshy places. 
 
 If the reader will refer to Plate I. Fig. 5, he will see repre- 
 sented an event which frequently occm-s in the insect world, 
 and which, in spite of its frequency, never fails to attract at- 
 tention and excite admiration. 
 
 There is a prettily-made, though soberly-coloured, little 
 Beetle, called Brachinus explodens, the latter title beino- 
 given to it in consequence of a most singular property which 
 it possesses, and which is almost unique in the animal kingdom. 
 It secretes a remarkable volatile fluid, which it has the power 
 of retaining or expelling at will. When alarmed, it throws 
 •out a small quantity of this fluid, which immediately vola- 
 tilises with a slight explosion when it comes in contact with 
 the atmosphere, and looks very much like the fire of miniature 
 artillery. In consequence of this phenomenon, the insect which 
 produces it is popularly called the Bombardier Beetle. 
 
 This curious property is used in defence. The Beetle, being 
 a small and comparatively feeble one, is liable to be attacked 
 by the larger Geodephaga, especially by those belonging to the 
 genus Carabus. Tlie lesser insect could have no chance of 
 escape but for its curious weapons of defence. When the 
 Carabus chases the Brachinus, the latter waits until the former 
 has nearly reached its prey, and then fires a gun, so to speak, 
 in its face. The effect on the Carabus is ludicrous. The 
 insect seems quite scared at such a repulse, stops, backs away 
 from the tiny blue cloud, and allows its intended prey to reach 
 a place of safety. 
 
 The illustration represents this scene. The pursuing Beetle, 
 Carabus Tnonilis, is chasing the Bombardier, and has very 
 Hearly captured it, but is stopped by a discharge of artillery, 
 under cover of which the Bombardier will make off. Mean- 
 while, the Carabus, exchanging its rapid advance for a retreat 
 nearly as rapid, throws its antennae backwards — a movement 
 which is analogous to that of a dog when it drops its tail be- 
 tween its legs — and, before it can recover itself, its intended 
 prey has made good its escape.. 
 
24 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The Brachini may be identified by the very convex body, 
 and their palpi without the securiform terminal joint. The 
 Bombardier Beetle is reddish-yellow, with dull deep-blue 
 elytra. It is, however, a variable species, as are all, or nearly 
 all, of those in which green or blue is the prevailing colour, 
 and, though most specimens are blue, or blue-black, some are 
 deep blackish-green. It also varies greatly in size, some 
 specimens being not a quarter of an inch in length, and others 
 more than the third of an inch long. 
 
 These Beetles love wet situations, especially when the water 
 is brackish, and hide under stones and in crevices, so that they 
 are seldom seen except by insect hunters. The banks of tidal 
 rivers are good hunting grounds for the searchers after 
 Brachini, such as the Thames, from Erith, or even Woolwich, to 
 its mouth. They are found in greatest numbers below Grraves- 
 end, and ten or twelve may sometimes be seen under a single - 
 stone, firing off their artillery when deprived of their shelter. 
 
 The volatile fluid which produces such curious effects is 
 secreted in a little sac just within the end of the abdomen. 
 It is not only capable of repelling the larger Beetles by its 
 explosion and cloud of blue vapour, but is potent enough to 
 discolour the human skin when discharged against it, as many 
 have found who have captured Bombardier Beetles by hand. 
 Should it get within the eyelids, the pain and irritation pro- 
 duced resemble those which would be caused by a correspond- 
 ing amount of the strongest vinegar. 
 
 The whole of the contents are not ejected at one discharge, 
 but there is sufficient to produce a series of explosions, each 
 perceptibly fainter than its predecessor. Even after the death 
 of the Beetle, the explosions may be produced by pressing the 
 abdomen between the finger and thumb. Even in our small 
 British species the phenomenon is very surprising, but there 
 are much larger species in hotter countries, which produce 
 much louder explosions, accompanied with quite a cloud of 
 vapour. Two British species of Brachinus are known to ento- 
 mologists. 
 
 We come now to another family of Greodephaga, of which 
 we can but take one example. The Scaritidse, like the pre- 
 ceding family, are seldom seen in the open air, but, instead of 
 
DIGGING FOR BEETLES. 25 
 
 creeping into clefts already existing, they make tunnels for 
 themselves. Tunnelling Beetles are almost invariably cyliudric 
 in shape, and this is the ease with the Scaritidse. The thorax 
 of these Beetles is rather peculiarly shaped, being separated 
 from the abdomen by a sort of neck, or ' pedunculated,' if we 
 use the scientific term. The tibiae of the first pair of legs, 
 which are the tools chiefly used in burrowing, are very hard, 
 very strong, and boldly toothed, and the antennae are short, 
 and have scarcely any distinction between the joints. 
 
 One of the best examples of the Scaritidse is shown on Wood- 
 cut II. Fig. 4, and is an insect called Clivina fossor. The 
 length of this Beetle is rather more than a quarter of an inch. 
 Its colour is exceedingly variable, ranging from pitchy-black 
 to chestnut, brown, or even brick-red. This variation in colour 
 depends chiefly upon the exposure to the air, the oldest speci- 
 mens being the darkest. This gradual darkening by exposure 
 to light is very frequent among insects ; and a too familiar 
 example may be found in the common cockroach, which is 
 often seen almost white, darkening gradually until it assumes 
 its well-known red-brown hue. There are only two British 
 examples of this genus. 
 
 Usually, the Clivina is found under stones and in heaps of 
 decaying vegetable matter, but I have taken great numbers 
 out of a large rotten log, which was seen to be full of their 
 burrows as soon as the bark was removed. I took out of the 
 same log both the larvae and pupae of the same Beetle, having 
 nothing to do but to break up the soft and rotten wood with a 
 powerful digger, previously laying a newspaper below the 
 log. The insects fell out in numbers without being injured, 
 and could be taken in any number. 
 
 The instrument which is here mentioned was not of the usual 
 form, but was made to order, and a very useful article it was. 
 It was shaped something like a mattock, the blade being 
 trowel-shaped and slightly curved, and a broad hammer taking 
 the place of the prongs. The blade was very strong and sharp- 
 edged, and on occasion could serve as an axe, while the 
 hammer end was useful for breaking up the hardened earth in 
 which many Beetles reside. It was particularly useful during 
 hard frosts, because the Beetles are then in their winter quarters, 
 and cannot be got at without some such weapon. If I were 
 
26 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 to have another digger made, I should have the handle pro- 
 longed into a sort of crow-bar with a rather sharp edge, so as 
 to be able to use it as chisel and lever united. 
 
 When the insects are captured, the next business is to know 
 how to deal with them. There is not the least difficulty with 
 soft-bodied moths or butterflies, as they can be easily killed 
 when caught; but the hard-bodied Beetles are not so easily 
 deprived of life, and a great number of them will fight if 
 placed in the 'same vessel, and eat, or at least mutilate, each 
 other. There is nothing better for such insects, or rather for 
 their capturer, than the ' laurel-bottle.' This is very easily 
 made. Take a wide-mouthed bottle, and fit a cork very firmly 
 into it. Bore a hole through the cork, and insert in the hole 
 a swan-quill or short metal tube about two inches long, so that 
 it may project at least half an inch through the cork into the 
 bottle. The upper end should be stopped with a cork, and it 
 will be better to cut the cork so long that it can be removed 
 by holding it between the teeth. I always cut the upper part 
 of the tube slopingly, so that a very small Beetle can be scooped 
 up with it. 
 
 For many Beetles nothing more is requisite, except to put a 
 piece of crumpled rag at tlie bottom, so as to give them a foothold; 
 but for the fiercer and voracious Adephaga an additional precau- 
 tion is required, and they must be killed as soon as they are 
 put into the bottle, or an undisfigured specimen will never be 
 obtained. 
 
 If a bottle can be obtained without any neck, the following 
 is the neatest way of making a laurel-bottle : — Cut a flat cork 
 that fits rather tightly in the bottle, but not too tightly to be 
 pushed up and down. Take out a portion of its middle, and 
 insert a piece of fine mre gauze. It will be better to pass a 
 string through each side of the ' plug,' as we will call this cork, 
 and knot them underneath, so that when the plug is to be 
 withdrawn it can be pulled up by the strings. 
 
 Next, procure a handful of the young buds and leaves of 
 laurel, put them into the bottle, and crush them into a paste 
 with the handle of a knife or some such instrument. Now 
 insert the plug, press it down upon the crushed leaves, put in 
 the cork, and the 'laurel-bottle' is complete. If the bottle 
 should have a neck, make a small gauze bag, tie up the 
 
THE LAUREL-BOTTLE AND THE SWEEP-NET. 27 
 
 crushed laurel in it, and put it into the bottle. In either 
 case, the bottle must be kept firmly corked, or the vapour will 
 escape. 
 
 The use of the bottle will be shown as soon as it is employed. 
 Let a Beetle, however large, fierce, or voracious, be put into it, 
 and its fate is at once sealed. It begins to kick and struggle, 
 as if it knew its danger ; but in less than a second the strug- 
 gling is evidently over, and the insect tunis on its back, with 
 its legs quivering in the poisoned air. The fact is, the laurel 
 contains a large amount of prussic acid, and the interior of the 
 bottle is charged with its vapour. Now, as has already been 
 mentioned, the breathing apparatus of an insect pervades the 
 whole of the body, even to the end of the limbs ; and when the 
 poisonous vapour is inhaled, it penetrates simultaneously the 
 entire system, and causes almost instantaneous death. It will 
 be as well for the beginner to use the laurel-bottle for all 
 Beetles, as it does not damage them, and he need not trouble 
 himself to distinguish the voracious from the harmless species. 
 
 There is only one drawback to the laurel-bottle, and this 
 is more apparent than real. It stiffens the limbs, so that the 
 insects cannot be ' set ' properly, and the legs will rather break 
 than bend. However, this difficulty is overcome in a very 
 simple way — Jiamely, by leaving them in the bottle for a few 
 days, when the rigid limbs will become relaxed and as flexible 
 as they were during life. Some care, however, is required, as, 
 if they are left too long in tht bottle, the process of softening 
 extends too far, and the limbs are apt to fall off altogether. 
 
 Very few instruments are required for the capture of Beetles 
 besides the digger which has already been described. Two 
 nets are almost indispensable, one made of stout net, and the 
 other of brown holland or the strongest linen. The former 
 should be about seven inches in diameter, and is used for 
 fishing Water Beetles and their larvsB out of ponds, ditches, and 
 streams. 
 
 The latter, which is called from its use the sweep-net, re- 
 quires to be made with some care, as it meets with very rough 
 usage, and, unless properly made, will soon be worn out. The 
 depth should be at least twice its diameter. 
 
 The framework of the net is simply a ring or hoop about 
 nine inches in diameter, made of iron or brass about as thick 
 
28 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 as an ordinary quill. If it be of lighter material, it "will not 
 endure the roug-h work for which it is made. The rina: is 
 covered loosely with the strongest tape, and to the tape is 
 sewn the net itself, which is nothing more than a bag of holland 
 or linen. The best sweep-nets have a number of small rings 
 soldered on the inside of the hoop. A stout wire is run through 
 the rings, and the net is made fast to the wire. By this plan 
 the net will outlast twenty nets made in the ordinary way. 
 The angles at the bottom of the net should be carefully 
 rounded off. 
 
 Now for thfc mode of using it. The simplest plan is to 
 attach to the ring a strong screw which fits into a ferrule at the 
 end of a stout walking-stick. The entomologist can, there- 
 fore, go about his task without betraying any signs of his 
 occupation. The sweep-net and water- net, folded round their 
 rings, are placed in one pocket, the laurel-bottle is in another ; 
 the digger is hidden under the skirts of the coat, and a pair of 
 curved forceps is in the waistcoat pocket. 
 
 When a promising sweeping-place is found, such as a hedge- 
 row, some long grass, fern or heather, a quantity of nettles, a 
 turnip field, or any such locality, the sweep-net is screwed to the 
 walking-stick, the laurel-bottle hung by a string to a button, 
 and all is ready. The net is then swept at random backwards 
 and forwards among the herbage, the stroke always having 
 an upward direction. This, with a little practice, can be done 
 so rapidly as scarcely to impede the walk. It is better, how- 
 ever, only to sweep one kind of plant at a time, so as to be 
 sure of the particular herb or vegetable frequented by each 
 species. 
 
 After a time, comes the examination of the net. Lay it flat 
 on the ground, doubling it over, so that the pressure of the 
 hoop prevents the inmates from escaping. Now, draw it through 
 the hoop very slowly, taking care that none of the more active 
 Beetles make their escape, especially those which hop and fly ; 
 seize the insects as they make their appearance, and drop them 
 into the laurel-bottle, always replacing the cork. Most Beetles 
 — and, in fact, nearly all that are taken in the sweep-net — will 
 pass through the tube ; but the large Grround Beetles, some of 
 the Water Beetles and chafers, and one or two others, require 
 to have the large cork removed. 
 
MODE OF SETTING BEETLES. 29 
 
 On returning home, tlie entomologist should take out the 
 cork ffora the laurel-bottle, and empty the insects into some 
 boiling water, as some of the species have the strongest objec- 
 tion to die, and, after they have been apparently killed, have 
 a habit of reviving in a manner that is rather startling to 
 the young entomologist. It is no uncommon thing for an in- 
 sect-hunter to capture a number of Beetles, set them, put them 
 away in the ' setting-box,' and then, after a week or so, to find 
 three or four of them kicking about and doing their best to 
 escape. Some of the Geodephaga have been known to drag 
 the pin from the board, and, though still impaled, to devour 
 their fellow sufferers. 
 
 Ordinary Beetles can be taken by hand, but for the very 
 small species the forceps is used. This instrument should 
 be of good length. The regular dealers offer for sale a brass 
 forceps about two inches in length. This is nearly useless. 
 Gret the forceps of steel, at least four inches long, and made 
 with a curve. The curved forceps is just as useful as the 
 straight instrument for picking up a Beetle from the ground, 
 while it can be inserted into crevices which the straight 
 forceps could not enter. 
 
 ' Setting ' Beetles is not a difficult matter. For moderately- 
 sized Beetles the following plan answers perfectly. Take a fine 
 pin, such as are sold for the purpose, and pass it through the 
 disc of the right elytron, and so fix the Beetle on a board. Now 
 draw out its legs, and place them in their natural position, 
 fixing them, if required, with pins and little bits of card-board. 
 Treat the antennae and palpi in the same way, and nothing 
 more is needed. 
 
 Very small Beetles should be fixed on white card-board with 
 coaguline. If the cement be well thinned, there will be plenty 
 of time to fix tlie legs and antennae before it sets. Only one 
 Beetle should be set on one piece of card. In all cases, if the 
 Beetle have wings, and several specimens can be procured, one of 
 them should be set with the wings expanded as in flight ; and, 
 when card is used, one specimen should be laid on its back, so 
 that the structure of the mouth can be examined. Should a 
 more detailed examination be required, nothing is easier than to 
 damp the card-board, remove the insect, and replace it after its 
 structure has been investigfated. 
 
30 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 For examining the details of a Beetle, especially if it be a 
 small one, a pocket lens is required. These instruments are 
 made with either two or three glasses, and are small enough 
 to be suspended to the watch-chain by a ring. In order to 
 examine a Beetle with ease, the pin should be stuck into a 
 cork cemented on a flat piece of lead, so that it cannot be 
 knocked over. My own instrument is made of a champagne 
 cork, cut into a cylindrical form and rounded on the top. I pre- 
 fer the champagne cork for two reasons — the first being that it 
 is of an uniform and close texture, without the holes and hard 
 spots which are found in ordinary corks, and the second being 
 that it has not been pierced with the corkscrew. 
 
 Only one other English genus belongs to this family, namely, 
 the genus Dyschirius. All its members are very brilliant, very 
 active, and very small, the largest being barely one-sixth of an 
 inch in length. Small as they are, they are as ferocious as the 
 Tiger Beetles, and are most persevering in their chase of prey, 
 which mostly consists of Beetles belonging to the Brachelytra. 
 There are several Beetles belonging to the genus Bledius or 
 Hesperophilus, which inhabit the sandy shores, and live in 
 small burrows which they make in the sand just above high- 
 water mark. On these little insects the Dyschirii feed, chasing 
 them through their txmnels just as weasels chase rats. 
 
 All these Beetles are cylindrical, and their surface has a sort 
 of brassy polish. The mandibles are stout, very sharp, and 
 toothed at the base. The antennse are slender, with the second 
 joint the longest, and the thorax is globular. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 OEODEPHA (?.!— continued. 
 
 We now come to the important family of the Carabidse, to 
 which belong some of the largest and most powerful of the 
 Geodephaga. The Carabidse are in many points exactly like 
 the CicindelidEe, and if isolated parts of the mouth were taken 
 to an entomologist, he would have some difficulty in knowing 
 to which family they belonged. But, whereas the Cicindelidse 
 have a notch on the inner side of the front tibice, these limbs 
 are without the notch in the Carabidse. 
 
 The typical genus is well represented in this country, and its 
 members are familiar to us by the title of Ground Beetles or 
 Garden Beetles. They are the largest of the family, some of 
 them being an inch in length, and strongly though elegantly 
 shaped. They are very active, as far as their legs go, but they 
 have no wings, these members being only found in a rudi- 
 mentary state under the hard and shining elytra, wliich in 
 most of the species are soldered together and cannot be opened. 
 In one species, however, Carabus granulatus, the elytra are 
 capable of motion, and the wings are more developed than is 
 generally the case. They are, however, much too small to be 
 used for flight. The mandibles have a small tooth in the 
 middle, and the labial palpi have the last joint securiform, or 
 ase-shaped. The thorax is somewhat heart-shaped, and has the 
 posterior angles boldly marked. In the male the tarsi of the 
 first pair of legs are broader than in the female. 
 
 Thirteen British species of Carabus are known, one of which 
 is represented on Plate I. Fig. b, in the act of chasing the 
 Brachinus. It is the Carabus Tnonilisy a common and very 
 handsome insect. It is exceedingly variable in colour, and 
 slightly so in marking, but may be described as follows: — The 
 head is black, with bronze or green reflections, wrinkled in front, 
 
32 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 and there is a deep hollow on each side just between the an- 
 tennae. The thorax is wrinkled at the hinder angles and deeply 
 notched behind, and its colour is deep copper. The elytra are 
 metallic green or violet, and sometimes entirely green. Each 
 elytron is marked with three rows of raised strise, broken 
 regularly at intervals, or 'interrupted,' to use the scientific 
 term, and between them are three ridges which are not broken. 
 The line along the suture is black, and the imder side of the 
 insect is dull black. 
 
 This Beetle is common in gardens, and, like the rest of its 
 kin, ought to be encouraged and protected, as it feeds almost 
 entirely on the smaller insects, and never meddles with the 
 vegetables. One of the species, Carabus auratus, which is 
 plentiful in France, though very scarce in this country, is most 
 useful to the farmer, as it watches for the female cockchafers 
 as they descend to deposit their eggs in the ground, and then 
 kills and eats them, thus doing more good than if it fed on the 
 destructive grub itself. 
 
 It can be found in the daytime by lifting stones, flower-pots, 
 logs of wood, dead leaves, or similar objects that have been 
 lying in one place for some little time. Care must be taken 
 in handling it, as all the Carabi have an unpleasant habit of 
 pouring from their mouths a blackish fluid which stains the 
 fingers, and is of a very disagreeable character. It is said that 
 the insect can project this fluid to some distance ; but I have 
 never seen this done, though I have caught great numbers of 
 Carabi, and given them every provocation to make use of this 
 weapon, which is analogous to the explosion of the Brachinus. 
 
 All the Carabidse are beautiful insects, and it is difficult to 
 select any one that is pre-eminent beyond its fellows. Per- 
 sonally, I think that Carabus cancellatus carries off the palm, 
 though it is not so large as several of its congeners. Its 
 shape is peculiarly elegant, and its colour is greenish brass, or 
 coppery, sometimes deepening into black. On each of the 
 elytra are three chain-like marks composed of oblong tubercles 
 placed end to end, and between each of them is a single bold 
 ridge. These marks are similar in character to those of the 
 preceding insect, but they are very much larger and bolder, 
 and can easily be distinguished without the aid of a lens. There 
 are the rudiments of wings to be seen under the elytra. In 
 
PLATE II. 
 GROUND BEETLES. 
 
 1. Lebia crux-minor. 
 
 2. Calosoma inquisitor 
 
 3. Carabus intricatus. 
 
 4. Cychrus rostratus. 
 
 5. Calosoma, larva in nest of Social catei"pillar. 
 
 6. Carabus, larva. 
 
 Plants :— 
 
 Trunk and branch of Oak (Quercus Rohur). Above. 
 Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa) . Across Centre. 
 Cowslip (J¥imula veris). In Middle. 
 
, CAEABUa 33 
 
 the spring time this insect may oe tauen m decaying willow- 
 trees. 
 
 Another species of this genus, Garabus intricatus, may be 
 seen on Plate II. Fig. 2, where it is represented as ascending the 
 trunk of an oak-tree in search of prey. If any of my readers 
 should happen to see the insect itself, he will be the envy 
 of all brother entomologists, inasmuch as it is not only a 
 singularly handsome but a very scarce insect. It is the largest 
 British Carabus yet known, and is finely marked and coloured. 
 The head is black, with a violet gloss, and has a deep impres- 
 sion on either side. The thorax is of the deepest violet or 
 green, becoming black on the margin, and is wrinkled over its 
 entire surface. The elytra are very deep and shining-violet, 
 and on each eljrtron there are three rows of elevated tubercles 
 of an olive-green, the remainder of the surface being wrinkled. 
 The under surface of the body is black, glossed with violet. 
 
 At Fig. 6, in the left-hand lower corner of the same plate, is 
 seen the larva of a Carabus. These larvae are, like the perfect 
 insects, carnivorous. They are armed with powerful jaws, having 
 d strong tooth near the base. The antennae and maxillary 
 palpi have each, four joints, and there are six ocelli, or simple 
 eyes, on each side. At the end of the tail are two horny spines, 
 each armed with a sort of spur. 
 
 The last species which will be described is the Carabus 
 violaceus, one of the commonest and largest of the species. 
 It sometimes exceeds an inch in length. Its colom- is rather 
 remarkable. At first sight it appears to be a black insect, but 
 a more careful examination shows that the supposed black is 
 in reality the deepest violet, which on the margins of the 
 elytra and thorax becomes of a rich burnished golden-violet, 
 like as of polished metal. The whole of the upper surface is 
 granulated, the elytra more deeply than the thorax, along the 
 centre of which there is a slightly elevated line. Below, it is 
 black, with a slight green or blue reflection. Altogether there 
 are thirteen British Carabi. 
 
 These Beetles afford good practice in setting. They are 
 large enough to bear handling, and yet small enough to require 
 care. Their legs are long, and look well when set out, and 
 the parts of the mouth are sufficiently large to show whether 
 the operator has been careful about his' work. Their oniy 
 
 D 
 
34 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 drawback is the lack of wings, but it is more than compensated 
 by the Dther advantages. These Beetles, by the way, are very 
 tenacious of life, and, though they can be al least rendered 
 insensible and harmless bv the laurel-bottle, it will be as well 
 to dip them into boiling water before passing the pin through 
 them, so as to avoid the sight of an impaled Beetle trying to 
 release itself, or walking about the cabinet drawer with a pin 
 through its body. 
 
 I have always had a great liking for these Beetles, from the 
 time when I was accustomed to harness them into fairy chariots, 
 to that in which I first learned from them the wonders of 
 an insect's organisation, and traced in them the early rudi- 
 ments of those structui'es which find their fullest development 
 
 Next on our list comes the genus Notiophilus, which, being 
 translated, signifies wet-lover, and is a very appropriate title 
 All these Beetles are very small, none of them exceeding ji 
 quarter of an inch in length. They may be found on the 
 banks of ponds and streams, running over the wet soil with 
 great activity in search of prey. In consequence of theij 
 fondness for water they were for a long time classed among the 
 Hydradephaga, or the voracioiis Beetles of the water, but have 
 now been placed in their right position among the Carabidse. 
 
 On "Woodcut No. II. Fig. 5, is a magnified figm-e of a 
 common species of this genus, called Notiophilus biguttatus. 
 It is a very small Beetle, sometimes only one-sixth of an inch 
 in length, and seldom, if ever, exceeding a quarter of an inch. 
 It is a pretty little creature, with a highly polished sm-face, as 
 if made of bronze in which the copper predominated. Five 
 species of this genus are known to inhabit England, and they 
 may be found hidden under stones or at the roots of trees in 
 damp places. Willow-trees on the borders of streams are good 
 localities for these pretty little Beetles. They do not, however, 
 confine themselves to wet places, although they prefer such 
 places as a residence. They may be seen running about in the 
 hottest weather over places a mile at least from water. 
 
 The maxillary palpi of this genu3 have the last joint rather 
 egg-shar)ed, and sharply cut off at luc end, as may be seen by 
 reference to Woodcut II. Pig. e, which represents the left labial 
 
MAEITIME BEETLES. 
 
 35 
 
 palpus of this insect. The antennae are slender, and rather 
 thicker at the tip than at the base. The head has a deep 
 furrow between the eyes, and the elytra are long and flattened. 
 
 Another genus now comes before us, our example of which is 
 Nehria brevicolUs, a figure of which is given on Woodcut III. 
 Fig. 1. These are larger insects than those of the preceding 
 
 1. Nebria brevicollis. 2. Pogonns hiridipennis. 3. Pri",tonychus terricola. 4. Sphodrus 
 leucopthaluiiis. 5. Calathus cisteloides. a. Nehria, labial palpi. 6. Nebria, maxillary 
 
 palpus. c. Pogonus, labial palpi. d. Pogonus, maxillary palpus. 
 
 genus, their length exceeding half an inch, and sometimes reach- 
 ing three-quarters of an inch. In these insects the antennae are 
 long and slender, and the mentum is divided into three distinct 
 lobes, the central lobe being cleft, as it were, into two. The 
 thorax is heart-shaped and abruptly cut off both in front and 
 behind, the basal angle being straight. The wings are well de- 
 veloped. Most of these Beetles belong to the maritime insects. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The present species is called by the name brevicollia, in con- 
 sequence of its short neck. The head, thorax, and elytra are 
 black, and the antennae, palpi, tibiae, and tarsi are dull, pitchy- 
 red. The elytra have their surface marked with bold striae, 
 which are thickly punctured, and have several large^pits on 
 the third stria from the suture. Although plentiful enough 
 when insect-hunters know where to look for them, the Nebrias 
 are not often found, owing to their habit of concealing them- 
 selves in the crevices of sea-side rocks, so that it is necessary 
 to break open the rocks in order to dislodge the Beetles. The 
 digger mentioned on page 25 will be found very useful for this 
 purpose. The Beetles prefer the sandstone rocks to the chalk 
 cli£fs for their residence. The length of this species is one-third 
 of an inch. The peculiarly-formed labial palpi of this genus 
 can be seen by reference to Woodcut No. II. Fig. a, and the 
 maxillary palpi at Fig. b. Four species of Nebria are known 
 to inhabit England. 
 
 If the reader will refer to Plate II. Fig. 2, he will see repre- 
 sented an episode in insect life which is not common in Eng- 
 land, where the insect is scarce, though sufficiently so on the 
 Continent, where it is plentiful. It seems very strange that 
 so narrow a strip of sea should separate so many insects from 
 us, especially as vessels are continually passing backwards and 
 forwards. It is a fact, however, that many of our very rarest 
 insects are quite common on the opposite coasts of France, 
 where they live under exactly similar conditions as those of our 
 own island. I cannot but think that, in cases where the insect 
 is, as in the present instance, an extremely useful one, any 
 entomologist would be doing a patriotic act by bringing over 
 a number of them and turning them out to get their living in 
 England. 
 
 There is no difficulty in distinguishing the genus Calosoma 
 from Carabus. The body and thorax are much more globose 
 and rounded, the third joint of the antennae is flattened, and 
 well-developed wings are seen beneath the elytra. 
 
 This handsome Beetle, called scientifically Calosoina syco- 
 phanta, ranks among our rarest British insects, but absolutely 
 swarms in many parts of the Continent, being so plentiful in 
 fir-woods, that if an entomologist go out at night, after the 
 
LAIiWA OF THE CALOSOMA. 37 
 
 manner of his kind, with sugar and a lantern, the trunks of 
 the trees appear to be quite studded with gems, which are the 
 shining green bodies of the Calosoma. • 
 
 The name Calosoma is formed from two Greek words, signi- 
 fying beautiful body, and is more appropriate than the gene- 
 rality of insect names. The head and thorax are very deep 
 violet, almost amounting to black, the violet being most brilliant 
 on the margins of the thorax, which are flattened and slightly 
 turned up like the brim of a hat. The whole surface of the 
 thorax is finely granulated, and there is a faint but distinct 
 groove along its centre. The elytra are singularly beautiful. 
 They are gold-green ' shot ' with blue, the hues shifting, like 
 those of a pigeon's neck, with every change of light. They are 
 deeply and regularly striated, and on each elytron there are 
 three rows of rather deep punctures, placed at some distance 
 apart. Counting from the suture, the pvmctures are placed on 
 the fourth, eighth, and twelfth striog. Although they are well 
 marked, they cannot be properly seen without a magnifying 
 glass, though when viewed with a side-light they look like 
 three rows of tiny glittering points. Beneath, the insect is black, 
 glossed with bronze. Its length is rather more than an inch. 
 
 It is impossible to calculate the benefit which this beautiful 
 insect confers upon the countries in which it lives, and it is not 
 too much to say that but for the Calosoma the fir-tree would 
 be extinct in many of those places from which we derive our 
 chief stores of timber. Both in the perfect and larval condi- 
 tions it is carnivorous, feeding upon certain destructive cater- 
 pillars belonging to the Bombycidse, among which those of the 
 Processionary Moth {Cnethocampa processionea) and the Gipsy 
 Moth {Liparis dispar) are the most conspicuous. It does not, 
 however, feed only on the caterpillars of moths, but also devours 
 the larvae of the Pine Saw Fly {Lophyrus pini), thus selecting, 
 with a curious instinct, the very creatures which do most harm 
 to the forest. In the plate the insect is represented as looking 
 down from the branch to which it has climbed in search of the 
 Brown-tail Moth's nest. 
 
 Although it eats many of these larvae after it has attained 
 the perfect form, it commits the greatest ravages while itself 
 in the larval condition. In this state it is ugly as it is beautiful 
 when it becomes a Beetle. It is a black, soft-bodied grub, 
 
38 INSECTS AT HOilE. 
 
 something like that of the Carabus, flattened and scaly on the 
 upper surface of each segment and the head. It has two large, 
 sharp, curved, and powerful mandibles, from, which no cater- 
 pillar has a chance of 'iscape, and there are two horny spines at 
 the end of the tail. Its length, when full-grown, is about an 
 inch and a half. 
 
 The voracity of this larva is amazing. It will eat several 
 caterpillars, and even pupa3, daily, and gorges itself to such an 
 extent that the soft body becomes quite distended like that of 
 a full-fed leech, and the creature is quite incapable of moving. 
 In this condition it often falls a victim to its own voracity, and 
 that in rather a curious manner. It has been mentioned that, 
 among other insects, the Processionary Moth forms a large 
 proportion of its food. Now the caterpillars of this moth are 
 social in their habits, and spin large webs, in which they live 
 together. Into these nests the larva of the Calosoma is sure to 
 creep, and sometimes as many as five or six have been found in 
 the same web, feeding on the inmates. Sometimes it happens that 
 a Calosoma grub, hungry and wandering in search of food, dis- 
 covers a nest of Processionary caterpillars, and straightway makes 
 its entrance. Being very hungry, it seizes the first creature 
 to which it comes, and sometimes catches its gorged and help- 
 less relative, which it devours without the least compunction. 
 
 I have already mentioned that the Calosoma is in all proba- 
 bility the means of preserving the supply of fir-wood. In some 
 years, as often happens with destructive insects, sundry pine- 
 feeding caterpillars absolutely swarm in the forest, the insect 
 armies being so vast that anyone walking through the forest 
 hears the sound of their busy jaws on every side as they devour 
 the leaves. With any tree such a visitation would be a mis- 
 fortune, but with the pine-trees it is death. Ordinary trees, 
 if stripped of their leaves, will put forth a fresh set of foliage 
 in the succeeding year, and suffer little except being thrown 
 back in their growth ; but a pine-tree, when deprived of its 
 leaves, has no such power, and always dies. The reader will, 
 therefore, see how invaluable are the services rendered to man 
 by this insect, which keeps down the numbers of the obnoxious 
 caterpillars, and saves whole forests from destruction. 
 
 Trees that have been perishing through the attacks of cater- 
 pillars have been saved by the Calosoma. Some years ago, 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE CALOSOMA. 39 
 
 M. Boisgerard, finding that some trees were being ravaged by 
 the caterpilkirs of the Gipsy Moth, placed upon the trees 
 several females of this Beetle, and simply left them. Next 
 year, the caterpillars appeared as usual, but in their nests were 
 the larvse of the Calosoma, and in two or three years the de- 
 structive caterpillars were completely cleared oflf. 
 
 I should not be at all surpiised if the insect could be em- 
 ployed in England for the same purpose. It would have plenty 
 of food among the caterpillar armies that occasionally devas- 
 tate certain localities ; and, if at first it could escape the 
 fingers of collectors, it might have a chance of becoming natu- 
 ralised here, and rendering to England the services which at 
 present it performs on the Continent. It is noteworthy that 
 the first recorded British specimen of this splendid insect was 
 captured at Aldborough, by Crabbe, the poet. 
 
 Another species of the same genus is found in England, and 
 is less rare than the preceding insect. This is Calosoma in- 
 quisitor. It is about three-quarters of an inch in length, and, 
 though a beautiful Beetle, is not so handsome as its larger 
 relative. A fine specimen now before me was captured by 
 myself in Bagley Wood, in the year 1846, at which time that 
 happy hunting ground of entomologists was open to all who 
 went there for entomological purposes, and did not disturb the 
 game. It had but lately emerged from the pupal state, and I 
 found it under a stone, where it was hiding itself until its soft 
 elytra had gained their hardness. It was so soft, indeed, that 
 I was almost afraid to handle it, lest its shape should be injm-ed. 
 However, it soon became hard and glossy, and, never having 
 been exposed to injury, is a singularly perfect specimen. I 
 find in the MSS. of the late Mr. Hope, which he kindly lent 
 me, that, in the summer of 1820, several were beaten out of 
 the foliage of oaks, and others dug from beneath the roots of 
 the same trees in the early spring. 
 
 The colour of this Beetle is very beautiful. The head and 
 thorax are very deep bronze-green, and finely granulated, the 
 latter having a very deep pit on either side near the hinder 
 angle, and its edge being very bright blue-g:reen. The elytra 
 are of a similar colour, and covered with strice. Each stria is 
 broken at short intervals with transverse lines, perceptible even 
 
40 INSECTS AT HOIVIE. 
 
 to the naked eye, and the edges are bright blue-green, like 
 those of the thorax. There are three rows of impressions on 
 the elytra, similar to those upon the preceding species, but not 
 so shining. The under surface of this handsome insect is dull 
 blue-green, and the legs and antennae are black. 
 
 Next in order comes the plainly-coloured, but elegantly- 
 shaped insect called Cychrus rostratus, the only British ex- 
 ample of the genus, a figure of which is given on Plate II. 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 The members of this genus can easily be distinguished by 
 the long and slender head and thorax, by the very large elytra, 
 which lap over the abdomen on either side, and by the pro- 
 jecting mandibles. The last-mentioned peculiarity has earned 
 for the insect the specific title of rostratus, or ' beaked,' and, 
 indeed, the mandibles, head, and thorax are so prolonged, that 
 the insect might easily be mistaken for one of the larger 
 weevils. 
 
 To the unassisted eye this is a very dull-coloured insect, 
 appearing to be uniform black-brown ; but when viewed 
 through a magnifying glass, the surface of the thorax is seen 
 to be thickly wrinkled and punctured, and that of the elytra 
 finely granulated, so that a soft and satiny gloss is imparted to 
 the otherwise unattractive sm-face. Its length is, on an average, 
 rather more than three-quarters of an inch. 
 
 It is not reckoned among our common insects, probably on 
 account of its habit of concealing itself in dark places, in which 
 it may easily escape observation in consequence of its sombre 
 colouring. It is to be found under heaps of leaves, stones, or 
 wood-piles, such as are left by the fagot-makers. I have 
 taken it in Wiltshire and about Oxford. This is one of the 
 very few Coleoptera which can produce any sound, and the 
 squeaking noise which is heard when the Beetle is handled, is 
 thought to be produced by the friction of the elytra against 
 the tip of the abdomen. The beautiful Musk Beetle produces 
 a similar sound, which will be described when we come to that 
 insect. 
 
 The larva of the Cychrus is something like that of Carabus, 
 but shorter and broader, and the projecting spines at the end 
 of the body are very short and without spurs. The palpi of 
 
EXAMINING A BEETLE'S MOUTH. 41 
 
 this genus have the last joint very large and axe-shaped. Here 
 may mention that nothing is easier than to examine the 
 head and mouth of a Beetle, without doing the least injury to 
 the specimen, even though it be hard and dry in the cabinet. 
 Take the head between the points of the forceps, bend it gently 
 backwards and forwards, and it will snap off. Now put it into 
 warm water, and let it remain there until the parts are quite 
 relaxed. Then stick a needle perpendicularly into a piece of 
 cork, and run the eye portion into the ' occipital ' hole, i.e. 
 that at the junction of the head and thorax. With a fine 
 needle, the parts of the mouth can be drawn out so as to be 
 properly displayed, and, when they have been examined, the 
 head can be replaced, and fixed, rather firmer than before, by a 
 small drop of coaguline. This will be found a good plan when 
 a Beetle has been badly set, and the parts of the mouth are not 
 properly seen. 
 
 Next in order comes the family of the Chlseniidse. In these 
 Beetles the front tarsi of the males have either two or three 
 joints much widened and squared, and very sponge-like below. 
 On Woodcut III. Fig. 2, is given an example of this family, 
 the insect being called Pogonus luridipennis. The members 
 of this genus have the last joint of the palpi egg-shaped and 
 rather elongated, with the tip blunt. The labial palpi are 
 shown at Fig. c, and the maxillary palpi at Fig. d, the internal 
 maxillary palpus being small and very slender. 
 
 They are all rather brilliant and shining Beetles, the surface 
 of their bodies having a metallic polish. They are small and 
 maritime in their habits, and may generally be found on the 
 southern coasts of England, hiding imder the heaps of sea-weed 
 which are flung by the waves upon the shore. 
 
 The present species is about a quarter of an inch in length, 
 or a little more, and is a pretty little Beetle. The head and 
 thorax are shining green, with coppery reflections. The thorax 
 has a longitudinal furrow along the centre, a triangular hollow 
 in front, and a rather deep pit on the base at either side. The 
 elytra are pale ochreous-yellow, clo-uded with brown in the 
 middle, a peculiarity which has earned for the insect the spe- 
 cific name of luridipennis, or ' pale-winged.' They are covered 
 with greenish striae, and on the third stria are three rather 
 
42 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 deep impressions. The body is greenish below, changing to 
 rust-red at the tip. This species was first found on the coasts 
 of Norfolk. Three British species of Pogonus are known. 
 
 Another Beetle belonging to this family is shown on "Wood- 
 cut III. Fig. 3. Its name is Pristonychus terricola. As may 
 be seen by reference to the illustration, it is a very prettily- 
 shaped insect, the curves of the outline harmonising in a way 
 that would have delighted the soul of Hogarth, had he taken 
 the trouble to look at Nature's original of his celebrated ' line 
 of beauty.' 
 
 Except in shape, it is not a very pleasing insect to the eye, 
 the colour being black, with a violet gloss when examined in 
 a proper light. The head is pitchy-black, and the thorax is 
 sometimes of the same colom' as the head, and sometimes blue- 
 black, with a faint furrow in the centre, and a deep oblong 
 pit on either side of the base. The elytra are of the same 
 colour, and rather flattened, and covered with faint but regular 
 striae, which are slightly punctured. Along the edges there is 
 a series of roundish pits. 
 
 This Beetle is plentiful in most parts of England, and may 
 be found in cupboards, cellars, dark outhouses, and similar 
 localities. There is only one British species. 
 
 There is a Beetle, called Sphodrus leucopthalmus, which is 
 closely allied to the preceding insect, and, indeed, is included 
 in the same genus by many systematic entomologists. The 
 reader should try to catch one of these Beetles — no very diffi- 
 cult matter — and look at the very long third joint of the an- 
 tennsB, and the long and slender palpi. In the males, the 
 trochanters of the hind pair of legs are developed into long 
 spines. This Beetle is shown on Woodcut III. Fig. 4. 
 
 The colour of the insect is pitchy-black, with a slight polish. 
 The head is smooth, oblong, and has an impression on either 
 side. The elytra are flattish, and faintly streaked, the streaks 
 resolving themselves under the lens into rows of small punc- 
 tiu'es. Like the preceding species, it is common in outhouses, 
 stables, and similar localities, and is said to feed upon the 
 cockroaches and other noisome and dark-loving insects. So, 
 though the Sphodrus be not a handsome Beetle, it is worth 
 
SUN BEETLES. 43 
 
 protection, inasmuch as it is very far preferable to the cock- 
 roach. This is the only British representative of the genus. 
 
 On Woodcut II. Fig. 5, is represented the Beetle called 
 Oalathus cisteloides. The members of this genus can be known 
 by the triangular head, the peculiarly-shaped thorax, and the 
 elliptical elytra. The mandibles are toothed at the base. The 
 colour of this insect is black, with a slight gloss in the male, 
 and quite dull in the female. The triangular head has a pit 
 on either side of the antennae, the thorax is wrinkled on the 
 disc, and on either side of the base is a deep impression. The 
 elytra are rather convex and covered with shallow strise, on 
 which are faint punctures. The wings are undeveloped. 
 
 This is a very common Beetle, and is one of the wet-lovers, 
 being generally foimd along the bottoms of damp hedges, under 
 heaps of stones, and similar localities. Eight Bi'itish species 
 of Calathus are acknowledged by entomologists. 
 
 "We now come to the pretty little Beetles that are ranked 
 under the generic title of Anchomenus. All these insects have 
 an elongated thorax, the head egg-shaped, and the antennae 
 with the third joint twice as long as the second. 
 
 They are very active, and very brilliantly coloured, and, like 
 most bright-colom-ed Beetles, love the sunshine, in which they 
 dart about with exceeding rapidity. The popular name of 
 Sun Beetle is given to these and other insects, in consequence 
 of this peculiarity. They are sociable little creatures, and, 
 when one is seen, others are tolerably sure to be close at hand. 
 Some of them frequent wet and marshy places, and may gene- 
 rally be found at the roots of willows that are planted at . the 
 water-side. 
 
 One example of this interesting genus is Anchomenus dor- 
 salis, 'which is shown, rather magnified, on Woodcut IV. Fig. 1. 
 The real length of the insect can be known by reference to the 
 line that is drawn on its right side. In this species the head 
 and thorax are dark-green, and the flattened elytra are pale 
 rust-red, diversified with a large spot of blue-black towards 
 the apex, but not quite reaching the tip. They are striated, 
 ■ and the interstices between the striae are flat and smooth, 
 without any punctures. Beneath, it is shining black. 
 
44 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 This is a very common Beetle, and is rather interesting to 
 entomologists, because, like the Brachinus, it has the power of 
 defending itself by means of mimic artillery, and can produce a 
 number of the explosions in succession. There are more than 
 twenty British species of this genus. 
 
 1. Anchomenus dorsalis. 2. Pterostlchus madidus. 3. Amara obsoleta. 4. Havpalus 
 rencu^. 0. Stenolophiis Skrimshiranus. a. Pterostichus, right mandible. h. Pterosti- 
 chus, maxillary palpus. c. Harpalus, under side of leg. d. Harpalus, right mandible. 
 
 e. Harpalus, maxillary palpus. 
 
 The family of the Feroniidae, which comes next in order, 
 comprises a number of Beetles, none of which are remarkable 
 for beauty, though there are several whose habits are very 
 curious and interesting. They may be known by the sinuated, 
 or wavy, form of the elytra at the apex, and by the basal joints 
 of the front tarsi of the males. These joints are not squared, 
 like those of the Chlgeniidae, but are somewhat heart-shaped, 
 and furnished with two rows of bristles beneath. 
 
THE 'DEVOUREE.' 45 
 
 Oiir first example of this family is the Beetle which is known 
 to entomologists by the name of Pterostichus madidus, a 
 figure of which is given on Woodcut No. IV. Fig. 2. The strong 
 and peculiarly-formed mandible of this genus is shown at Fig. a, 
 and its maxillary palpus at Fig. 6. The colour of the insect is 
 shining black, with a slight brassy gloss. The smooth head 
 has two impressions in front ; the thorax is convex and narrow 
 behind, with a bold central furrow and a deep wrinkled pit at 
 each angle. A lens is required to make out these details. 
 The elytra are covered with regular striae, a circumstance which 
 has gained for these insects the generic title of Pterostichus, or 
 'streaked- wing.' There are a few small punctures on each elytron, 
 and a row of bold punctures runs along each margin. The 
 wings are not developed. 
 
 This is a very common insect, and can be taken in any 
 number, as it runs boldly about. Anglers often use it success- 
 fully as bait. Although devoid of wings, it is very quick on its 
 legs, darting about with such velocity that the generic name of 
 Steropus, or ' lightning,' was once applied to it and another 
 allied Beetle. 
 
 Twenty-two British species of this genus are now acknow- 
 ledged, but in it are merged several genera of the older 
 entomologists. 
 
 We now come to one of the largest and most interesting 
 insect of this family, though assuredly it is not a beautiful one. 
 This is Broscus cephalotes, a Beetle which is shown on Plate I. 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 This insect has been called the giant of its family, a name 
 which it well deserves, as it rivals the Carabi themselves in 
 size, sometimes reaching nearly an inch in length. Being a 
 predacious Beetle, it is gifted with very powerful jaws, which 
 are attached to a head of more than ordinary size. The 
 specific name cephalotes signifies large-headed, and is appro- 
 priately given to this Beetle. The generic name Broscus 
 signifies a devourer, and is equally appropriate. 
 
 This insect can at once be known by the very large head, 
 and the shape of the thorax, which is much narrowed towards 
 its base. A deep furrow runs along its centre, and its base has 
 a deep pit on either side. The elytra are rounded at the 
 
46 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 shoulder, and striated ; some small pmictures being scantily 
 visible on the strise. The colour of the insect is black. 
 
 In this Beetle we see one of the fiercest and most voracious 
 of the whole insect race. It lives on the sea-shore, generally 
 hiding itself beneath decaying sea-weed or stones, and making 
 burrows under such points of vantage. From this biuTOW it 
 issues in search of prey, and successfully pursues all kinds of 
 insects, its own kind included. So voracious is it, and so many 
 insects does it kill, that if it reside for a day or two in one 
 burrow, it can be detected by the rejected elytra, limbs, and 
 other parts of insects which it has caught and eaten. It is the 
 only British example of its genus. 
 
 The large genus Amara now comes before us, and out of the 
 twenty-four species which are included in it I have selected 
 Amara obsoleta as our example. This insect is di'awn on 
 "Woodcut IV. Fig. 3. All the insects belonging to this genus are 
 small, and most of them are brightly coloured. They all take 
 rank as Sun Beetles or Sun Shiners ; and, fortunately for them, 
 there is a wide-spread superstition that it is unlucky to kill a 
 Sun Beetle, and that its death will cause terrible storms. 
 
 The members of this genus are rather wide in proportion to 
 their length, and have the thorax wide behind, as wide, in fact, 
 as the elytra. They have large wings, which they can use with 
 great effect ; and the males have three dilated joints on the 
 front tarsi. These Beetles are very plentiful, and may be seen 
 either flying through the air on their ample wings, rvmning 
 about in the full blaze of the sunshine, or temporarily hiding 
 under sticks and stones. 
 
 Although it is no very difficult matter to know an Amara 
 when it is seen, I must warn the reader that to distinguish the 
 different species is a task which requires the minutest attention 
 to the smallest details, and had better be deferred until the eye 
 has been trained to seize at once on those small but important 
 characteristics, which at once strike the eye of a practised 
 entomologist, and invariably elude the scrutiny of a novice. 
 The eye can only see that which it has the power of seeing ; and 
 it is worthy of remark that twenty or thirty young observers 
 will miss exactly the most important detail in an insect structure 
 until it is pointed out by an experienced entomologist, wh'en 
 
COLOURS OF BEETLES. 
 
 47 
 
 they will at once see it, and wonder how anything so obvious 
 could have eluded them. 
 
 In any large genus of insects there is always a difficulty in 
 deciding upon the different species ; and, even among the 
 moths, where size and colour are tolerably constant, mistakes 
 are continually made. But, among Beetles, these important 
 
 1. ^pys mariniis. 2. Philocthus biguttatus. 3. Notaphus [Bembidinm] fumigatus. 
 •i. Bcnibidium quadriguttatum. 5. Bembidinm pallidipenne. a. ^pys, maxillary palpus. 
 b. ^pys, labial palpi. c. .3;pys, labrum. d. ^pys, right mandible. e. ^pys, antenna. 
 
 elements of size and colour go for almost nothing, and when- 
 ever green and blue are in question, coloiur absolutely does go 
 for nothing. Now, in the members of the genus Amara, blue 
 and green are the leading hues ; and five individuals, which 
 undoubtedly belong to the same species, may be respectively 
 bluish-green, greenish-blue, brassy, coppery, or even black. 
 Then the head and thorax may be of one coloui-, and the elytra 
 
48 INSECTS AT HOME. • 
 
 of another ; so that no dependence, can be placed upon so 
 uncertain a characteristic. , 
 
 The present species is a very common one. Its colour varies 
 from green to black, glossed with brass. The elytra are 
 striated, and the strise are bolder and deeper towards the apex 
 than at the b3se. The head is nearly smooth, but has a few 
 stria3 drawn across it in front. 
 
 We next come to the large family of the Harpalidse, of 
 which we shall take one or two examples, illustrating the 
 principal genera. The males of the Harpalidae have the four 
 basal joints of the front tarsi dilated, and sometimes the 
 corresponding joints of the middle pair of legs. These dilated 
 joints are covered with stiff bristles. The appearance of one of 
 these tarsi can be seen by referring to Woodcut No. IV. Fig. c, 
 which represents the under side of a male Harpalus's leg. The 
 mentum is deeply notched, and has a small lobe in the centre. 
 
 Unlike the preceding family, which are for the most part 
 lovers of light and fond of darting about in the full radiance of 
 the sunbeams, the Harpalidse withdraw themselves from the 
 light, and hide themselves during the daytime in any crevice 
 that may present itself. Should, for example, the season be a 
 dry one, the cracks in the earth are sure to be tenanted by 
 Harpalidse; and when the spade is employed, many of the 
 Beetles are turned up together with the soil in which they 
 have sought a refuge, and sought it in vain. 
 
 On Woodcut No. TV. Fig. 4, is shown an example of the typical 
 genus, Haiyaliis census. In this genus three joints of the 
 tarsi of both the front and middle pairs of legs are dilated in 
 the males. 
 
 The pretty species which has been chosen as our example is 
 polished on its upper surface like a mirror, the colour being 
 exceedingly variable. Some specimens are brassy, others 
 coppery, others green of various shades, and others again blue 
 of various shades, deepening into violet so dark that it appears 
 to be black. There are some faint strise on the elytra, and in 
 the flat interstices between the strise are punctures, very few 
 towards the suture, and plentiful towards the margin. Beneath 
 it is pitchy-black. In this insect, as indeed in most of the 
 members of this genus, the females are much duller than their 
 
> A SINGULAR DWELLING. 49 
 
 mates, this effect being produced by a very fine granulation of 
 the elytra. There are more than thirty known British species 
 of this genus. 
 
 The mandible of a Harpalus, with its bold scoop towards the 
 point, is shown at Fig. d of the same illustration, and the 
 maxillary palpi at e. The species from which these specimens 
 were taken is Harpalus ruficornis. 
 
 Proceeding with our list, we take an example of another 
 genus, a Beetle having the somewhat strange title of Steno- 
 lophus Shrimshiranus. The principal mark to distinguish this 
 genus from the preceding is that the notch of the mentum is 
 without the lobe, which is to be seen in that of Harpalus. 
 The species of this genus mostly inhabit wet and marshy places, 
 such as under stones on the banks of ponds, ditches, and 
 sluggish streams. The colour of this Beetle is dull reddish- 
 brown, darkening into blackish-brown towards the apex of the 
 elytra, which are regularly striated. There is a slight groove 
 along the centre of the pale brick-red thorax, which has also a pit 
 on either side of the base. The head and the under surface 
 of the body are pitchy-black. This species is mostly found 
 in Norfolkshire, and derives its specific name from the ento- 
 mologist who sent a specimen of it to its describer, Mr. J. F. 
 Stevens. ■ 
 
 On Woodcut No. V. Fig.l, is given a much enlarged figure of 
 a very small Beetle called ^pys onaHnus, an insect which is 
 on an average less than the twelfth of an inch in length. In this 
 genus only the two basal joints of the front tarsi are dilated in 
 the male insect, and they are rather triangular in shape. The 
 fourth joint of the same tarsus is armed with a strong spine. 
 The parts of the mouth and head are very remarkable, and are 
 therefore drawn in the same illustration. Fig. a represents the 
 maxillary palpi, and b the labial palpi ; c is the labium, d the 
 right mandible, showing its curious notches or dentations, and 
 e the antenna. 
 
 This insect is the least of the Harpalidas, and, partly from its 
 small dimensions, and partly from its habits, is not often seen, 
 except by those who intentionally look for it. It is one of the 
 maritime Beetles, but carries its love for salt water farther 
 than almost any other insect, inasmuch as its favourite haunt is 
 
50 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 under stones in the mouths of tidal rivers, absolutely beneath 
 high-water mark. There are many insects which choose theii 
 residence just above the tide-mark, but that any should prefer 
 to live below it, and be submerged by the salt water, is indeed 
 singular. • Salt marshes are also favourite resorts for this 
 Beetle, which has been taken in various parts of England. 
 There is only one other species of this cui-ious genus. 
 
 The colour of the Beetle is yellowish, darker above than 
 below. The head has a curved impression on either side ; the 
 thorax has a short furrow on its centre, and a very shallow pit 
 on either side near the basal angles. The elytra are very 
 slightly punctated, and there are no wings. 
 
 We now come to the last family of the Greodephaga, namely, 
 the Bembidiidae. In all these Beetles the palpi are formed 
 differently from those of the preceding families. If the parts 
 of the mouth be carefully observed, the last joint but one both 
 of the maxillary and labial palpi will be seen to be very large, 
 while the last joint is very short and very small, so small indeed 
 that at first sight it looks more like a spur than a separate joint. 
 All these insects are lovers of salt and wet places, and are found 
 on salt marshes near the mouths of tidal rivers, such, for example, 
 as those which cover the district between Eochester and Sheer- 
 ness, and upon the sea-shore itself. 
 
 Small as they mostly are, one species, Bemhidium bistriatum, 
 being the smallest of the British Geodephaga, they are ex- 
 ceedingly voracious, and can kill creatures much larger than 
 themselves. There is, for example, Gillenium laterals, a little 
 copper-colom-ed Beetle, which never exceeds one-sixth of an 
 inch in length and is generally much less, which, in spite of 
 its small size, feeds on the common sandhopper, seizing- the 
 active crustacean under the body, and so destroying it. Like 
 the -^pys, which has already been described, this insect passes 
 much of its time submerged under salt water. 
 
 In reference to the water-loving habits of these Beetles, Mr. 
 Westwood gives a very useful hint to entomologists who wish 
 to procure these tiny creatures: — ' These insects are generally 
 found upon the margins of streams, running about with great 
 velocity, and burying themselves in crevices in the ground or 
 under stones, &c. ; hence, at the time of high floods in winter, 
 
THE BEIVTBIDIA. * 51 
 
 the floating, refuse is crowded with them, at which time the 
 collector will not fail to obtain a rich harvest.' 
 
 Our first example of this interesting- family of Beetles is 
 taken from the typical genus, and is called Bembidium higut- 
 tatum. This Beetle is by some entomologists placed in the 
 genus Philocthus ; but Mr. Waterhouse, whose system is followed 
 in this work, has united several genera under the one head of 
 Bembidium, in which he includes no less than forty-six species. 
 
 The insect is drawn on Woodcut No. V. Fig. 2. Its colour is 
 brassy or bronze-green, and its surface is polished and shining. 
 The head has a shallow impression on each side. The thorax 
 has a slight fm'row along the centre, and a depression near each 
 basal angle. The elytra are striated and punctured nearly as 
 far as the apex, and between the second and third striae there 
 are two bold impressions, from which the insect derives its 
 specific name of biguttatum, or ' two-channelled.' There is a 
 reddish-brown spot at the apex. The under surface of the body 
 is black, glossed with brassy or bronze reflections. 
 
 On the same woodcut. Fig. 3, is a very pretty, though very 
 tiny. Beetle called Bembidium {Notajpkus) furtiigatiim. 
 
 This little insect has the head of a deep green colour, the 
 thorax being very black, with brassy reflections. It has a 
 short central furrow, and a deep pit on either side near the 
 basal angles. The colour of the elytra is exceedingly variable 
 in different individuals. The ground here, however, is pale- 
 brown or smoke-coloured, from which circumstance the insect 
 derives its name of fumigatum, or ' smoky.' Two irregular 
 black bauds cross the elytra, and some black spots are scattered 
 about them. A bluish line runs along the sutm-e, and the striae 
 are brown. 
 
 Next comes an insect called Bembidium (Lopha) quadii/- 
 guttatum, which is shown on Woodcut No. V. Fig. 4. 
 
 This very conspicuous little Beetle is tolerably common, and 
 may be found in most damp places, whether the water be fresh 
 or salt. The smooth head has a deep but short furrow on each 
 side. The thorax is remarkably convex in front, and its colour 
 is shining blue-green, or greenish-blue, as the case may be. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 • INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The elytra are rather convex, and their colour is something 
 Hke that of the thorax, but deepening into violet, which is some- 
 times so dark that it appears to be black. On the shoulder 
 of each elytron is a patch of cream-white, and there is another 
 near the middle, the insect deriving from these white marks 
 the specific title of quadriguUatutn, or ' four-spotted.' The 
 spot on the shoulder is usually rather triangular, and that 
 on the middle of the elytron nearly round. 
 
 Our last example of the Greodephaga is the pretty little 
 insect called Bembidium pallidipenne, which is shown on 
 Woodcut V. Fig. 5. The head and thorax of this species are 
 shining metallic green. The elytra are pale yellow, or straw 
 coloiu:, giving to the insect its specific name oi pallidipenne, or 
 ' pale wing.' Across the eljrtra rims a zigzagged dark band, 
 varying much in different individuals both in depth of colour, 
 in breadth, and in shape. This species occurs chiefly on the 
 coasts of Lancashire, though it is found in other localities. 
 . The reader will probably understand that when a name is 
 inserted between brackets, it is one by which the insect is known 
 in other systems. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 EYDRADEPHAGA. 
 
 We have now completed our notices of the Geodephaga, the 
 analogues of the land Carnivora among the higher animals, 
 and Ave now come to the Hydradephaga, or carnivorous Beetles 
 of the water — the whales, porpoises, and seals of the insect 
 world. 
 
 We know that all animals are specially adapted to the life 
 which they have to lead, and therefore may naturally expect 
 that Beetles which live in the water will be formed very dif- 
 ferently from those which reside on the land, even though that 
 land be constantly wet. Shape, for example, is likely to be 
 altered. We know that the whales, dolphins, and seals, who 
 have to pass either the whole or the greater part of their lives 
 in the water, and to catch in it the living prey on which they 
 feed, become assimilated in shape to the fishes ; and it is likely 
 that insects will obey the same laws as mammals. This is 
 really the case, the shape of all the Hydradephaga being very 
 fish-like, in order to enable them to pass more easily through 
 the water. As there is much more friction in passing through 
 the water than through the air, the Water Beetles, as the Hy- 
 dradephaga are familiarly called, have the various portions 
 of the body fitting closely to each other, so as to leave an 
 uniform smooth and polished sm-face, something like that of 
 the scaly surface of the fish, the slippery skin of the whales and 
 dolphins, and the close-set fur of the seals. 
 
 The limbs are also modified to suit the special purpose for 
 which they are designed. As these Beetles walk less than they 
 swim, greater provision has to be made for the latter mode of 
 progression. Accordingly, the first and middle pairs of legs are 
 comparatively small and feeble, the strength being thrown 
 into the hinder pair, which are large in comparison with the 
 
54 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 others, and, in nearly all cases, jQattened and furnished with a 
 fringe of stiff bristles on the inner side, so that they serve as 
 oars. They are jointed in a peculiar manner to the body, so 
 that there is room within the thorax for a set of very powerful 
 muscles which work them, and they are placed farther back than 
 is usual among Beetles — a peculiarity of structure which is 
 found also in the seals and the diving birds, especially the 
 penguin tribe. 
 
 Although they cannot, as a rule, walk well, they can all fly 
 well, and are furnished with very large and powerful wings, so • 
 that, if food should fail them in one piece of water, they can 
 fly to another. They generally fly at night, and have an odd 
 way, when they reach a pond or stream, of closing their wings 
 while high in the air, and allowing themselves to fall like 
 stones into the water. Sometimes, deceived by the glitter in 
 the moonshine, they have been known to fall upon the roofs of 
 greenhouses. 
 
 Not only the Beetles, but their larvae inhabit the water, and 
 they are equally predacious in both stages of existence, the 
 larva being armed with a pair of enormous sickle-shaped jaws. 
 They are all long and narrow, and have six minute eyes, or 
 ocelli, at each side of the head. We will now proceed to our 
 examples of these insects. 
 
 The Hydradephaga are divided into two families, the Dyticidse 
 and the Gryrinidae. There is not the least difficulty in de- 
 ciding the family to which any Water Beetle belongs, as a 
 glance at the antennas is sufficient for the purpose. The antennae 
 of the Dyticidae are long and slender, and those of the Gryi-inidse 
 are stout, short, and club-like. Moreover, the first pair of legs 
 are short in the Dyticidse and long in the Gryrinidae. We 
 begin with the first family, and take an example of the typical 
 genus. 
 
 On Plate III. Figs. 1 and 2, are seen drawings of the Gtreat 
 Water Beetle {Byticus Tnarginalis). The first represents the 
 male Beetle in the act of swimming, and the second the female, 
 as she appears when flying through the air. The sexes of this 
 and other species are so distinct that in the earlier days of en- 
 tomology they were looked upon as different species. As the 
 habits of this Beetle are almost identical with those of all its 
 
PLATE III. 
 WATER BEETLES. 
 
 1. Dj'ticus marginalis (Male). 
 
 2. Dyticus marginalis (Female). 
 
 3. Gyrinus natator (aiid under). 
 
 4. Dyticus marginalis, larva. 
 6. Gyrinus natator, larva. 
 
 6. Gyrinus natator, Pupa case (on Arrow-bead). 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Arrow-head {Sagittaria sagittifolia). Left Upper Corner. 
 Creeping Mouse-ear (Myosofis repens). Eight Upper Corner. 
 Bristle-stalk Club-rush (Scirpus setaceus) . Under Myosotis. 
 Water Feather-foil {Hottonia palustris). Under Arrow-head. 
 
WEAPON OF THE DYTICUS. 
 
 55 
 
 family, it will be described at greater length than can be af- 
 forded to the generality of insects. 
 
 Several details which mark the Beetles of this genus are 
 given on Woodcut No. 6. At Fig. a is a magnified representa- 
 tion of a most curious development of structure. If one of 
 these Beetles be examined on the under side, the metasternum 
 
 1. Agabiia biguttatns. 2. Hydrophilus duodecim-pustulatus. 3. Haliplus vai-iegalus. 
 4. Cnemidotus ca^s'us. 5. Pelobius Hermanni. a. Dyticus, process of metasternum. 6, 
 
 Dyticus, maxillary palpus. c. Dyticus, anterior leg of male. d, Dyticus, labial palpi. 
 
 e. Gyrinus, posterior leg. /. Gyrinus, antenna. 
 
 will be seen to have a forked and rather sharp projection from 
 its centre, the points being directed to the end of the abdomen. 
 What may be the object of this curious appendage is not easy 
 to say ; certain, however, it is, that it can be used as a 
 weapon on some occasions. 
 
 When, for example, an unpractised entomologist catches 
 one of these Beetles in his hand, and has taken care to keep his 
 
5Q INSECTS AT HOTIE. 
 
 fingers out of the way of its jaws, he finds himself suddenly 
 and smartly wounded, as the Beetle struggles to regain its 
 liberty. The fact is, the insect, led by some strange and un- 
 accountable instinct, always retrogrades when seized in the 
 hand, and so inflicts a rather unpleasant wound with the ends 
 of this appendage. Whether or not it knows of the presence 
 of the weapon, and the use to which it is put, is of course im- 
 possible to say ; but that the insect can use its forked dagger as 
 well as if it were thoroughly acquainted with it, any of my 
 readers can easily test for himself by going to the nearest pond 
 and catching a Dyticus. Other Water Beetles possess the 
 forked appendage ; but it takes different shapes in different 
 species, and is exceedingly useful to entomologists, by enabling 
 them to decide upon the species when other marks fail them. 
 
 This is, by the way, not the only weapon which the Dyticidse 
 possess. Like the Carabidse, and some other Geodephaga, 
 they exude a fluid of a singularly unpleasant smell when they 
 are captured ; but the liquid in question is white, and not black 
 like that of the Carabidse. At Fig. b is shown the maxilla and 
 palpi of the Dyticus, and d are the labial palpi. 
 
 As the two sexes are so dissimilar in appearance, it will be 
 necessary to describe them separately. The colour of the male 
 Beetle is dim black, with the margins of the elytra marked with 
 a yellowish streak, narrow towards the apex, and widening 
 considerably towards and on the shoulders. It is in consequence 
 of this streak that the Beetle has received the specific name of 
 r)iarginalis. The elytra are very smooth, with the exception 
 of three rows of punctures on the disc. There is a reddish- 
 yellow triangular mark on the forehead, and a very slight ridge 
 on the crown. The thorax is blacker than the elytra, and, like 
 them, has the margin yellow. 
 
 The legs of this Beetle are excellent examples of these limbs 
 as they are modified in the Hydradephaga. Both the middle 
 and hind pairs of legs are flattened, oar-like, and furnished 
 with the bristle blade, and the coxa is so made that it only 
 allows one kind of movement to the limb. In consequence of 
 this pecviliarity the Dyticus cannot walk properly, but only 
 scrambles about ; and if it should by chance fall on its back on 
 a smooth surface, it spins round and round in a most ludicrous 
 fashion. 
 
FEET OF THE DYTICUS. 57 
 
 The first pair of legs, however, are the most interesting. 
 We have already seen that, in very many Beetles, the tarsi of 
 the front pair of legs are dilated in the male, but there are 
 none which even approach those of the Dyticus in complexity 
 of structure. The geodephagous males have the under surface 
 of these dilated joints merely furnished with a pad, but the 
 Dyticus has a most wonderful array of suckers, exactly analo- 
 gous in principle to those which stud the arms of the cuttle- 
 fish. One of these legs is shown on Woodcut No. VI. Fig. c. 
 The three basal joints of the tarsus are enormously swollen, so 
 that they assume a plate-like shape. Their upper siu-fiice is 
 smooth enough, but the under surface is covered with suckers, 
 one of them very large, and the second about half its size, and 
 a multitude of smaller suckers. The larger suckers are placed 
 directly upon the joint, and the others are at the end of 
 slender footstalks, looking something like . the ' patera ' cham- 
 pagne glasses with the stems much attenuated. 
 
 In order to see this beautiful structure properly, several 
 specimens ought to be used. One can be simpFy cleaned, and 
 viewed as an opaque object, while another is cut so as to give 
 a section of the joints, and to show the manner in which the 
 suckers spring from them. Three more specimens should also 
 be prepared, but mounted as transparent objects in Canada 
 balsam. This will be found rather a difficvilt process, but one 
 which will very well repay all the trouble. The difficulty is 
 to get rid of the air which remains in the suckers, and which 
 makes the mouth of each sucker look like a black shining ball. 
 A structure, similar in principle, though varying in detail, is 
 found throughout this group of Beetles. 
 
 The female is, as has been stated, very different from the 
 male in appearance. She does not possess the wide tarsi which 
 are so conspicuous in her mate. The elytra are very different 
 from those of the male, and, instead of being smooth and 
 polished, are deeply grooved nearly as far as the middle. 
 
 The voracity of this Beetle is really astonishing. It will eat 
 almost any kind of insect, or any kind of meat, raw or cooked, 
 preferring the former. Sometimes it is placed in fresh-water 
 aquaria by those who are not acquainted with its powers, 
 and the result is always disastrous. Not only will it attack 
 every living creatute in the aquarium, but during the night it 
 
58 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 is sure to take to its wings and fly off in search of more food. 
 Even gold fish have been attacked by this insatiate devourer, 
 which does not even spare its own kind, and devours the oppo- 
 site sex as well as its own. When these Beetles take flight 
 from the pond or stream in which they have been living, they 
 always crawl up a reed 'or a water-plant, so as to gain space to 
 spread their beautiful wings. In consequence of this freedom 
 of locomotion, this Beetle may be found in almost any pond, 
 however small it may be. Even when ponds have been reduced 
 to mere puddles by the drought of summer, the Dyticus may 
 be found plentifully, hiding itself in the still soft mud. 
 
 The mode in which this insect breathes is really wonderful. 
 Being an insect, it is forced to breathe atmospheric air, and 
 yet it has to pass the greater part of its time under water. 
 The problem is solved by the Beetle converting itself for the 
 nonce into a diving bell, receiving the supply of air as often as 
 needful. This feat is accomplished in the following way : — The 
 body is rather flat, so that there is a space between the folded 
 wings and the" elytra. Now, these elytra are very large, and, 
 when closed, are quite air-tight. When the Beetle wishes to 
 breathe, it comes to the surface of the water with its head 
 downwards, and just exposes the tip of its abdomen to the air. 
 In a moment it has expelled the air which has already been 
 used in breathing, and taken in a fresh supply, with which it 
 dives to the bottom. As the spiracles, or mouths of the breath- 
 ing tubes, open into the space between the elytra and the 
 abdomen, they can take in the air, and pass it through the 
 system. Sometimes, if the observer will approach very quietly, 
 he may see the Beetles floating with tlieir heads downwards, 
 the tips of their tails just above the surface of the water, and 
 their hind legs spread out so as to balance the body in this 
 strange position. All the Dyticidae employ this curious mode 
 of supplying themselves with air, but it is most conspicuous in 
 the larger species, and is therefore described in connection 
 with this Beetle. 
 
 There is a rather remarkable point in the structure of the 
 wings. On the inside of the elytra, and at their bases, is a 
 pair of membranous plates with finely-fringed edges, something 
 like wings, for which reason they have been called ' alulets,' or 
 little wings. These cannot be seen while the insect is at rest. 
 
LAKVA OF THE DYTICUS. 59 
 
 but when it takes to flight, the alulets are exposed. These 
 Beetles hiive the power of producing a sort of humming sound, 
 some species louder than others, and it is generally thought 
 that the sound is produced by means of the alulets. 
 
 Having now glanced at the history of the perfect Beetle, 
 we will turn to its larval existence. 
 
 There is no possibility of evading the fact, that the larva of 
 the Dyticus is ugly. It is very ugly. It is the crocodile of 
 the insect world, lying unseen in its muddy bed, and darting 
 out at any luckless insect that may pass near it. One of these 
 larvse is shown on Plate III. Fig. 4, as it appears when seizing 
 its prey. 
 
 When full grown, this larva is two inches in length. Its 
 colour is yellowish-brown, sometimes one tint predominating, 
 and sometimes the other. The reader will see how this sombre- 
 ness of hue enables it to lie concealed upon the mud as it waits 
 for prey. At the end of its body may be seen two slender 
 appendages fringed with hairs. These appendages commu- 
 nicate "with the breathing tubes which pervade the body, and 
 the larva may be observed in a position resembling that which 
 is assumed by the perfect insect, the head downwards, and the 
 extremity of the tail just above the surface of the water, sus- 
 pended and balanced by the appendages. 
 
 The mode in which this formidable creature obtains its 
 nourishment is very" remarkable. The mandibles are, as may 
 be seen by reference to the plate, large, sharp, and curved. 
 When submitted to a good magnifier, they are seen to be con- 
 structed on the same principle as the fangs of a poisonous 
 serpent, a hollow groove running throughout their length. 
 This groove is not left open, but is closed for the greater part 
 of its length by a membrane, an aperture being left at the 
 base. This singular structure enables the larva first to plunge 
 its mandibles deeply into the body of its prey, and then to 
 suck out its juices though the hollow jaws. 
 
 As is the case with the carnivorous Beetles generally, the 
 larva soon attains its full growth, and, when the time is at 
 hand for its change into the helpless pupal condition, it takes 
 itself to the bank, up which it climbs, and, burrowing into the 
 damp earth, forms for itself a sort of round cell or cocoon, 
 within which it assumes the pupal form. Should the change 
 
60 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 occur in the summer, the pupa changes into a Beetle in a 
 fortnight or a few days more, according to the warmth of the 
 weather ; bat if the larva should retire within its cell in the 
 autumn, it remains dormant during the winter, and does not 
 appear until the following spring. As is the case with dark- 
 coloured Beetles generally, the newly-developed insect is very 
 light in colour and soft in texture, not assuming its hard, dark 
 coat of mail until the expiration of some days. 
 
 There are altogether six British species of this genus. 
 
 We now pass on to another genus, of which nineteen species 
 are acknowledged to inhabit England, and will take, as our 
 example, Agahus hipunctatus, a figure of which is given on 
 Woodcut No. VI. Fig. 1. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that the Dyticidse inhabit 
 equally running or still water, and that they may be foimd indis- 
 criminately in rivers and ponds. Still, some species prefer the 
 still, and others the running waters, and the latter insects are 
 almost ialways of brighter colour than the former. Such- is the 
 case with the pretty little Beetle which is now before us. The 
 head is yellow in front, and black on the crown, with two rust- 
 red spots, sometimes fused into one, and sometimes so faint 
 as to be scarcely visible. The thorax is yellow, with the ex- 
 ception of two round black spots on the disc. These sometimes 
 are fused together, like those of the head. The elytra are pale- 
 yellow, diversified with small black-brown streaks, a brighter 
 yellow spot near the middle, and a stripe of the same colour 
 down the suture, and upon the lateral margins. 
 
 Passing over several genera we come to a Beetle which is 
 shown on Woodcut No. VI. Fig. 2. It is called Hydrojporus 
 duodecim-pustulatus, and is selected as an example of a very 
 large genus, containing between forty and fifty species. All 
 the Beetles of this genus have their bodies much flattened, 
 and the tarsi of the first and middle pairs of legs with four 
 joints, while those of the hind pair have five joints. The two 
 first joints of the antennae are rather longer than the others. - 
 
 They are all small Beetles, and the present species is perhaps 
 the largest of its fellows, though it is, on an average, only a 
 quarter of an inch in length. The colour of the head is dull 
 
H.\LtPLUS AND CNEMIDOTUS. G] 
 
 reddish-brown, lighter and redder in the middle. The anterior 
 margin of the thorax has a black stripe in the middle, while a 
 similar stripe on the posterior margin is widened so as to form 
 two black lobe-like marks on the thorax. The elytra are black, 
 and on each elytron are six spots of the same colour as the 
 middle of the head, three of the spots running parallel with 
 the suture, and the other three being placed along the margin. 
 Beneath, the body is yellowish. 
 
 This pretty little Beetle is exceedingly common in some 
 places, and correspondingly rare in others. Although the spots 
 differ much in size and shape, and in some specimens are even 
 fused into each other, there is no difBculty in recognising the 
 insect. 
 
 Our next example of the Hydradephaga is Haliplus varie- 
 gatus, an insect which is shown on Woodcut No. VI. Fig. 3. 
 
 Like the last species, this is a pretty little Beetle, and 
 exceedingly variable in its colour, so variable indeed that it 
 has been described by the same writer under the name of at 
 least two species. It is a very small insect, not quite one-sixth 
 of an inch in length. Its usual colour is as follows : — The head 
 is dark brick-red, deepening into blackish-browni on the top. 
 The thorax is paler than the head. The elytra are rather con- 
 vex, sharply pointed, deep reddish-brown in colour, and have 
 some blackish spots near the margin. This variety is common ; 
 but there is one which is much rarer, and in this the general 
 hue is greyish-yellow, and the whole insect altogether lighter 
 in colour. The brightest-colom-ed specimens are found in 
 rather swift streams running through a gravelly soil. 
 
 There are eleven British species belonging to this genus. 
 
 On Woodcut No. Yl. Fig. 4, is sho^vn another of these prettily- 
 coloured but variable Water Beetles. Its name is Cnemidotus 
 ccesus, and it has a vast amount of detail in its colour, in 
 spite of its small size, which does not exceed one-sixth of an 
 inch. The general colour of the insect is light-yellow, the 
 head is punctated, and upon the base of the thorax is a curved, 
 punctated impression. In order to see the markings on the 
 elytra, or indeed to see any part of the markings properly, a 
 good lens is required. When viewed With such assistance, the 
 
62 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 elytra are seen to be covered with alternate stripes and dots, 
 arranged in regular lines, of which there are two on each elytron. 
 This pretty little Beetle may be found in most parts of 
 England, pools and ditches being the best localities for it. It 
 is the only British species of its genus. 
 
 Our last example of the Dyticidce is that which stands last in 
 the list. It is called Pelobius Hermanni, and is shown on 
 Woodcut No. VI. Fig. 5. This is the only British specimen of 
 its genus, wnich is very distinct from all the other Dyticidae, 
 inasmuch as there is a distinct scutellum, and all the legs are 
 formed for walking, the hinder legs not possessing the peculiar 
 mode of jointing which was mentioned on page 54. The body 
 is very convex. 
 
 The colour is rather variable, but may be summed up as 
 follows : — The hue of the Beetle is rust-red, and there is a 
 blackish patch round the eyes. The thorax has the front and 
 hind margins black. The convex elytra have a blackish patch 
 in the middle, and are longitudinally wrinkled, the wrinkles 
 converging towards the suture at the tip of the elytra. Like 
 the preceding insect, though not very common, it is spread 
 tolerably evenly over the country. It has the capability of 
 producing a squeaking sound when handled. 
 
 Having now gone through the Dyticidae, we come to the second 
 family of the Hydradephaga — that of the Gryrinidae, or Whirli- 
 gig Beetles, so called on account of the manner in which they 
 whirl themselves about on the surface of the water. 
 
 There is not the least difficulty in determining whether or 
 not a Water Beetle belongs to the Gryrinidae. Besides the 
 distinctions mentioned on page 54, the peculiar antenna of a 
 Gyrinus is shown on Woodcut No. VI. Fig./, and the hinder leg 
 at Fig. e, both being much magnified. Besides these points, all 
 the Gryrinidse appear to differ not only from the Dyticidae, but 
 from Beetles generally, in having, or rather in appearing to 
 have^ four compound eyes instead of two. The real fact, how- 
 ever, is that, in order to suit the peculiar habits of the insects, 
 the structure of the eye is modified. 
 
 These Beetles pass the greater part of their time on the 
 surface of the water, ro'wing themselves about with wonderful 
 
EYES OF THE WHIRLIGIG. 63 
 
 velocity, and always on the look-out for prey. If the eyes 
 were formed like those of the Dyticidoe, the water would 
 certainly impinge against them and render the insect incapable 
 of seeing, by reason of the drops of water which would be 
 continually splashed over its eyes. In order to enable it to 
 see properly above the surface, it is needful that the eyes 
 should be placed high enough to be out of reach of the water ; 
 and to enable it to see objects in the water, it is necessary 
 that the eyes should be submerged. 
 
 All practical entomologists are personally acquainted with 
 this latter fact ; for they know well that if they want to see 
 objects at the bottom of the water, the only way to do so is 
 to lie on the bank and submerge the eyes entirely. In some 
 parts of the world fishermen use a water-telescope for the same 
 purpose. This is nothing more than a tube, open at one end, 
 and having a plain glass closely fitted to the other. When used, 
 the closed end is pushed well below the surface, and the eye 
 applied to the open end, when it is found that objects can be 
 seen nearly as well below as above the water. 
 
 The eyes of the Whirligig Beetles are in fact water-telescopes. 
 Instead of being placed in two masses, one on each side of the 
 head, each is divided by the portion of the head which carries 
 the antennae ; so that half of the eye-cluster is well out of the 
 water, and can see objects above the surface, while the other 
 half is svibmerged, and can see objects beneath it. 
 
 The Common Whirligig, Gyrinus natator, which is shown 
 on Plate III. Fig. 3, is very gregarious in its habits, and may 
 generally be seen in small companies, whirling about on the 
 surface of the water in very still and sheltered places. As 
 they dart about, they often strike against each other ; but the 
 shock does no harm to their hard and polished bodies, and 
 they go on with their unceasing round as if nothing had 
 happened. Their chief object in thus continually darting over 
 the surface is to obtain food, which consists principally of 
 small flies, Beetles, and other insects which fall into the water. 
 They use their long fore legs in the captui-e of prey. They 
 are watchful little Beetles, and if they fear danger they dive 
 to the bottom, and there remain until they think that they 
 can return in safety to the surface. 
 
 As in the case with the Dyticidse, these insects are furnished 
 
64 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 with large and powerful wings, which they can use freely ; and 
 by the aid of which tliey can leave one piece of water and go to 
 another at will, so tliat a newly-formed puddle is sometimes 
 seen with several of these Beetles disporting themselves on the 
 surface. 
 
 The life history of the Gyrinus is rather a curious one, and 
 is much the same with all the species. The eggs are deposited 
 on a water-plant, and laid in regular rows. From them, in a 
 week or a little more, the curious larvae are hatched. One 
 of these larvae is shown on Plate III. Fig. 5. It is dirty-white* 
 in colour, and has a large, flat, oval head, armed with powerful 
 jaws, and six rather long legs ; while from each side of the 
 eight last joints of the body proceeds a very slender iilament, 
 which is part of the respiratory system. The last segment has 
 two pairs of these filaments, each of which is seen, on being 
 viewed by the aid of the microscope, to contain an air-tube, 
 which passes into the body and there joins the general system. 
 When in the water its appearance is very much like that of a 
 centipede, except that the respiratory filaments have no in- 
 dependent motion, like the legs of the centipede, but trail 
 loosely in the water. 
 
 In due time the larva is full-fed, and it then, as do many 
 other aquatic creatures, .leaves the water and crawls up the 
 stem of a water-plant, imtil it is several inches above the sur- 
 face. Having found a safe place, it spins for itself a small grey 
 cocoon, and there waits until it has assumed its perfect state, 
 when it breaks through the walls of the cover, and again seeks 
 the water. One of these cocoons is shown on Plate III. Fig. 6, 
 attached to the leaf of the Common Arrowhead {Sagittaria 
 sag itti folia). 
 
 Like the Dyticidae, almost all the Whirligig Beetles exude a 
 whitish liquid of a very unpleasant odour, and are sure to do 
 so when handled. 
 
 There are six English species of Gyrinus, some of which are 
 rarer than others. The present species, which is the most 
 common, is about a quarter of an inch in length, and blue- 
 black in colour, with a reddish mouth. The elytra are greenish 
 at the margins, and become narrowed towards the apex. They 
 are very .slightly striated and punctured. 
 
 A much rarer species is GyHnus bicolor, which must be 
 
HAIRY WHIKLiGIG. 65. 
 
 sought in salt marshes and similar localities. It is much 
 larger in proportion to its width than the preceding species, 
 so that it can at once be detected. The most remarkable, or 
 at least the most divergent, of the Whirligigs is the IIaiuy 
 WniRi.ir.ia (Orectochilus villosus), which may at once be de- 
 tected by the fact that the^ upper part of its body is black, 
 covered with short greyish down. The body is reddish -yellow 
 beneath, and the elytra are thickly and deeply punctated. 
 This insect is not so fond of society as the other species, 
 neither does it love the light of day, but hides itself in the 
 banks of rivers and running waters during the daytime, and 
 seeks its prey by night. In consequence of this habit it is not 
 often seen, and even in places where it is tolerably common is 
 sure to escape the observation of anyone who does not know 
 how and when to look for it. It is rather a local insect, and 
 Mr. F. W. Hope gives the Dart and rivulets on Dartmoor as a 
 favourite locality. 
 
 The popular name Whirhvig- is often substituted for Whirli- 
 gig. The generic title Orectochilus is formed fi'om two Greek 
 words, signifying ' stretch ed-lip,' and alludes to the structure 
 of the labrum, or upper lip, which is lengthened by a pale- 
 coloured friuire on its edo-e. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 BBACHELYTRA. 
 
 The group of Beetles which comes next in order is equally 
 conspicuous with the Hydradephaga, but utterly unlike it or 
 any of the groups which have been described. These Beetles 
 are long-bodied, agile, and seem to play the same part among 
 Coleoptera as the weasel tribe among the Mammalia. Most, 
 though not all of them, are predatorial, and some of them, 
 especially the larger species, are exceedingly fierce as well as 
 voracious, and will fight any foe, no matter how much they 
 may be overmatched. 
 
 The name Brachelytra is a very appropriate one, signifying 
 short elytra. These insects have the elytra very short and 
 squared, so short indeed that six or seven segments of the 
 abdomen generally protrude beyond them. Although the elytra 
 are so small, the wings are very large ; and, though they 
 must necessarily be folded in a most complicate^ manner 
 before they can be packed under the elytra, these insects can 
 take the air with more readiness than any other Beetles, ex- 
 cept, perhaps, the Tiger Beetles, whose manner of flight has 
 been described on page 16. In folding the wings under the 
 elytra, the Beetle is obliged to act in a very curious manner, 
 bending the tail over the back, and with the extremity of the 
 body arranging the wings under their sheaths. The earwig 
 uses its forceps for a similar purpose, as we shall see when we 
 come to that insect. ' Fig. c. Woodcut No. VII., shows one of 
 the large Brachelytra in the act of packing up its wings. In 
 consequence of their activity both on the wing and on foot, 
 these insects have gained the popular name of Rove Beetles. 
 
 All these Beetles have the habit of bending their bodies 
 upwards when alarmed, for which reason they have received 
 the popular name of Cocktail Beetles. This act has, in the 
 
ODOUR OF THE ROVE BEETLES. 67 
 
 larger species, so menacing an aspect that many persons are 
 afraid to touch so formidable an insect. In reality, the smaller 
 species are more to be dreaded than the larger. I have already 
 mentioned that the Brachelytra take easily to wing, when 
 they may be mistaken for flies, so ample are their wings and 
 so quick their movements. Many of them are very small — 
 not thicker than an ordinary horsehair — and these are almost 
 invariably the little black ' flies ' that are in the habit of getting 
 into the eye on fine summer evenings, and 'causing an amount 
 of pain which seems quite disproportionate to the size of the 
 insect. Of course even a small fly would cause pain if it got 
 into the eye ; but Avhen one of these Beetles finds itself 
 imprisoned, it instinctively turns up its pointed tail, and 
 thus causes a double aniount of irritation. I believe that, 
 out of every ten ' flies ' that get into the eye, seven are Bra- 
 chelytra. 
 
 Although the larger Brachelytra need not be particularly 
 dreaded, in spite of their fierce looks, it is as well not to handle 
 them without necessity. Their bite, although sharp, is of no 
 particular consequence ; but they possess a more formidable 
 weapon than their jaws. At the end of the tail are two tuber- 
 cles, wliich exude a secretion of the most odious character. 
 Like that of the skunk, it has an odom-, or rather a stench, 
 peculiarly — and fortunately so — its own, and which cannot be 
 described by any comparison. That of the common snake, 
 when irritated, comes, perhaps, nearer it than any other ; but 
 even that singularly unpleasant emanation is not so utterly 
 disgusting as the effluvium of an angry Rove Beetle. 
 
 As each group of insects has certain characteristics by which 
 its members can be identified, I will here mention some of the 
 chief characters which mark the Brachelytra. The observer should 
 first note the comparative sizes and shapes of the joints of the 
 antennae, palpi, and tarsi ; then, let him look for the spiracles, 
 or breathing holes, in the prothorax. Next in importance 
 come the quantity and colour of any down that may be on the 
 insect ; while the relative width of the front tarsi will deter- 
 mine the sex. 
 
 The first family is that of the Aleocharidae. In this family 
 the spiracles on the sides of the prothorax are plainly visible, 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 INSECTS AT II0:ME. 
 
 the antennae are set ciose between and in front of the eyes, and 
 the last joint of the maxillary palpi is very small and thread- 
 like. The form of the maxillary palpus can be seen by refer- 
 ence to Woodcut No. VII. Fig. d. In this family the front 
 tarsi of the males are not wider than those of the females, but 
 they can be detected by looking at the last segment but one 
 
 1. Fala.sTia sulcata. 2. Aleochara fuscipes. 3. Atemeles emarginatus. 4. Oxypoda 
 liiteipennis. 5. Homalota bnmnea. a. Stapbylinus. anterior tarsus of female, undilated. 
 6. Stapliylinns, anterior tarsus of male, dilated, c. Staphylinus, closing its wings with ex- 
 tremity of its tail. d. Falagria, maxillary palpus. e. Falagria, rigiit mandible. /. 
 FaUigria, labial palpi. gr. Falagria, antenna. 
 
 of the abdomen, and seeing whether it is tubercled, ridged, or 
 has a thicker posterior margin. In such cases the insect is of 
 the male sex. 
 
 This is in many respects a very remarkable group of insects, 
 because in no less than eight of the genera included in it there 
 are Beetles which are parasitic upon other insects, and which 
 pass the whole of their lives in the nests of ants. There is 
 
THE SM^VLL ROVE BEETLES. 69 
 
 even one species that inhabits the nest of the sand martin. 
 In the course of the following pages we shall come upon 
 several of these curious Beetles. 
 
 Our first example of tliis family is FalagHa sulcata — it is 
 drawn on Woodcut No.VII. Fig. 1. There are four species of this 
 genus, which is distinguished by the large head, which is very 
 distinct from the thorax, the first joint of the tarsus long, and 
 the bases of the elytra without wrinkles. The structure of the 
 antennae can be seen by reference to Fig. r/ iii the same illustra- 
 tion ; the maxillary palpus is shown at d, the right mandible 
 at e, and the labial palpi at/. 
 
 All the Beetles belonging to this genus are very small, and 
 many of them may be captured with an ordinary butterfiy-net, 
 while on the wing. Some of the Brachelytra are so exceedingly 
 minute that the best plan to procure them is the 'catch-em- 
 alive-oh' principle. A few sheets of white paper should be 
 brushed over with very pure gum-water and left to dry, when 
 they will be useful at any time. When the entomologist wishes 
 to capture these minute creatures, all he has to do is to choose 
 a warm sunshiny day, damp one of these gummed sheets, and 
 wave it about under trees until it is dry. On examining it, a 
 number of tiny blackish specks will generally be seen, and most 
 of these, when a lens is brought to bear on them, prove to be 
 Brachelytra. The same paper can be used over and over again, 
 the captured insects being removed with the point of a fine 
 camel-hair pencil dipped in water. The species which we are now 
 examining is shining brownish-black in colour. The thorax is 
 rather heart-shaped, and along the centre runs a very deep 
 furrow, reaching to the scutellum. The elytra are very wide, 
 smooth, and slightly sunk at the base. The legs and base of 
 the antennae are brick-red. This specimen is a very curious 
 one, and may be found in all parts of Englancf, buried in fungi 
 and decaying vegetable inatter. 
 
 The typical gem\?> Aleochara has the head deeply sunk into the 
 thorax, whicli is convex and broad. The elytra are broader 
 than they are long. The abdomen has a flattened margin 
 along the sides, and the tarsi have five joints, the basal joint of 
 the hinder tarsi being longest. The antennas are short, stout, and 
 the fourth and tentli joints are of equal length. 
 
70 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 On Woodcut VII. Fig. 2, is represented a good example of 
 this genus, Alcochara fusci'pes. 
 
 The colour of this Beetle is shining-black. The antennae 
 are short and thickened in the middle. The elytra are red, 
 edged with black, and the legs and base of the antennae are 
 red, the thighs being dull-brown instead of red. This insect 
 flies rapidly. It is a common species, and, small as it is, yet 
 is the largest of its genus. It haunts decaying substances, 
 whether animal or vegetable. Fifteen British species' are 
 known. 
 
 Another member of the same family, Atemeles emarginatus, 
 is shown on Woodcut VII. Fig. 3, and is a rather odd-looking 
 insect. The genus is distinguished by its broad body, and the 
 two projections upon the last joint but one of the abdomen. 
 The second and third joints of the antennse are small. There 
 are only two British species of this genus. ' 
 
 The general colour of this insect is shining-brown. The 
 head is black, and the thorax has a shallow furrow along its 
 disc. The elytra are red-brown, covered with short golden 
 down, and the posterior angles are produced into short sharp 
 spines. 
 
 This is one of the parasitic Beetles, residing in the nests of 
 the bank-ant (^Formica fusca), and a smaller species of ant 
 {Myrmica ruginodis). Both these ants are very fond of their 
 guest ; and if the nest be opened, the ants take as much care of 
 the Beetles as of their own young, picking them up in their 
 jaws, and carrying them into a place of safety. That these 
 Beetles do not eat either the ants, their eggs, or their young is 
 evident from this fact ; and it is thought probable by many 
 entomologists that the Beetle discharges some secretion which 
 is grateful to the ants, as is the case with sundry Aphides. 
 
 The little Beetle, Oxypoda luteipennis, which is represented 
 on Woodcut VII. Fig. 4, also belongs to the same family. 
 
 The leading characteristics of this genus are as follows. The 
 thorax is much broader behind than in front, and the head is 
 sunk in it nearly to the eyeB. The el3H:ra have a distinct notch 
 at the outer angle of the apex. The abdomen is strongly 
 margined, and the tarsi have the basal joint rather larger than 
 
HOW TO ELUDE AN ENEMY. 7\ 
 
 the second. The antennae are long, and slightly thickened at 
 the tip. There are fourteen species of this geaus. 
 
 The head of this species is black, and the thorax is convex, 
 with a deep pit at the base. Its colour is dusky-black, covered 
 with down. The elytra are dull brick-red, becoming brown at 
 the suture ; the legs are red, and the abdomen is black with 
 red edges to all the segments. The insect is common every- 
 where. 
 
 The Beetle which is our next example of this family belongs 
 to an enormous genus, containing at least 160 species. Its 
 name is Homalota brunnea, and it is drawn on Woodcut VII. 
 Fig. 5. 
 
 In this genus the head is without any distinct neck, and the 
 body is narrow and much flattened. The tarsi of the front legs 
 have four joints, and those of the hind legs five joints, the four 
 first joints being equal in size. The joints of the antennae are 
 bead-like. 
 
 The present species is a flat, shining, brick -red insect, with 
 the exception of the head and the last segment but one of the 
 abdomen, which are grey-black, the abdomen being thickly and 
 rather deeply punctured. There is a very shallow groove in the 
 middle of the thorax. The legs are pale reddish -brown. 
 
 This is a very common insect, and yet Mr. E. A. Smith, who 
 has long given much attention to the Brachelytra, tells me that 
 he cannot fix upon any special locality for it, having found 
 it indifferently in sand-pits, on palings, and similar places. 
 Indeed, the whole family is a very bewildering and trouble- 
 some one to the investigator, and would require the uninter- 
 rupted labour of several years before it could be thoroughly 
 mastered. 
 
 OuK last example of this large family is the Beetle called 
 Gyrophcena gentilis, which is drawn on Woodcut VIII. Fig. 1. 
 
 The Beetles of this genus are broad in proportion to their 
 length, and much flattened ; yet, in spite of their short 
 bodies, they are able to double, or rather roll, themselves up 
 until they look like anything but insects, and are difiicult of 
 detection. The thorax is wider than the head and very short, 
 and the elytra are wider than they are long. The anterior 
 
12 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 tarsi have only four joints, and the posterior five joints, the 
 latter having the basal joint longer than the others. 
 
 The species is dusky-red, with a tinge of yellow, with the 
 exception of the head and a belt on the abdomen, which are 
 pitchy-black. The thorax has a definite margin, and is thickly 
 punctured. The legs are paler than the body. It is found on 
 
 ] . G-yrophsena gentilis. 2. Quedius dilatatiis, 3. Creophilus maxillosus. 4. Philonthus 
 barginatus. 5. Xantholinus glabratus. a. Philonthus, right mandible. &. Quedius, right 
 mandible. c. Philonthus, labial palpi. d. Quedius, labial palpi. e. Philonthus, antenna. 
 
 fungi of various kinds. There is a curious point about this 
 insect which is worth recording. One of the very rarest of the 
 British Brachelytra is a Beetle of the same family, called 
 Myrmedonia Haworthi, one of the parasitic Beetles. When 
 the GyrophcBna gentilis is placed under the magnifier, so as to 
 enlarge it to the size of the Myrmedonia, the two Beetles are 
 almost exactly alike. 
 
'SETTING' EOVE BEETLES. 73 
 
 The family of the Tachyporidoe comes next in order. These 
 Beetles have the head usually sunk deeply in the thorax, 
 without any distinct neck. The spiracles of the prothorax are 
 conspicuous, and the antennae are before the eyes, on the 
 margin of the forehead. The males have the basal joints of 
 the tarsi dilated. All these Beetles are unrivalled for their 
 speed, and in consequence of this characteristic the name of 
 Tachyporidce, or ' swift-footed,' has been given to them. 
 
 Among these insects will be found the most troublesome 
 examples of that telescopic shutting up of the body which has 
 already been mentioned. Mr. E. C. Rye recommends the fol- 
 lowing plan for preserving the proper shape of the Beetle : — 
 ' The best way in mounting them is to put gum arabic, with 
 which a little sugar has been melted, under the tail ; and, as 
 soon as that is dry, gum the entire last segment over with 
 tragacanth, keeping the abdomen from contracting (if you can) 
 with a card brace. They should not be dried quickly.' Some 
 of these insects are -so troublesome in this respect, that the only 
 plan of getting them back into shape is to fix the last segment 
 of the body to the card with a tiny drop of coaguline or 
 diamond cement, which soon sets. Then, when it is sufficiently 
 hardened, take the front part of the body in the forceps, and 
 draw it gently forward until the segments of the abdomen have 
 been pulled out to^their proper extent. Then put a small drop 
 of coaguline under the thorax, press it down with a card brace, 
 and keep it down until it is dry. 
 
 Our first example of this family is a Beetle called Boletohius 
 atricapillus, which is shown on Plate IV. Fig. 1, two specimens 
 being drawn as crawling on the top of a mushroom, and the 
 other in flight. The insects of this genus live in fungi of 
 different kinds, on which account they are called by the name 
 of Boletohius, or ' fungus-inhabiting.' Others are seen as they 
 appear when running in and out of the gills of a mushroom. 
 In this genus, which contains eight species, the body narrows 
 to a point behind, the head is long, the palpi slender, and the 
 antennae are long in proportion to the size of the insect. 
 
 The general colour of this species is glossy-red and shining. 
 The head, breast, scutellum, and tip of the abdomen are black, 
 and the elytra are blue-black with a cream-white curved mark 
 
74 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 on the shoulder, and a line of the same colour upon the 
 posterior margin. The antennae are rather curiously coloured, 
 the four first joints being black, the next five pale-red, and the 
 last black, like those of the base. 
 
 It is a very common insect, and may be found in fungi in 
 the autumn. Indeed, in consequence of their fungi-loving 
 habits, all these Beetles are to be found towards the close of 
 the year. As this is a common species, the reader is recom- 
 mended to try his hand at setting it in the way above- 
 mentioned. Even if three or four be spoiled, plenty more can 
 be procured, and the practice will be invaluable when insects of 
 greater rarity have to be set. None of the Tachyporidse are 
 large, and though most of them frequent fungi, many are found 
 under leaf-heaps, in bones, and similar localities. 
 
 The reader will experience no difficulty in identifying the 
 curious Beetle drawn on Woodcut No. VIII. Fig. 2, when he 
 finds it ; for, in the first place, he will find no other Beetle in 
 the same locality, and in the next place, its serrated antennae 
 and round and sbield-like thorax will at once point it out to 
 him. The name of this Beetle is Quedius [ Velleius'] dilatatus. 
 
 There are more than twenty species of this genus, which may 
 be known by the shield-like thorax. Some of them are ex- 
 ceedingly variable ; one of them, Quedius fulgidus, having 
 been called by no less than thirteen names. The present 
 species is broad and black, with a beautiful iridescence on the 
 abdomen, and, although so sombrely coloured, is a great acqui- 
 sition to the cabinet. Formerly it was the rarest of the rare 
 among British Beetles, and even now is one of the greatest 
 treasures that an entomologist can possess ; but, now that its 
 locality is known, it may perhaps oftener find a place in our 
 cabinets. The secret of its rarity is that it is one of the 
 parasitic Brachelytra, and lives in the nest of the hornet. Mr. 
 F. Smith, who has paid so much attention to this subject, 
 thinks that the larva of the Quedius feeds upon that of the 
 hornet, and mentions that he has found in a hornet's nest a 
 considerable number of dead larvae, which he believed to be 
 those of the Quedius. Up to the present time, 1871, he has 
 not found a specimen of the Beetle, though he has opened very 
 many hornets' nests. We may call it the Hornet Beetle. 
 
RAEITY OF THE HOENET BEETLE. 75 
 
 Even now that the locality of this Beetle is known, to secure 
 a specimen is no easy matter. In the first place, it is a very 
 exceptional piece of good fortune to find a hornets' nest that 
 contains a Quedius dilatatus, as I can testify from personal 
 experience, having seen plenty of hornets' nests and never seen 
 a living specimen of this Beetle ; and in the next place, a 
 hornets' nest cannot be taken like that of the wasp. To take a 
 wasps' nest is a very easy business, as the wasps always rest at 
 night, and their fortress can be stormed without the least 
 danger. But hornets have an uncomfortable plan of working 
 by night as well as by day, so that no small risk has to be run 
 by anyone who tries to take 1 he nest of a hornet. Moreover, 
 whereas wasps usually make i heir nests in the ground, wliere 
 ihey can easily be dug out, hornets generally make theirs in 
 the hollows of trees, and often at a considerable height from 
 the ground, so that they cannot be extracted without the use of 
 saw, mallet, and chisel. The late Mr. F. Stone, who probably 
 had more experience with wa.-ps and hornets than any other 
 naturalist, told me that, if he began to cut out a hornets' nest 
 at midnight, he never expected to finish his task until six or 
 seven next morning, exposed the while to the attacks of hornets 
 that had been out to collect food or material. So it is no 
 wonder that Quedius dilatatus should be a valuable acqui- 
 sition, even though we do know where to find it. 
 
 The Beetle, however, does not restrict itself to the hornet, 
 but is sometimes parasitic on the caterpillar of the goat-moth. 
 In this case, though the task of getting it out of the tree is not 
 so dangerous as in the case when it quarters itself on the 
 hornet, it is quite as tedious and fatiguing. 
 
 One species of this genus, Quedius brevis, is to be found in the 
 nests of the wood-ant {Formica rufa). One of these Beetles is 
 shown on Plate XI. The length of this insect is about half an 
 inch, and its elytra are brick-red. 
 
 The family of the Staphylinidge, which comes next in order, 
 contains the largest species of this group of Beetles, some of 
 them reaching, or even slightly exceeding, an inch in length. 
 They may be known by several peculiarities of structure. The 
 antennse are set far apart, their junction with the head being 
 in front, within the base of the mandibles, which are large and 
 
76 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 formidable. The maxillary palpi are slender, and the ligula 
 small. The spiracles of the prothorax are large. The tarsi 
 of the front feet are dilated in the males and slender in the 
 females, and may be seen by reference to Woodcut No. VII., 
 where Fig. a represents the tarsus of a female Staphylinus, and h 
 the same joint in the male. The jaws, too, are not so powerful 
 in the female, neither are their heads so large as in the case 
 with the other sex. 
 
 Our first example of the Staphylinidas is one of the finest — in 
 my opinion the very finest — of that family. It is called scien- 
 tifically Greophilus maxillosus, but has, unfortunately, no 
 popular name, probably because it is confounded in the popular 
 mind with the common black species, which will be presently 
 described. Its name is more appropriate and expressive than 
 is generally the case with insect names. The word Greophilus 
 is of Greek origin, and signifies ' flesh-lover,' while the specific 
 title of maxillosus signifies ' large-jawed.' Both names show 
 that those who affixed them to the insect were thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with its character and form, for the Beetle is a most 
 voracious carrion eater, and has jaws that are of enormous size 
 in proportion to its body. The colour of this Beetle is shining- 
 black, but it is mottled with short grey down. 
 
 In some places this Beetle is tolerably plentiful, but in others it 
 is seldom if ever seen. It can generally be captured in the bodies 
 of moles that have been suspended by the professional mole- 
 catchers — and, indeed, these unfortunate moles are absolute 
 treasure-houses for the coleopterist, as we shall see when we come 
 to the next group of Beetles. A figure of this insect is given on 
 Woodcut No. VIII. Fig. 3. It is the only British species of its 
 genus, which is distinguished by having short and thickened 
 antennae, smooth head and thorax, and the latter rounded. 
 
 Next comes a Beetle belonging to the typical genus of the 
 family, or, indeed, of the entire group. It is the Eed Rove 
 Beetle {Staphylinus ccesareus), which is represented on 
 Woodcut VII. Fig c, in the act of closing its wings after flight, 
 and on Plate IV. Fig 3, as it appears when flying. 
 
 There is some little difficulty respecting the name of Staphy- 
 linus. This title is given by ancient writers to two very 
 
PLATE IV. 
 ROVE BEETLES AND BURYING BEETLES. 
 
 1. Boletobius atricapillus, 
 
 2. Ocypus olens (eggs below). 
 
 3. Staphylinus csesareus. 
 
 4. Necrophorus humator. 
 
 5. Necrophorus vespillo. 
 
 6. Necrophorus mortuorum. 
 
 7. Clioleva angustata. 
 
 8. Hister bimaculata. 
 
 9. Nitidula depressa. 
 
 10. Boletobius in gills of Mushroom, 
 
 11. Necrophorus huniator, larva. 
 
 12. Silpha thoracica, larva. 
 
 13. Ocypus olens, larva. 
 
 14. Silpha thoracica (on body of bird). 
 
 Plant : — 
 
 Edible Mushroom (Agaricus campestris). 
 
DEVIL'S COACH-HOESE. 77 
 
 different objects, namely, a carrot or parsnip, and a sort of 
 Beetle that gives out an unpleasant odour. As, however, the 
 insect in question was said to walk about with its tail in the 
 air, entomologists have considered that the term was applied 
 to some of the Brachelytra, and, rightly or wrongly, the name 
 has been accepted by entomologists of all countries. The 
 specific name ca'sareus, given to this insect, is in allusion to its 
 colour, which resembles the ' clotted-blood ' purple of Caesar's 
 imperial mantle. 
 
 There is another insect, which is found in the northern part 
 of England, and which very much resembles this species. It 
 is the Staphylinus eirythroptenis, or Euddy-winged Eove Beetle, 
 and may be distinguished by the fact that the scutellum is 
 covered with gold-coloured hair. The Beetle is tolerably com- 
 mon, and in the summer-time may often be seen on the wing, 
 when it looks something like a reddish, long-bodied bee. It is 
 fond of settling on gravel walks which are exposed to the 
 heat of the sunbeams, partly for the sake of the warmth, and 
 partly because the colour of the gravel harmonises with the 
 ruddy hue of its body. 
 
 Six species of this genus inhabit England. The genus is 
 distinguished by having the whole of the body nearly smooth, 
 the thorax squared, and the antennse slender 
 
 Now comes an insect that is very familiar to us, the Devil's 
 Coach-horse, as it is popularly and fancifully called. Its 
 scientific name is Ocypiis olens, and it may be recognised by a 
 glance at Fig. 2 on Plate IV., where it is represented in the 
 attitude which it assumes when annoyed or when thinking 
 itself in danger. 
 
 I really think that this is the very ugliest insect in England. 
 It is scarcely so repidsive as the cockroach, its wonderful 
 courage and spirit being redeeming points, but it is so very 
 hideous, that the popular name exactly expresses its appear- 
 ance. Its colour is dull, dead black, its eyes, which scarcely 
 project from the head, have a cold, cruel look about them, and 
 its tail, when raised menacingly like that of a scorpion, pro- 
 trudes two yellow vesicles at the tip, from which emanates the 
 horrible odour that has been already mentioned. Sometimes 
 it finds its way into cellars and larders, if they be wholly or 
 
78 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 partially underground ; and then the servants are always much 
 alarmed at the creature, of which they have a dread which is 
 superstitious rather than the offspring of mere prejudice or 
 ignorance. 
 
 As its appearance suggests, it is one of the predacious Beetles, 
 and is as fierce and brave as it is voracious. It really seems not 
 to know what fear is, and no enemy seems to frighten it. I 
 once came across one of these Beetles at the foot of the old Clif- 
 ton Baths stairs at Margate, and threatened it with the point 
 of my stick. The Beetle at once dashed at the stick with open 
 jaws, and fought most valiantly. Of course I did not wish to 
 hurt the insect, so I merely continued the feigned attack, the 
 Beetle retreating with its face to the foe and its jaws wide 
 open, until it had fairly surmounted the whole flight of stairs, 
 invariably turning round as it reached the top of each stair, and 
 making a fresh dash at the stick. It was exceedingly angry, 
 but did not show the least symptom of fear, though I repeatedly 
 struck violently within a few inches of its head. I was so 
 pleased with the dauntless coufage of the Beetle, that, when it 
 reached the top, I put it into a deep chalk crevice of the cliff, 
 where it would be safe from the mischievous boys who infest 
 the place. 
 
 This is one of the most active of Beetles. Being furnished, 
 like all its family, with long and ample wings, and not being 
 burdened, like the chafers, with a thick and heavy body, it 
 flies with great rapidity, and can pass over incredible distances 
 without being obliged to rest. It is equally active on the 
 ground, for which reason the generic name of Ocypus, or 
 ' smft-footed,' has been given to it. Some writers on entomo- 
 logy have given to this insect the generic name of GoeHus, 
 or ' moiu-nful,' in consequence of its sombre and funereal 
 colouring. The specific title olens, or ' stinking,' is given to 
 it in consequence of the horrible emanations from the tail 
 tubercles. 
 
 We will now glance at the life history of this Beetle, which, 
 in spite of its ugliness, is really a very interesting one. 
 
 The eggs of all the Staphylinidse are large in proportion to 
 the creature which produces them, but those of the Devil's 
 Coach-horse are larger than those of the largest British insect, 
 being one-tenth of an inch in length and one-twelfth broad. 
 
PUPiE OF THE EOVB BEETLES. 79 
 
 A group of these eggs is shown on Plate IV., just below the 
 Beetle itself. 
 
 When these are hatched little larvae issue from them, some- 
 what similar in form to the parent insect, though, of course, 
 without any vestige of wings. These larvoe are quite as fierce 
 as the perfect insects, and much more voracious, eating being 
 indeed, as with all larvae, the chief business of their lives. 
 They are predacious, and, though they will devom- carrion when 
 they can procure it, will attack and kill any insect which comes 
 near them, not even sparing their own kind. They have an 
 ingenioTis mode of seizing their prey in the soft interval be- 
 tween the head and neck, and then, plunging their sharp and 
 curved jaws deeply into its body, suck out its juices. 
 
 These larvae can be found throughout the spring, and may 
 often be captured by digging shallow holes in the ground in 
 some sheltered spot, placing a piece of meat, a dead bird or 
 frog, in the hole, and covering it with a stone so as to protect 
 it from the elements, but leaving space for the ingress and 
 egress of the Beetles. Towards the end of spring or the be- 
 ginning of summer, the larva is full fed, and burrows a hole 
 in the earth, in which it undergoes the change to the perfect 
 form. 
 
 There is a strange peculiarity about the pupae of these 
 Beetles. With nearly all wing-bearing Coleoptera, the wings 
 are folded under the elytra, even though the latter organs be 
 comparatively short; but, in the pupae of these curious 
 Beetles, the wings are extended beyond the elytra and fold over 
 the breast, so that two-thirds of their length is seen beyond 
 the elytra. They remain in the pupal state for a fortnight or 
 three weeks, and then assume the perfect form. The Beetle 
 is most plentiful in the autumn. I strongly recommend any 
 of my readers not to injure this Beetle, repulsive as it may ap- 
 pear. It does no harm, either to the garden, the orchard, or 
 the field, but, on the contrary, from its inveterate insect-eating 
 habits, rather confers a benefit on the agriculturist. 
 
 Specimens of this Beetle should always be set so as to show 
 the beautiful wings ; and one should be set on its back, in 
 order to exhibit the peculiarities of the under side. None of 
 the Brachelytra are easy insects to set properly, as their legs 
 have a tendency to twist themselves in the wrong direction, or 
 
80 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 to fall off altogetLer, and their long bodies have a way of 
 shutting up like the joints of a telescope, so that the end of 
 the tail only comes a little beyond the elytra, thus entirely 
 altering the normal shape of the insect. These larger Staphy- 
 linidae, however, are not so troublesome as the smaller genera, 
 and the beginner will find it better to commence with them, 
 and then proceed to the smaller kinds. 
 
 There are eleven British species of this genus, which is 
 known by the long thread-like antennae, with the last joint 
 oblique at the tip and the large head. 
 
 Our next example of the Staph ylinidpe is an insect of much 
 less size and very different shape, called Philonthus inarginatus, 
 the only specimen that we can take of the very large genus, of 
 which forty-seven British species are acknowledged. In this 
 genus the thorax is squared, the antennae and palpi are slender, 
 and there is a strong tooth in the middle of each mandible. 
 The antenna of this genus is shown on Woodcut No. VIII. Fig. e, 
 the mandible, with its central tooth, at a, and the labial palpi 
 at e. The name Philonthus signifies ' dung-loving,' and is 
 given to this genus because the largest and most conspicuous 
 species are found under patches of cow or horsedung. Some 
 of the smaller species, however, live under heaps of decaying 
 sea-weed, such as Philonthus fucicola, the latter term signifying 
 some creature that inhabits sea-weed. The present species is 
 generally to be found under dead leaves. 
 
 The colour of this little Beetle is black, but the legs and 
 the margin of the thorax are reddish-yellow, a peculiarity from 
 which it derives its specific name marginatus. The middle 
 segments of the abdomen have their edges yellow. This is a 
 very curious Beetle. 
 
 The family of the Xantholinidse may be distinguished from 
 the Staphylinidse by the position of the antennae, which are 
 inserted before, and not within, the base of the mandibles, and 
 are consequently much nearer each other than those of the 
 preceding family. The spiracles of the prothorax are con- 
 spicuous. The middle pair of legs is longer than the others. 
 They are nearly all black, diversified with reddish-yellow, and 
 are very slender bodied ; and, in consequence of these charac- 
 
THE RED-NECK. 81 
 
 teristia^j the name of Xantholinidce, or ' yellow threads,' ha'2 
 been given to them. This thread-like form allows the insects 
 to pack themselves up into a very small space ; and when they 
 are reposing, they act like the Hottentots, and double themselves 
 up in so small a space that when they are disturbed and unroll 
 themselves, it is really sm-prising to see how the insect gra- 
 dually developes its limbs and general form. 
 
 The characteristics of the genus can easily be seen by re- 
 ference to Woodcut No. VIII. Fig. 5, which represents a com- 
 mon and pretty species called Xantholinus glabratus. The 
 head is long, and the small eyes are placed well in the front. 
 There is a small cylindrical neck, and the thorax is marked 
 with bold punctures, which afford a valuable means of detect- 
 ing the various species. The present species is black, with 
 blood-red elytra. The disc of the thorax has four distinct rows 
 of very large punctures. The sides of the head and thorax are 
 punctured, and the whole sm-face is glossy, as indeed is ex- 
 pressed by the specific name glabratus, which signifies smooth 
 or polished. Eight British species are acknowledged. 
 
 Another family, the Psederidse, now comes before us. In 
 this family the spiracles of the prothorax ary invisible, and the 
 antennsB are set on the sides of the very front of the head. 
 The maxillary palpi are rather long, and have the last joint so 
 liny that it scarcely looks like a joint. The left maxilla and 
 its palpus are shown on Woodcut IX. Fig. /. The head is 
 attached to the thorax by a very delicate neck, so that in a dried 
 specimen great care must be taken lest the head should fall 
 off. In some species there is a definite footstalk connecting 
 the head and thorax together. 
 
 We can only take one example of this family, namely, the 
 small but well-known Beetle called by entomologists Stilicus 
 fragilis, a figure of which is given on Woodcut IX. Fig. 1. 
 In this genus, of which there are seven British species, the 
 head is wide and rounded, and the thorax is much narrowed in 
 front. The curiously-toothed mandible is shown at Fig. c of 
 the same illustration. 
 
 The present species is one of the few Brachelytra that has a 
 popular name. It is called the Eed-neck, on account of the 
 bright-red colom- of the thorax. Its head is shining-black, 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 covered with very small punctures, and the elytra are bluish- 
 black edged with red. The legs are light-red. On account of 
 the extreme tenuity of the connection between the head and 
 the narrowed thorax, this insect is apt to fall to pieces in the 
 cabinet if the drawer containing it be shut with a jerk, and it 
 has therefore obtained the specific name of fragilis. It is not 
 
 1. Stilicus fragilis. 2. Stenus bimaculatus. 3. Omalium florale. 4. Prognatha qnadri- 
 cornis. 5. Micralymma brevipenne. a. Stenus, lipula. b. Stenns, left mandible. c. 
 Stilicus, right mandible. d. ' Prognatha, maxillary palpus. e. Prognatha, labium. /. 
 Stilicus, maxillary palpus. g. Stenus, maxiUary palpus. 
 
 a very common insect, but is spread tolerably widely, and 
 may be found by careful searching in hotbeds and heaps of 
 decajdng vegetable matter. 
 
 Other species of this curious genus can be found by looking 
 in the proper places. Stilicus geniculatus, for example, in- 
 habits chalky districts, and Stilicus orhiculatus must be sought 
 in marshes. 
 
$ 
 
 THE STENIDiE AND OMALID^. 83 
 
 Next comes the family of the Stenidae. These insects may- 
 be known by the position of the antennae, which are generally 
 set between the eyes or on the front margin of the forehead. 
 The basal joint of the maxillary palpi is long, and the last joint 
 almost imperceptible. See Fig. g on Woodcut IX. 
 
 Sometimes the young entomologist is much puzzled by a 
 phenomenon which takes place with sundry small Beetles 
 belonging to the Brachelytra. As soon as they are killed a 
 long and slender tongue-like organ darts from the mouth, and 
 protrudes itself until it looks like a proboscis. These Beetles 
 belong to the genus Stenus, of which we have an example in 
 Stenus biTnaculatus, which is shown on Woodcut IX. Fig. 2. 
 This tongue-like organ is in fact composed of the ligula, the two 
 paraglossse, and the labial palpi, as may be seen by reference to 
 the same illustration. Fig. a. The mandibles of this genus 
 are strongly formed, having one very large tooth, and four 
 very small teeth, as may be seen at Fig. b. The fourth joint 
 of the tarsi has a slightly double lobe. The long and slender 
 maxillary palpus is shown at g. 
 
 The present species is black, with the exception of a round 
 ta^vny spot on each elytron, from which the insect has derived 
 its specific name of bimaculatus^ or ' two-spotted.' The surface 
 is thickly and deeply punctured, and is covered with a scanty 
 whitish down. There is a deep furrow along the middle of the 
 thorax. The legs are tawny, with the exception of the knees 
 and tarsi, which are black. 
 
 This is a very common and very good example of the genus, 
 and indeed so well exhibits the characteristics of the family 
 that it is worth a detailed examination. It is a very common 
 insect, being found all over England, and almost always to be 
 taken on the banks of ponds and rivers among the aquatic 
 plants. In tolerably warm weather it may be taken runnino- 
 about upon the stems of the plants, and on cold days lurkino- 
 in the muddy soil about their roots. Mr. E. A. Smith, to 
 whom I am indebted for much information concernino- the 
 smaller Brachelytra, tells me that all the spotted Steni are 
 found in the wettest situations. This genus is a very large one 
 containing more than fifty species. 
 
 The next family on our list is that of.the Omalidse. In 
 
84 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 these Beetles the spiracles of the prothorax are hidden, the 
 antennae are set on the sides of the forehead, and the maxillae 
 have a horny hook at the tip ; and there are two ocelli, or simple 
 eyes, upon the back of the head, this being a very valuable cha- 
 racteristic in arranging- these insects. As a rule the Oma- 
 lidse have flattened bodies, and long slender antennae, and 
 delight in damp places, whether wetted by fresh or salt water ; 
 so that they can be found under heaps of decaying sea-weeds on 
 the coasts, and under stones on the banks of ponds. Some of 
 them, may be found under bark, and some in flowers ; so that 
 they have a very wide range of locality. 
 
 Our first example of this family, Micralymma brevipenne, is 
 remarkable for its fondness for wet. The genus is known by its 
 very minute elytra, the long and broad abdomen, and the long 
 hairs upon the tarsi. A figure of the insect is given on Woodcut 
 IX. Fig. 5. 
 
 The colour of this tiny Beetle is shining-black, and it may 
 easily be recognised by its size, shape, and colour, and the locality 
 in which it resides. It takes up its abode under decaying sea- 
 weed, but always selects a spot that is well below high-water 
 mark ; its object being, apparently, to give itself a chance of 
 being drowned or carried away to sea twice in the twenty-four 
 hours. It remains in this singular locality throughout the whole 
 of its life, and contrives, in some strange way, to pass through 
 its transformations, subject to the perpetual washing of the 
 waves. 
 
 Another example of the same family is shown on Woodciit 
 IX. Fig. 3, its name being Omalium florale. In this genus 
 the body is rather oval and flattened. The antennae are short 
 and hairy, becoming thicker at the tips. The thorax is short, 
 somewhat heart-shaped, and narrowed behind. The four basal 
 joints of the tarsi are short. 
 
 The species which serves as our example of the typical 
 genus is greyish-black and shining, the surface being thickly 
 punctured, and the pimctures inclined to form striae on the 
 elytra. The legs are reddish, and the antennae and palpi black. 
 This is one of the flower-loving species, being found in the 
 spring time frequenting the flowers of the hawthorn and sallows. 
 It is distributed over England generally, but does not seem to 
 
•THE FOUE-HOKN. 85 
 
 be plentiful in any particular locality. Twenty British species 
 of this genus are known. 
 
 We have only space for one more example of the Brachelytra : 
 it is drawn on Woodcut IX. Fig. 4. As may be seen by re- 
 ference to the illustration, this is a very curious insect. It is 
 the only British representation of the family to which it be- 
 longs, namely, the Piestidse. In this family the spiracles of 
 the prothorax are hidden, the coxae of the front legs are globular, 
 and those of the hind legs transverse ; there are five joints to 
 the tarsi,. and the last segment of the abdomen is very small. 
 
 The genus is characterised by the flat, elongated body, the 
 long and hairy antenna, the long elytra, the five-jointed tarsi, 
 and the horned head of the males. The maxillary palpus is 
 shown at Fig. d, and the labium at e. The colour of this 
 insect is shining-black. The elytra have four strise, and on the 
 disc is an oblique mark or dash of reddish-brown, the outer 
 angle being dusky. The tip of the abdomen is chestnut, and 
 the legs and antennse red. The illustration represents a male 
 insect, in which sex the sides ^of the head are developed into 
 two sharp horns pointing forward. The mandibles are each 
 furnished with a large horn. This very remarkable insect is 
 not very scarce, and may be found under the bark of various 
 trees. Kensington Gardens is a good locality for it, where it 
 may be found lurking under the bark of elm-trees. 
 
 The scientific name of this Beetle is Progriatha quadricomis, 
 and it is popularly styled the Four-horn. 
 
 I MAY here mention that the only viviparous Beetles at 
 present known, belong to the Brachelytra. They are about one- 
 tenth of an inch in length, and are found parasitic in the nests 
 of the Brazilian Termites or White-ants. The abdomen is 
 enormously large, and is turned back over the head, like the 
 tail of a squirrel. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 NECBOPHAGA. 
 
 The reader will probably observe that, in the groups of insects 
 which have already been described, allusion has been made to 
 the analogies between them and certain groups of vertebrates. 
 The Geodephaga, for example, represent the land Carnivora, the 
 Hydradephaga those of the water, and the Brachel3ftra represent 
 in some degree the slender and lithe-bodied weasels. We now 
 come to a group which takes among- insects the part which is 
 played among the higher animals by the hyenas and vultures, 
 these Beetles being the scavengers of the insect world. 
 
 The name Necrophaga, i.e. 'carrion-eaters,' which dis- 
 tinguishes this group, is expressive of their character. By 
 some systematic entomologists they are called Clavicornes, or 
 ' club-horned,' because their antennae, slender at the base, are 
 expanded at their tips into a rounded knob. This shape of 
 antenna is called 'clavate' by entomologists. The form of the 
 antenna is an admirable characteristic by which these Beetles 
 may be known. There is no palpus on the inner lobe of the 
 maxilla, the scutellum is always conspicuous, and the elytra 
 are wide, though not always long. Indeed, in many species 
 they do not nearly reach the end of the abdomen, and are 
 quite as short as those of many Brachelytra. In such cases 
 they are generally 'truncate,' i.e. looking as if they had 
 been cut off square. 
 
 This is the case with the first family of Necrophaga, the 
 Silphidse. The mandibles are powerful, as is required for the 
 work which they have to perform, there is a very distinct labrum, 
 and the trochanters of the hind legs are projecting. These are 
 again subdivided into two sub-families ; the first being called 
 Silphina, and the latter Cholevina. The former sub-family may 
 
BURYING BEETLES. 87 
 
 be known by the fact tliat the antennae have ten joints, and a 
 very distinct and rounded club. Their wings are very large 
 and powerful, as is needful for insects whose food is necessarily 
 scattered over a very wide area. It is worthy of notice that, 
 when they are flying, their elytra are carried very upright, so 
 that their backs approach quite closely to each other. 
 
 The first genus of the Silphida3 is Xecrophorus, a word 
 which signifies ' carrion-bearer,' in allusion to the singular 
 habits possessed by all the Beetles of this genus. They do not 
 content themselves with merely eating tl.eir food, but they 
 bury it, and then lay their eggs in it, so that it serves not only 
 as a feast for themselves, but as a provision for their future 
 young. In consequence of this habit, tliey go by the popular 
 name of Burying, or Sexton Beetles. It is a very appropriate 
 name, for there is scarcely any dead animal or portion of an 
 animal which they will not contrive to bury; and if it be too 
 large for one Beetle, several others will take a share in the 
 work. If the reader will refer to Plate IV., he will see that a 
 number of these Beetles are engaged in burying a dead bird. 
 
 They will bury birds, frogs, rabbits, pieces of meat, or any- 
 thing of a similar kind, and do it with wonderful rapidity ; thus 
 rendering a doubly important service, by removing the 
 decaying animal matter from the surface of the earth, and 
 helping to fertilise the ground by burying it below the sur- 
 face. The manner in which these Beetles execute so difficult 
 a task is admirably told by Mr. E. Newman, in his ' Letters of 
 Kusticus :' — 
 
 ' Two days after, I was again in Godbold's ; and seeing the 
 bullfinch lie where he had been left, I lifted him up by the 
 leg, intending to make a present of him to a fine colony of 
 ants established, a little further on, in the days of General 
 Oglethorpe, and which had maintained their station ever since. 
 They had made many a pretty skeleton for me, and I intended 
 to add that of a bullfinch to the store; but the buzz of a Beetle 
 round my head caught my ear. He flew smack against the bull- 
 finch, which I was holding up ^j the leg, and fell at my feet. 
 I knew that the gentleman was a Burying Beetle ; and as I put 
 the bird down for him, he soon found it, mounted upon it, and, 
 after much examination, opened out his wing-cases and flew 
 away. I will profit by his absence to tell you a bit of his history. 
 
88 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ' The Burying Beetle is about an inch in length ; he is black, 
 with two bands across his back of a bright-orange colour : 
 these bauds are formed by two blotches of that colour on each 
 of the wing-cases. He is a disgusting creature though in such 
 a gay dress, being so fetid that one's hands smell for hours 
 after handling him ; and if he crawls on one's coat, or other 
 garments not often washed, the smell continues for days. The 
 whole tribe of Burying Beetles lay their eggs in the bodies of 
 dead animals, which, when possible, they bury for the purpose. 
 In Eussia, where death itself does not do away with distinc- 
 tions, the poor people are buried but a few inches under 
 ground, the coffin consisting of four boards roughly nailed 
 together, and not particularly well fitted. The operation of 
 burying is often at the expense of the country, and therefore 
 done from necessity, not love. This mode affords great satis- 
 faction to the Burying Beetles, as it saves them the labours of 
 the grave-digger. They avail themselves of the bodies placed 
 so nicely within their reach, and the graves are pierced with 
 their holes in every direction. At evening, hundreds of these 
 Beetles may be seen in the Eussian burying-places, either 
 buzzing about the graves, or sitting placidly at the mouths of 
 their burrows, which lead into them. 
 
 ' The Burying Beetle in this country seldom finds so con- 
 venient a provision for him, and he is under the necessity of 
 taking much more trouble. He sometimes avails Jiimself of 
 dead dogs and horses, but these are too great rarities to be his 
 constant resort : the usual objects of his search are dead mice, 
 rats, birds, frogs, and moles ; of these, a bird is most commonly 
 obtained. In the neighbourhood of towns, every kind of garbage 
 that is thrown out attracts these Beetles as soon as it begins to 
 smell ; and it is not unusual to see them settling in our streets, 
 enticed by the grateful odour of such substances. 
 
 ' The Burying Beetles hunt in couples, male and female ; 
 and when six or eight are found in a large animal, they are 
 almost sure to be males and females in equal numbers. They 
 hunt by scent only, the chase •being mostly performed when 
 no other sense would be very available — viz. in the night. 
 Wlien they have found a bird, great comfort is expressed by 
 the male, who wheels roimd and round above it like an eagle ; 
 the female settles on it at once, without this testimonial of 
 
BURYING A BULLFINCH. 89 
 
 satisfaction. The male at last settles also, and tlie bird under- 
 goes the scrutiny of four at least of the senses — touch, smell, 
 sight, and taste — for their lieads are continually diving among 
 the feathers of the bird, and a savoury and ample meal is 
 made before the great work is begun. After the Beetles have 
 appeased the calls of hunger, the bird is abandoned for a while ; 
 they both leave it to explore the earth in the neighbourhood, 
 and ascertain whether the place is suitable for interment. If 
 on a ploughed field, there is no difficulty ; but if on grass or 
 among stones, much labour is required to draw the body to a 
 more suitable place. 
 
 ' The operation of burying is performed almost entirely by 
 the male Beetle, the female mostly hiding herself in the body 
 of the bird about to be buried, or sitting quietly upon it, and 
 allowing herself to be buried with it. The male begins by 
 digging a furrow all round the bird, at the distance of about 
 half an inch, turning the earth outside. His head is the only 
 tool used in this operation ; it is held sloping outwards, and 
 is exceedingly powerful. After the first furrow is completed, 
 another is made within it, and the earth is thrown into the 
 first furrow ; then a third furrow is made, which being under 
 the bird, the Beetle is out of sight. Now the operation can 
 only be traced by the heaving of the earth, which soon forms 
 a little rampart round the bird ; as the earth is moved from 
 beneath, and the surrounding rampart increases in height, the 
 bird sinks. After incessant labour for about three hours the 
 Beetle emerges, crawls upon the bird, and takes a survey of his 
 work. If the female is on the bird, she is driven away by the 
 male, who does not choose to be intruded on during the im- 
 portant business. 
 
 ' The male Beetle then remains for about an hour perfectly 
 still, does not stir hand or foot ; he then dismounts, diving 
 again into the grave, and pulls the bird down by the feathers 
 for half an hour. Its own weight appears to sink it but very 
 little. The earth then begins heaving and rising all round, as 
 though iinder the influence of a little earthquake ; the feathers 
 of the bird are again pulled, and again the bird descends. At 
 last, after two or three hours' more labour, the Beetle comes 
 up, again gets on the bird, and again takes a survey, and then 
 drops down as though dead, or fallen suddenly fast asleep. 
 
90 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 When sufficiently rested, he rouses himself, treads the bird 
 firmly into its grave, pulls it by the feathers this way and that 
 way, and, having settled it to his mind, begins to shovel in 
 the earth. This is done in a very short time, by means of his 
 broad head. He goes behind the rampart of earth, and pushes 
 it into the grave with amazing strength and dexterity, the 
 head being bent directly downwards at first, and then the nose 
 elevated with a kind of jerk, which sends the earth forwards. 
 After the grave is thus filled up, the earth is trodden in, and 
 undergoes another keen scrutiny all round, the bird being 
 completely hidden ; the Beetle then makes a hole in the still 
 loose earth, and, having buried the bird and his own bride, next 
 buries himself. The female lays her eggs in the 'carcase of the 
 bird, in number proportioned to its size ; and after this opera- 
 tion is over, and the pair have eaten as much of the savoury 
 viand as they please, they make their way out, and fly away in 
 quest of further adventures.' 
 
 We will now examine these insects a little more in detail. 
 
 On Plate IV. Fig. 4, is seen the large Kecrophorus humator, 
 ■ just by the head of the bird. This is a large, though not 
 brightly-coloured species. It sometimes exceeds an inch in 
 length, and its colour is deep, shining-black, with the three 
 last joints of the antennae reddish-yellow. The fringe-like 
 pads of the tarsi are of the same colour. This is a very common 
 species. 
 
 Under the neck of the bird two Burying Beetles are seen 
 forcing their way beneath it. These are two distinct species, 
 and are thus given, because in this attitude they display the 
 distinguishing marks of the species. The Beetle nearest the 
 bird's beak is Necrophorus onortuoruvi. It varies in size from 
 not quite half to three-quarters of rfQ inch. Its colour is 
 black, but on the base of the elytra is a broad, waved, orange 
 band, and at the apex is a cui'ved spot of the same colour. 
 The hinder tibiae are straight, and the club of the antennae is 
 black. This is also a common species, and is sometimes found 
 in decaying fungi, as well as in animal matter. 
 
 Next to this Beetle is a rather larger species, Necrophorus 
 vespjillo^ which is, on an average, nearly a quarter of an inch 
 longer than the preceding insect. A casual observer would 
 
ODOUR OF THE BURYING BEETLES. 91 
 
 inevitably believe these insects to be of the same species, 
 especially if he saw them apart. The practised eye of the 
 entomologist, however, at once detects the marks of difference. 
 In tlie first place, the hind tibiae are not straight, but much 
 curved, like those of a bow-legged man, and the club of the 
 antennaj is orange. There is also a narrow line of golden 
 down on the front of the thorax. In the next place, there is a 
 considerable difference in the orange marks 'of the elytra, 
 which are two broad waving bands, one across the base, and 
 the other towards the apex, both being connected by a narrow 
 band of the same colour upon the margin. This species is 
 exceedingly variable in size, some specimens being barely half an 
 inch in length, while others attain the length of an inch. It 
 is very common in all parts of England. The specific name 
 vespillo is Latin, and signifies a man who carried out the dead 
 for burial at night. 
 
 The reader may as well be warned that, although these 
 Beetles are very pretty to the eye, they are not equally pleasing 
 to the nostril, being in the'habit of sending from their mouth 
 a horribly fetid black fluid, the odour of which is as endurino- 
 as it is disgusting. This fluid is jDrobably produced by the 
 putrid nature of its food, for Beetles which have recently 
 changed from the pupal form, and those which have fasted for 
 some time, do not possess it. 
 
 We will now trace the progress of the insect from the eo-o- 
 to the perfect Beetle. 
 
 Soon after they are deposited, the eggs are hatched ; the 
 larvae being rather long, fleshy, narrowed at each end, and 
 having the segments, or rings, of the body very distinctly 
 marked. The legs are very tiny, and much too small to move 
 the large, heavy body. A curious substitute for legs is, how- 
 ever, found. On the upper surface of each segment is a horny 
 plate, with strongly-toothed edges. By alternately elongating 
 and shortening its body, the creature is able to force its way 
 through the soft material on which it feeds, just as a snake 
 glides upon the ground, or the worm beneath it. One of these 
 larvse, a very young one, is shown on Plate IV. Fig. 11. 
 
 When the larva has attained the length of an inch and a 
 half, and is full-fed, it prepares for its change into the pupal 
 state. This it does by ceasing to feed, and making for itself a 
 
92 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 sort of cell or cocoon under the ground, in which it casts off 
 its larva skin, and becomes a rather odd-looking pupa, having 
 the end of its tail armed with two sharp spines, by means of 
 which it is able to turn itself about in its cell, from which 
 it emerges, in the spring, a perfect Beetle. 
 
 1. Necrodes littoralis. 2, Scydmrenns tarsatus. 3. Anisotoma cinnamomea, male. 4. 
 Agathidium lajvigatum. 5. Meligethes feneus. a. Scydma>nus, antenna. b. Meligethes, 
 maxilla. c. Anisotoma, labial palpi. d. Necrodes. maxillary palpus. e, Kecrodes, la- 
 bium. /. Necrodes, antenna. g. Anisotoma, antenna. 
 
 On Woodcut No. X. Fig. 1, is a Beetle which is closely 
 allied to the preceding genus, but can at once be distinguished 
 by the shape of the antennas, the club of which is egg-shaped, 
 and not globular, and by the shape of the elytra, which gra- 
 dually increase in width from the base to the apex, where they 
 are abruptly truncated. Its name is Necrodes littoralis. The 
 reader will notice the great size of the femora (or thighs) of 
 the hind pair of legs. This is a sign that the specimen from 
 
THE SILPHAS AND THEIR HISTORY. 03 
 
 which it was drawn was a male. The colour of the Beetle is 
 black, the three last joints of the antennae being reddish- 
 yellow. Each of the elytra has three smooth ridges running 
 down its complete length, and a short one at the base between 
 the second and third ridges. Between the second and third 
 ridges there is a bold elevated tubercle, the second ridge bend- 
 ing towards it and then bending back to its course. Beneath, 
 the body is glossy-black. 
 
 Though not so plentiful as the preceding insects, this is not 
 a rare Beetle, and can be found in carrion, or under decaying 
 sea-weeds. I have knocked it out of suspended moles. The 
 antenna of this Beetle is shown on the same illustration. 
 Fig./, the maxillary palpus at cZ, and the labium at e. A 
 favourite resort for this Beetle is the bank of a river, or the 
 sea-shore, and on this account it has received its specific title 
 of littoralis. This is the only British species. 
 
 The genus Silpha is known by the flattened body, the 
 antennae being less boldly clubbed, and having eleven joints 
 instead of ten. There are thirteen species inhabiting England, 
 and they are all much smaller than the members of the pre- 
 ceding genera. Upon Plate IV. is shown the handsomest of 
 the British Silphae, namely, Silpha thoracica. It is represented 
 as crawling over the body of the bird. This fine insect is 
 readily known by its colouring. The head is black, and the 
 thorax is brick-red, covered with a vejy short golden down, 
 and much crumpled. The elytra are very much like those of 
 the preceding insect, being black, and traversed longitudinally 
 by three ridges, the second and third of which are connected 
 by a raised tubercle. The surface, however, is more satiny 
 than that of Necrodes, and, when viewed with a magnifying 
 lens and a strong light, the space between the ridges is change- 
 able in patches, like ' moire ' silk, and there are short ridges at 
 the base of the elytra. 
 
 The larvae of all the Silphas are very different from those of 
 Necrophorus. Instead of being sluggish, fat, long-bodied grubs, 
 they are active, flat, and wide, running about »-ith wonderful 
 velocity. A heap of old marrow bones is a very favomite 
 haiuit of these larvae, and, if the bones are tapped so as to 
 disturb without hurting their inmates, it is wonderful to see 
 
94 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 how the flat, black larvae come scurrying out, looking very 
 much like black wood-lice, and perfectly well able to take care 
 of themselves ; while the larvae of Necrophorus are utterly help- 
 less on the surface of the ground. 
 
 Silphoe may be found in much the same localities as the 
 preceding insects. The best places to find them are, however, 
 the moles that are too often seen suspended on twigs, and the 
 more moles there are near each other, the richer will be the 
 harvest of Silphoe. I have found that ten moles on one branch 
 contain many more Silphoe than double the number scattered 
 over a wide area. 
 
 But, the ' happy hunting grounds ' of any entomologist who 
 is looking after Necrophaga are the 'keepers' trees,' those 
 monuments of misguided energy. The best keepers' trees, in 
 an entomological point of view, are those of the New Forest, and 
 on them are found the carcases of owls, weasels, stoats, hawks, 
 magpies, ravens, and now and then a rare bird or two, such as 
 the honey-buzzard. The suspended carcases look quiet enough, 
 but when the net is held under one of them, and a series of 
 taps administered, it is wonderful to see how it swarms with 
 animal life. First, out come Beetles of various kinds, some 
 trying to fly away as soon as they reach the open air, but most 
 letting themselves fall into the net. Next comes a whole 
 swarm of larvse, and, when the bird is a large one, it really 
 seems as if the creatures never would cease from pouring out. 
 Those who wish to collect and watch the habits of these 
 Beetles cannot do better than make a preserve for them by 
 hanging up the body of a rabbit, a pujDpy, a kitten, or some 
 such creature, so that it may be within the reach of the eye, 
 and out of the reach of any except winged devourers. 
 
 The word S'tlpha is Greek, and signifies an ill-smelling 
 insect, but the nomenclature of the ancient writers is so uncer- 
 tain that we cannot absolutely identify the name with the 
 insect. The specific name thoracica refers to the very con- 
 spicuous coloiir and the large size of the thorax. The larva 
 of this Beetle is shown on Plate IV. Fig. 12, first ajDpearing 
 from under tl^ wing of the bird. 
 
 The sub-family of the Cholevina are known by their nar- 
 rower bodies, and their heads being sunk in the thorax. One 
 
 . t 
 
INFLUENCE OF LIGHT ON COLOUR. 95 
 
 of these^ Beetles, belonging to the typical genus, is drawn on 
 Plate IV. Fig. 7, and is shown as crawling on the top of one of 
 the mushrooms. Its name is Choleva angustafa. 
 
 The genus, of which tliere are seventeen British species, is 
 known by its narrow body, its long and slender legs and 
 antennjB, the very obtuse hinder angles of the thorax, and the 
 oval and striated elytra. The insect is represented of its natural 
 size, which seldom varies much from one-sixth of an inch in 
 length. The head is black and shining, the thorax is pitchy- 
 black, becoming greyish at the margins and posterior angles. 
 The elytra are rather variable in colour, black being the lead- 
 ing hue, but taking shades of red or grey according to the 
 individual. The apex is round and short, and each elytron is 
 marked with seven faint striae. The legs are pale reddish- 
 yellow. The body is covered with a very hue and very short 
 yellowish down. 
 
 It is not uncommon to take a specimen that is pale rusty- 
 red or yellow, the reason for this paler hue being that the 
 Beetle has only recently emerged frour the pupal state, or that 
 the atmosphere has not exercised its full influence upon it. 
 When it has been exposed for a few days to the air and light, 
 the reddish-yellow will change to the dark-red or grey-black 
 which is the usual colour of the Beetle. 
 
 Next comes the family of the Scydmcenidce, of which we 
 shall take one example, namely, Scydmcenus [Eumicrus] 
 tarsatus, which is sho^vn on Woodcut X. Fig. 2. These insects 
 are all very minute, the present species, though only the twelfth 
 of an inch in length, being the largest of the family. They 
 are all covered with down, are without wings, and have the 
 elytra coming completely to the end of the abdomen. The facets 
 of the eyes are very boldly marked, and the peculiar form of the 
 antennae, which are terminated with three very large joints, 
 each increasing in size, may be seen by reference to the same' 
 • illustration. Fig. a. The maxillary palpi are very conspi- 
 cuous. 
 
 The head and thorax of this species are black, and the elytra 
 are very deep chestnut. Like the rest of its kin, it is to be 
 found in hotbeds, leaf-heaps, cucumber frames, and similar 
 localities. The name Scydmwnus is Greek, and .signifies ' sullen.' 
 
96 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The family of the Anisotomidae is known from the Silphidse 
 by several points of structure, none of them being singly very 
 conspicuous, but not to be mistaken in the aggregate. They 
 are much more globular, the Silphida3 being flattened ; the legs 
 and antennae are short, and the mandibles have a single tooth at 
 the base. Like the preceding family, these are small insects, 
 the largest being Anisotoma cinnamomea, which is shown on 
 Woodcut X. Fig. 3. This Beetle is about one-sixth of an inch 
 in length. In this genus the tarsi of the first and middle pairs 
 of legs have five joints, while those of the hinder pair have but 
 four joints. The club of the antennae has three joints, as may 
 be seen at Fig. g of the same illustration. The structure of 
 the labial palpi is shown at c. The generic title Anisotoma 
 is derived from a Greek word signifying unequal, and has been 
 given to these Beetles in consequence of the inequality of the 
 joints of the front and hind tarsi. 
 
 The specific name cinnamo'nxea refers to the colour of the 
 insect, which is very much like that of cinnamon, with the 
 exception of the club of the antenna, which is black. There 
 are eight punctured striae on each of the elytra. The hinder 
 tibiae are very long and boldly curved in the male, but not in 
 the female insect, which has them small and straight. This 
 • Beetle is found chiefly upon the truffle. There are twelve or- 
 thirteen species of this genus. 
 
 Another member of this family is shown ou Woodcut X. 
 Fig. 4. Its name is Agathidium Icevigatum. 
 
 In this genus the antennae are short, and the club is egg- 
 shaped and composed of three joints. The thorax is large and 
 round, and with overhanging sides, and the body is very globu- 
 lar. All the tarsi have four joints. The present species is smooth 
 shining-black, with the exception of the lateral and posterior 
 margins of the thorax, which are edged with a narrow line of 
 rust-red. The elytra are not striated. Like all the members of 
 the genus, this insect has a habit of rolling itself into a ball 
 when alarmed, so that it looks more like a very small shot than 
 an insect. It inhabits fungi and decaying wood, dead leaves, 
 and similar localities. It can be best obtained by taking up 
 handfuls of dead leaves from under hedges, and shaking them 
 over paper, when the Agathidia will appear like little black 
 beads. 
 
THE MIMIC BEETLES. 97 
 
 They will not stir for a long time, unless the snn be shining 
 powerfully on the paper. 
 
 The important family of the Histeridoe now comes before us. 
 These are flattish square-bodied Beetles, with a sort of steely 
 look about them, and as hard to the touch as if their elytra 
 were veritable pieces of plate armour. It is no easy task to 
 get a fine entomological pin through these creatures, the pin 
 either bending, or its point repeatedly slipping off the hard 
 and polished surface of the Beetle in a manner calculated to 
 injure the temper as well as the pin. I always used to keep 
 by me a rather fine needle fixed in a handle, and projecting 
 about one-third of an inch, so that I could pierce the hard 
 elytra with the steel point, and then introduce the pin. This 
 needle was useful in setting many other hard-bodied Beetles, 
 especially some of the weevils- 
 
 These hard and glossy elytra are much shorter than the 
 body, and abruptly truncated ; but below them may be seen 
 a beautiful and wide pair of wings packed away with wonderful 
 neatness. The basal joint of the antennae is very long, and the 
 club is boldly marked, the three last joints being almost fused 
 into a globular and velvety knob. The generic name of Hister 
 is derived from a Latin word signifying an actor or a mimic, 
 and is given to these Beetles on account of their habit of 
 simulating death when alarmed. The popular name of Mimic 
 Beetles is often given to them by entomologists. 
 
 On Plate IV. Fig. 8, may be seen one of the handsomest 
 species of this genus, namely, the Four Spot Mimic Beetle 
 {Hister quadrimaculatus). The colour of this insect is black, 
 but on each elytron is a large C-shaped red mark reaching from 
 the base nearly to the apex. This mark is often divided in the 
 middle, so as to produce the effect of four red spots on the 
 back. A narrower line of the same colour mostly runs along 
 the margin ; but this, like in many other Beetles, is apt to be 
 exceedingly variable in the arrangement of its colouring. 
 
 This, together with the rest of the genus, can be found in or 
 under decaying animal matter, patches of cowdung being 
 favourite resorts. The pertinacity with which these insects 
 will feign death when captured is most remarkable, for they 
 will endure almost any amount of rough handling without 
 
 H 
 
98 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 giving the least signs of life, the legs being folded flatly under 
 the body so that they are scarcely visible. Indeed, I scarcely, 
 know whether they or the Pill Beetles, which will presently be 
 described, are the most obstinate in this respect. 
 
 The larvse of the Mimic Beetles are also to be found in cow- 
 dung, and are not in the least like their parents, being long- 
 bodied, cylindrical, whitish in colour, with two forked appendages 
 at the tail. Some species prefer dead animals, and may be found 
 in the moles to which reference has already been made. About 
 fourteen British species of Hister are known ; and the young 
 entomologist will find that, owing to variations of colour, he 
 will often be rather perplexed to determine the exact species 
 of some new capture. 
 
 With great reluctance I am obliged to omit several genera, 
 and must proceed at once to the next family, the Mtidulidae. 
 The Beetles of this family have short clubbed antenna;. The 
 head is sunk in the thorax as far as the eyes, and the mandi- 
 bles are notched a,t the tip ; the thorax is rather square, and 
 the tarsi have five joints. The body is flattened. The little 
 Beetles which are found in such numbers in flowers, and have 
 such shining bodies, mostly belong to this family, to which 
 the name of Kitidididce has been given on accotmt of their 
 glittering bodies. 
 
 The typical sub-family, the Nitidulina, are known by the 
 length of the elytra, which reach to the last joint of the 
 abdomen, and the shape of the thorax, which does not cover the 
 base of the elytra. One of these insects, Nitidida [Omosita] 
 depressa, is shown at Fig. 9 on Plate IV., and is represented as 
 crawling up the stem of the central mtishroom. 
 
 The body of this Beetle is oval, and, as may be inferred from 
 its name, is much flattened. Its colour is rusty-brown, and the 
 surface is thickly punctured. Upon the elytra are some faint 
 oblong black streaks, and a curved mark of paler hue than the 
 rest of the body. This is a very plentiful species, and may 
 be foimd in fungi, as represented on the plate, under the bark 
 of trees, and even in old bones. 
 
 The larva; of these Beetles feed on various substances, chiefly 
 on decaying vegetable matter. One of them, for example, 
 Nitidida yriaea, is found about the burrows made by willow- 
 
MODE OF DETERMINING SPECIES. 99 
 
 feeding caterpillars. It is a whitish grub, thick towards the 
 shoulder and tapering to the head and tail. The segments are 
 very distinctly marked, and the last segment is armed with two 
 hook-like appendages curving upwards. When it is about to 
 change to the pupal form, it descends the trunk of tlie tree, 
 and hides itself in the moist earth about the roots ; and after it 
 has obtained its perfect form, it is generally to be found in the 
 crevices of the bark. 
 
 On Woodcut X. Fig. 5, is shown another of these Beetles, 
 Meligethes census. This genus is known by the squared and 
 metallic body, the long elytra, and the third joint of the 
 antennae, exactly as long as the fourth and iifth together. The 
 form of the maxilla is shown on the same illustration at 
 Fig. b. All the Beetles of this genus are very small, and are 
 invariably to be found in flowers, creeping from their hiding 
 places under the petals when the flower is gathered or shaken. 
 Being very minute insects, a careful examination with a some- 
 what powerful lens is needed to distinguish the species, and, 
 even then, the little creatures are so like each other in size 
 and colour, that the entomologist is obliged to abandon the 
 usual mode of determining species, and to trust to the number 
 of notches in the tibiae of the first pair of legs. 
 
 This species is variable in colour, being blue-black, violet, 
 or dark green-blue, over which is a sort of brassy gloss. It 
 seldom exceeds the twelfth of an inch in length, and is a very 
 good example of its genus. It is plentiful throughout Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Still keeping to the same family, we take another of the 
 sub-families, the Ipsina, which have the front of the head 
 lengthened and covering the labrum, the fom'th joint of the 
 tarsus being very minute. Our first example of these insects is 
 Rhizophagus ferrugineus, which is shown on Woodcut XI. 
 Fig. 1. These Beetles have much narrower bodies than the 
 preceding, the antennae are short and boldly clubbed, with 
 a large basal joint. The head is not sunk in the thorax, 
 and the elytra are not so long as the abdomen. They are 
 mostly to be found under the bark of trees, but some are 
 fond of inhabiting old bones, and are even parasitic in ants' 
 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 nests. The name Rhizophagus signifies ' root-eating,' and 
 there are about ten British species. Though they are for the 
 most part vegetable-feeders, some at least of the species are 
 known to be carnivorous, and have been detected in eating the 
 larvse of other bark-feeding Beetles belonging to the genus 
 Hylesinus. 
 
 AT. 
 
 1. Rhizopbagns femigineus. 2. Colydium elongatiim. 3. Anommatus dnodecim-striatns. 
 4. Cryptophagua pilosus. 5. Mycetophagus quadripustulatus. 6. Dermestes muvinns. 
 
 «. Khizophagus, antenna. b. Colydium, antenna. c. Anommatus, antenna. rf. Der- 
 mestes, pupa. e. Colydium, larva. /. Dermestes, larva. g. Cryptophagus, antenna, 
 h. Mycetophagus, antenna. i. Dermestes, antenna. 
 
 The colour of this species is smooth shining rust-red, some- 
 times deepening into reddish-black. There is a pit on either 
 side of the head, the elytra are thickly punctured and striated, 
 and beneath it is rust-red. This Beetle has been chosen 
 because it is the largest of the genus, sometimes exceeding 
 one-sixth of an inch in length. The rather peculiar antenna 
 of this genus is shown at Fig. a of the same woodcut. 
 
THE BLIND BEETLE. 101 
 
 The family of the Colydiidae have the antennge nearly straight, 
 and not bowed as in the preceding family, and the tarsi are 
 four-jointed. Most of them are found in wood, but they may 
 be found among grass heaps, in sandy places, and other localities. 
 One of the most curious examples of this family is the insect 
 which is represented on Woodcut XI. Fig. 2, and called by the 
 name of Colydium elongatum. A glance at the figure will 
 show the appropriateness of this name, the whole body, and 
 especially the abdomen and elytra, being elongated in a most 
 extraordinary manner, really looking as if the Beetle had been 
 drawn out like wire. The colour of this curious Beetle is 
 smooth shining-black, the elytra being reddish at the base, and 
 deepening into black at the apex, near which is an oval reddish 
 spot, varying in colour and size in different specimens. This 
 insect lives chiefly in the burrows of wood-eating Beetles, 
 especially those of Sinodendron or Hylesinus, and therefore 
 is so seldom seen that it is considered a valuable addition to 
 the cabinet. But, when one of its haunts is detected, a number 
 of the Beetles can generally be found. Mr. Ingall, for example, 
 took a quantity of these insects out of an old elm rail near 
 Sydenham. By some authors the generic name of Nemosoma 
 is prefixed to this Beetle. This is a very appropriate name, 
 signifying ' thread-bodied.' It is the only British species of 
 its genus. 
 
 The larva of this Beetle is shown at Fig. e on the same 
 woodcu-t. Mr. Westwood went to visit the elm rails at Syden- 
 ham, and there succeeded in procuring many examples of 
 larvae and perfect insects. He remarked that the perfect 
 insects were sluggish during the day, but that at night they 
 became more active, trying to bite each other if they met. 
 The larvae, like many other creatures which inhabit burrows, 
 can run backwards as easily as they can forwards, and this 
 they do by means of a clasper on the end of the body. They 
 are sluggish except when excited, and then move about very 
 much after the manner of the Rove Beetles, moving their 
 head from side to side, and opening their strong jaws as 
 if in menace. 
 
 Another member of this family is remarkable for being 
 without eyes. This is AnoTwmatua duodecim-striatus, which 
 
102 ' INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 is shown on Woodcut XI. Fig. 3. It is the only British species 
 of its genus. This tiny Beetle is about the fourteenth of an 
 inch in length, and may be fovind in stores of flour and rice, 
 especially the latter, from which fact some entomologists infer 
 that it has been imported into England, and is not an indigenous 
 British species. Its colour is warm-chestnut, and its body 
 is very smooth and shiniog, but deeply punctured, and the 
 elytra are regularly striated. The generic title Anommatus 
 signifies ' eyeless,' and is given to the insect in consequence 
 of the entire absence of eyes, so that it really deserves the 
 name of Blind Beetle. Perhaps the reader may remember that 
 several other orders of insects afford examples of eyeless species, 
 especially among the exotic ants. 
 
 The family of the Cryptophagidse will be represented by one 
 example. 
 
 In all these little Beetles the antennae have eleven joints, and 
 are boldly clubbed at the end. The elytra are not truncated, 
 and the coxae of the first and intermediate pair of legs are 
 globular, while those of the hind pair are cylindrical. The 
 name of Cryptophagidae is given to these Beetles because they 
 feed mostly on cryptogamous plants, especially the fungi. Like 
 the last family, the species are very much like each other, and 
 require much care before they can be ascertained. In examin- 
 ing the details of all these minute Beetles, I have found a 
 compound microscope with a two or one-and-a-half-inch object- 
 glass better than an ordinary pocket lens, but a Coddington 
 lens will answer nearly as well in experienced hands. 
 
 One example of this family is Gryptophagus pilosus, which 
 is shown on Woodcut XI. Fig. 4, and the form of the antenna 
 is shown at Fig. g. The genus is known by the shape of the 
 margins of the thorax, which are more or less toothed. The 
 present species is oblong, and its colour rust-red, the surface of 
 the body being sparingly covered with very fine down. The 
 thorax is thickly punctured, especially on the disc. In this 
 Beetle the marginal toothing of the thorax is not so conspicuous 
 as in most of the species, and is rather undulated than toothed. 
 It is to be found in and about fungi. There are about seven- 
 teen species of this genus. 
 
THE BACON BEETLE. 103 
 
 The next family is called Mycetophagi, a word having much 
 the same signification as that of the last family, the Greek 
 word Myces signifying a fungus, especially the kind of fungus 
 that grows on tree-trunks. The insects of this family are rather 
 convex-bodied and oval, and covered with a delicate down. 
 The tarsi have four joints, except in the males, which have the 
 tarsi of the first pair of legs only three-jointed. 
 
 Our example of this family is taken from the typical genus, 
 and is kno^vn by the name of Mycetophagus quadripustulatus, 
 a figure of which is given on Woodcut XI. Fig. 5. The genus 
 is disting-uished by the shape of the thorax, which is as wide at 
 its base as the base of the elytra, the margins of the thorax and 
 elytra forming one continuous line without any division. The 
 club of the antennae is rather long and composed of five joints, 
 the last joint being egg-shaped, and the four others short and 
 disc-like. The antenna is shown at Fig. h on the same wood- 
 cut. Six species are known in England. 
 
 This really seems quite a large insect when we compare it 
 with some of those which have lately been described, as it 
 sometimes reaches a length of a quarter of an inch. The head 
 of this Beetle is reddish, and the antennae are black in the 
 middle and red at the tip. The thorax is black, narrow in 
 front and broad behind, with rather sharp posterior angles, and 
 a rounded pit on each side towards the base. The elytra are 
 black, and on each of them are two reddish-yellow spots, one at 
 the base, and a smaller one over the apex. Some specimens have 
 the smaller spot so pale as to be scarcely visible, while in others 
 the two spots are united by a streak of pale yellow. This is a 
 very pretty little Beetle, and easily to be found when the 
 searcher knows where to look for it. The interior of fungi, 
 rotten wood, and similar localities are the dwellings of this 
 Beetle, which may be found in perfection about the middle of 
 summer. As a rule, all these fungi-loving Beetles are in good 
 preservation when captured, as the nature of their habitations . 
 shields them from injury. 
 
 The next family, the Dermestidae, is a very interesting one to 
 the entomologist, although he can but hold its members in 
 bitterest hatred. The word Dermestes is of Greek origin, and 
 signifies ' skin-eater.' The name is but too appropriate, as all 
 
104 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 possessors of zoological collections know to their cost. It is the 
 Dermestes which forces taxidermists to use the dangerous 
 arsenical soap in their preparations, and it has been the means 
 of depriving many a hard-working man of his best teeth, the 
 arsenic loosening them so that they fall out almost at a touch. 
 By way of a set-off, it is the Dermestes which drove the late 
 Mr. Waterton to the invention of his wonderful mode of taxi- 
 dermy, in which no arsenical soap is used, but by which the 
 skin is rendered so hard and elastic, that it is able to retain the 
 form of the animal without having a wire, a piece of wood, or 
 even a pinch of cotton wool inside it. Full many a valuable 
 museum has been utterly ruined by these destructive Beetles, 
 which, even when the skin is poisoned with arsenical soap, will 
 attack the hair or the feathers, and strip the creatui'e as bare as 
 if it had been shaved. Moses Harris, the old entomologist, 
 mentions that he found these Beetles alive in the body of a 
 living Eyed-hawk Moth. 
 
 This family is distinguished by their short, straight, and 
 doubled antennse, their small and retractile head, the five- 
 jointed tarsi, and the length of the elytra, which cover the 
 abdomen. In the typical genus, the antennse are shorter than 
 the thorax, and the club is egg-shaped, as seen at Fig. i on 
 "Woodcut XI. The palpi are thread-like and shorter than the 
 maxillae, and the first joint of the tarsus is shorter than the 
 second. For illustration of this genus I have selected the 
 well-known Bacon Beetle (DevTuestes lardanus), which is 
 shown on Woodcut XI. Fig. 6. 
 
 This is really a pretty, though not gailv coloured. Beetle, its 
 body being black, and its elytra having a very broad greyish 
 band across the base, on which are three black or pitchy spots. 
 On examination with a lens, the band is seen to be composed 
 of a short but thick grey down, the black spots being simply 
 places on which the down does not grow, so that the black of 
 the elytra is rendered visible. 
 
 This Beetle' may be found plentifully in the ' keepers' trees ' 
 which have already been mentioned ; and even after the animals 
 have been so dried by exposure that their skins are as hard as 
 horn, the Dermestes will attack them, its sharp teeth enabling 
 it to overcome the hardened skin. The chief havoc caused by 
 this Beetle is due to the larvae, one of which may be seen 
 
THE PILL BEETLES. 105 
 
 figured on Woodcut XI. Fig. /. Its colour is whitish-brown 
 above and white below, and it is profusely covered with long 
 hairs. The cast skins of these larvae may be seen abundantly 
 when the Beetle has taken possession of any place, and by them 
 the museum owner is often warned of the danger which has 
 come on his collection. The reader will see that, like many 
 other destructive insects, it is most valuable in its right place, 
 and does good service by removing from sight objects which 
 are not only unpleasant to the eye and nostril but injurious to 
 the health. In these places it should be protected and en- 
 couraged ; but when it makes its way into a house, extermina- 
 tion is the only com-se to be used. 
 
 We now come to the Byrrhid^, or Pill Beetles, so called from 
 their rounded shape, and the manner in which they can hide 
 their limbs and antennae when alarmed. There is no difficulty 
 in distinguishing Beetles belonging to this family. The an- 
 tenna are gradually thickened towards the extremity, and the 
 head is very small and deeply sunk in the thorax, with which it 
 can be completely retracted in most of the species. 
 
 The machinery by which the legs are packed up is extraor- 
 dinary, and this alone would serve to indicate the family. On 
 the tibiae there is a groove in which the tarsi are received when 
 doubled, the tibiae fold closely to the femora, and the whole leg, 
 thus reduced into a very small compass, is received into a 
 groove under the body. In fact, the legs are packed up very 
 much Hke the joints of a portable easel. The head being at 
 the same time withdrawn into the thorax, the antennae lie 
 pressed closely against its sides, so that when the Beetle has 
 thus packed away all its limbs, it does not bear the least re- 
 semblance to an insect. This mode of concealment, or rather 
 of evasion, is rendered more perfect by the fact, that the 
 surface of the body is covered with fine down, which retains 
 the dust of the roads on which it so often travels, and gives to 
 the Beetle the aspect of a little round dusty stone. And, so 
 pertinaciously does it keep this attitude when alarmed, that it 
 will suffer its limbs to be torn from its body rather than give 
 the least sign of life. 
 
 The typical genus has the antennae rather flattened, and 
 shorter than the thorax, the basal joint being large, the second 
 
106 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 small and globular, and the third long and slender. The 
 club is formed by a series of joints regularly increasing in 
 size, the last joint being egg-shaped. One of these antennae is 
 drawn on Woodcut XII. Fig. a. The thorax is waved behind, 
 and the body is very convex. 
 
 The species which has been chosen for illustration is the 
 Banded Pill Beetle {Byrrhus fasciatus), which is drawn on 
 
 1. Byrrhus fasciatns. 2. Elmis asneus. 3. Heterocerus flexuosus. 4. Hydrous piceus, 
 male. a. Byrrhus, antenna. 6. Elmis, antenna. c. Hetex'ocerus, antenna. d. Hydrous, 
 fore leg of female. e. Hydrous, antenna of male. /. Hydrous, larva. 
 
 Woodcut XII. Fig. 1. The colour of this Beetle is black, the 
 thorax having a decided golden tinge. Upon the elytra are 
 a number of very short black stripes, and in the middle is a 
 reddish-yellow band, shaped as is seen in the figure. This is 
 a tolerably plentiful species, though it is not so often found as 
 the Common Pill Beetle {Byrrhus pilula), which is without 
 
HOW TO CATCH THE BANK-SIDE BEETLES. 107 
 
 the yellow band across the elytra. Five species of this genus 
 inhabit England. 
 
 The next family is the Heteroceridae, which have the an- 
 tennae short, with a long flattened club of seven joints, as may 
 be seen by referring to Woodcut XII. Fig. c. The legs are 
 evidently adapted to burrowing in the earth. The body is 
 flat, broad, and covered with a thick silken down. They are 
 all frequenters of the water, and live in burrows which they 
 excavate in the damp soil. There is only one genus in this 
 family, containing seven species, of which our example is 
 Heteroeerus flexuosiiSf which is drawn on Woodcut XII. Fig. 2. 
 This insect is yellowish or dun-coloured, very finely punctured, 
 and covered with down. Along the elytra is a wavy or flexuous 
 stripe composed of black spots irregularly disposed, a mark 
 from which the Beetle derives its specific name of fiexuosus. 
 Towards the shoulders there is a black spot, and another in 
 the middle towards the suture, the latter not being so dark 
 or well-defined as the former. 
 
 It is a water-loving Beetle, and has been taken on the banks 
 of the Thames, near Grravesend. Mr. Stephens remarks, that 
 to obtain any of the Beetles of this family is a very easy pro- 
 cess. All that is required is, to go to the bank of some river 
 — tidal rivers are the most frequented — and then to stamp and 
 trample on the muddy bank. The little Beetles are alarmed 
 at the turmoil overhead, and come out to see what is the 
 matter, when they can be captured. The insect-hunter must, 
 however, be very quick in seizing them, as they are back 
 again almost immediately, or hide themselves in crevices where 
 their tiny bodies cannot be seen. 
 
 Like the preceding Beetles, the Parnidse are water-lovers, 
 and some of them prefer to live under the water rather than 
 above it. The head is sunk into the presternum, and the 
 anterior segments of the abdomen are fixed together and im- 
 movable. They are divided into two sub-families, the Par- 
 nina and Elmina, which may easily be distinguished by 
 examining the coxdb of the front pair of legs. In the Pamina 
 they are cylindrical, and in the Elmina globular. One ex- 
 ample of this family is taken from the latter sub-family, and 
 
108 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 is called Elmis ceneus. One of these Beetles is shown on 
 Woodcut XII. Fig. 2, and the antenna is drawn at Fig. b of 
 the same illustration. 
 
 All the species belonging to this genus, of which five British 
 examples are known, are very curious insects. They are plen- 
 tiful and yet are seldom found, and, indeed, are hardly ever 
 found except by those who know where to look for them. In 
 the first place, they are small, and would escape observation, 
 and in the next they are subaquatic in their habits, not swim- 
 ming about conspicuously like the Hydradephaga, but clinging 
 to the under side of submerged stones in swiftly-running 
 streams. Most aquatic Beetles prefer still water, but the 
 stream can never be too swift for the Elmis Beetles, which 
 will even select a waterfall as their place of residence. 
 
 The present species is the commonest of the genus. 
 
 As may be inferred from its specific name, the surface of 
 the insect has a brassy gloss. The thorax is squared, very 
 convex, and on either side of the disc is an elevated straight 
 line. The elytra are striated and punctured, and the under 
 surface of the body is clothed with thick golden down. Besides 
 the characteristics already given, the last joint of the tarsi is 
 very long, and armed with two large, sharp, and curved claws, 
 by means of which they are enabled to retain their position on 
 the stones in spite of the rushing water. It is rather remark- 
 able that, although the upper surface of the body is very 
 smooth, and the Beetles pass the greater part of their time 
 submerged in rapid streams, the body is often so caked with 
 mud that the shape of the insect is nearly obscured. 
 
 Now we come to a very familiar but little understood 
 insect, popularly called the Black Water Beetle. Like some 
 of the preceding species, it has been confounded with the 
 Hydradephaga, merely because it inhabits the water, no re- 
 ference being made to its structure, or even its mode of 
 feeding. Indeed, I believe that scarcely any, except entomo- 
 logists, have the least idea that the Dyticus and the present 
 Beetle are not the same insect, the only difference being that 
 one is much larger than the other. Now, if we examine this 
 Beetle, Hydrous piceus, we shall find a vast number of struc- 
 tural differences, as well as complete divergence in habits. 
 
THE BLACK WATER BEETLE. 109 
 
 The Beetle belongs to the family of HydrophilidsR, i.e. 
 water-lovers. Sometimes the two halves of the word are 
 transposed, the Beetles being called Philhydrida, the significa- 
 tion being exactly the same in both cases. The family may be 
 known by the size of the palpi, which are as long as the 
 antennae and sometimes longer — the latter organs never having 
 more than nine joints, and sometimes only six — and by the 
 double lobe of the maxilla and the very short mandibles. The 
 tarsi have five joints. The typical genus has the mandibles 
 armed on the inside with three strong teeth, notched at their 
 tips ; the second joint of the maxillary palpi is very long, and 
 the elytra become narrower towards the apex. 
 
 The insect is represented on Woodcut XII. Fig. 4, of its 
 natural size, showing that, with the exception of the Stag 
 Beetle, it is our largest coleopterous insect. A glance at the 
 figure will show one of the principal peculiarities of this 
 Beetle, namely, that the palpi far exceed in length the an- 
 tennae, and project in front considerably before those organs. 
 The sexes are easily distinguished by a glance at the antenna;, 
 and the tarsi of the first pair of legs. The antenna of the male 
 is drawn on the same woodcut. Fig. e, and in the same sex the 
 last joint of the front tarsi is very much dilated, and assumes 
 the form of a partly flattened triangle. The same limb in the 
 female does not possess the widened joint, and may be seen by 
 reference to Fig. d. The metastemum terminates in a sharp 
 spine, so long that its point reaches beyond the coxae of the last 
 pair of legs. 
 
 The colour of this Beetle is smooth blackish- oHve, the 
 margins of the elytra taking a bluish tinge. The wings them- 
 selves are very large, and have a very fine effect when spread. 
 On each of the elytra are eight striae, and the breast is clothed 
 with thick yellow down. The metastemum is developed, as in 
 the Dyticus, into a pointed process, but in this insect the 
 weapon is simply needle-shaped, and is about the size of an 
 ordinary darning-needl^. It is black, highly polished, and very 
 sharp. There is much variation in tint in difi"erent individuals, 
 but the average hues are as given above. 
 
 The life history of this insect is a very curious one. The 
 female Beetle is furnished with a complete silk-spinning appa- 
 ratus, the spinnerets being placed, not in the mouth, as is the 
 
110 INSECTS AT HOME, 
 
 case with the silkworm, but at the end of the tail. With these 
 instruments she forms a cocoon shaped almost exactly like a 
 turnip, being round, and having a pointed projection from one 
 side. Within this cocoon, which soon becomes hard and water- 
 tight, and is fastened to the stem of a water-plant, the eggs are 
 placed ; and in a time varying from a fortnight to six weeks, 
 according to the warmth of the weather, the larv^ are hatched. 
 About fifty or sixty eggs are placed in one cocoon, and by this 
 extraordinary provision they are preserved from harm until the 
 larvae are able to escape into the water and shift for themselves. 
 They are very small at first, but rapidly increase in size until 
 they attain the length of three inches. 
 
 One of these larvae is shown at Fig. /, and is represented as 
 partly grown. It is soft, fat, and dusky in colour, and feeds 
 voraciously on molluscs and other aquatic animals, as might be 
 inferred from the large and curved jaws. It is one of the air- 
 breathing larvae, and is therefore obliged to come frequently to 
 the sui-face in order to take in a supply of air, which is done by 
 means of a filamentous appendage at the end of the tail. 
 Somewhere about July the larva has completed feeding ; and 
 then leaves the water ancf crawls up the bank, searching for a 
 soft spot in which to burrow. Here it sinks its tunnel, and 
 forms an oval cocoon, in which it awaits its change into the 
 pupal state. 
 
 The Beetles belonging to this group, being, like the larvae, 
 air-breathers, are forced to come to the surface for the purpose 
 of respiration ; and they contrive to carry down a supply of 
 atmospheric air by enclosing a bubble under the bodies, where 
 it looks like a globe of quicksilver as they swim about. As this 
 species is not only handsome but harmless, it is in great favour 
 with the keepers of aquariums, and is in consequence quite 
 scarce in many places where it used to be plentiful, the 
 professional dealers having ransacked all the streams within 
 easy reach of London. 
 
 The family next in order, the Sphaeridiidae, are distinguished 
 from the preceding family by the shape of the tarsi, which are 
 not fitted for swimming, and the hinder pairs of which members 
 have the first joint much longer than the others. They are all 
 small insects, rather globular in form, from which peculiarity 
 
THE CERCYONS. Ill 
 
 the name of the family is derived ; and they are dark-coloured, 
 black being the usual hue, relieved in some species by reddish 
 spots. In the genus Cercyon, from which our example is taken, 
 the club of the antenna is large and bold, the palpi are slender, 
 and the mentum is broad and flat. 
 
 As is the case with most red and black Beetles, the colour is 
 exceedingly variable in different individuals, so different indeed, 
 that the present, species, Cercyon anale, which is drawn on 
 "Woodcut XIII. Fig. 2, has been described under four separate 
 names, each name being used to represent a different species. 
 Its colour is black, but the elytra are generally tinted towards 
 the apex with reddish-chestnut, the size and exact tint of this 
 mark varjdng exceedingly ; and in some specimens the elytra 
 are altogether black. Like the rest of the genus, it can be 
 found in cowdung. 
 
 Formerly some sixty species of Cercyon were catalogued, but 
 they have now been reduced to seventeen genuine species ; two- 
 thirds of the imagined species proving, on careful investigation, 
 to be nothing but varieties. In one case, that of Cercyon 
 nigriceps, the same insect had been described under seven 
 different names by the same naturalist. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 LAMELLICOBNES. 
 
 This chapter will be given to that very important group of 
 insects, the Lamellicorn Beetles, popularly called Chafers. 
 The former term is composed of two Latin words signifying 
 ' leaf-horned,' and is applied to these Beetles because the club 
 of the antennae is composed of a series of flat plates or leaves, 
 which are movable like the rays of a fan, except in the Stag 
 Beetle and its kin. The antennae are always short, with a long- 
 er large basal joint, and set near the eyes and in front of them. 
 If the reader should have skill to open an insect, he is strongly 
 recommended to do so, in order to see the singular manner in 
 which the large and apparently heavy bodies of these insects 
 are lightened by a great number of air-vessels connected with 
 the breathing tubes. These air-vessels extend all over the 
 body, and are found even in the head. 
 
 The larvae are fat, fleshy, soft-skinned grubs, feeding on 
 vegetable matter, mostly, though not always, in a state of 
 decay ; and the last segment of the body is much larger than 
 the others. After they are full-fed, they make cocoons from 
 the chips of wood or other fragments of the material on which 
 they have been feeding ; and therein await their change into 
 the pupal and perfect form. 
 
 The first family of the Lamellicornes is the Cetoniidae, or 
 Eose Beetle family. We have but few examples of these 
 beautiful insects in England, and one or two of them are very 
 rare. In this family the antennae are short, and have only ten 
 joints, three of them forming the club. The body is broad, 
 and the elytra are flattened and not quite long enough to reach 
 the end of the abdomen. A very familiar example of this 
 family is given on Plate V. Fig. 1, namely, the common Rose 
 Beetle {Getonia aurata). 
 
KING OF THE ANTS. 113 
 
 In this genus there is a curious structure of the epimera, or 
 side pieces, of the metathorax, which are largely developed, so 
 that they act upon the bases of the elytra, and prevent the insect 
 from opening them widely. Any of my readers who has 
 watched a Eose Beetle flying must have noticed that, although 
 the wings are very ample, the elytra are scarcely opened at all, 
 so that they cover some portion of the lower wings ; whereas 
 Beetles generally hold the elytra well elevated, and out of the 
 way of the wings. The edges of the elytra are deeply waved in 
 this genus. 
 
 This is a truly handsome insect. The upper surface of the 
 body is beautiful shining-green, glossed with gold. The elytra 
 have a number of impressed dots and curved marks scattered 
 irregularly over them, and towards the apex are a number of 
 scattered whitish marks, very variable in size, hue, niunber, and 
 shape, according to the individual insect. Below, it is bright 
 polished-copper. 
 
 The perfect Beetles are generally to be found in roses, 
 especially the white and wild roses, which they are thought to 
 damage in some degree. Grardeners have an objection to these 
 Beetles, because they are apt to settle upon tlie flower of the 
 strawberry, and devour just those parts by which the fruit is 
 produced. In the south of England, the privet blossom is a 
 favoiuite resort of these Beetles. The larva, however, does not 
 content itself with such light diet as rose-leaves, but lives on 
 the less poetical but more substantial nourishment afforded by 
 decaying wood, in which it remains for three years. One of 
 these larvae is shown on Plate V. at Fig. 6, as it appears when 
 occupying its dwelling among the debris of rotten wood at the 
 roots of the tree. As may be seen by reference to the plate, it 
 is by no means an attractive-looking creature, and gives no 
 sign of the magnificent colours which its fat, soft, white body 
 will soon develope. 
 
 Sometimes, on opening a wood ant's nest, one of these larvse 
 is found in it, a circumstance which has gained for it the name 
 of King of the Ants. It most probably takes advantage of the 
 large quantity of wood-chips, bits of straw, fir-leaves, and 
 similar material, with which the ants make their nest; and 
 finds therein an abundant supply of food. The anta do not 
 
 I 
 
114 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 meddle with it, probably finding that it remains in one spot, 
 and does not interfere with the conduct of their nest. 
 
 The reader will notice that the larva is represented in a 
 curved attitude. This is done because it is the natural, and 
 indeed the needful, attitude of these larvae. Their legs are so 
 small, and the end of the body is so large, that they cannot 
 support themselves by their legs ; and, if laid on a flat surface, 
 immediately roll over on their sides. This clumsiness — if we 
 may so call it — of form is not peculiar to the Eose Beetle, but 
 is found in all the group. 
 
 After it has remained in the larval state for the full period, 
 it makes for itself a cocoon from the wood-chips or other 
 materials on which it has been feeding; and it sometimes 
 happens that when a decayed tree-trunk is suddenly blown or 
 cut down, a great quantity of these cocoons roll out from 
 among the ruins. Even when the larva has taken up its abode 
 in an ants' nest, it makes a cocoon from the surrounding 
 materials. A group of these cocoons is shown on the same 
 plate. Fig. 7. 
 
 A somewhat similar but rarer Beetle also inhabits England. 
 It is called Gnorimus nobilis, and may at once be recognised by 
 a glance at the elytra, which are not waved at their edges. 
 Otherwise, in habits, colour, and general shape, it is very much 
 like the Eose Beetle, and the body is shining green-gold. The 
 elytra, however, are wrinkled, and there are white spots scat- 
 tered over them. There are also white spots on the edges of the 
 abdomen, and the breast is covered with hairs. It is generally 
 found on umbelliferous flowers. 
 
 We must say a word or two respecting the well-known 
 insect, the Phyliopertha horticola, which is called indifferently 
 Bracken Clock or June Bug, and is known to anglers by its old 
 Welsh name of Coch-y-bondhu, often corrupted by them into 
 the rather ludicrous word Cockerbundy. It is about half an 
 inch in length, and has reddish-brown elytra and dark-green 
 head and thorax. It is found in great abundance — often too 
 great abundance for any except anglers — busily engaged in 
 devouring the leaves, blossoms, and even the young fruit of our 
 orchard-trees. In its larval" state it does much harm to the 
 grasses, of which it devours the roots, much after the fashion 
 
PLATE V. 
 CHAFERS. 
 
 1. Cetonia aurata. 
 
 2. Melolontha vulgaris (Male). 
 
 3. Geotrupes stercorarius. 
 
 4. Lucanus cervus. 
 
 5. Lucanus cervus, larva (very young). 
 
 6. Cetonia aurata, larva (three parts grown). 
 
 7. Cetonia aurata (Pupa cases or Cocoons). 
 
 8. Geotrupes stercorarius, larva (young). 
 
 9. Melolontha vulgaris, larva (three parts grovni). 
 
 Plant : — 
 
 Wild Bose {Hosa cantnd). 
 
\r\u M 
 
THE COMMON COCKCHAFEE. 115 
 
 of the cockchafer grub, whose ill deeds will presently be 
 recorded. 
 
 The insect belongs to the family Rutelidoe, the members of 
 which have strong, horny mandibles, those of the preceding 
 family being only horny on the outside ; and, besides these 
 differences, the elytra are lined with a membrane which 
 projects a little behind. In the genus to which we are re- 
 ferring, the antennae have nine joints, the clypeus is short, and 
 the thorax is narrowed behind. The name Phyllopertha is 
 composed of two Greek words, signifying ' leaf-destroyer,' and 
 is very appropriately given to this insect, on account of the 
 ravages which it makes among the leaves of fruit-trees. The 
 specific title of horticola is formed from two Latin words, and 
 signifies ' garden-frequenting.' 
 
 Next we come to the small though important family of 
 the Melolonthidae, which includes those insects which are popu- 
 larly called Cockchafers. Only five species of this family in- 
 habit England, and of these only two are even tolerably common. 
 These two, however, more than compensate by their enormous 
 numbers for the paucity of the other species ; and in some seasons 
 are so exceedingly plentiful that they become an absolute pest 
 to the agriculturist, laying waste thousands of trees, and de- 
 stroying acre upon acre of pasture land. 
 
 The family of the Melolonthidie have very strong mandibles, 
 as is evident from the havoc which the insects make among 
 leave?, and the outer lobe of the maxillae is strongly toothed. 
 In the typical genus, the antennae are ten-jointed, and the 
 club of the male is composed of seven joints, while that of the 
 female contains only six. The flattened plates of the club are 
 much smaller in the female than in the opposite sex. 
 
 On Plate V. Fig. 2, is shown a male specimen of the common 
 Cockchafer {Melolontha vulgaris) crawling to the trunk of a 
 tree. The insect is so well known that a detailed description is 
 scarcely necessary. The peculiar bent projection at the end of 
 the abdomen is worthy of notice, as are the rows of triangular 
 white spots along its sides. There is a greyish dovm on the 
 breast, and the elytra are covered with a yellowish down. 
 Unless the insect have quite newly emerged from the pupal 
 state and been handled very carefully, the down is sure to be 
 
 I 2 
 
116 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 nibbed off, and the beauty of the specimen greatly impaired ; 
 so that a really perfect specimen even of so common a Beetle is 
 worth having. 
 
 The life history of this insect demands a brief notice. The 
 female deposits her eggs in the ground, where in due time they 
 are hatched, and straightway begin to feed upon the roots of 
 grass, which form the chief part of their diet. They remain in 
 the ground for three years, continually destroying grass-roots, 
 and increasing to a wonderful size ; so large and fat, indeed, that 
 their tightened skin seems scarcely able to hold its contents. 
 And when they are dissected, it really seems still more wonderful 
 that they should not have burst with sheer fat and gorging. I 
 have opened numbers of them, and found them more trouble- 
 some than any other larvae, the quantity of fat being so enor- 
 mous that the spirits of wine in which they were sunk had to 
 be changed over and over again before it was sufficiently clear 
 to allow the structure to be seen. Then, even when that diffi- 
 culty was overcome, another remained, for the whole of the 
 stomach and intestines was so crammed with a mixture of grass- 
 roots and earth, that it looked like a well-stuffed and very 
 black sausage, with a very thin skin. The quantity of roots 
 consumed by one of these insects is very great ; and in some 
 places they have so completely destrv.yed the grass, that the 
 turf has been completely detached from the ground, and might 
 be rolled up by hand as easily as if the turf-cutter's spade had 
 passed under it. These mischievous grubs do not confine 
 themselves to grass-roots, but eat many of the underground 
 crops, the potato often suffering terribly from them. One of 
 these larvae is shown on Plate V. Fig. 9, as it appears when 
 about one-third grown. 
 
 I believe that the rooks are our best friends with regard to 
 this grub — technically known as White-worm in some parts 
 of England. They seem to be able to detect the presence of 
 the grub by hearing its teeth at work on the grass-roots, and 
 then, pecking a hole with wonderful rapidity, they drag out 
 the grub and take it home to their young. The rooks, in fact, 
 aid us in ridding our grass lands of the White-worm just as 
 do the starlings in destroying the larvae of the daddy-long-legs. 
 
 When full-fed, the grub makes for itself a cocoon in the 
 earth, and then emerges, only to work as much destruction 
 
,9 
 
 PEOJEOTS FOR UTILISING THE COCKCHAFER. ,117 
 
 above tlie soil as it did below. In the larval state it fed upon 
 the roots of grasses, and was out of sight ; it now feeds on the 
 leaves of trees, and is out of reach. In this way the Beetles are 
 scarcely less mischievous than they were in their former state, for 
 they will sometimes denude whole tracts of trees, so that, in the 
 full beauty of summer-tide, the trees look as if the season were 
 the depth of winter. In this country we are almost ignorant 
 of the harm which the Cockchafer can do, for, although our 
 crops and potatoes often suffer severely from its attacks, they 
 are not wholly ruined, as is the case on the Continent. In 
 consequence of the noxious character of this Beetle, I never had 
 the least scruple in killing it, and can strongly recommend it 
 to my readers as an excellent 'subject ' for the study of insect 
 anatomy. Thus a double service is rendered : first to the 
 country by its death, which prevents it from perpetuating a nu- 
 merous progeny ; and next to the investigator, because it affords 
 him a subject which will train both the hand and the eye, and 
 which can be so easily obtained that he need not be afraid of 
 spoiling a few specimens. Although this Beetle is at present 
 nothing but an unmitigated pest, I cannot but think that it 
 may yet be made to turn to the service of man. I should 
 not wonder if the silkworm were originally a great plague to 
 gardeners until its real value was discovered, and so it is not 
 utterly impossible that some mode may be found of turning the 
 Cockchafer to account. At present it is but of little use to man. 
 It is employed rather largely during its brief existence in the 
 Beetle state as bait for sea-fish, and there has been an attempt 
 made to procure a sort of coarse oil from the fat bodies of the 
 grubs. Some utilitarians, of abnormal boldness, have proposed 
 that it might be prepared as an article of food, and have sug- 
 gested that it may be thought as much a delicacy as is the palm- 
 worm of the West Indies. But they entirely forget that the 
 palm-worm lives in the interior of trees, and that it contains 
 nothing but vegetable matter, whereas a full-grown Cockchafer 
 grub contains a full thimbleful of earth, a substance which no 
 amount of cooking could render palatable. 
 
 The family of the Greotrupidae has eleven joints in the an- 
 tenna, of which three form the club, and the margin of the 
 head d hides the eyes somewhat like the structure of the 
 
118 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Gyriui, except that, in the case of those insects, the eyes are 
 divided by a broad, flat band, and in the present family by a 
 narrow ridge of horny substance. The body is very convex and 
 the thorax large, in order to give room for the muscles that 
 move the large wings and the powerful digging fore-legs. 
 Three genera of Geotrupidse exist in England, two of which 
 will be illustrated by examples. 
 
 On Plate V. Fig. 3, may be seen one of the commonest 
 English species, represented as crawling up the trunk of a 
 tree. This is the Geotrupes stercorarius, popidarly known as 
 the Dor Beetle, the Flying WATcnMAN, the Dumbi.e-dor, and 
 similar names, according to the locality in which it lives. The 
 genus Geotrupes has the basal joint of the antenna rather 
 long, and the fourth joint shorter than the fifth, the body very 
 convex, and the basal joint of the tarsus is the shortest. The 
 generic name Geotrwpes is formed from two Greek words, 
 signifying ' earth-digger,' and, as we shall presently see, is a 
 very appropriate one. 
 
 The colour of ■ this species is black above, sometimes 
 glossed with green or blue, and rich shining-violet beneath. 
 On the middle of the clypeus there is a sharp tubercle. The 
 thorax is smooth, except at the margins, which are thickly 
 punctured, and on each side there is a nearly circular im- 
 pression, thickly punctured in the interior. The middle of the 
 scutellum is punctured, and the elytra are striated, the spaces 
 between the strise being smooth. The sexes may be distin- 
 guished by means of the tibise of the first pair of legs and the 
 femora of the hind pair, the male having on the inner side of 
 the front tibia a single erect spine, and the inner edge of the 
 hind femora strongly toothed. As this insect is liable to much 
 variation in colour, it is necessary to call attention to these 
 minute points of structure by which the species can be definitely 
 ascertained. 
 
 The life history of this Beetle may be briefly told as follows : — 
 
 In the autumn evenings the Beetles may be seen flying 
 about in large circles, as if they were predaciovis insects quar- 
 tering the ground in search of prey. In one sense, this is 
 exactly what they are doing, as they are hunting after a fa- 
 vourable spot wherein to place their eggs, and are wheeling over 
 the ground in hopes to find one. Attracted probably ^y the scent. 
 
LABOURS OF THE DOR BEETLE. 119 
 
 the Beetle discovers a patch of cowdung, aliglits near it, crawls 
 upon it, and straightway burrows through the soft material, 
 and is lost to sight. When she — for it is the female who 
 does the work — reaches the earth, she does not cease to burrow, 
 but goes on with her labour until she has excavated a perpen- 
 dicular tunnel some twelve inches in depth, and carried a 
 quantity of the cowdung into it. In this substance she de- 
 posits an egg, crawls out of the burrow, and proceeds to make 
 another, and so goes on until she has laid all her eggs. 
 
 The egg remains in its concealment until it is hatched, and 
 then the larva consumes the food which its mother has taken 
 the trouble to bring down for it. After this is eaten, the grub 
 is stronof enough to ascend the burrow and obtain as much 
 food as it wants at the entrance. Within this retreat the larva 
 passes through its transformations, and then ascends to the 
 outer air, ready to take its part in the work of preparing 
 nurseries for a future progeny. Five species of Geotrupes are 
 known in England. Twice as many species have been described, 
 but recent investigations have shown that exactly half the 
 supposed species were simple varieties. 
 
 On Woodcut XIII. Fig. 1, is represented a Eeetle of a very 
 odd appearance, the sides of the thorax being prolonged into a 
 pair of very formidable horns, a shorter horn occupying the 
 centre of the anterior margin. This is the male Typhoeus 
 vulgaris, the only British example of the genus. The female 
 has only the veriest rudiments of horns, the anterior angles of 
 the thorax being merely developed into a short, sharp pro- 
 minence, like the teeth of a saw, while the place of the central 
 horn is taken by a ridge running across the forehead. Indeed, 
 owing to the absence of these horns, the female is so unlike 
 the other sex, that no one who was ignorant of entomology 
 would be likely to believe the two creatures to be nothing 
 more than different sexes of the same insect. The female so 
 closely resembles the ordinary Dor Beetle, that the older 
 entomologists comprised the Typhceus within tlie genus Greo- 
 trupes. 
 
 The name of Typhoeus was given fo this genus in the days 
 when classical mythology was the source of now names for 
 insects, and to this genus the name of Typoehus was given on 
 
120 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 account of its menacing aspect, which was fancifully compared to 
 tlie giant Typhoeus, who frightened Zeus and the other gods 
 out of lieaven merely by his looks. As, however, was the case 
 with its ancient prototype, the Typhoeus is not nearly so 
 terrible as it seems, and its array of horns cannot do the least 
 injury to the. hands of its capturer. At Fig. 6, on the same 
 woodcut, the head of the female Typhoeus is shown. 
 
 1. Typhoeus fnmatus. 2. Cercyon anale. 3. Dorcns parallelopipedtis. 4. Agrilus bi- 
 guttatiis. .'i. Elater sanguineus. a. Agrilus, antenna. b. Typhoeus, head of female. 
 c. Elater, antenna. d. Elater, head, imder side. e. Elater, larva. /. Agrilus, larva. 
 
 There is no possibility of mistaking this insect, which is 
 the only British example of its genus ; which, in addition to 
 the characteristics that have been already described, lias the 
 first and last joints of the tarsus of equal length, and longer 
 than the others. The colour of the insect is shining-black, the 
 elytra being regularly but not very deeply striated. There is, 
 however, considerable variation in this insect, as even in some 
 
THE APHODIUS. 121 
 
 males the horns are comparatively small, and little better de- 
 veloped than those of the female. The colour also slightly 
 varies, a warm-chestnut tint underlying the black, so that the 
 entomologist ought to procure a series of specimens, in order 
 to show the usual varieties of form and colour. It varies in 
 size as well as in colour, some specimens being five-sixths of 
 an inch in length, while others are barely half an inch long. 
 This extreme difference in size is common among the Laqiel- 
 licornes. 
 
 Considering that the Typhosus is a very common insect, 
 it is surprisingly little known, and I have often found that 
 entomologists who restricted themselves to the Lepidoptera 
 alone have been totally ignorant of its existence, and expressed 
 much surprise when I showed them a fine male Typhosus. 
 This insect is in one sense an extremely interesting one, inas- 
 much as it is one of our few British examples of the strange 
 and almost grotesque forms assumed by male Lamellicornes, 
 but which are seldom seen except in exotic Beetles. 
 
 This insect may be found in all parts of England : some of 
 those in my own collection were taken near Oxford, and the 
 others in Wiltshire, on the Downs. The end of May and be- 
 ginning of August are the times when it is in best condi- 
 tion, and at the latter season it may often be seen lying dea:d 
 in roads or pathways. Like the Dor Beetle, it is a buiTower, 
 and has been taken while making its tunnel in sand. 
 
 Theke is a large family of small Beetles which must not be 
 passed over without a brief notice. This is known by the name 
 of Aphodiidge, a name formed from two Greek words which 
 refer to the habits of the different species, which are always to 
 be found in cowdung. They are rather oblong and cylindrical 
 in shape, and the elytra cover nearly the whole of the body. 
 Many species are among the commonest of our British insects, 
 and they must be sought in their accustomed haunts if the 
 beetle-hunter wishes to obtain a good series of specimens. A 
 stick will generally suffice to eject them from their hiding- 
 places, but tne • digger ' which has been already described is a 
 more effective instrument, as the insects can be dug out of their 
 shelter beneath the surface of the earth. Forty species of 
 Aphodius are known to entomologists. 
 
122 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The family of the Lucanidse is represented in England by 
 four genera, but by very few species, only one British species 
 belonging to each genus. This family may at once be known by 
 the club of the antennae, which, though formed of a series of 
 plates,' is unlike that of the other Lamellicornes, in that the 
 plates cannot be folded together, and are arranged so as to 
 look as if the club were simply pectinated. Tlie claws have a 
 very slender secondary claw inside them. Besides these ex- 
 ternal modifications of structure, the interng,l anatomy of the 
 Lucanidae differs from that of the other Lamellicornes, the 
 nervous system being distributed in a manner which at present 
 is not known in any of the Lamellicornes which have been 
 dissected. In the males the mandibles are enormously de- 
 veloped, and, in consequence of these distinctions, many 
 entomologists have thought that the Lucanidse ought not to 
 belong to the Lamellicornes, but to be formed into a group 
 by themselves. The name of Pectinicornes, or ' combed 
 antennae,' has been suggested as an appropriate title. As to 
 this proposed alteration, Mr. Eye very judiciously remarks, 
 that such a change ought not to be made until all the known 
 Lamellicornes have been dissected, and their nervous system 
 examined. 
 
 The genus Lucanus is distinguished by the flattened body, 
 the apparently pectinated four-jointed club of the antennae, 
 and the enormous jaws of the male, which are often half as 
 long as the head, thorax, and body together. Our only British 
 species is the well-known Stag Beetle {Lucanus cervus), which 
 derives its popular name from the jaws of the male, which 
 look somewhat like the horns of a stag. In some parts of the 
 country it goes by the name of Horn-bug. A figure of this 
 fine insect is shown on Plate V. Fig. 4, the Beetle being repre- 
 sented in the act of flying. 
 
 This is the largest of the British Beetles, as it sometimes 
 attains a length of nearly three inches. The size, however, is 
 extremely variable, as some males are barely half that length, 
 and have their jaws comparatively small and weak. These are 
 generally called undeveloped males, their inferiority being 
 probably due to a want of food while in the larval state. Lest, 
 however, a small and degenerate race of Stag Beetles should 
 be perpetuated, the males always fight for possession of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE STAG BEETLE. 123 
 
 females, and the consequence is, that none but the largest and 
 strongest individuals have a chance of obtaining a mate. 
 
 The head and thorax of the Stag Beetle are black, profusely 
 punctured. The elytra are deep-chestnut, becoming black on 
 the margins, and at first sight appear to be quite smooth, but 
 are, in reality, covered with the finest imaginable punctures. 
 The jaws are of the same colour as the elytra, and the legs are 
 black. The female is shaped like the male, with the exception 
 of the jaws, which are small, cvurved, and sharply pointed. The 
 head, too, is smaller than that of the male, because the muscles 
 attached to the jaws are comparatively small. The peculiar 
 maxillae, with their hairy inner lobes, can be seen on page 9, 
 Fig. 46. When in their places, these lobes are close together, 
 and look like a yellow tongue. 
 
 This Beetle is in some parts of England very common, and 
 in others not only rare, but absolutely wanting. I hunted 
 insects industriously at Oxford for a series of years, and not 
 only never saw a living Stag Beetle within many miles of that 
 city, but never knew that a specimen had been taken in that 
 locality. There is no apparent reason why it should find that 
 Oxford does not suit it, for the same trees flourish there as 
 they do in Kent, where it is one of the commonest of the 
 Beetle tribe, and the same water that flows past Oxford rolls 
 through the Thames valley of Kent. Whatever may be the 
 reason, the fact exists ; and I well remember my gratification 
 and astonishment when I first saw the Stag Beetles flying 
 about nearly as plentifully as Cockchafers or Dor Beetles. 
 
 The larva of this insect somewhat resembles that of the 
 Rose Beetle, and lives in rotten wood. I have tried to rear 
 this larva, but unsuccessfully, as the creature would die before 
 it had become full-fed. Indeed, I never saw the larva even 
 attempt to eat, though I kept it in a mass of the same wood 
 in which it was living when captured. One specimen, however, 
 which is now alive on my desk, did eat the white paper lining 
 of the box ; but it entirely refused the decayed wood, though I 
 repeatedly placed scraps of its natural food within its jaws. One 
 of these larvae is represented on Plate V. Fig. 5, as it appears in 
 its home. The oak supplies its favourite food, but it also lives in 
 the willow ; and, according to some entomologists, the willow-fed 
 specimens are smaller than those which live in the oak. These 
 
124 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 larvae often do very great harm, their powerful jaws enabling 
 them to eat into the living as well as the dead wood, and into 
 the roots themselves. It remains in the larval state for at least 
 four, and perhaps as much as six years, and when it is about to 
 become a pupa, makes for itself a cocoon out of the wood-chips 
 with which it is surrounded. 
 
 The jaws of the male are quite as formidable weapons as 
 they appear to be, the muscles which close them being very 
 powerful, and their sharp and strong teeth inflicting a severe 
 bite. Mr. Curtis mentions that the jaws retain the power of 
 biting long after the head has been separated from the body, and 
 that in one case when a severed head of a Stag Beetle was taken 
 home in the evening, it retained on the following morning 
 sufiBcient power to pinch the finger. Still, severe as is the 
 bite of the male Stag Beetle, that of the other sex is still more 
 severe, the points of the strong, sharp, curved jaws being made 
 to meet in the flesh. 
 
 At first sight it would appear that the insect must be a car- 
 nivorous one, and that such formidable weapons were used for 
 the purpose of capturing and destroying other insects. In 
 reality the Stag Beetle is essentially a feeder on juices, which 
 it obtains by wounding twigs and fruits with the sharp teeth 
 of its mandibles. If kept in captivity, it will feed on moistened 
 sugar, and has a curious way of flattening itself on the ground, 
 in order to reach the sugar with its tongue. Indeed, it only 
 uses its jaws as weapons of offence, when it fights for the pos- 
 session of the female, or when it is captured and wishes to 
 escape. It will bite fiercely in such a case, and, if kept alive, 
 will resent with open jaws any attempt to disturb it. 
 
 On Woodcut XIII. Fig. 3, is represented an insect which is 
 evidently allied tt) the Stag Beetle, the short, powerful, toothed 
 mandibles looking exactly like the tips of the Stag Beetle's 
 jaws. This Beetle is called scientifically Dorcus parallelopi- 
 pedus, but, I believe, has no popular name. The word Dorcus, 
 in Greek, signifies an antelope, the name being given to the 
 insect in consequence of the shape of its jaws, which are 
 thought to resemble the horns of the antelope, as those of the 
 preceding insect resemble the horns of the stag. The specific 
 name is in allusion to its peculiar form. 
 
THE ANTELOPE BEETLE. 125 
 
 The genus is distinguished from Lucanus by the comparative 
 shortness of the jaws in tlie male, and the club of tlie antennae, 
 which is more leaf-like than that of the Stag Beetle. In the 
 female the jaws are comparatively small and simple. It is not 
 a pretty Beetle as far as colour goes, for it is dull, dead-black, 
 the whole of the surface being covered with very fine punctures. 
 In the male tliese are very much finer on the head and thorax 
 than on the elytra, so that these members have a sort of gloss 
 somewhat resembling that of a new black kid glove. If the 
 head be examined, the eyes will be seen to be nearly severed 
 by the margins of the head, which overlap them considerably in 
 front, though not behind. 
 
 This insect is found plentifully in those parts of the country 
 where tlie Stag Beetle abides, and, in consequence, is very 
 common along the Thames valley of Kent. It is, however, to 
 be seen in places where the Stag Beetle does not live, for in 
 the late Mr. Hope's note-book I found a memorandum, stating 
 that in 1820 he had caught the Dorcus at Oxford, where the 
 Stag Beetle is, as above-mentioned, not known. My own 
 specimens were taken in Wiltshire. Like the Stag Beetle, 
 this insect lives in rotten wood, the female digging holes in 
 which she may lay her eggs, the powerful fore-legs being used 
 for the purpose. 
 
 Although, as has been already stated, this insect has no 
 popular name, there is no reason why it should not have one. 
 We will therefore confer one upon it by literally translating its 
 scientific title, and will call it the Antelope Beetle. 
 
CHAPTER Vm. 
 STERNOXL 
 
 The group that now comes before us is a very boldly marked 
 one, and yet has been described under more than one title. 
 Some entomologists have selected the word Serncornes, or 
 * saw-horned,' because the antennae are serrated, i.e. notched, 
 like the teeth of a saw, two examples of which may be seen on 
 Woodcut XIII. Figs, a and c. As, however, so many Beetles 
 that do not belong to this group have their antennae serrated, 
 the word has been abandoned in favour of Sternoxi, or ' sharp- 
 breasted,' because the prosternum, or under side of the thorax 
 (see Woodcut I. Fig. 8), is prolonged backwards with a sort of 
 spike, which iits into a cavity between the middle pair of legs. 
 This projection is technically named the ' mucro,' or dagger. 
 The body is long, rather cylindrical, but slightly flattened, and 
 the antennae are mostly serrated, but sometimes pectinated, 
 and in a few instances nearly plain and thread-like. There 
 are other distinctions, but these are so bold and evident that 
 they will be quite sufficient for the reader's purpose. 
 
 Most of these insects possess the curious power of leaping, 
 which has earned for them the popular title of Skipjack Beetles. 
 Their legs are very short, so that if the Beetle should by any 
 chance fall on its back on a flat surface, it would have no 
 power of recovering itself, but for the curious piece of me- 
 chanism of which the ' mucro ' forms a portion. Whenever 
 the Beetle falls on its back, and cannot recover itself, it lies 
 still for a few moments, and then begins to arch its body, so 
 that it rests only upon the end of the abdomen and the back 
 of the head, the thorax being well elevated. By this move- 
 ment, the mucro is drawn out of the groove into which it fits. 
 Suddenly, the insect reverses its position and springs the elastic 
 mucro into its place, thus driving the base of the elytra against 
 the ground, and causing itself to fly up into the air. 
 
CLICK BEETLES. 127 
 
 This apparatus is shown on Woodcut XIII. Fig. cZ, which 
 represents the under side of the thorax. The mucro is seen in 
 the middle, as it appears when its point is lifted out of the 
 hollow, and the two dark lines above represent the grooves 
 in which the antennae lie in order to protect them from the 
 shock of the fall. The spring is always accompanied with a 
 slig-ht but sharp clicking sound, from which these insects have 
 derived the name of Click Beetles. There is an absolute 
 necessity for this curious provision of nature. The Click 
 Beetles are all feeble, slow, and defenceless, and their only 
 way of escaping from an enemy is by loosening their hold of the 
 herbage on which they are crawling, and allowing themselves 
 to drop to the ground. The sweep-net is very useful in catch- 
 ing these Beetles, as it anticipates the movement, and captures 
 them as they fall. 
 
 If put on a plate or other hard substance, the insect will 
 jump a surprising height. On a very smooth surface like that 
 of a plate, the legs can take no hold as the insect falls, and it 
 generally rolls over on its back again. It instantly repeats 
 the jump, and again failing to secure a hold, seems to get into 
 a passion, leaping seven or eight times in rapid succession, and 
 then to turn sulky, lying on its back without moving a limb. 
 These insects have large wings, and are able to use them well, 
 though without much power of directing their course. They 
 always fly with the head well upwards and the body drooping 
 downwards, and are so slow that they can be captured easily by 
 hand. They have an ingenious habit of flying to some upright 
 green stem, clinging to it just below the seed-vessels, and 
 quickly closing their wings ; so that, even when the spot where 
 they alighted has been observed, it is no easy matter to see 
 them. 
 
 We will now proceed to describe one or two typical examples 
 of this group. The first family, the Buprestida?, is kno^vn by 
 the short serrated antennae, the hinder angles of the thorax, 
 which are not produced backward into spines, and by the manner 
 in wliich the prothorax sits so closely against the base of the 
 elytra that there is no power of leaping. Thus, in one sense, 
 they have no right to be ranked among the Skipjacks or Click 
 Beetles, except as Skipjacks that cannot skip, and Click Beetles 
 
128 INSECTS AT HOiVIE. 
 
 that cannot click. The body is always hard, rigid, and metallic 
 in its colouring. In England, our species of Buprestidoe are 
 comparatively small ; but many exotic species, especially those 
 of South America, are of very large size, and absolutely gor- 
 geous in colour, their bodies having every shade of scarlet, 
 blue, purple, gold, and copper, and their surfaces being in very 
 many cases polished like burnished metal. 
 
 I may here mention that the word Buprestis is of Grreek 
 origin, and signifies ' ox-swelling.' The name was given by the 
 earlier naturalists to a sort of Beetle which, according to 
 popular ideas, was eaten by cattle together with the grass, and 
 caused their bodies to swell to such an extent that the animals 
 died. The name has for many years been applied to this 
 family of Beetles, and, in default of a better, has been re- 
 tained. I need scarcely remark that a banquet on green clover 
 is quite sufficient to cause an ox to swell and perhaps die, with- 
 out the addition of any Beetle whatever. 
 
 Of these insects our example will be Agrilus biguttatus, 
 which is represented on Woodcut XIII. Fig. 4. In the genus 
 Agrilus the body is cylindrical, the thorax is squared, and the 
 basal joint of the antennae is very short. 
 
 This is a lovely insect, and it is a great pity that its beauti- 
 ful colour cannot be properly indicated by black and white. 
 The colour of the upper surface is brilliant-blue or green, with 
 a bronzed gloss, and towards the apex of each elytron, and close 
 to the suture, is a cream-coloured spot covered with thick but 
 short hair. The whole of the upper surface is rendered richer 
 in its colouring by the way in which it is broken up by wrinkles 
 and punctures on the head and thorax, and profuse granulation 
 on the elytra. Beneath, it is also blue or green, with the excep- 
 tion of several pure white down-covered spots on the sides. 
 The legs are of the same colour as the elytra. 
 
 Although this is not a very common species, it is at all 
 events not one of our rarities, and is one of the many beautiful 
 British Beetles which are to be captured in Darenth wood. This 
 is the largest of the British Buprestidoe, and is the best repre- 
 sentation of its gorgeous exotic relations. It flies well, and 
 can be taken on the wing as well as by the sweep-net. As for 
 the hand, it has scarcely a chance against this lovely but pro- 
 voking Beetle, which takes alarm at the least movement of its 
 
THE ELATER. 129 
 
 intended captor, folds its limbs and antennno closely to its body, 
 and falls to the ground, where search is almost useless, its 
 small green body harmonising so well with the colour of the 
 herbage. ♦ 
 
 At Fig. / on the same; woodcut the larva of this insect is 
 shown, rather magnified, though not so much as the Beetle 
 itself. In its larval stage of existence the insect lives in dead 
 or decaying trees, usually just under the bark. The present 
 species prefers the oak, and burrows under the bark of the 
 old oak-stumps that are left by the woodcutters after they have 
 felled the trees. When the larvae are full-fed they make their 
 cells between the bark and the tree itself, and, like many other 
 brightly-coloured Beetles, remain in the pupal cell for some 
 time after they have thrown off the pupal envelope, so that the 
 integiunents of the body may gain their full hardness before 
 the insect moves into the open air. 
 
 Passing by the family of the Eucnemidae, which, like that of 
 the BuprestidaB, has the prothorax fitting so closely against 
 the base of the elytra that the insect cannot leap, we come to 
 the typical genus, of which our example is Elater sanguineus, 
 drawn on Woodcut XIII. Fig. 5. In this family the antennae are 
 long, and inserted just in front of the eyes, which are large and 
 round. The two hinder angles of the thorax are produced into 
 spines pointing backwards, and the mucro is able to move freely 
 in the cavity into which it fits, in consequence of the distance 
 between the base of the elytra and the thorax. In this o-enus 
 the tarsi are bristly, the joints becoming gradually smaller, the 
 body is flattened, and the sides of the thorax are not widened. 
 The name Elater is Grreek, and signifies a 'striker' or 'hm-ler,' the 
 name being given to the insect in consequence of its power of 
 hurling itself into the air. 
 
 The ground colour of the present species is black, but it is 
 covered with brown-black or red-brown down, the thorax being 
 rather convex, punctured, and having a short and shallow 
 furrow behind. The elytra are of a more decided hue, being 
 blood-red (whence the specific name, sanguineus), and are 
 striated and punctured. It is not a very common insect, but 
 may be found in woods. I have taken it in a copse on the 
 Wiltshire downs. 
 
130 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Ou Woodcut XIII. Fig. e, is drawn the larva of this species, 
 which some of my readers will probably recognise as the Wire- 
 worm. The fact is, there are many Wire-worms, the larvae of 
 several species of Skipjack Beetles being called by this con- 
 venient name. They are termed Wire-worms for two reasons — 
 first, because they are long and narrow, seeming to be drawn 
 out, as it were, like wire ; and, secondly, because they are 
 tough and hard-skinned, so that a roller passing over them 
 does them no manner of harm, but only squeezes them into the 
 soil, as if they were so many pieces of wire. 
 
 Some of these larvae commit terrible ravages among the crops, 
 feeding upon the roots, and so remaining themselves hidden 
 while their ravenous jaws are destroying the very life of- the 
 plants. There are few things which irritate an agriculturist 
 more than such a foe as this. He makes up his mind to the 
 caterpillar, the turnip-fly, the snail, and other creatures which 
 devour the plant itself. They at least can be seen while 
 eating, however closely they may conceal themselves at other 
 times, and the amount of food which they take is proportionate 
 to the mischief which they do. But the Wire-worm wastes and 
 eats in concealment, and, while it only eats one-tenth the 
 amount of that consumed by a caterpillar of equal size, destroys 
 ten times the number of plants. Various projects have been 
 set on foot for extirpating the Wire-worm, but I hear of no 
 plan that has succeeded except that provided by Nature, 
 namely, the fondness of certain birds for the Wire-worm. Mr. 
 Westwood mentions that even pheasants are useful to the 
 farmer in this respect, their crops having been found stuffed 
 with Wire-worms. There are very few plants or flowers which 
 this voracious insect will not attack, and the gardener as well 
 as the farmer is therefore interested in the Skipjack Beetles 
 and their progeny. 
 
 The mole is a great eater of Wire-worms, as it finds them 
 near the surface, and can take them while making the super- 
 ficial burrows which it often excavates within an inch or two 
 of the surface of the ground. It is stated that this destruc- 
 tive larva remains five years in the ground before assuming the 
 pupal i:tage, so that we ought to encourage as far as possible 
 ivery creatiu-e which assists in keeping down its numbers. 
 
THE CAMPYLUS. 
 
 131 
 
 Our last example of these insects is that which is repre- 
 sented on Woodcut XIV. Fig. 1, and is known by the name of 
 Gampylus linearis. 
 
 As the reader may see by reference to the figure, this insect 
 is very unlike any of the Beetles of this group which have 
 been already described. The head projects boldly from the 
 thorax, and the eyes are very large. The hinder angles of the 
 
 XIV 
 
 1. Campylus linearis. 2. Telephorus fuscus. 3. Clerns formicarins. 4. Anobium 
 striatum. 5. Mezium sulcatum. a. Mezium, side view. b. Mezium, antenna. c. Ano- 
 bium, antenna. d. Anobium, larva. e. Clerus, larva. /. Telephorus, larva. 
 
 thorax are rather elevated, sharp, and bent outwardly. The 
 body is long and slender, a fact which has gained for the insect 
 the specific title of linearis. The generic title Campylus is of 
 Greek origin, the word signifying a peculiar staff; and the 
 name has been chosen on account of the slender, stick-like 
 form of the insect. 
 
 This is an extremely variable species in point of coloui-, 
 
 K 2 
 
132 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the female being very remarkable in this respect. Red, however, 
 is the leading coloiir, and the average hues of the insect may 
 be described as follows : — The head is black and deeply punc- 
 tured, and the thorax has a deep furrow along the centre, 
 and a transverse pit or ' impression ' a little behind the middle. 
 Its colour is brick-red, and in many specimens there is a black 
 spot on the centre, while in others the same part is brown. 
 The elytra are rather more convex in the female than in the 
 opposite sex, and are covered with striae and punctures. Their 
 colom* is somewhat the same as that of the thorax, but rather 
 paler, though in many examples, especially among the females, 
 the whole elytra are yellowish-brown except the margin, which 
 retains the ordinary brick-red colour. 
 
 The insect is a plentiful one, especially in certain years. It 
 is best taken by means of the sweep-net, which should be used 
 along the sides of hedges, in copses, and similar localities. It 
 is the only British example of its genus. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MALACODERMI. 
 
 In this group of Beetles are gathered together a number of 
 Beetles diflfering much from each other in many points, but 
 agreeing in the one characteristic which has gained for them 
 the name of Malacodermi, or Soft-skinned Beetles. In these 
 insects the exterior of the body, instead of being quite hard 
 and strong, as is the case with those Beetles which we have 
 examined, is soft and flexible, and generally covered with a 
 very short and delicate down. 
 
 We begin our notice of these Beetles with the family of the 
 Lampyridae, of which only one species inhabits England, namely, 
 the well-known Glow-worm [Lampyris noctiluca). In this 
 family, the female possesses neither wings nor elytra, the head 
 is concealed under the large and rounded prothorax, and 
 both sexes have the power of emitting a phosphorescent light, 
 the lamp of the female being very much brighter than that of 
 her mate. 
 
 This, almost our sole representative of the exotic light-giving 
 insects, is fortunately very plentiful in this country, and may 
 be seen abundantly in sheltered spots, preferring those which 
 are slightly damp. It is very abundant in Kent, and in the 
 summer evenings the green-blue lamp of the Glow-worm may 
 be seen shining anaid the leaves. If examined in the dark, the 
 light is seen to proceed from the three last segments of the 
 body, the under side of which emits the light in a wavering, 
 uncertain sort of way, the fact of being handled seeming to 
 alarm the insect and cause it to retain the light-giving power. 
 Sometimes, indeed, it puts out its lamp altogether when 
 handled, the light being evidently under the control of the in- 
 sect. It is said, however, that if a Glow-worm be placed in 
 oxygen gas the light is greatly intensified, and the Beetle 
 
134 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 seems unable or unwilling to retain it. Gilbert Wbite, in his 
 ' Selborne,' remarks that the Glow-worms put out their lamps 
 between eleven and twelve at night, and shone no more for the 
 rest of the night. 
 
 Both sexes of the Glow-worm are represented on Plate VI., 
 the male at Fig. 1, and the female on his right at Fig. 2. The 
 dissimilarity between the sexes is very strongly marked, the 
 female being entirely wingless, while the male has large wings, 
 and elytra which cover the whole of the body. It is popularly 
 thought that the male does not possess the light-giving power ; 
 but this is a mistake, as every practical entomologist must 
 know. Still, though the male does possess a lamp, it is very 
 much smaller and feebler than that of the female, and, instead 
 of a mass of phosphorescence, throwing a radiance of some 
 inches in extent, it is nothing more than two tiny spots of light, 
 no larger than minnikin pins' heads. I once took a male 
 Glow-worm on the wing with his lamps lighted. 
 
 As to the object of the light, it is a matter of very great 
 uncertainty. The obvious solution of the problem is to say 
 that the light is intended to guide the male to his mate ; and 
 if the naturalist be a classical scholar, he will be siure to make 
 an allusion to Hero and Leander — 
 
 The chilling night-dews fall — away, retire ; 
 For see, the Glow-worm lights her amorous fire ! 
 Thus, ere night's veil had half obscured the sky, 
 The impatient damsel hangs her lamp on high : 
 True to the signal, by love's meteor led, 
 Leander hastened to his Hero's bed. 
 
 These lines, even though written by so acute a naturalist as 
 Gilbert White, are more poetical than true. I cannot of course 
 say that the light of the female may not act as a guide to her 
 mate, but I cannot see that this is the object of the light. 
 There are plenty of night-flying insects which manage to find 
 their mates in the dark without the use of any such aid, being 
 attracted to them by scent rather than sight ; and, even if the 
 light emitted by the female Glow-worm be intended for such 
 a purpose, that of the male cannot be of the slightest use either 
 to him or to the mate whom he is seeking. 
 
 Moreover, not only the perfect insects, but the pupae, the 
 larvae, and even the eggs are slightly luminous, so that in these 
 
THE GLOW-WORM. 135 
 
 cases the light evidently cannot act as a guide. I am inclined 
 to believe that no utilitarian theory will account for this sin- 
 gular development of light from a living insect, and that the 
 phosphorescence was given to it for the same reason that the 
 butterfly's wing glows with many-coloured plumage, and the 
 rose is dowered with softly-tinted petals and sweet perfume. 
 
 This insect is doubly interesting to the entomologist. In 
 the first place, it is a British light-producer ; and in the second, 
 its life in the larval state is a very valuable one to the agricul- 
 turist. It feeds on snails, attacking and devouring them while 
 still alive, their shells being no protection to the luckless mol 
 luscs. The structure of this larva is rather remarkable. In 
 the first place, it bears a singularly close resemblance to the 
 perfect female insect ; and in the next, it is furnished with a 
 peculiar apparatus at the end of the tail, which serves a double 
 purpose, primarily of assisting in locomotion, and secondarily 
 acting as a brush, by which the slime of the snail can be swept 
 from its body. In some works on entomology, this organ has 
 been erroneously dra\\Ti like a shaving-brush cut off square at 
 the end, whereas it consists of some seven or eight projections 
 from the end of the body, which can be protruded or with- 
 drawn at wi41. Almost as soon as the snails begin to come out 
 from the hiding-places in which they have lain dormant 
 through the winter, the Glow-worm larva is ready to attack 
 them, and thus plays its part in reducing the number of snails 
 that would have been produced by those which it kills, and so 
 helpmg to preserve the balance of .\ature. 
 
 It remains in the larval state uutil April or .May, according 
 to the warmtli of the weathei, and then changes into a pupa 
 the male and female forms being then very distinct, as the 
 former exhibits the rudiments of the elytra, while the latter 
 remains as wingless as in the larval state. After the lapse of 
 a tortnight or a little more, the pupal envelope bursts, and the 
 perfect Beetle makes its appearance. The generic name of 
 Lampyris is formed from two Greek words, signifying 'shining- 
 tail.' ° ° 
 
 In the little Beetle known by the name oi Drilus fiavesceiis 
 we have another of the many unkno^vn benefactors of the 
 agriculturist and gardeners. A portrait of this insect is given 
 
136 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 on Woodcut XV*. Fig. 4, enlarged about two and a half dia- 
 meters, so as to show the peculiarities of its structure. 
 
 The genus is distinguished by several points of structure. 
 The antenntE of the male are beautifully and deeply pectinated, 
 the pectination being on the inner side only of the antennae. 
 The head projects boldly from the thorax, thus diflfering greatly 
 from the preceding insect, and the ends of the mandibles are 
 two-notched. The body is rather long and moderately convex. 
 The ground colour of this insect is black, but when it is in 
 good condition, it is thickly covered with yellowish-grey 
 down, which has a sort of rich velvet-like aspect. Tlie elytra 
 are also covered with down, and are very soft. 
 
 This description applies only to the male Beetle, the female 
 being so utterly unlike her mate, that few persons, even if 
 they had some acquaintance with entomology, would believe 
 her to be the female of the pretty little Beetle which has just 
 been described. Indeed, for a long time the two sexes were 
 regarded as two distinct insects, belonging even to different 
 genera, the male retaining the name of Drilus, and the female 
 being described under the title of Cochleoctonus vorax. The 
 name was appropriate enough, inasmuch as the word Cochleoc- 
 tonus signifies ' snail-killer,' and the specific namS vorax was 
 given in allusion to its voracity. 
 
 It is really no wonder that creatures so different in appear- 
 ance should be looked upon as two distinct insects. In the 
 first place, the female is inordinately larger than her mate, 
 who looks by her side — to borrow Eeaumur's simile — like a 
 hare standing by a cow. A figure of the female is given on 
 Woodcut XV*. Fig. 3, where she is represented of the natural 
 size, i.e. about three-quarters of an inch in length. Now, the 
 male Drilus seldom exceeds one-quarter of an inch in length, 
 and often is below that measurement. Like the female glow- 
 worm, she is entirely wingless, but is more cylindric than 
 that insect, and the body is narrowed in front. The colour is 
 reddish-yellow, and each segment has two dark patches on the 
 upper side. Altogether, she is not a pretty insect — indeed, 
 she may almost be called ugly ; and how the slender, elegant 
 little male finds any attraction in such a huge, awkward-look- 
 ing mate, does certainly seem wonderful. 
 
 The larva is very much like the female, but has a row of 
 
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS. 137 
 
 conical fleshy lobes along the sides, and two rows of hairy 
 bunches on its back. At the end of the tail is a forked lobe, 
 which, like the similar part of the glow-worm larva, is used as 
 a means of locomotion. It is by these lobes and bunches that 
 the larva is enabled to force its way into the snails on which it 
 feeds. This larva is but seldom seen, as it lives throughout its 
 entire larval and pupal existence within the shell of the snail, 
 and the skin, which it casts preparatory to changing into the 
 pupal state, exactly fills up the entrance of the shell. 
 
 The male Beetle is widely spread over England, but is 
 seldom captured except by skilled insect-hunters, while the 
 female is so rare that many entomologists, who have taken the 
 male Drilus repeatedly, have never even seen the female. 
 
 The following account of the capture of one of these Beetles 
 is given by Mr. E. C. Eye : — ' I once took, at the base of Shak- 
 speare's Cliff, a full-grown female larva, running rapidly in the 
 hot sunshine among snail-shells. It was more than half an 
 inch long ; flat, narrow, but rather widening behind ; with a 
 flat head, armed with two sharp and rather widely-separated 
 mandibles ; six moderately long anterior legs, ten thin tubercles 
 on each side of the fourth and following segments, gradually 
 getting longer, and clothed with stout brown bristles ; and two 
 longer elevated protuberances, also set with long hairs on the 
 upper side, with an oval elongation beneath, on the last seg- 
 ment. It was nearly the colour of raw sienna, and had a 
 widening row of black spots on each side, beginning on the 
 thorax.' 
 
 There is but one British species of this genus. 
 
 The family of the Telephoridse comes next in order. These 
 insects have long and very soft elytra, which often do not cover 
 the whole of the abdomen. The head is not hidden under the 
 thorax, and both the antennae and the palpi are slender. The 
 various species are very plentiful, especially on the flowers of 
 umbelliferous plants, and are popularly kno^vn as Soldiers and 
 Sailors — the red species being called by the former name, and 
 the blue species by the latter. 
 
 One of these Beetles, called Telephorus fuscus, is shown on 
 Woodcut XIV. Fig. 2. In this genus the elytra reach to the 
 end of the abdomen, and the thorax is not notched. Soft- 
 
138 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 bodied as are these Beetles, they are among the most quarrel- 
 some of insects, and fight to the death on the least provoca- 
 tion. Indeed, it has long been the custom for boys to catch 
 these Beetles, and set them fighting with each other. There 
 is not the least difficulty in this, inasmuch as the Beetle is as 
 ready for battle as a game-cock, and, not content with fighting 
 to the death, eats its vanquished antagonist after killing it. 
 The popular idea among boys used to be, that a soldier and a 
 sailor must be pitted against each other ; but this is not the 
 case, for these Beetles will fight and devour each other without 
 the least reference to species or even to sex, so that a soldier 
 male and female will fight as fiercely as if they were two males 
 of different species. 
 
 They are not active insects, and though they can fly well, 
 and use their wings freely, are slow of progress, and can be 
 taken by hand while in the air. The larva of the Telephorus 
 is represented on Woodcut XIV. Fig. /. Like the perfect 
 insect, it is carnivorous, feeding generally upon earth-worms, 
 but having no scruple in devouring its own kind. These 
 larvae may be found among grass and moss during the earlier 
 months of the year, after the severe frosts have ceased. They 
 pass the whole of the winter in the larval state, and assume the 
 pupal condition about April or May, according to the warmth 
 of the season. Twenty-two species of Telephorus are indigenous 
 to England. 
 
 The family of the Cleridse are mostly beautiful insects, and, 
 although they are not large, some of them may rank among 
 our prettiest Beetles. The body is oblong, hard, and covered 
 with down, and the head and thorax are not as wide as the 
 elytra. The genus Clerus is known by several points of struc- 
 ture. The basal joint of the tarsus is very minute, the last 
 joint of the labial palpi is hatchet-shaped, and the last joint 
 of the antennae is large, rounded, and furnished with a ciirious 
 projecting point directed inwards. 
 
 In their larval state these Beetles are carnivorous and para- 
 sitic on other insects. We shall take two examples of this 
 pretty genus, the first of which is Clerus formicarius, which is 
 shown on Woodcut XIV. Fig. 3. The head of this insect is 
 black, and the thorax brick-red, the>front margin being black. 
 
THE mVE BEETLE. 139 
 
 The elytra are very boldly coloured, their ground hue being 
 black crossed by two snow-white bands, shaped as seen in the 
 illustration, and their base is of the same colour as the thorax. 
 The larva, which is shown at Fig. <?, is found under the bark of 
 trees, not to eat the wood or bark, but to destroy and feed upon 
 the larvae of wood-boring Beetles. Its colour is dark-pink, 
 spotted in front. The specific name of JormicaHus is given 
 to this Beetle because it has an ant-like aspect. 
 
 Another species. Oleics apiaHus, is represented on Wood- 
 cut XV*. Fig. 2. This is very differently coloured from the 
 preceding species. It has the head and thorax deep-blue, and 
 the elytra red, crossed with three blue bands. The larva of 
 this insect is parasitic on bees, preferring the comb of the hive- 
 bee, in which it is very mischievous, devouring not only one 
 larva, as is generally the case with such parasites, but several 
 in succession, creeping for the purpose from one cell to the 
 other. We may call it the Hive Bketle. 
 
 The name of Clerus was given by Aristotle, in his 'History of 
 Animals,' to a destructive insect that did much harm in bee- 
 hives, and it has therefore been appropriated to these Beetles. 
 It is very likely, however, that the Clerus of Aristotle was 
 really the larva of the Honey-moth {Galleria\ too familiar to 
 all bee-keepers. This is the more likely, because the Honey- 
 moth is very common, and the Beetle is always a scarce insect. 
 There is another species, Clerus alveanus, which inhabits the 
 nests of solitary bees, such as those belonging to the genera 
 Osmia and i\Iegachile. All the species form cocoons when they 
 are about to pass into the pupal state ; and after they have 
 attained their perfect form, they can walk boldly into the open 
 air, even the stings of the hive-bee being of no avail against 
 the hard armour of the Beetle. 
 
 The reader will remember that the larva of the first example 
 of the Cleridoe feeds on those of certain wood-borino- Beetles. 
 We now come to one of the insects which furnishes unwilling 
 nourishment to the Clerus. It is represented on Woodcut XIV. 
 Fig. 4, and is called Anobium striatum. This Beetle belongs 
 to the family of the Ptinidse, a group of small and very de- 
 structive Beetles. They are cylindrical in shape, covered with 
 very short do^vn, and are able to draw their heads completely 
 
140 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 under the overhanging thorax. Their legs can be packed 
 closely to the body, and the tarsi have five joints. Tlie genus 
 Anobium, of which there are eleven British species, has the 
 three last joints of the antennae rather longer than the others, 
 and the last joint egg-shaped. 
 
 The various species of this genus work terrible havoc among 
 furniture, in which they produce the defect that is popularly 
 known by the name of ' worm-eaten.' They are not in the 
 least particular as to their diet, and will devour almost any 
 kind of food. They seem to have a special appetite for weapons 
 and implements made by savages, as I know to my proper 
 cost, sundry Kaffir articles being absolutely riddled with the 
 burrows of these tiny Beetles, and not to be handled without 
 pouring out a shower of yellow dust, caused by the ravages of 
 the larva. The most complete wreck which they made was 
 that of a New Guinea bow, which was channelled from end to 
 end by them, and in many places they had left scarcely any- 
 thing but a very thin shell of wood. 
 
 In such cases I have but one remedy, namely, injecting into 
 the holes spirits of wine in which corrosive sublimate has been 
 dissolved. This is not so tedious a business as it may seem to 
 be, as the spirit will often find its way from one hole to another, 
 so that, if half a dozen holes be judiciously selected, the poison 
 will penetrate the whole piece of wood, kill all the insect in- 
 habitants, and render it for ever impervious to their attack. 
 The above-mentioned bow cost me but little trouble. I first 
 shook out the greater part of the yellow powder, and then, 
 placing the bow perpendicularly, injected the spirit into several 
 holes at the upper end. The eftect was magical. Tlie little 
 Beetles came out of the holes in all directions, and not one 
 survived the touch of the poisoned spirit ; many of them, 
 indeed, dying before they could force themselves completely 
 out of the holes. They will also eat skins and any dried 
 animal substance ; and I have found a neglected box of moths 
 completely eaten by these Voracious insects. 
 
 The present species is rather convex, and blackish-bro"\vn in 
 colour. The thorax is rather narrowed behind, and on each 
 side of the hinder margin are two pits. The elytia are boldly 
 striated, each stria being seen, when examined with tlie aid of 
 a lens, to consist of a number of punctures placed in regular 
 
THE DEATH-WATCH. 141 
 
 rows. It is a very common species. The larva of this de- 
 structive insect is drawn, much magnified, at Fig. d, and the 
 antenna at c. 
 
 The old popular terror respecting the Death-watch is well- 
 known, a mysterious ticking being heard in the dead of night, 
 which was — and is still — supposed to presage the approaching 
 death of some one in the house. The ticking of the Death- 
 watch is, in fact, the call of the Anobium to its mate, and, as 
 the insect is always found in old wood, it is very evident why 
 the Death-watch is always heard in old houses. There is, by 
 the way, a species of cockroach which acts in a similar manner, 
 and generally disports itself on board ship, where the sailors 
 know it by the name of Drummer. 
 
 Our last example of this group is represented on Woodcut 
 XIV. Figs. 5 and a, the latter showing the profile of the 
 insect, whose name is Mezium sulcatum. There are three 
 insects very closely resembling each other, belonging respec- 
 tively to the genera Mezium, Gribbium, and Niptus, each being 
 the sole British representative of its genus. The two former 
 are almost exactly alike, but can be distinguished by look- 
 ing at the thorax with a lens, the difference being that 
 in Gibbium the thorax is smooth, whereas in Mezium it is 
 covered with longitudinal furrows, whence the name sulcatum^ 
 or ' furrowed.' 
 
 To my mind, these are the oddest-looking Beetles that we 
 have in England, and, indeed, at first sight they much more 
 resemble spiders than Beetles. Their bodies are globular, and 
 covered with pale golden down of a silky or satiny lustre. 
 When the insect is placed under a moderate microscopic power 
 — say about thirty diameters — it is seen to be clothed with a 
 double set of hairs, i.e. a thin, soft down lying flat to the 
 body with the points of the hairs directed backwards, and mixed 
 with a quantity of stiff and rather curved bristles, set in regular 
 rows over the surfiice. In those places where the Beetle has 
 been roughly handled, both the down and the bristles fall off, 
 showing the ground colour of the elytra beneath, which is a 
 dark chocolate-brown. These Beetles have no wings, and the 
 head is quite imder the thorax, which, being globular and 
 apparently bearing the antennae, is often mistaken for the head 
 
142 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 itself. The relative position of the head and thorax can be 
 seen by reference to Fig. a. There are no wings. 
 
 The Mezium can generally be found in the cupboards and 
 other recesses of old houses, and, indeed, all three Beetles may 
 be captured on the same premises. A very good trap for them 
 is a deep and steep-sided basin, with a little moist sugar at the 
 bottom, and a stick or two laid against the sides by way ol 
 a ladder. The Mezium is very fond of sugar, gets up the 
 ladder, lets itself tumble into the sugar, and then cannot get 
 out again, not being able to cling to the polished sides of the 
 basin. It is thought by many entomologists, that neither ol 
 these Beetles is indigenous, but that all three have been im- 
 ported from abroad. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 HETEROMEBA. 
 
 This is a very important section of the Coleoptera, em- 
 bracing many of our most familiar Beetles, though in England 
 the number of Heteromerous Beetles is very small when com- 
 pared with the list of exotic insects. The name Heteromera is 
 compounded of two Greek words, signifying 'unequal-jointed,' 
 and is applied to these Beetles because they all have five joints in 
 the tarsi of the first and intermediate pairs of legs, and only 
 four joints in those of the hinder pair. As has been mentioned 
 in coiinection with other four-jointed tarsi, the full number of 
 five joints is in reality present, but the basal joint is very long, 
 and in it is merged the missing joint; so that the joint is in 
 reality not abseiit, but so small as to escape ordinary ob- 
 servation. 
 
 The reader may object that many other Beetles are possessed 
 of this characteristic. So they are, but, nevertheless, the 
 distinction is a good one. In the first place, the missing joint 
 in other Beetles is merged in the last and not in the basal 
 joint ; in the next place, the true Heteromera have the eyes 
 kidney-shaped, and not projecting far from the head ; the 
 antennsB are ' moniliform,' i.e. looking like a row of beads on a 
 string, and the mandibles are notched at their tips. 
 
 The first family of this section is named Blaptidse, and its 
 members are known by the ' securiform,' or hatchet-shaped last 
 joint of the maxillary palpi, and the long femora of the hind 
 legs. The wings are not developed, and the elytra are soldered 
 together. In England we only have one genus of this family, 
 containing three species. That which we will take as our type 
 is the Churchyard Beetle [Blaps mortisaga), which is repre- 
 sented on Woodcut XV. Fig. 1, the antenna being shown at 
 Fig. df below the insect. All the species belonging to this 
 
144 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 genus are — to use a word which I do not like to apply to 
 insects — ugly. They are dull, dead-black in colour, are won- 
 derfully sluggish, crawling slowly as if afflicted with rheum- 
 atism, and always frequenting damp, dark, and dismal places. 
 Being often found in the mm'kiest crannies of cellars, they have 
 gained the popular and appropriate title of Cellar Beetles. 
 
 XV 
 
 
 1. Blaps mortisaga. 2. Diaperis boleti. 3. Tenebrio molitor. 4. Mclandrja caraboides. 
 
 6. Orchesia undulata. a. Blaps, larva. 6. Melandrya, larva. c. Tenebrio, larva. 
 
 d. Blaps, antenna. e. Diaperis, antenna. /. Tenebrio, auteima. g. Melaudrya, antenna. 
 h. Orchesia, antenna. 
 
 The species represented in the illustration may be recognised 
 by the bold puncturing and contracted base of the thorax, and 
 the lengthened projection at the apex of the elytra. It is not 
 so generally plentiful as the second species, Blaps inucronata, 
 being seldom found in the southern parts of England. Still 
 these species are very similar in their habits. They are 
 possessed of a very nauseous odom-, suggestive of dwelling 
 
KILLING BEETLES. 145 
 
 among the graves. Yet, unpleasant as these Beetles may be, 
 we are informed that an Egyptian species, Blaps sulcata, is 
 employed as a remedy for ear-ache, and a cure for the sting of 
 the scorpion ; while the women are in the habit of seeking and 
 eating it, in order to produce the fatness which is thought in 
 the East to be an essential point in female beauty. 
 
 This Beetle is singularly tenacious of life, having been 
 known to revive after having been immersed in spirits of wine 
 for a whole night. However, it cannot withstand boiling 
 water, and instantaneously dies when immersed in it. The 
 Beetle-hunter will always find that boiling water affords the 
 most merciful way of killing the larger Beetles. As all the 
 nervous system runs along the under side of the body, the 
 Beetle should be plunged into the water with its legs down- 
 wards, and the consequence is that the action of the heat 
 instantly destroys both sensation and life. Care must, how- 
 ever, be taken that the water is absolutely boiling, and the 
 Beetle must not be allowed to remain in it, or it will fall to 
 pieces. The best way is to seize the insect by a pair of forceps, 
 to plunge it quickly into the water, and then to withdraw it. 
 
 The larva of the Blaps is represented on Woodcut XV. Fig. 
 a, and is very much like the common meal-worm. 
 
 Passing over several families, we come to the Diaperidse, 
 which are smooth, shining, and brightly-coloured. In general 
 form and colour they very much resemble the Chrysomelidae 
 (which will be presently described), but may be at once distin- 
 guished from them by the tarsi of the first pair of legs having 
 five joints, whereas the Chrysomelidae have only four visible 
 joints to these members. 
 
 The typical genus, from which our example is taken, is 
 distinguished by the basal joint of the hind tarsi, which is 
 short, whereas it is long in the other genera. The pretty little 
 Diaperis boleti is shown on Woodcut XV. Fig. 2, and one of its 
 antennae at Fig. e. This is a boldly-coloured insect, its body 
 • being shining-black, crossed on the elytra by two yellow bands, 
 one near the base of the elytra, and the other rather beyond 
 the middle. It derives its specific name from the fact that in 
 the larval state it is a fungus-eater, feeding on several of the 
 boleti which grow on the trunks of trees. It is remarkable for 
 
 L 
 
146 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 possessing no eyes. Before it changes into the perfect form it 
 scoops for itself a cell, and then lines it with silk, so as to form 
 it into a cocoon. This is one of the very rarest British insects, 
 and is the only species of its genus. 
 
 The family of the Tenebrionidae only contains one genus, 
 and that genus but two British species. These Beetles possess 
 large wings, and are capable of flight, the elytra not being 
 soldered together as is the case with the Blaptidse. The thorax 
 is squared, and its base is as wide as the base of the elytra. 
 
 On Woodcut XV. Fig. 3 is drawn the typical British species, 
 Tenebrio molitor^ and at Fig. / on the same woodcut is one of 
 the antennae. The colour of this Beetle is shining blackish- 
 brown, and the body is rather flat and very thickly punctured. 
 Each of the elytra has one very short stria next to the 
 scutellum, and eight others reaching to the apex. It lives in 
 corn-mills, flour-stores, bakehouses, and similar localities, and 
 in consequence is often called the Flour Beetle. The cream- 
 colom'ed larva of this insect is shown on the same illustration, 
 Fig. c. It is popularly known by the name of Meal-worm, 
 under which title it is largely supplied to bird-fanciers, who 
 find that many of their feathered pets will not live unless they 
 have a constant supply of insect food, such as is afforded by the 
 Meal-worm, which, in consequence of the perpetual warmth of 
 its home, breeds throughout the year. From April to June is, 
 however, the best time to find the perfect insect. 
 
 The second species, Tenebrio obscurus, is quite as plentiful, 
 and so much resembles its congener, that the two are generally 
 confounded together. The latter insect can, however, be dis- 
 tinguished by its colour, which is dull pitchy-black and not 
 shining, and by a number of faint tubercles which stud the 
 interstices between the striae. The larva of this species is pale- 
 brown instead of cream-colour. Many entomologists think 
 that neither of these insects is indigenous, but that they were 
 both introduced in cargoes of corn or flour. 
 
 The next family in our list is that of the Meiandryadae. 
 These Beetles have small antennae, and enormously-developed 
 maxillary palpi, the last joint especially, not only being long but 
 very broad. The head is bent down, and sometimes simk in 
 
OECHESIA, OR ' JUMPER.' 
 
 147 
 
 the thorax nearly to the eyes, so that it cannot be seen from 
 above. 
 
 Our first example of this family is Orchesia undulata, which 
 is shown on Woodcut XV. Fig-. 5. This genus can be known 
 by the extraordinary length of the spines of the hinder tibiae, 
 and the antennae gradually thickening to the tip, as is seen at 
 
 1. Sitarls humeralis. 2. Clerus apiarius. 
 flavescens, male. 5. Ilhipiphonis pai'acloxus. 
 riis, larva. c. Rhipiphorus, antenna, male, 
 young larva, magnified. 
 
 3. Drilus flavescens, female. 4. Drilus 
 
 a. Balaninns nucitm, head. b. Ehipipho- 
 
 d. Rhipiphorus, antenna, female. e. Meloo, 
 
 Fig. h. The word Orchesia signifies 'jumper,' and is applied to 
 these Beetles because they possess the power of leaping, a power 
 which is exercised in rather a ludicrous way when they are turned 
 out of their homes, skipping and popping about like so many 
 sandhoppers. The head and thorax of this species are rust-red, 
 and on the thorax are two black arches, under each of which is 
 a black dot. The colour of the elytra is yellower than that of 
 
 L 2 
 
148 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the thorax, and they are crossed with four black belts, as shown 
 in the figure. 
 
 These beautiful little insects live in boleti and rotten wood. 
 Of another species, Orchesia micans, Mr. Curtis writes as 
 follows : — ' I once found this insect in abundance beneath 
 moist boleti attached to the trunks of elm-trees in Norfolk, in 
 the month of June ; and, dropping as soon as the boletus was 
 touched, it became necessary to hold a net beneath, in which 
 they fell and skipped about like shrimps.' It is probable that 
 the very long spines of the hinder tibiae afford the means by 
 which these insects leap. The third, and last British species of 
 this genus is Orchesia minor. 
 
 Our next example, Melandrya caraboides, is drawn on 
 Woodcut XV. Fig. 4. In this genus the spines of the hinder 
 tibiae are not lengthened as in Orchesia; the body is long, 
 rather flattened, and slightly narrowed in front. The maxillary 
 palpi have the last joint large and egg-shaped, horny on the 
 outside and fleshy on the inside. The antenna is shown at 
 
 The colour of this insect is shining blackish-blue, and the 
 body is very flat. The larva, which is shown at Fig. 6, burrows 
 in old willow-trees, and, by breaking them up, both the larva 
 and perfect Beetle can be obtained at the proper time of year. 
 It is scarcely possible to secure the insect without breaking up 
 the stump, as it usually lives in the burrows made by the larvae, 
 and retreats into them at the least indication of danger. 
 Sometimes, however, it can be obtained by suddenly tearing off 
 the bark, taking care to place under it a net or sheet of paper, 
 as the Beetles have a habit of tucking up their legs and falling 
 to the ground, when they have no burrows into which they can 
 run. They are winged, and can fly well. 
 
 These are not plentiful insects, but the present species is 
 tolerably common, and can be found from March to June. 
 There are only two British species of this genus. 
 
 The family of the Pyrochroidse is rendered familiar to us by 
 means of the well-known Cardinal Beetle {Pyrochroa coc~ 
 dnea), so called on accovmt of its beautiful scarlet colour. 
 The insect is represented on Woodcut XVI. Fig. 1. 
 
CAEDINAL BEETLE, 
 
 149 
 
 The Pyrochroidaj are known by the distinct neck, the rounded 
 thorax, and the form of the antennae, which in the males are 
 boldly toothed, as may be seen at Fig. d. The mandibles are 
 deeply notched at the tips, the maxillary palpi have the last 
 joint rather axe-shaped, and the elytra are long-, wide, and 
 cover the whole of the abdomen. The typical genus has the 
 
 1. PjTochroa coccinea. 2. Anaspis ruficollis. 3. Lytta vesicatoria. 4. Bnichus n;fi- 
 manus. 5. Platyrhinus latirostris. a. Pyrochroa, larva. b. Platyrhinus, laiva. 
 
 C. Bruchns, larva. d. P\rochroa, antenna. e. Lytta. antenna. /. Bruchus, antenna. 
 g. Platyrhinus, antenna. h. Anaspis, antenna. t. Lytta, claws. j. Platyrhinus, tarsus. 
 
 antennae longer than the head and thorax, £.nd very boldly 
 ' pectinated,' or comb-like, in the males, in which sex the eyes 
 are distant from each other. ' Pectination ' is nothing more 
 than a development of ' serration,' or saw-like form, each of the 
 joints being drawn out into -a long and narrow tooth, sometimes 
 on one side only, but often on both sides. The latter form of 
 pectination is conspicuously shown in many moths, as we shall 
 see when we come to treat of these insects. 
 
150 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The forehead of the Cardinal Beetle is black, and there is a 
 curved rust-red mark between the eyes. The thorax and elytra 
 are rich scarlet, intensified by a short velvety down with which 
 the surface is covered. This insect is as plentiful as it is 
 handsome, and it may be captured throughout the summer. 
 It is often one of the inmates of the sweeping-net, after that 
 implement has been used among the flowers of hedgerows. 
 The larva is shown at Fig. a of Woodcut XV. It is whitish in 
 colour, and inhabits decaying willows. 
 
 There are two other species of this genus, one of which, 
 Pyrochroa ruhens, much resembles the preceding insect, but 
 may be distinguished by its head, which is entirely black, and 
 by the scutellum, which is black instead of red. 
 
 Of the family of the Mordellidse we shall take two ex- 
 amples. These are very odd-looking Beetles, and can at once 
 be detected. The front part of the body is very large and 
 deep, and the body rapidly slopes away towards the tail, where 
 it ends almost in a point. The head is bent down, and, v>hen 
 the insect is alarmed, is tucked under the thorax, so that it is 
 hardly visible. The first pair of legs are the shortest, then 
 come the middle pair, the hinder pair being the longest of all. 
 These Beetles are plentiful in the summer, and may be found in 
 any numbers on the flowers of umbelliferse. The guelder rose 
 is also a favourite flower of theirs. In order to take them, the 
 best plan is to put the net under the flowers, and then tap the 
 flower-stem, when the insects will loosen their hold and foil 
 into the net. They are very active creatures, and in many in- 
 stances it is a good plan to make a swift, sweeping blow at the 
 flower, so as to cut it oS", and leave it, together with its insect in- 
 habitants, in the net. 
 
 Our first example is Anaspis ruficollis, which is shown on 
 Woodcut XVI. Fig. 2. In this genus the end of the abdomen 
 does not end in a pointed projection, or ' style,' and there is 
 a distinct scutellum ; the tarsi of the first and middle pairs 
 of legs have the last joint but one with two lobes, and the 
 hinder tibiae have long spurs at their tips. The present species 
 is black, but covered with a short dusky down, the thorax 
 taking a warm-yellow tint. The mouth, base of antennae, and 
 legs are yellowish. This is a tolerably common species, and 
 
THE RHIPIPHOEUS. 151 
 
 is distributed throughout the whole of England. It is to be 
 found in flowers. 
 
 We now come to a very extraordinary Beetle, named RM/pi- 
 phorus paradoxus. A figure of the insect is given on Wood- 
 cut XV*. Fig. 5. In this genus, of which there is only one 
 British species, the head is not visible when the insect is viewed 
 from above, and the antennfB are doubly pectinated in the male 
 and singly in the female. The antennae of the two sexes are 
 shown on the same woodcut — that of the male at Fig. b and of 
 the female at Fig. c. The generic name Rhipiphorus is formed 
 of two Grreek words, signifying ' fan-bearing,' and is given to 
 the Beetle in consequence of the fan-like antennae of the male. 
 The thorax is much arched, and lengthened behind into a point 
 that takes the place of the scutellum. The elytra are not 
 closed throughout their length, but separate at the apex, where 
 they are narrowed into points, the wings extending beyond their 
 tips. The colour of the head is black, and so is the middle of 
 the thorax, the lobe on either side being brick-colom-ed. There 
 is a bold channel along the middle of the thorax. In the 
 male insect the elytra are yellowish, changing to black at the 
 apex, while in the female they are almost entirely black, with 
 a slight yellow tinge. The abdomen is orange. The female 
 Beetle is rather larger than the male. 
 
 So much for the form and colour of this Beetle, and we will 
 now go into its singular history. 
 
 Until comparatively late days, this insect was one of our very 
 rarest Beetles, only one or two specimens having been captured, 
 and nothing known of their food or mode of life, this ignorance 
 of their transformations being the reason for the specific name 
 paradoxus, or ' puzzling.' Accidentally, however, its true 
 habitation was discovered, and since that time it cannot be rec- 
 koned among our rarest insects, though the Beetle-hunter is 
 always glad to come on specimens either of the larva, the pupa, 
 or the perfect insect. It is, in fact, one of the parasitic 
 Beetles, taking up its abode in wasps' nests — a very strano-e 
 locality, considering its object there, and the terrible weapons 
 with which its involuntary hosts are armed. 
 
 Even after it was known that the Rhipiphorus was parasitic 
 on the wasp, the insect had still a right to the name paradoxus, 
 
152 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 for entomologists were undecided as to its food, though they 
 conjectured that, like many, though not all, parasitic Beetles, 
 it fed upon wasps or their larvae. This question was, however, 
 completely set at rest by the late Mr. S. Stone, in a series of 
 experiments on insects that were parasitic on the bees and 
 wasps. Some of Mr. Stone's extraordinary achievements with 
 these insects will be mentioned in connection witli the Hymeno- 
 ptera. In the ' Proceedings of the Entomological Society,' Jan. 
 2, 1865, Mr. Stone made a series of valuable communications 
 on this subject, which ought to be given in his own words. 
 After mentioning that he had previously found the pupge and 
 male and female Beetles, but could not detect a single larva, 
 he proceeds as follows : — 
 
 'On the 19th I was more fortunate, for, on taking out a nest 
 of V. vulgaris and proceeding to open the closed-up cells, I 
 foimd a larva of the parasite firmly attached to the full-grown ■ 
 larva of the wasp ; the mouth of the former buried in the body 
 of the latter just below the head ; its neck bent over that of 
 its victim, whose body appeared to be tightly compressed by 
 that of its destroyer, showing the latter to be possessed of a 
 considerable amount of muscular power. It was of minute size 
 when discovered, and appeared to have only very recently 
 fastened upon its victim ; but so voracious was its appetite, 
 and so rapid its growth, that in the course of the following 
 forty-eight hours it attained its full size, having consumed 
 every particle of its prey with the exception of the skin and 
 mandibles, which, from observations I have since been enabled 
 to make, these creatures retain in their grasp even after they 
 have passed into the pupa state. They scarcely appear to cease 
 eating, except now and then for a minute or so, from the time 
 they first begin to feed till they have become full-grown. The 
 larva is a singular-looking one. The head is bent forward 
 under the body. Between the segments it is more deeply 
 furrowed than any larva with which I am acquainted. A 
 longitudinal furrow extends down the back from the head to 
 the anal extremity, cutting each segment across. The skin, 
 during life, throughout the whole course of this furrow, is per- 
 fectly transparent, so that the workings of the interaal organs 
 may be plainly seen. The body of the larva, while alive, has the 
 appearance of a thin transparent skin filled with minute par- 
 
MR. STONE'S NOTES. 153 
 
 • 
 
 tides of curd. These appearances vanish after death, when the 
 body becomes dense, and has an appearance o^ solidity about it 
 which it had not before. Several pupse of the parasite were 
 found in the nest, as well as examples of the perfect insect. It 
 also contained a number of cocoons spun by the larvae of Ano- 
 malon Vesparum, with the larvse still unchanged inside the 
 cocoons. 
 
 ' Between the above date and September 3, I took out thir- 
 teen more nests of V. vulgaris, which contained examples of 
 Ehipiphorus either in the larva, pupa, or perfect state. In one 
 which had been destroyed by means of gas tar a few days be- 
 fore I took it out, I was fortunate in discovering a small larva 
 of Ehipiphorus firmly attached to its victim. Both were dead 
 and had become partially dried, so that when immersed in 
 spirits they did not separate, but remained attached just as 
 they were before death. These are interesting, because in 
 them may be seen the exact way in which the parasitic larva 
 fastens on its prey. In another which I took out on Septem- 
 ber 2, I found, on opening some closed-up cells appropriated to 
 queens, one larva and one pupa, which diflfered in nothing that 
 I could discover from those of Ehipiphorus found in the cells of 
 workers, except that they were something like double the size ; 
 in fact, about as much larger as the larvae and pupae of queen 
 wasps are larger than those of workers. 
 
 ' Until the present summer I had not met with a specimen 
 of Ehipiphorus since the year 1859, although I had made dili- 
 gent search for it every succeeding summer. What had be- 
 come of it all that time, and how it was that all at once it 
 made its appearance in such numbers, are questions more easily 
 asked than answered. Where it occurs it appears to be very 
 local, for I have never met with it, except in one particular 
 part of Cokethorpe Park, within a space of ground about foxu- 
 furlongs in length by two in width. I have searched yearly 
 for it in nests obtained from other parts of the park and the 
 surroimding neighbourhood, but always in vain.' 
 
 The reader will remember that the female Beetle is, as a 
 rule, larger than the male. For some years it was taken for 
 granted that the larvae of the female Beetles fed upon those of 
 female wasps, i.e. the largest larvae in the largest cells, and 
 thereby obtained their superior development. Mr. Stone, how- 
 
154 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ever, is disposed to take a diiSferent view of the case, as will 
 be seen from the following statement : — 
 
 ' It is certainly not the fact that female Rhipiphori are found 
 exclusively in female cells of wasps, and males in those of 
 workers ; for I have bred scores upon scores of both males and 
 females from the cells of workers ; nor can I perceive any very 
 great difference in the size of the sexes, although the females 
 are unquestionably somewhat larger, and much more plump in 
 appearance, than the males ; still there is nothing approaching 
 the vast disproportion in size which exists between full-grown 
 larv« found occupying the cells of queens, and those found in 
 the cells of workers. The former must produce specimens of 
 gigantic size. 
 
 'Then there must either be two distinct species, or there 
 must be a permanently large and small variety, the former 
 invariably depositing its eggs in the cells of queens, the latter 
 in those of workers ; or, if there is only one species, and no 
 permanent variety of the insect, it must be that the difference 
 in size arises solely from the fact, that some larva3 have been 
 placed, or by a piece of good luck have placed themselves, in a 
 situation in which they have met with an abundant supply of 
 food, thus enabling them to attain the full and proper size, 
 and so produce Ehipiphorus as it ought to be ; while the 
 others must be looked upon as diminutive examples of the 
 insect, dwarfed and stunted by the limited and insufficient 
 suj^ly of food allotted to the larvae from which they were 
 produced.' 
 
 Everyone who has walked in the country, and used his eyes, 
 must have noticed the well-known Oil Beetles, so called from 
 their culi-Ious habit of ejecting a drop of clear yellowish oil 
 from the joints of their legs when they are handled. One of 
 these Beetles, Meloe cicatricosus, is shown on Plate VI., the 
 male being represented at Fig. 3, and the female at Fig. 4. 
 The colour of these Beetles is dull, dark indigo-blue, and they 
 are wingless, slow-moving insects, especially the females, so 
 that they have no chance of escaping from capture, to' which 
 their very conspicuous shape renders them liable. 
 
 The life history of the Oil Beetle is a very curious one. The 
 female Beetle deposits in little holes in the ground a vast 
 
THE OIL BEETLE. 155 
 
 number of the tiniest imaginable yellow eggs, placing several 
 thousands in each hole. As soon as the eggs are hatched, the 
 larvae make their way into the open air. They are most ex- 
 traordinary creatures, and no one who saw the newly-hatched 
 and the full-gro^vn larva of this Beetle would ever imagine 
 that they could be the same creature, and in the same stage of 
 metamorphosis. They are scarcely so large as the semicolon 
 (;) used in this work, and are long-bodied, furnished with six 
 long and prehensile legs, and gifted with great activity. A 
 magnified figm-e of one of these larva is shown on Woodcut 
 XV*. Fig. e. As soon as they reach the open air, they climb 
 the stems of flowers and gain the blossoms, where they lie in 
 wait. Presently a bee comes to gather honey or pollen, when 
 the little larva leaves the flower, climbs upon the bee, and 
 clings to its body with its clasping legs. 
 
 The bee, unconscious of its new bm-den, goes as usual to its 
 nest, when the larva quits its hold, and remains in the nest. 
 The parent bee being gone, thinking that everything is right, 
 the Meloe larva devours the ^g^^ and then throws ofl:' its first 
 larval form in order to assume another, in which it some- 
 what resembles the grub of the cockchafer. It now turns its 
 attention to the food prepared by the bee for its young, and 
 finds therein just sufficient nutriment to carry it throuoh its 
 larval condition. One of these larvge, nearly full-fed, is shown 
 on Plate VI. Fig. 5. The reader will see that it bears not the 
 least resemblance to the long-bodied, quick-legged larva in the 
 first stage of growth. 
 
 To prepare these insects for the cabinet requires some little 
 care and patience, especially with the females, for when the crea- 
 ture dies, the large soft abdomen begins to shrink, and when it 
 is quite dry, the abdomen is not one-third its proper size, is full 
 of wrinkles, and crumpled out of all shape. The only plan, 
 therefore, is to stuff it >vith cotton wool. The usual mode of 
 so doing is, to cut a slit on the under side, remove the contents 
 of the abdomen, and replace them with cotton wool. I have, 
 however, found this plan scarcely satisfactory, inasmuch as the 
 edges of the slit are apt to recede from each other, so that the 
 cotton wool is visible. There is another plan, certainly in- 
 volving more trouble, but with far better results. With 
 sharp scissors cut off the abdomen altogether, squeeze and draw 
 
156 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 out its contents gently by the hole which is made at its base 
 by the blades of the scissors ; through the same aperture in- 
 troduce the cotton wool, a very little at a time, so that you 
 can exactly restore the original shape of the abdomen, taking 
 care to stuff it a trifle larger than it was originally, because 
 the skin will contract a little on the cotton wool. Now, stick 
 the point of a needle perpendicularly into the setting-board, 
 and pass the eye into the abdomen, so as to prevent it from 
 losing shape by lying down. Set the other half of the Beetle 
 independently, and, when both parts are quite dry, join them 
 with a tiny drop of coaguline. If this be properly done, there 
 will not be the slightest mark of any junction, and the speci- 
 men will always look as well as it did when living, and preserve 
 its sofi, rounded contour. 
 
 If ever there were a Beetle which was incapable of fighting, 
 that insect would seem to be the Meloe. Yet Mr. F. Smith 
 discovered that it not only could fight, but was ready to fight, 
 and that to the death. He had captiired near Margate a nimi- 
 ber of examples of a rare species called Meloe riigosus, as they 
 were crawling near the nest of the bee on which they were 
 parasitic. He put them into a box, thinking no harm of them, 
 but found that on the second day of their captivity a 'free 
 fight' had taken place among them, the result of which was 
 that some were killed and reduced to fragments, the greater 
 number of the survivors had lost either legs or antennae or 
 both, and out of two dozen Beetles only four escaped without 
 injury. It was difficult to account for this extraordinary de- 
 velopment of pugnacity, for the females had already deposited 
 their eo-gs ; so that the casus belli was not that which is usual 
 among all the lower animals, insects included, namely, posses- 
 sion of the female. 
 
 We are still among some very strange Beetles, and that of 
 which we now treat is so strange, that for very many years it 
 was not known to be a Beetle, some observers having thought 
 it to be a hymenopterous insect, some taking it for the sole repre- 
 sentative of a separate order, under the name of Strepsiptera, 
 but no one discovering that it was in reality a Beetle belonging 
 to the family of the Meloidse, a tribe of the Oil Beetles. These 
 insects can be distinguished by the short neck, and by the 
 
THE STYLOPS. 157 
 
 peculiar structure of the claws, each of which is furnished with 
 a small supplementary claw on its lower surface. 
 
 On Plate XI. tlie reader will see near the Andrena some 
 cm'ious little insects, which evidently do not belong to the 
 order of insects represented on the plate. These are the re- 
 markable insects that have just been mentioned, and Avhich are 
 known by the name of Stylops Melittce. The discovery of the 
 Stylops is due to the late Mr. Kirby. He had often observed 
 little projections from between the segments of the abdomen 
 in certain bees belonging to the genus Andrena, but thought 
 that they were simply the little mites or acari that beset 
 not only bees but Beetles. He passed a pin under it, and, 
 on trying to disengage it, drew from the body of the bee a 
 little whitish grub, the head of which was projecting from 
 between two of the segments, the whole of its body being buried 
 in the abdomen of the bee. 
 
 Being naturally surprised at such a result, he tried another 
 specimen, and this time found that he had hit upon a pupa 
 just ready to cast its envelope. ' The reader may imagine how 
 greatly my astonishment was increased, when, after I had 
 drawn it out but a little way, I saw its skin burst, and a head 
 as black as ink, with large staring eyes, and antennae consisting 
 of two branches, break forth, and move itself briskly from side 
 to side. It looked like a little imp of darkness just emerged 
 from the infernal regions. I was impatient to become better 
 acquainted with so singular a creature. When it was com- 
 pletely disengaged, and I had secured it from making its escape, 
 I set myself to examine it as closely as possible ; and I found, 
 after a careful inquiry, that I had not only got a nondescript, but 
 also an insect of a new genus, whose very order seemed dubious.' 
 
 Since that time, much care has been given to the investiga- 
 tion of these insects, and it has been found that several genera 
 inhabit England, the whole constituting the family Stylopidse. 
 The word Stylops is Greek, and signifies ' stalk-eyed.' It is 
 given to these insects because some of them have their eyes 
 set on footstalks of greater or lesser length. These are also 
 remarkable for the very few facets which they contain. The 
 compound eyes of most insects may count their facets by thou- 
 sands, and in many cases by tens of thousands ; but in the 
 Stylopidse they are counted only by tens, and in one species, 
 
158 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Etenchus tenuicornis, each compound eye only contains fifteen 
 facets or lenses. 
 
 The antennse are very remarkable, being doubly branched, 
 so that the insect seems to have four antennae instead of two. 
 These little insects fly well, the second pair of wings being 
 enormously large in proportion to the body, and opening like 
 a wide fan, the anterior and posterior margins reaching to the 
 head and tail of the insect. When flying, the Stylops has a 
 peculiar milky look about the wings, not easy to describe, but 
 easily to be recognised when once seen. Wings of such mag- 
 nitude necessarily require a very large thorax, in order to give 
 support to the muscles which move them ; and accordingly we 
 find that the thorax is nearly twice as large as the head and 
 abdomen together, the latter part of the insect looking quite 
 insignificant when compared with the enormous thorax to 
 which it is attached, and of which it almost seems to be an 
 unimportant appendage, instead of being, as it is, the seat of 
 the chiefly vital organs. 
 
 As might be expected, the part of the thorax which bears 
 the hind pair of wings, namely, the metathorax, is very largely 
 developed, while that which bears the little attenuated elytra 
 is comparatively small. These members are indeed so small, 
 that they have been called pseudelytra, or false elytra. Many 
 species of bees and wasps are infested with this singular para- 
 site, though the genus Andrena seems to be its favom-ite prey. 
 
 With two more examples of the Heteromera, we close our 
 notice of this group. One is the Blister Beetle or Spanish 
 Fly {Lytta vesicatoria), which is shown on Woodcut XVI. 
 Fig. 3. This insect is well known for its use in medicine, the 
 peculiar substance contained in it being highly inflamma- 
 tory, and raising blisters upon the human skin. This sub- 
 stance is called cantharidin, and, when separated from the in- 
 sect which produces it, takes the form of white flat crystals, 
 which can be dissolved in alcohol, but not in water. 
 
 This genus is known by the long narrow body and elytra, 
 the two long wings, and the egg-like form of the last joint of 
 the maxillary palpi. The colour of the Blister Beetle is rich- 
 green, mostly glossed with gold or copper. The elytra are very 
 filightly wrinkled, and upon each elytron there are two ridges. 
 
BLISTER BEETLE. 159 
 
 Entomologists believe that this is not an indigenous insect, 
 but has been introduced from the Continent. It occurs much 
 too sparingly in this country to be of any practical use, and 
 our chief supply is obtained from Spain, whence the popular 
 name of Spanish Fly. In England it is usually found in the 
 southern counties, the ash being its favoured tree, and when it 
 is seen at all, it generally occurs in some profusion. Should 
 the Beetle-hunter capture any of these insects, he is advised to 
 be very cautious how he handles them. He should carefully 
 avoid allowing his fingers to come near his eyes, and should 
 wash them as soon as he has finished his task. Indeed, with 
 these Beetles, the less the fingers, and the more the forceps, are 
 used, the better for the operator. 
 
 On Woodcut XV*. Fig. 1, is drawn a very remarkable, and 
 in this country very rare, insect, called Sitaris muralis, a 
 Beetle which derives its specific title from the fact that it is 
 parasitic on certain solitary bees which inhabit holes in walls. 
 Bees belonging to the genus Anthophora seem to be chiefly 
 the objects of its attacks. On the Continent it is comparatively 
 common, and it is from Continental entomologists that we 
 have received our principal knowledge of the Beetle and its 
 habits. 
 
 The Beetle is known by the elytra, which are very long and 
 narrowed to the apex, but do not cross each other. There are 
 two wings, and the antennae are quite simple, without pectina- 
 tion or serration. The colour of the insect is very plain, the 
 body being black and the elytra yellowish-brown. 
 
 The female Sitaris acts in some respects like the female 
 Meloe, for she deposits her eggs in packets containing several 
 thousands each. She does not, however, lay them in the 
 ground, but places them at the very entrance of the holes in 
 which the bees have taken up their residence. The eggs are 
 hatched, and the little larvae, which have larger bodies and 
 shorter legs than those of the Meloe, enter the nest, and there 
 undergo their transformations. 
 
 Mr. Westwood mentions some curious discoveries communi- 
 cated to him by M. Audouin : — ' In examining the interior of a 
 nest of a large Anthophora, very common near Se\Tes, he 
 detected one of the bee-larvae in its cell, with the ir.teiiji- of 
 
160 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the body entirely consumed, a thin pellicle only remaining; 
 and from within this bladder-like exuviae he extracted a female 
 Sitaris, which had evidently therein undergone its transforma- 
 tion. He did not, however, observe whether the pellicle of 
 the larva or of the pupa of the Sitaris was contained within 
 the pellicle of the bee-larva. He subsequently found more 
 specimens of the Sitaris at large in the nests of this bee, and 
 observed one of the females, whilst in a state of captivity, 
 deposit her eggs, from which were hatched the minute larvae.' 
 Mr. Westwood then proceeds to point out the distinctions be- 
 tween the larva of Meloe and that of Sitaris. The two species 
 of Anthophora in which this Beetle is generally found are not 
 natives of England. 
 
CHAPTER Xr. 
 
 REYNCHOPHORA, OR WEEVILS. 
 
 liiESE terribly destructive insects do not attain any great ai- 
 oiensions in England, but they make up for their diminutive 
 bize by their enormous numbers. How many species are known 
 to inhabit this country it is impossible to say, as new species 
 — especially those of small size — are continually being added to 
 our lists ; but if we say that about five hundred British species 
 are at present known, we shall be very near their number. 
 
 The name Rhynchophora is formed from two Greek words, 
 signifying ' snout-bearer,' and is given to these insects because 
 the head is very much prolonged and narrowed, in some species 
 looking like the long curved beak of the ibis or ciulew. The 
 mouth and its accompanying organs are always at the ena of 
 this beak, and in some species of Weevils the resemblance to 
 the head and mouth of the Porcupine Ant-eater of Australia is 
 really startling. The name of Tetramera, or ' four-jointed,' was 
 formerly given to this group, because its members appear to have 
 only four joints in the tarsi. Mr. Westwood, however, with his 
 wonted acuteness, pointed out that there were really five joints, 
 the missing joint being microscopically small, and hidden 
 under the lobes of the third joint. Several of these tarsi may 
 be seen on Woodcut XVII. The three basal joints of the 
 tarsus are always furnished with a thick pad beneath, and may 
 be seen by examining the feet of any of our common Weevils 
 with a pocket-lens. 
 
 The antennae are always set well in front on the ' rostrum,' 
 or beak, and in most, though not in all, species are furnished 
 with a very long basal joint, so that they are elbowed, or ' ge- 
 niculated,' according to the scientific term. I shall in this 
 work always use the English forms of such words, provided that 
 hey express the same idea as the scientific term, which will, 
 
 M 
 
162 n^SECTS AT HOilE. 
 
 however, be always explained. For the future, therefore, I 
 shall employ the English word beak instead of the Latin 
 rostrum, and the word elbowed in preference to the Sanscrito- 
 Graeco-Latinised-Angiified word geniculated. 
 
 According to the system which is at present in vogue, the 
 Weevils are divided into two sections — namely, those in which 
 tlie antennae are not elbower^, and those in which they are. 
 The former are called Orthoceri, or ' straight-horned,' and the 
 latter Go7iatcceri, or ' knee-horned.' We begin with the former, 
 and take fo^ ovx first example of these Beetles the Red-footed 
 Weevil (Bruchus rufimanus), which is drawn on Woodcut 
 XVI. Fig. 4, its antennas being shown at /. This insect be- 
 longs to the family Bruchidae, which have antennae rather 
 serrated, and becoming gradually thicker towards the apex. 
 The elytra do not reach to the end of the abdomen, and the 
 basal joint of the tarsus is long and cui-ved. In the genus 
 Bruchus the antennae are rather delicate, and the elytra are 
 oblong and squared. 
 
 The Red-footed Weevil is rather variable both in size and 
 colour, but is usually as follows : — The general hue is black. 
 Upon the thorax, which has its edges slightly waved, there are 
 two white spots upon the disc, and a large triangular spot 
 about the middle of the base, some ashy-white hairs being 
 scattered on the disc. The elytron is striated and punctured, 
 and has a number of white spots scattered over it, and a 
 whitish-grey streak near the scutellum. The tip of the abdo- 
 men is white, with the exception of two dun-coloured spots. 
 
 All the species of this genus are exceedingly destructive, 
 feeding upon the seeds of beans, peas, and similar vegetables, 
 very often doing enormous damage by dint of numbers, in 
 spite of their small individual size. The reader may perhaps 
 have had occasion to notice that, when peas are newly shelled, 
 one frequently occurs in which a hole or a groove is scooped, 
 and which is tenanted by a little white maggot. These 
 maggots are almost always the larvae of this or some allied 
 species of Weevil. One of these larvae is shown, much mag- 
 nified, on Woodcut XVI. Fig. c. They remain in the seeds 
 until they have attained their perfect condition, when they 
 escape t]i rough a round hole made for the purpose while in 
 the larval state. Eight species are acknowledged to be in- 
 
IMMIGRANT BEETLES. 163 
 
 digenous to Great Britain. Many other species have been 
 placed on the British lists, but entomologists have decided 
 that they have been introduced into England in cargoes of 
 peas, beans, or corn, and therefore ought not to be admitted as 
 genuine British insects. Indeed, it could be wished that the 
 law of extradition could be extended to insects, and that these 
 Weevils, together with the cockroach and sundry other de- 
 structive and noxious insects, could be restored to the country 
 whence they came. 
 
 The family of the Anthribidae will be represented by one 
 example. This family has also eleven joints in the antennse, 
 the whole of which is formed of three joints, as is seen at 
 Fig. g, and the second joint of the tarsi has two lobes, as 
 shown at Fig. j. Our example of this family is Platyrhinua 
 latirostris, Woodcut XVI. Fig. 5, and is the only' British 
 specimen of its genus. The generic name of this insect, signi- 
 fying 'broad-nosed,' points out one of the leading peculiarities 
 of this geiflas, which has the head so wide and short that it 
 scarcely seems to belong to the long-snouted Rhynchophora. 
 In this genus the two basal joints of the antenna3 are short, 
 and the club is a ve^y bold and abrupt one, like the knob at 
 the end of a life-preserver. The elytra reach to the end of the 
 body, and the antennae are longer in the male than in the 
 female. 
 
 The present species is oblong in shape, and the general 
 colom- is black. The short beak is ashen-white, changing ta 
 black at the tip, and the thorax is punctured and boldly 
 wrinkled. The elytra are adorned with rows of punctures, and 
 are black in colour, except towards the apes, on which are two 
 black dots, and in some species two or three little dusky 
 streaks. The abdomen is white, changing to black at the 
 sides, and the legs are black, but have a greyish-white down on 
 them. 
 
 This is not a plentiful insect, and requires much searching 
 before it can be found, owing to its dusky colours, and its in- 
 genious mode of selecting such localities as harmonize best 
 ^th its mottled surftice. Heaps of dry sticks, for example, 
 are places where an insect-hunter may expect, if anywhere, to 
 ♦ind this Beetle. It also clings to the trunks of ash, alder, and 
 
 H 2 
 
164 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 birch-trees. If, however, one specimen be found, a number 
 will generally reward the collector, for, although it is not 
 widely distributed, it generally occurs plentifully in some 
 favoured locality. The ash-tree is chosen by this Beetle on 
 account of the fungi which grow upon it, and which form its 
 food. When it cannot find a convenient fungus, it is obliged 
 to content itself with burrowing into decaying wood or beneath 
 the dead bark. On Woodcut XVI. Fig. b, the larva of this 
 Beetle is shown. 
 
 Of the Attelabidae we shall take two examples, the first be- 
 longing to the typical genus, and known by the name of 
 Attelabus curculionoides, Woodcut XVII. Fig. 1. 
 
 In this family the head is more elongated, and the beak is 
 rather widened towards the end. The antennae are straight, as 
 may be seen at Fig. a, which represents one of the antennse of 
 the present species. The rather peculiar tarsus is shown at d. 
 The elytra do not reach to the end of the body. Tlie genus is 
 known by the broad and rather flattened body, the wide thorax, 
 and the shape of the head, which is not narrowed into a neck 
 behind the eyes, as is the case with Apoderus, a genus which 
 otherwise much resembles it, but has a definite neck and a 
 body more flattened. 
 
 The present species is very common throughout England, 
 and is a very pretty little Beetle, varying in length from an 
 eighth to a quarter of an inch. The head is black, and slightly 
 wrinkled between the eyes. The thorax is small, very finely 
 punctured, and brick-red in colour, the elytra being of the 
 same hue. 
 
 Oak and hazel, especially the underwood, are the best 
 localities for this Beetle, which can best be captured, like many 
 others of its group, by the sweep-net. Sometimes eight or ten 
 specimens will be found in the net after a few minutes' sweep- 
 ing. The reason for its prevalence in such localities is, that 
 the larva feeds on the young leayes of the oak. Leaves which 
 have been attacked by this insect are very common in oak- 
 copses, and a pocketful can often be obtained in a short time. 
 They are known by being rolled up tightly into a shape which 
 jas been well compared to a lady's thimble. To the naked 
 eye, the brick-red of this Beetle looks rather dull, but when 
 
HIDDEN BEAUTIES. 
 
 165 
 
 ^riewed by the aid of a microscope, the surface both of thorax 
 and elytra is seen to possess astonishing beauty, the rich 
 shining-red being broken up into various shades by the rows of 
 punctures. 
 
 I have often wondered whether the insects themselves are 
 capable of seeing and admiring these beauties without the aid of 
 
 XVII 
 
 1. Attelabus curcnlionoides. 2. Rhynchites Bacchns. 3. Apior oardiionim. 4. Sitonea 
 lineatus. 5. Cleonus nebulosus. a. Attelabus, antenna. 6. Khynchites, antenna. e. 
 Apion, antenna. d. Attelabus, tarsus. e. Rhynchites, tarsus. /. Apion, tarsus. a, 
 Rhynchites, maxillary palpus. A. Rhynchites, labium 
 
 the microscope, as well as we do with its assistance. When view- 
 ing through a lens some tiny and apparently dull-coloured insect, 
 and noticing how magnificently beautiful the colouring really 
 is when we put ourselves under the conditions which enable 
 Cis to see the many details which were before concealed from us, 
 I cannot but feel that such beauties were surely intended to 
 delight some eyes, and most probably the eyes of its fellows. 
 
166 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Our next example of this family is Rhynchitea Bacchus, re- 
 presented on Woodcut XVII. Fig. 2. 
 
 The generic name Rhynchites is taken from the Greek, and 
 signifies long-nosed, or, to be more accurate but less elegant, 
 ' nosey,' and is given to it on account of the shape of the snout 
 or beak, which is much more lengthened than in either of i/he 
 pi-eceding "Weevils, and forms one of the principal characters of 
 the genus. The other characteristics are, that the beak is 
 more or less widened at the end, that the head is not narrowed 
 into a neck behind the eyes, and that the antennae have eleven 
 joints. The form of the antennae is shown at Fig. b, that of the 
 tarsus at e, the maxillary palpus at j, and the labium at h. 
 There are seventeen British species belonging to this genus. 
 
 Many of the insects of this genus are remarkable for their 
 beauty, their bodies being of all imaginable brilliant colours, 
 and having their brilliancy increased by their metallic gloss. 
 This species is certainly not the least handsome among its 
 splendid brethren, its colour being a rich-red, almost coppery- 
 gold, on which is a long soft down. The thorax is deeply 
 punctured, and the elytra, which are rounded at their tips and 
 rather separated from each other, are as of burnished-copper, 
 sometimes taking a purplish hue. Their surface is covered 
 with very deep and bold punctures, and with a vast number of 
 wrinkles running transversely against them. There is much 
 variation in the colour of this splendid Beetle, which is some- 
 times greenish and sometimes blue ; but, as is the case with 
 many of such Beetles, the exact hue depends very much on 
 the angle at which the light is reflected from them to the eye, 
 green changing to blue, then to purple, and purple to gold, 
 as the insect is turned to one side or the other. 
 
 It is a rare insect, but has been taken in Darenth Wood. It 
 has also been taken plentifully near Crayford, in Kent, on the 
 blackthorn [Prunus spinosus). 
 
 There is an enormous genus of Weevils, consisting of very 
 tiny species, about as large and somewhat the shape of a note 
 of admiration (!) as here given. Their bodies look very much 
 like pears, the stalk of the fruit representing the beak of the 
 insect. In consequence of this resemblance they have received 
 the generic name of Apion, which is a Greek word signifying 
 
THE apio:ns, or pear weevils. 167 
 
 a pear. They have also been compared to peg-tops ; and, if 
 the peg were curved instead of straight, the resemblance would 
 be almost complete. We will call them Pear Weevils. 
 
 The genus Apion is an admirable test of an entomologist's 
 zeal. If he can set, examine, and determine the Apions which 
 he will catch in an hour's walk with the sweep-net, there is no 
 doubt about his zeal for entomology, a zeal which the genus 
 Apion is admirably calculated to quench. They are all so tiny 
 that a tolerably high power is required for their proper exami- 
 nation, and the pocket-lens must be laid aside in favour of a 
 microscope ; and in many instances the colour of the trochanter 
 forms one of the principal characteristics. Then, their bodies 
 are so boldly rounded that only a small portion can come into 
 focus at the same time. The necessity for a high power 
 is seen by the fact that without it the antennas appear only to 
 have eleven joints, whereas they have in reality twelve, the 
 twelfth being an extremely minute one at the very end of the 
 club. None of this genus possess wings, and the elytra com- 
 pletely cover the abdomen. Along the side of the beak are 
 seen two deep grooves, in which the basal joints of the antennae 
 can lie ; and it is to be noted that in death the antennae of 
 these Beetles are directed backwards, Ijang partly in the grooves, 
 so that the tip of the antenna comes close to the junction of 
 the head with the thorax. 
 
 In spite of the difficulties which attend the examination of 
 these insects, the entomologist will find his time well bestowed 
 upon them. Independently of other sources of interest, these 
 tiny Beetles are marvellously beautiful. Their colours are ex- 
 ceedingly various, and the richness and perfection of the 
 sculpture which adorns their tiny bodies must be seen to be 
 appreciated. It is as if the very exuberance of creative power 
 had sported with these little creatures, a thousand of which 
 could be contained in a lady's thimble, and yet which bear 
 upon every portion of their bodies a limitless profusion of 
 highly-elaborated ornament. The head and thorax are covered 
 with a multitude of deep impressions, at first seeming as if 
 scattered at random, but in reality disposed with most con- 
 summate art ; while the elytra baffle all attempts to describe 
 th6ir varied beauty. Agreeing in one point^ — namely, the bold 
 ridges which run longitudinally along them — they are of 
 
168 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 infinite variety in their details, so that a full description of all 
 the species would occupy well-nigh more than the space that 
 can be given to the whole of the Beetle tribe. 
 
 I have often thought, when examining these little beings 
 with the microscope, that artists in metals might find in them 
 and other Beetles an exhaustless mine of new and most beauti- 
 ful patterns ; and, indeed, artists, no matter in what depart- 
 ment, cannot do better than study the insect tribes, in order to 
 learn, many secrets of form and colour. 
 
 Tiny as they are, the Apions often do much damage to the 
 agriculturist, many of them living in peas and beans, as has 
 been stated of the Bruchus, some boring into the stems or 
 roots of plants, or making a gall-like excrescence on the leaves 
 or twigs. They specially frequent clover, and in a field of this 
 plant, and along the adjoining hedgerows, the entomologist 
 can take sufficient Apions in a morning to give him full em- 
 ployment during the wiijter months with his microscope. I 
 may here mention that some knowledge of drawing is a potent 
 help in the study of insects ; and, indeed, the note-book 
 and pencil should be always at hand. No matter how rude 
 may be the sketch, it is sure to be useful, and has a wonderful 
 power in fixing details in the mind. 
 
 On Woodcut XVII. Fig. 3, is shown Apion carduorum, 
 being about one-seventh of an inch long, while the generality of 
 Apions are not much more than half that length. The antenna 
 is represented at c, and the tarsus at/. The head and thorax 
 of this insect are black, with short shining hairs scattered very 
 thinly over the surface. Near the base of the head the an- 
 tennae are set upon two rather bold tubercles. The elytra are 
 of a verdigris-green, with a tinge of blue — a colour which is 
 rather common to this genus — and the spaces between the strife 
 are very flat. 
 
 Some eighty British species are known to entomologists, and 
 I would strongly recommend the beginner to lay aside the ex- 
 amination of these little beings until his eye is trained to 
 seizing details by some practice with the larger insects. 
 
 The specific name of this insect, carduorum, signifies ' of 
 the thistles,' and is given because it can be found upon that 
 plant. Indeed, the majority of the Apions are named after 
 the plants which they principally frequent. The reader will 
 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. 169 
 
 have uoticed that I have explained a considerable number of 
 the names of the insects, and that some are left unexplained. 
 The fact is that many names have no explanation. Systematic 
 entomologists, when they lind new genera crowding on them, 
 are quite at a loss for suitable names. They can manage 
 pretty well with the specific name, because they can take one 
 of the chief characters which marks the species, and give its 
 synonym in Cfreek or Latin. But this is not to be done with 
 the generic title, and so they are driven to various expedients 
 — such as calling a new genus after the name of some particular 
 friend, or a favourite child, or perhaps a pet dog or cat. 
 Having exhausted their resources, there yet remains another, 
 which will account for some of the remarkable names which 
 we see in entomological lists. Cut up some paper into small 
 squares, and write upon each of them a letter of the alphabet 
 — a child's toy alphabet will answer still better. Take at 
 random half a dozen letters, taking care to have a vowel or 
 two among them, arrange them on the table, and try if they 
 can be made into a pronounceable word. If not, take some more 
 letters and try again ; and when a word is at last formed, there 
 is the generic name ready. If a sort of classical air be thought 
 necessary, all that is required is to add us or utti at the end 
 of it. 
 
 Wa now come to the Weevils with elbowed antennae, the 
 first family of which is the Brachyderidae. In these insects 
 the head is short, wide, and set on the thorax without any 
 separate neck, a peculiarity which has gained for the family 
 the name of Brachyderidce, or ' short-necks.' 
 
 Our example of this family is Sitones lineatus, which is 
 represented on Woodcut XVII. Fig. 4. This genus is known 
 by the possession of wings, the short beak, and the third joint 
 of the antennae, which is shorter than the second. About 
 fourteen British species of this genus are acknowledged. The 
 present species is a pretty though not a brilliant insect. The 
 ground colour is black, but the body is clothed above with 
 scales of a warm-brown hue, while the under surface of the 
 body is similarly clothed, but with scales having a silvery 
 lustre. There is a central furrow on the disc of the thorax, and 
 a rather deep impression across its apex. The elytra are 
 
170 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 punctured and striated, with white interstices between the 
 striae. These white lines form the distinguishing characteristic 
 of the species, which is apt to be very variable in other respects. 
 
 The young entomologist must be very careful in handling 
 this and other scale-clad Weevils, as the scales are easily rubbed 
 off, so that nothing is seen but the dullTblack of the elytra. 
 A roughly-handled Weevil is just as unfit for the cabinet as 
 a butterfly with the rich plumage rubbed from its wings. 
 
 All the members of this genus are injurious to the crops, 
 especially clover and peas. The generic name of Sitones 
 (erroneously spelt Sitona by some entomologists) is a Grreek 
 word signifying a corn-dealer, and has been given to the Beetles 
 in consequence of their influence upon the harvests. 
 
 In the family of the Cleonidse, which comes next in order, 
 the beak is rather long and strong, and curved downwards in 
 some species with a very sudden bend. In the typical genus 
 the beak is larger than the head, and has the antennae set near 
 its end. The body is thickly covered with scales, and the 
 tibiae have a strong spine at the tip. Some of the largest 
 British Weevils are found among the members of this genus, 
 one of which, Cleonus nebulosus, is represented on Woodcut 
 XVII. Fig. 5. As may be seen by the line which accompanies 
 the figure, this is quite a large Weevil, sometimes being four- 
 fifths of an inch in length. As is the case with all the members 
 of its genus, its body is covered with scales, which in this 
 species are of an ashen-grey. The beak is also clothed with 
 scales, with the exception of a ridge, or keel, which runs along 
 its centre. The thorax, which has a white streak on each side, 
 is punctured and wrinkled, with a short ridge in the middle, 
 and on each side a number of small tubercles. The elytra are 
 deeply striated and punctated, and have several spots and two 
 distinct bands denuded of scales, as may be seen by reference 
 to the figure. The reader will see from the markings on this 
 insect how necessary is precaution in handling Weevils, as at 
 a very slight touch the scales will fall off, and the distinctive 
 spots and bands be no more distinguished. 
 
 These are all very hard-shelled Beetles, and require the use 
 of a needle-point in order to induce the fine entomological pin 
 to pass through their bodies. Their larvae feed upon the stems 
 
VAKIOUS WEEVILS. 
 
 171 
 
 of thistles, in which they may be found. There are four species 
 of this genus, of which one is exceedinoly rare, another suffi- 
 ciently rare to be valuable, while the other two are local, but 
 tolerably plentiful in the places to which they take a fancy. 
 The present species is moderately abundant in the New Forest. 
 The specific name of nebulosus, or cloudy, is given to this 
 
 1. Moljies gcrmanus. 2. Otiorhynchus picipes. 3. Pissodes pini. 4. Anthonomns 
 
 pomorum. 5. Balaniims nucum. a. Otiorhynchus, antenna. b. Otiorhynchus, larva. 
 
 c. Anthonomns. antenna. d. Anthonomus, maxillary palpus. e. Anthonomus, labial palpi. 
 /. Balaninus, pupa. 
 
 Beetle in allusion to the colouring of the body. Like many 
 other Beetles, this species is liable to some variety, the 
 scales of the head and thorax sometimes assuming a red hue, 
 and a line of similar colour running along the suture of the 
 elytra. 
 
 On Woodcut XVIII. Fig. 1, is represented a very fine example 
 of English Weevils. It is called Molytes germanus, and is so 
 
172 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 conspicuous that it cannot possibly be mistaken if seen. This 
 genus, of which two British species are known, is distinguished 
 by its broad, smooth, egg-shaped body, the minute and scarcely 
 visible scutellum, and the strong hook at the tip of the tarsi. 
 The colour of this species is shining-black, and the thorax is 
 deeply punctured, and marked with three irregular spots on 
 each side, the spots being composed of dull-yellow hairs. The 
 elytra are covered with many dull-yellow spots and a number 
 of shallow rounded impressions. 
 
 Both species of Molytes are found in chalky districts, and 
 the present species seems to be a very local one, Kent and 
 Sussex being the places where it has chiefly been found. 
 
 Another example of this family may be seen on Plate VI. 
 Fig. 6. This is the Beetle known by the name of Phytonomus 
 tigynnus, an insect which is found plentifully at Dover. In 
 this genus the antennae have twelve joints, the scape being 
 clubbed, and reaching to the eyes, the club being oval. The 
 beak is twice as long as the head, rounded and curved, the 
 elytra are thickly clothed with scales, and the tibiae are without 
 spurs. 
 
 The insects of this genus are remarkable for constructing 
 pensile cocoons when they are about to change into the perfect 
 state. One of these cocoons is represented just below the 
 Beetle. These cocoons are really wonderful examples of insect 
 art, and that they should be made by such a creature as a little 
 long-bodied hairy grub seems almost incredible. The form is 
 oval, and the material is silken thread secreted by the insect. 
 The peculiarity in these cocoons is that they are made of open 
 network, the meshes being large enough to admit an ordinary 
 pin. A very good imitation of one of these cocoons could be 
 made by taking some galvanised iron net, and forming it into 
 an egg-like shape ; for the threads of the cocoon are in their 
 way quite as strong as the wire. The cocoon represented in 
 the plate is of the natural size. 
 
 The larva always takes care to spin its cocoon on the under 
 surface of a leaf, so that it will not be seen unless the leaves be 
 lifted. As a rule, the young entomologist will find trhat the 
 under surfaces of leaves will often afford him a rich harvest, 
 when no sign of an insect is to be seen on the upper surface. 
 
COCOON-MAKING BEETLES. 173 
 
 Fourteen species of this genus are known, and all of them 
 make similar cocoons in which to pass their pupal existence. 
 
 These are not the only cocoon-making Weevils, for there is 
 another genus, Cionus, which is equally distinguished as an 
 architect. The cocoon of the Cionus resembles in every es- 
 sential that of the Pbytonomus, but is spherical instead of oval. 
 These insects feed on the mullein ; and the best plan to secure 
 the cocoon of the insect is to find out some place where 
 mulleins grow, and search them diligently. The Great Mullein 
 {Verhasaim thajjsus), which grows in waste grounds, on sandy 
 or gravelly soil, is nearly sure to furnish either tlie Beetle or 
 the cocoon, and perhaps both. Mr. Stephens states that he 
 took all the species of this genus upon a single mullein plant. 
 The Knotted-root Figwort {Scrophularia nodosa) is another of 
 their favourite plants. The generic name, Phytonomus, is 
 formed from two Greek words, and signifies 'herb-grazer.' 
 
 The next family is that of the Otiorhynchidce. This rather 
 crabbed name is compounded of two Greek words, the former 
 signifying an ear and the latter a nose or snout, and is given to 
 this family because the beak is developed at each side into a 
 flat ear-like lobe. The beak is short and stout, and the basal 
 joint of the antennae reaches beyond the' eyes when directed 
 backwards. 
 
 Of tins family our first example is Otiorhynchus picipes, 
 which is represented on Woodcut XVIII. Fig. 2. The typical 
 genus, to which this insect belongs, has the antennre long, and 
 generally set on the tip of the beak. The scutellum i^^often ' 
 absent, and where it does exist is very small; there are no 
 wings, and the body is egg-shaped and convex. In this genus 
 the ear-like lobes projecting at the tip of the beak, sometimes 
 termed winglets, are very well developed, and can be easily 
 seen with the aid of a magnifier. By these projections there is 
 a deep groove in which the antennas are set ; and in many of 
 the species the head has a most curious resemblance to that of 
 a moose when viewed sideways, the resemblance being increased 
 by the hairs with which the muzzle, if we may so call it, is 
 thickly set. 
 
 The insects of this genus are very destructive to plants and 
 fruit-trees, some species attaching themselves more particularly 
 
174 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 to definite plants, but the generality being in no wise par- 
 ticular as to the sort of plant, tree, or flower on which they 
 feed. The present species is very plentiful, and prefers young 
 leaves to every other kind of food. This fact shows tliat it is 
 one of the insects that are found in the spring time, and, by 
 beating whitethorn hedges about April and May, any number 
 can be procured. Although not brightly coloured, it is rather 
 a pretty Beetle. Its colour is chestnut-brown, and the elytra 
 are covered with a thick coating of scales, through which a few 
 stiff and shining bristles project. They are boldly striated, 
 each stria being composed of a series of circular impressions, 
 and between the striae is a row of elevated, smooth, blackish 
 tubercles. The thorax is very globular and thickly granulated. 
 
 The scales which have been just mentioned are found in the 
 members of this family generally, and are most lovely objects 
 when viewed under the microscope. The most beautiful of 
 these scales are to be found on the little green Weevils that are 
 so plentiful upon nettles and hedge-side plants. Seen by the 
 unaided eye, there is nothing remarkable about these insects, 
 which appear to be simple dull-green Beetles ; but if one of 
 them be placed under the microscope, and viewed with a half- 
 inch glass with light concentrated on it by a ' bull's-eye ' lens, 
 it undergoes a transformation like that of Cinderella when 
 touched by the fairy wand. The whole of its body, head, 
 thorax, and elytra is clad with rounded glittering scales, set in 
 regular order, the scales being larger and fewer on the under 
 side than on the upper side of the thorax. Their colour is 
 gold-green, the latter hue being strongest at their tips, but 
 both colou-rs shifting in accordance with the change of light. 
 The elytra are wonderfully beautiful, for they are boldly and 
 regularly ridged ; and as each ridge is densely covered with 
 scales, the play of colour upon them is really wonderful. As if 
 to give more richness to the colouring, the elytra themselves 
 are rich golden-brown, which would be very beautiful even 
 without the clothing of emerald scales, but which are quite 
 thrown into the shade by the beauty of their covering. 
 
 Nor do the wonders of the insect cease here. If a still 
 higher power be used, one for example which magnifies some 
 two-hundred diameters, each scale is seen to be shaped with 
 the most elaborate care. The form somewhat resembles that 
 
THE APRICOT WEEVIL. 175 
 
 of a battledore with the handle broken off, and the head rather 
 rounded. The surface is covered with ridges as regular as 
 those of the elytra from which it came, and each ridge projects 
 a little beyond the end of the side, so as to produce a series of 
 teeth. Over the whole of each scale the light plays with a 
 changing lustre, and indeed each tiny scale seems, when greatly 
 magnified, to reproduce in itself the splendid colours of the 
 entire insect. 
 
 Several other members of the typical genus are well known 
 to gardeners from the mischief which they do to the flowers and 
 fruits. For example, there is the Grooved Weevil (Otio- 
 rhynchis sulcatus), which is too plentiful in gardens, and has a 
 peculiar predilection for potted plants, getting just between the 
 root and the stem, and nibbling round the plant until it first 
 weakens, and then destroys it. Owing to the sober-grey 
 exterior of the Beetle, it is enabled to lie concealed on^the 
 very spot where it does so much harm ; its egg-shaped body, 
 . disguised with the particles of earth which cling to its scaled 
 and bristly surface, looking more Hke a dusty stone than an 
 insect. 
 
 The larva of this destructive Beetle was found by Messrs. 
 Westwood and Haworth busily engaged in devouring the roots 
 of a species of Sedum, which had been potted. This larva is 
 rather long in proportion to its width, and is covered with 
 short stiff hairs, by means of which it is able to push its way 
 through the earth. It lives but a very little below the surface 
 of the ground, and never eats any portion of the plant that 
 makes its way into the open air, and, as it continues to 
 feed throughout the winter months, does an enormous amount 
 of unsuspected mischief. It changes to the pupa state about 
 May or June, and assumes the perfect form in three or four 
 weeks. 
 
 Another of these Beetles is popularly known by the name of 
 Apricot Weevil {Otiorhynchus tenebricosus), because it chiefly 
 attacks those fruit-trees which are nailed against the wall, 
 the apricot often suffering direfully from its inroads. This 
 Beetle is pitchy-black and rather shining ; and, when examined 
 through a lens, the head, thorax, and elytra are seen to be 
 thickly granulated, while on the elytra are also regular rows of 
 punctures. It may seem strange, but it really is the case that 
 
176 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 these striae, composed of tiny punctures, are more apparent to 
 the naked eye than under the lens, which brings out the granu- 
 lations in bold relief, and throws the punctures into the shade. 
 
 If the Beetle be examined sideways and turned gradually 
 roimd, a narrow line of warm-chesfenut appears near the edge 
 of the elytra, always shifting as the body of the insect revolves. 
 When the Eeetle is placed under the microscope, and a half- 
 inch power brought to bear on it, this chestnut hue is seen to 
 be occasioned by a number of short reddish bristles, which, 
 vhen viewed from above, are too few to have any perceptible 
 effect on the pitchy-black of the body ; but, when seen in pro- 
 file, so that a number of them are brought into the field of 
 view, are able to assert themselves and develope their colour. 
 The reader may easily see a parallel case by looking at the 
 back of the hand first from above, and then by viewing it, side- 
 ways against the light. In the first case the hairs scattered 
 over the surface almost escape observation, while in the latter 
 case they assume quite an important aspect. The bristles of 
 this Beetle, by the way, are easily rubbed off, and therefore the 
 chestnut line is not seen to advantage except in young speci- 
 mens that have been carefully handled, as is the case with the 
 example from which I write this description. 
 
 It is common in hedges, and there does no great harm, but 
 when it takes to invading our orchards, its presence cannot be 
 permitted. It is fond of lurking under the loose bark of grape- 
 vines, in the earth around the roots of the fruit-trees, along 
 the bases of the walls, and in old nail-holes. All these places 
 should be searched, the base of the walls well drenched occa- 
 sionally with tobacco-water, the loose bark stripped from the 
 vines, and the nail-h( les stopped with mortar. In the present 
 genus, as now restricted, eighteen British species are acknow- 
 ledged. 
 
 Next comes the family of the Erirhinidse. This name is 
 compounded from two Greek words, which signify ' long- 
 beaked,' and is given to the family because their beaks are of 
 considerable length, nearly as long indeed as the thorax. 
 The first pair of legs are set very close to each other. 
 
 On Plate VI. Fig. 7, may be seen one of the Beetles 
 belonging to this family, together with the home in which it 
 
PINE BEETLES. l77 
 
 resides while in the larval state. Its name is Lvxus hicolor. 
 The genus to which this insect belongs is known by its 
 elongated, narrow, cylindrical body, its long and nearly 
 straight beak, and the sharp and strong hook at the end of the 
 tibioe. This singularly beautiful insect derives its name of hi- 
 color, or two-coloured, from the hue of the body, which la 
 clothed witli thick scarlet and yellow down. This splendid 
 coat, however, is easily rubbed off, and hence it is difficult to 
 obtain a specimen in really good condition. Thistles and ge- 
 raniums form the usual habitation of this Beetle, which burrows 
 into the interior of the stem, and there remains until it has 
 undergone its changes. Deal is one of the places where this 
 beautiful Beetle is found ; and the best mode of obtaining good 
 specimens is, therefore, to examine carefully the roots and 
 stems of the plants on which it feeds, and if a swelling should 
 appear on any of them, to pull up the plant, take it home, and 
 keep it alive, if possible, until the Beetle makes its appear- 
 ance. Owing to the extreme delicacy of the downy coat, the 
 laurel-bottle is needed for the various Lixi, as, if left to run 
 about in a box or bottle, they would sadly damage their 
 beautiful clothing. Even when the fatal bottle has received 
 them, care should be taken that it be carried steadily, so as to 
 avoid shaking the delicate insect against its sides. 
 
 Mr. Hope mentions in his MS. notes that he has taken 
 two species of Lixus — namely, Lixua paraplecticits, a wonder- 
 fully long and thin Beetle, and Lixus angustatua — near Oxford, 
 both on flags growing in the Isis. 
 
 On Woodcut XVIII. Fig. 3, is seen a magnified representa- 
 tion of another Beetle belonging to this family. Its name is 
 Pissodes pini. This genus has the beak quite as long as the 
 .thorax, and the body is egg-shaped, but long in proportion to 
 its diameter. The species which is represented in the illustra- 
 tion is a northern insect, and is found in Scotland, where it is 
 plentiful among fir-trees. It is a handsome Beetle, its colour 
 being rich red-brown, variegated with golden spots. 
 
 Mr. Eye describes the habits of this insect in the following 
 words : — ' Pissodes . . . frequents pine forests, one species, Pis- 
 sodes pini, abounding in many parts of Scotland, where I have 
 eeen the iemale with her rostrum deeply buried in the soft part 
 
 M 
 
178 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 between the outer bark and solid timber of fresh-cut fir-trees. 
 In the hole thus formed an egg is deposited, the larva proceed- 
 ing from which eats galleries under the bark until it is full- 
 grown, when it closes its retreat with particles of wood, grass, 
 &c., and changes to a pupa. The perfect insects . . . cling 
 very tightly to the fingers when handled.' The name Pissodea 
 is formed from a Greek word signifying pitch, and is given to 
 these insects because they inhabit the fir-tree. 
 
 Theee is an insect, belonging to the same family, which is 
 too well known to gardeners by the name of Apple Weevil 
 (Anthonomus pomoruTn). Unlike the Weevils which attack 
 the roots and stems of plants, this insect confines itself to the 
 flowers, a circumstance which has caused entomologists to give it 
 and its kin the name of Anthonomus, or ' flower-dweller.' In this 
 genus the body is egg-shaped and convex, but rather long, the 
 tibiae are widened in the middle, and the femora are toothed. 
 The insect is 'represented on Woodcut XVIII. Fig. 4, the form 
 of the antenna is shown at c, the maxillary palpus at d, and 
 the labial palpi at e. 
 
 The colour is brown mottled with chestnut, and on the elytra 
 is a bold white mark much like the letter V. This Beetle may 
 be found in the winter time under the bark of trees, and if 
 touched will at once drop to the ground, where it can hardly 
 be seen. Towards the beginning of March- the time depending 
 much on the state of the weather — the Apple Weevil awakes 
 from its dormant state, and flies abroad in search of a mate. 
 The future proceedings of the insect have been admirably told 
 by Mr. E. Newman, in his ' Letters of Eusticus ' : — 
 
 ' By the time the female is ready for the important task of 
 depositing her eggs, the spring has considerably advanced, the 
 apple-buds have burst, and the little bunches of blossom are 
 readily to be distinguished. The Weevil soon finds out these, 
 and, selecting a blossom every way to her mind, commences her 
 operations. The beak or trunk, before alluded to, is furnished 
 at its extremity with short teeth or mandibles : with these 
 she gnaws a very minute hole into the calyx of the future blos- 
 som, and continues gnawing until the trunk is plunged in up 
 to her eyes ; the trunk is then withdrawn, and the hole ex- 
 amined with careful scrutiny by the introduction of one of her 
 feelers, or outer prongs of her trident. If it seem to reqmre 
 
THE APPLE WEEVIL. 179 
 
 any alteration, the trunk goes to work again, and again the 
 feelers ; at last, being fully satisfied that the work is well ac- 
 complished, she turns about, and, standing with the extremity 
 of her abdomen over the hole, thrusts into it her long oviposi- 
 tor, an instrument composed of a set of tubes retractile one 
 within the other, and deposits a single egg (never more) in the 
 very centre of the future flower. Another examination with 
 her feelers now takes place ; and when she is thoroughly satis- 
 fied that all is right, away she flies to perform the same opera- 
 tion again and again, never tiring while she has an egg to lay. 
 
 ' The bud continues to grow like the other buds ; the little 
 perforation becomes invisible. By and by the egg bursts, and 
 out comes a little white maggot, with neither legs nor wings. 
 This maggot, directly it is hatched, begins to devour the young 
 and tender stamens ; next to these the style is attacked, and 
 eaten down to the fruit, the upper part of which is quickly 
 consumed : the maggot is then full-fed ; it casts its skin, be- 
 comes a chrysalis, and lies perfectly still. Up to ttis time the 
 blossom has continued healthy, no trace of the enemy being to 
 be discovered without ; but when the neighbouring blossoms 
 are expanding their petals to the genial breath of spring, those ' 
 of the mutilated bud remain closed, and retain the arched, 
 balloon-like appearance of a bud about to burst. For a few 
 days they preserve their lovely pink colour, and then, by 
 degrees, fade to dingy-brown. In this state they remain until 
 the other apples are well knit ; and then the damaged blossoms, 
 by their decided contrast, appear very conspicuous. On open- 
 ing these brown, or rather rust-coloured, blossoms between 
 June 10 and 15, the chrysalis will be found to have changed to 
 a perfect Beetle, similar to its parent, above described, which, 
 had it been left to itself, would in a few days have eaten its 
 way through the weather-beaten case of dried petals and left its 
 prison-house, flying about to take its pleasure, until the chilly 
 winds of autumn should drive it to its winter habitation under 
 the bark.' 
 
 The insect also conceals itself under stones, sticks, leaves, or 
 other rubbish lying under the trees, so that the gardener who 
 cares for his fruit-trees will do well to scrape together all these 
 sticks and leaves, and burn them about the beginning of 
 February. Five English species belong to this genus. 
 
 n2 
 
180 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 We now come to a Beetle which has doubtlessly annoyed 
 many of my readers, especially if they should happen to be, or 
 to have been, schoolboys. When cracking a filbert after the 
 primitive fashion, it is by no means pleasant to find the shell 
 of the nut yield sooner than expected, and the • mouth filled 
 with a bitter black powder, instead of the richly-flavoured 
 kernel. There are few things nastier in their way than such a 
 nut, and the fault lies entirely with the Nut Weevil {Balaninus 
 nucum), a figure of which is given on Woodcut XVIII. Fig. 5. 
 This is a very curious Beetle, its beak being as fine as a needle, 
 very long and very much curved, so that the insect, when 
 viewed in profile, looks something like a shoemaker's awl. A 
 much magnified view of the head and beak is given on 
 Woodcut XV*. Fig. a. 
 
 This genus is at once known by the long and slender beak, 
 which is nearly as long as the triangular body. The antennae 
 are set in the middle of the beak. The present species is rather 
 prettily coloured. The general colour is soft-brown, but the 
 qlytra have a nearly white mark shaped like the letter U, its 
 outlines being defined by two black bands. The scutellum is 
 white. These colours are produced by the clothing of down 
 with which the insect is covered, and when the down is rubbed 
 off, the Beetle becomes nearly black. 
 
 The life story of this Beetle is very simple. As soon as the 
 nut blossom has fallen, and the fruit has fairly ' set,' the female 
 Weevil begins her work. She bores a hole into the young and 
 still soft fruit, and in the hole she deposits a single egg, re- 
 peating the process until she has disposed of her whole stock 
 of eggs. Her business in life is now finished, and she dies. 
 Meanwhile, the eggs are hatched, and the young larvae begin 
 to feed on the substance of the nut, carefully avoiding a vital 
 part, so that, to all external appearances, the nut is perfectly 
 sound and good, though three-quarters of its substance may 
 have been eaten by the larva — the little white, fat-bodied 
 grub which we all know so well. As soon as the larva is full- 
 fed, it nibbles a round hole through the shell of the nut, 
 escapes through it and falls to the ground, into which it wriggles 
 its way, and then undergoes its transformations. 
 
 As the grub is concealed within the nut until all the mis- 
 chief is done, there is scarcely any possibility of checking the 
 
THE NUT WEEVIL AND ITS KIN. 
 
 181 
 
 evil. It has been suggested that, as the nuts which have been 
 attacked by this Beetle become rather loose on their stems, the 
 branches should be beaten before the nuts are ripe, and all the 
 fruit that falls should be burned. Eight species of this genus 
 are known. The larva of the Nut Weevil is shown on Woodcut 
 XVIII. Fig. 6, and the pupa at /. The name Balaninus is 
 
 5IK 
 
 1. Tychius venustus. 
 5. Sitophilus oryzae. 
 d. Orchestes, antenna. 
 
 2. Orchestes fagi. 
 a. Coeliodes, head. 
 
 3. Orobites cyaneus. 
 6. Orchestes, head. 
 
 4. Coeliodes quercfts. 
 c. Orchestes, hind leg. 
 
 derived from a Grreek word, signifying an acorn, because the 
 acorn as well as the nut is attacked by species of the same 
 genus. 
 
 The genus Tychius has also a long beak, but the body is 
 rounded and oval instead of triangular, and the thorax is nearly 
 globular. An example of this genus, Tychius venustus^ is 
 given on Woodcut XIX. Fig. 1. These are all pretty insects, 
 
182 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 their b-xiies being thickly clothed with variously coloured 
 scales. The present species is one of the prettiest of them, 
 although its colours are not brilliant. The upper part of the 
 body is covered with ashen-grey scales, the elytra being striated 
 and punctated, with very narrow and delicate white longitu- 
 dinal streaks. Beneath, it is pure white. This seems to be 
 rather a local insect, but is found plentifully in certain spots, 
 of which Darenth Wood is one. It frequents plants of the 
 vetch tribe, and has been taken on the broom. 
 
 We now come to a strange genus of Weevils, strange in their 
 forms, and strange in their ways. They are all very tiny 
 Beetles, rarely more than the tenth of an inch in length, and 
 generally much less. The femora of the hind legs are ex- 
 ceedingly thick and strong, and the Beetle uses them for leap- 
 ing, an exercise which it pursues with wonderful agility. 
 
 From this peculiarity, the genus is named Orchestes, a word 
 which signifies ' leaper.' One of these Beetles, Orchestes fagi, 
 a name which may be translated as ' beech-hopper,' is repre- 
 sented on Woodcut XIX. Fig. 2, its head is shown at Fig. 6, 
 and its hind leg at Fig. c. 
 
 Small as are these Beetles, they are able to do a vast amount 
 of harm, not so much in their perfect as in their larval state. 
 The larvse of this genus are long and flat, as is necessary for 
 their mode of life. They burrow into the leaves of various 
 trees, penetrating between the upper and under layer of the 
 leaf, and feeding on the ' parenchyma,' a soft green substance 
 that lies between them. Mr. Curtis mentions some observa- 
 tions which he made on the habits of the insect which we have 
 taken as our example : — 
 
 'In 1832, Lord Farnham informed me that the beech-trees 
 on his estate in Cavan, Ireland, had for the last three or four 
 years suffered, not only in appearance, from the leaves being 
 partially blighted by a species of these insects, Orchestes fagi, 
 in June and the beginning of July, when they assumed an 
 autumnal appearance, but the general health of the trees 
 seemed to be considerably impaired. It appeared that, on the 
 bud opening, it was immediately occupied by the Orchestes, 
 which perforated the leaves, and to so great an extent that 
 scarcely a tree escaped. 
 
THE CRYPTORHYNCHID^. 183 
 
 'On June 10, in the previous year, in a ramble through the 
 New Forest, I observed that the leaves of the trees looked very 
 brown, and those of the beech were quite blistered. This I at first 
 attributed to the severe frost we had in the morning of May 6, 
 but on examining them I found a larva inclosed in each leaf, 
 which in a short time clianged to Orchestes fagi ; so that at 
 the period when Lord Farnliam observed it in Ireland, this 
 Beetle seems to have been equally abundant in England.' 
 
 Twelve species of this genus are known in England, and 
 most of them are named after the trees which they inhabit. 
 Many more species are described by the older entomologists, 
 but it has now been ascertained that many supposed species 
 are nothing but varieties, our present example having been 
 described under five names. The colour of this species is black, 
 with the exception of a reddish down scattered rather sparingly 
 over the elytra. It is, however, a variable insect, sometimes 
 having the downy clothing green instead of red. 
 
 We now come to a family of Weevils called Cryptorhynchidse. 
 This name is composed of two Greek words, signifying ' hidden 
 snout,' and is given to this group of Beetles because they have 
 the beak bent downwards, and capable of being received into a 
 groove on the under side of the body. This attitude is as- 
 sumed when the Beetle is in repose or alarmed. On Woodcut 
 XIX. Fig. 4, is represented one of these insects, named Cceliodes 
 quercus, the head of which is shown at Fig. a. In this genus 
 the hollow in which the beak lies is between the first and 
 middle pairs of legs, and it is on account of this channel that 
 the name Cosliodes, or ' hollowed,' has been given to the genus. 
 
 These are all very little, dumpy-bodied, sober-coloured 
 insects, and, when placed under the microscope, they bear a 
 curious resemblance to the apteryx, whose round body and long 
 curved beak almost exactly reproduce the form of the Weevil. 
 They are generally to be found on nettles, and can be taken with 
 the sweep-net. Owing to the rotundity of their bodies, they are 
 very difficult subjects for the setting board. Moreover, in 
 death, the head always bends itself downwards, and the beak 
 tucks itself so firmly into its groove, that to bring it out with- 
 out injuring the insect is no easy matter. 
 
 Although this species is not a brilliantly-coloured one, it is 
 
184 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 very pretty when viewed through a lens. The colotir is pitchy- 
 black, the head and thorax being thickly granulated. The 
 elytra are striated and punctated, and are variegated by a few 
 whitish patches. The under surface of the body is clothed with 
 white down. As its specific name implies, it is to be found 
 upon the oak. 
 
 Our next example of this family is Orobites cyaneus. The 
 genus is knowm by its globular and polished body, and the 
 short groove on the chest. The insect which is figured is the 
 only British species of its genus, and is by no means common. 
 Vetches are good localities for it, and it has been found on 
 willows and in hedgerows. Its colour is very dark-blue^ and 
 it has a curious way of avoiding observation if alarmed. As 
 the reader may see by reference to the illustration, its legs are 
 rather long in proportion to its body ; yet, it possesses the 
 power of packing them so tightly under its body, that it looks 
 more like a dry polished seed than an insect, and, in order to 
 assist the deception, it is instinctively taught to remain per- 
 fectly still as long as any sign of danger remains. The generic 
 name Orobites is Grreek, and signifies ' vetch-eating,' and the 
 specific name cyaneus signifies ' dark-blue,' so that both titles 
 are perfectly appropriate. 
 
 Omitting of necessity several genera of these insects, we 
 come to one which is among the most destructive of the group. 
 This is the Eice Weevil [Sitophilus oi^yzce), which is shown 
 on Woodcut XIX. Fig. 5. The generic name of Sitophilus 
 signifies ' grain-lover,' and is given to the insect on account of 
 the terrible havoc which it makes in corn-stores. It belongs 
 to the family Calandridse, of which there is only one British 
 genus, that which has just been mentioned. In this family the 
 antennae have eight joints, the last joint being large and 
 rounded. The body is rather flat, and the elytra, which are 
 boldly striated, do not quite cover the end of the abdomen. 
 There is another species, the Corn Weevil {Sitophilus grana- 
 Hus), which feeds upon com as the present species does on 
 rice. The Eice Weevil is distinguished by having four red 
 spots on the elytra, the Corn Weevil being altogether dusky- 
 red. 
 
RAVAGES OF THE RICE "WTEEVIL. 185 
 
 Like the Nut Weevil, these insects do their destructive work 
 in secret, and there is no finding out the mischief until it is 
 too late. The mother Weevil — tiny herself — inhabits a tiny- 
 hole in a grain of corn, and therein deposits a single egg. The 
 larva is soon hatched from the egg, and sets to work at feeding 
 in the interior of the grain, the whole of which it consumes, 
 leaving the exterior untouched, so that the grain appears quite 
 sound. Of course, the damaged grain is lighter than the sound 
 one, the body of the larva not compensating in weight for the 
 amount of substance devoured by it ; and, if the corn be thrown 
 into water, the damaged corn will rise to the surface, and may 
 be skimmed off and burned. As, however, damaged corn and 
 rice can both command a sale, and as all damaged grain is 
 not attacked by the Weevil, the dealers will seldom employ 
 such a measure ; though to destroy all the light corn for the 
 sake of killing the Weevils would in the long run be more 
 profitable than keeping it for sale and allowing the Weevils 
 to live. 
 
 The destruction wrought by these tiny foes can scarcely be 
 over-estimated, but some idea of it may be estimated from the 
 following statements which were made at the Entomological 
 Society, April 4, 1870. Seventy-four tons of Spanish wheat 
 had been carefully sifted or ' screened ' to separate the Weevils 
 from it, and out of this quantity ten hundrechveight of Weevils 
 were sifted. Again, one hundred and forty-five tons of Ameri- 
 can maize were subjected to the same process, and at two siftings 
 a ton and three-quarters of Weevils were removed. Now, each 
 of these Beetles had consumed several times its own weight of 
 corn before it attained the perfect state : and the reader may see 
 that, if the grain had been subjected to the water-test and the 
 light portion burned, the proprietor would have saved the cost 
 of some two tons of corn, instead of all owing it to be eaten by 
 these insect devourers, the stock of whom increased in propor- 
 tion to the diminution of the stores. It is rather a remarkable 
 fact that all these Beetles were Eice, and not Corn Weevils, 
 although there was no rice among the grain which they so 
 seriously damaged. 
 
 The larva of these Beetles is very short, fat, and thick, and 
 has two recurved hooks at the end of the body. It remains 
 inside the grain throughout its larval and pupal life. 
 
186 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 There has been some controversy among systematic entomo- 
 logists with regard to the insects which come next in order. 
 Some, thinking that they ought to form a separate group, have 
 given them the name of Xylophagi, i.e. ' timber-eaters ; ' while 
 others have contended that they are really Weevils, and ought 
 to form the last family of that group. The weight of opinion 
 seems to be on the latter side, and we will therefore take some 
 examples of the family of Weevils, called Hylesinidse, i.e. 
 ' wood-devourers.' The name is a very appropriate one, as we 
 shall presently see. 
 
 In this family of Weevils the head has but a very short beak, 
 and is globular in shape and deeply sunk in the thorax. The 
 antennae are elbowed, and have a long basal joint and a flattened 
 club. The front tibiae are broad at the tip, and used for dig- 
 ging purposes, and the mandibles are short, strong, sharp, and 
 triangular. They are all timber-feeders, and sometimes work 
 terrible destruction in the forests, even when the trees are still 
 living. 
 
 Our first example of this insect is called Hylesinus crenatus, 
 and is represented on Woodcut XX. Fig. 1. This genus may 
 be known by the long oval club of the antennae, and the slight 
 spurs of the tibiae. The colour of this insect is black, the 
 thorax is thickly and boldly punctured. The elytra are pitchy- 
 black, and are both striated and ' crenated,' i.e. covered with 
 marks like parts of circles. From this peculiarity, the insect 
 has derived its specific title, crenatus. The interstices between 
 the striae are wrinkled. The body is covered with down, and 
 rather elongated. This is not a very common insect, but may 
 be found under the bark of old trees. Four species of this 
 genus inhabit England. 
 
 On Woodcut XX. Fig. 2, is shown the most destructive 
 wood-eating Beetle that we have in this country. Its name is 
 Scolytus destructor^ and a very appropriate name it is, the 
 generic name being of Oreek origin, and referring to the wind- 
 ing passages or burrows which it makes when in the larval 
 state, and the specific name explaining itself. There are six 
 species of British Scolyti, but the present example serves as 
 the best type of the whole genus. This genus is distinguished 
 
THE SCOLYTUS. 
 
 187 
 
 by the shape of its body, which is obliquely cut off behind, and 
 by the club of the antenna;, which is three-jointed, solid, and 
 flattened. The last joint but one of the tarsus is cleft. 
 
 The colour of our species is slightly variable, but is mostly 
 as follows-: — The head is black, wrinkled longitudinally, and 
 the thorax is very large in proportion to the size of the insect, 
 
 1. Hylesinus crenatus. 2. Scolytus destructor. 3. Prionus ccriarius. 4. Tomicus 
 typographicu?. 5. CalliJium violaceum. a. Prionus, larva. 0. Tomicus, larva, 
 
 c. Scolytus, larva. 
 
 and is covered with very small punctures. The elytra are 
 sometimes black, sometimes pitchy, and sometimes, bright- 
 chestnut, and are striated, the spaces between the strise being 
 punctm'ed. So much for the appearance of this Beetle — we 
 will now proceed to its history. 
 
 When the mother Scolytus is about to deposit her eggs, she 
 flies to a tree, and searches about the bark for a favourable 
 spot. Having found it, she sets to work and gnaws a hole 
 
188 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 com2)letely througli the bark, until she gets between the bark 
 and the solid wood. She next drives a tunnel, scarcely wider 
 than her own body, and then goes back along the tunnel, and 
 deposits her eggs along it. In many cases" she exhausts all her , 
 life-powers in the effort, and dies before she can entirely escape 
 from the burrow, the entrance of which is stopped up by her 
 body, so that no foe can enter. 
 
 The eggs are soon hatched, and then the larvse begin their 
 destructive work. They feed on the soft inner bark, and each 
 larva, as it feeds, instinctively turns itself at right angles to the 
 burrow in which it was hatched, and gnaws for itself a tunnel, 
 which widens in proportion to the growth of the larva. These 
 burrows extend for an inch and a half or two inches in length, 
 and the result is, that a piece of bark, some three inches or 
 more in diameter, is completely severed from the tree and can 
 no longer perform its office. At the widened end of the burrow 
 the larvse assume the pupal form, and, after undergoing their 
 change into the perfect insect, gnaw their way through the 
 bark, and are ready to lay the foundations of new colonies. 
 
 When a great number of these insects bore into a tree, they 
 often destroy it entirely, the bark being separated as com- 
 pletely from the wood as turf is severed from the ground when 
 the spade is passed under it. There is a tree — or rather, what 
 was a tree — standing within a few yards of my house, which 
 has been killed by the Scolytus. The whole of the bark has 
 peeled off, and nothing is left but the naked wood, scored all 
 over with the radiating tunnels of the destroying insect. 
 
 Should the reader wish to examine this insect for himself, 
 he will find no difficulty in so doing. He has only to visit any 
 place where elm-trees grow, and he is nearly sure to find the 
 Scolytus under the bark. August is perhaps the best time for 
 the purpose, as then the perfect insects, the larvse, and the 
 pupsB can be discovered. The larva is white, thick, and fleshy, 
 the back is deeply wrinkled — probably to aid the creature in 
 forcing its way through the wood, this being an absolute con- 
 dition of existence. It cannot remain in the same place, 
 because it grows so fast that the unyielding substances around 
 would not permit its increase in size, and it would in conse- 
 quence soon perish. It is forced, therefore, to push itself 
 onwards, and to occupy the space which was originally filled 
 
D.\J\L\GE TO ELM TREES. 189 
 
 by the wood aud bark ou which it has fed, and for this purpose 
 the bold wriukliugs of the upper surface afford as useful means 
 of progression to the insect as the ventral scales of the snake 
 do to the reptile. The head is hard and scaly, and the jaws 
 are exceedingly powerful. One of these larvae is shown on 
 Woodcut XX. Fig. c. 
 
 When nearly full-fed, the greater number of the larvse 
 burrow directly into the tree, making holes about half an inch 
 in depth, at the bottom of which they are quite safe, even 
 thougli tlie bark should fall oif, as is often the case. Tliey are, 
 further, protected from weather and the eyes of hungry birds 
 by the ' frass,' or digested remains of the wood, which fills up 
 the tunnel behind the larva. It is much doubted whether the 
 Scolytus ever attacks a healthy tree, principally, as is con- 
 jectured, because in such trees the bmTOWS of the insects are 
 filled with sap, which not only drives out the Beetles, but pre- 
 vents their eggs from being hatched. Still, when a tree 
 becomes unhealthy, the attacks of the Scolytus prevent it from 
 recovering itself; and such serious damage has been done by 
 this insect to our trees, especially the elms in and about 
 London, that the attention of entomologists has long been 
 directed to the subject, in hopes of discovering s6me device by 
 which the ravages of the Scolytus may be checked, if not 
 altogether stopped. As yet, however, no scheme has suc- 
 ceeded. Various plans have been suggested, such as injecting 
 poisonous fluids into the hole made by the mother Scolytus. 
 This might possibly answer, provided the operator could be 
 sure of discovering all the holes, and provided that the liquid 
 did not kill the tree as well as the insect. The ' Grishurst 
 Compound ' would do as much in this way as anything could, 
 but it cannot be employed on a large scale. 
 
 At present, the opinion seems to be that the only plan which 
 oflfers the least probability of success is a ' stamping out ' pro- 
 cess, similar to that which saved us in the time of the cattle- 
 plague. By this plan, all trees which are visibly attacked by 
 the Scolytus are to be cut down, and stripped of their bark and 
 the outer layer of wood, which are then to be burned, so as to 
 destroy the Scolytus, its larvae, pupae, and eggs. 
 
 Dr. Chapman states that all the species of Scolytus are in the 
 habit of fighting with each other. They 'have a fashion of 
 
190 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 placing Iheir foreheads against other individuals, and giving a 
 thrust by pushing forward the jaws. They employ this process 
 to remove another Beetle from a station which they desire to 
 occupy ; it appears also to be an expression of anger, sometimes 
 two Beetles having an encounter in this way ; and they use the 
 same movement in recomm.ending themselves to the other sex.' 
 
 Our last example of the Weevils is a tiny Beetle, which, 
 though quite as destructive as the Scolytus, is, happily for us, 
 not nearly so plentiful. It is called Tomicus typographicus, 
 and a figure of it is given on Woodcut XX. Fig. 4. This 
 genus is distinguished by the club of the antennae, which is 
 four-jointed and rounded. The present species is blackish, 
 clothed with rather long yellow hair. The thorax is very long, 
 and there is a space between it and the elytra, which are deeply 
 striated and punctated ; the spaces between the striae being 
 convex and smooth. The apex of the elytra is abrupt and 
 rather turned up, and has six distinct teeth, the fourth being 
 the largest. 
 
 This insect attacks the fir, and in some parts of Europe does 
 even worse harm to those trees than the. Scolytus does to the 
 elm in this country. The larva makes tunnels under the bark, 
 but, instead of proceeding in a tolerably straight line, as does the 
 larva of Scolytus, it makes a devious tracks which often presents 
 a fanciful resemblance to letters ; hence its name of typo- 
 grapkicus, or ' letter-writer.' 
 
 In the pine-producing districts of Germany there is great 
 dread of this Beetle, which is popularly called the Turk, the 
 tracks left by its larva being known by the name of Wurm- 
 trockniss. So terrible are sometimes the ravages of this Beetle, 
 that towards the end of the last century more than a million 
 and a half of trees were destroyed by the Tomicus in the Hartz 
 forest alone, without reckoning those that perished in other 
 parts of the country. Thirteen species of this genus are known 
 to inhabit England, and some of them are plentiful. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 LONGJCORNES. 
 
 This group of Beetles derives its name from the shape of the 
 antennge, which are generally long, though in some of our 
 commonest species they are only of moderate length ; but, 
 whether they be long or short, they are never clubbed, and are 
 mostly slender and thread-like. Their head is not lengthened 
 into a beak like that of the preceding group, and the elytra are 
 always broader at the base than the thorax. There are other 
 peculiarities of structure, but these are quite sufficient to dis- 
 tinguish them. Indeed, there is something so characteristic 
 in the appearance of a Lougicom Beetle, that even a novice 
 finds no difficulty in recognising it. 
 
 They are all wood-borers in the larval condition, and are 
 thin, long, whitish grubs, rather flattened, and with the seg- 
 ments boldly marked. By means of this latter structure, the 
 larvae are able to force their way through the wooden tunnels in 
 which they live. They possess the usual six legs, but these 
 limbs are only rudimentary, and of no use in locomotion. One 
 of these larvse is shown on Woodcut XX. Fig. a. As the grub 
 has to feed upon hard material, it is furnished with very strong 
 horny jaws, and, in order to accommodate the muscles which 
 move these jaws, the head is very broad and covered with a hard 
 skin, nearly as strong indeed as the jaws themselves. In conse- 
 quence of their habits, the proceedings of the larvae are difficult 
 of observation, and require machinery such as few entomolo- 
 gists can hope to possess. Still, by carefully opening the trees 
 which are infested by these destructive insects, much can be 
 learned of their habits, and many pleasant and instructive 
 hours can be spent in this task. We will now proceed to 
 examine some of the British species of the Longicorn Beetles. 
 
 OuK first example is the largest, though by no means the 
 
192 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 handsomest, of our Long-horned Beetles. It is called Prionu8 
 coriarius, and is represented of the natural size on Woodcut 
 XX. Fig. 3. It is the only British representation of its 
 family, the Prionidse, though there are many exotic species 
 belonging to it. In this family the labrum is so small that it 
 is scarcely visible, while the mandibles are large and strong. 
 The antennse are moderately serrated, and inserted just above 
 the base of the mandibles, and the head is not narrowed behind 
 into a neck. The thorax is rather squared and furnished with 
 spines at the sides, and the elytra are lengthened, with blunt 
 spines at the tips. 
 
 The colour of this Beetle is blackish-brown above and chest- 
 nut-brown below, the colour being, however, rather variable in 
 different individuals. Like the Stag Beetle it is exceedingly 
 variable in size, some specimens being twice as large as others, 
 the difference in size being probably owing to the quality and 
 quantity of the food. The larva is white, flattish, broad at the 
 part which will afterwards become the thorax, but narrowing 
 towards the tail. The rings, or segments, are deeply marked, 
 and the legs are very small, the grub being able to force 
 itself through its burrow by the alternate extension and con- 
 traction of its body. In this task it is aided by certain fleshy 
 projections attached to the segments which constitute the 
 abdomen. One of these larv« is shown on Woodcut XX. 
 Fig. a. 
 
 When it is nearly full-fed, it makes its way towards the bark 
 of the tree on which it feeds, and then forms from the wood- 
 chips a cocoon, in which it awaits its change into the pupal form. 
 In this stage of development, the long and boldly notched an- 
 tennse are laid along the sides of the body, over the elytra. 
 
 This is not a common Beetle, being necessarily restricted to 
 wooded districts. It is, however, much more plentiful than is 
 generally supposed, owing to its peculiar habits, which with- 
 draw it from the notice of all but skilful entomologists, who 
 not only know where to look for it, but how to recognise it 
 when they see it. For the Prionus is a lazy, sluggish sort of 
 insect, which seldom betrays itself to the unpractised eye. It 
 is essentially a being of darkness, and, contrary to the habits 
 of many Beetles, carries into its adult life the darkling ways 
 of its early stages of existence. During the day it remains 
 
PLATE VI. 
 
 GLOW-WORM, OIL-BEETLES, WEEVILS, LONG-HORNS, 
 AND LADY-BIRDS. 
 
 if 
 
 1. Lampyris noctiluca (Male). 
 
 2. Lampyris noctiluca (Female). 
 
 3. Meloe cicatricosus (Male). 
 
 4. Meloe cicatricosus (Female). 
 
 o. Meloe cicatricosus, larva (full grown). 
 
 6. Phytonoinus tigrinus. 
 
 7. Lixus bicolor. 
 
 8. Lixus bicolor, nest. 
 
 9. Aromia moschata. 
 
 10. Clytus arietis. 
 
 11. Cassida muiina. 
 
 12. Coccinella septempunctata. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Willow {Salix alba). Above. 
 
 Wild Carrot (Daucus carota). Left of Middle. 
 
'iiliiiiiilil^^ 
 
MUSK BEETLE. 193 
 
 perfectly still, clinging to the trunk of some tree, and harmo- 
 nising so well with the colour of the surface that it may easily 
 be mistaken for a mere excrescence of the bark. By night, 
 however, it flies in search of its mate, and is sometimes seen by 
 entomologists who are engaged in the pleasing task of ' sugar- 
 ing' for moths at night in some wood. Darenth Wood is one 
 of the favoured localities of this insect, two specimens of which 
 were 'lately captured there by E. Evans, Esq., as they were 
 clinging to the bark in fancied security. 
 
 The name Prionus is taken from a Greek word, which signi- 
 fies a sawyer, and is given to the insect on account of its wood- 
 iestroying habits. 
 
 Next in order comes the family of the Cerambycidse. This 
 name is a Grreek one, and is apparently given to the group of 
 Beetles on account of their long antennae, or horns, the Grreek 
 word keras (unfortunately written ceras) signifying a horn. 
 In this family, the head is slightly bent downwards, the thorax 
 is widened at the sides, and the antennse, which are never 
 serrated, are inserted in the inner margin of the eyes, which 
 are semilunar. 
 
 Our first example' is the beautiful Musk Beetle [AroTnia 
 [or Cerambyx] moschata), an insect which is equally grateful 
 to the eye and the nostril. One of these Beetles is shown on 
 Plate VI. Fig. 9. This is really a lovely insect, the shape 
 being peculiarly elegant, and the colour a soft green, some- 
 times glossed with blue, gold, copper, or bronze, the hue being 
 exceedingly variable. Even the thorax partakes of this varia- 
 bility, being sometimes rough, and sometimes very smooth. and 
 glossy. 
 
 It owes its popular name to the powerful and pleasing odour 
 which it exhales, and which is said by some persons to resemble 
 ottar of roses. For my part, I never could perceive much re- 
 semblance between the somewhat sickly scent of the ottar and 
 the fresh sweetbriar-like odour of the Beetle. This scent can 
 be perceived at a considerable distance, and the presence of the 
 Beetle can often be^ detected by it, even when the insect is 
 itself concealed. Shortly after I came to live in West Kent, I 
 was passing along the road, and declared that a Musk Beetle 
 vras in the neighbourhood. My companions, not knowing the 
 
194 INSECTS AT HOJDE. 
 
 scent, conld not believe me, and made themselves rather merry 
 on the subject. In the com'se of the day, however, one of the 
 same party, a young lady, was passing by the same place, and 
 carried off a fine Musk Beetle in her hair. 
 
 The scent of this insect is said to be more powerful in the 
 breeding season than at any other time of the year, and 
 stronger in the female than in the male. This is very likely 
 to be the case, and will serve to explain the mysterious manner 
 in which many night-flying insects contrive to find their mates 
 in the hours of darkness. In the present instance, the odour 
 brppens to be one of which our senses are cognisant ; but it 
 may well be that other insects, though to our nostrils absolutely 
 scentless, may yet emit an odour which is as evident to them as 
 is that of the Musk Beetle to us. The scent of this insect is as 
 enduring as it is powerful, and, if the Beetle be held with a 
 gloved hand, or wrapped in a handkerchief, i-t will impart either 
 to the kid or cambric its peculiar odour, which will last for a 
 very long time. From a series of experiments made some few 
 years ago, I have come to the conclusion that the Musk Beetle 
 can emit or retain its odour at pleasure as long as it is in full 
 health, but that when the insect is weak^ or in a dying state, it 
 is unable to retain the scent. 
 
 The Musk Beetle is one of the Beetles which are popularly 
 called Squeakers, on account of the sound which they are 
 capable of producing, and which somewhat resembles the squeak 
 of a bat. If the reader will watch one of these insects while 
 producing the sound in question, he will find that it moves its 
 head smartly up and down, so as to cause the sound by the 
 friction of one part of the hard surface against another. If the 
 Beetle be held in the hand, the whole body is perceived to 
 quiver with the exertion. 
 
 Wherever willow-trees are to be foimd abundantly, there the 
 Musk Beetle is sure to be, because it feeds on the interior of 
 that tree while in the larval state. The ground on which my 
 house stands being very high, and the soil being gravel, I was 
 very much surprised at perceiving the Musk Beetle which has 
 just been mentioned, thinking that no willow-trees were near. 
 However, after a while, I came upon some of these trees, at a 
 distance of some ;300 yards, growing on the banks of a Lttle 
 stream that ran in the valley below. Sometimes a tree is 
 
HOME OF THE MUSK BEETLE. 195 
 
 absolutely riddled with the burrows of these larvae, which bore 
 deeply into the very heart of the timber, and leave little 
 except a shell of bark surrounding a sort of soft wooden sponge. 
 
 If one of these trees be opened, the scene disclosed is a very 
 remarkable one. In the first place, the scent of the Beetles is 
 overpowering, and in the next, the wood is filled with a 
 wonderful variety of animal life. In some burrows, close to 
 the bark, may be seen the glittering green bodies of newly- 
 developed Beetles, as they lie waiting until their surfaces have 
 acquired sufl&cient hardness to enable them to face the dangers 
 of the world ; in others the helpless pupae may be seen ; and in 
 others, the white, flat, soft-bodied, hard-headed larvse move 
 themselves restlessly as they perceive the unwonted light. The 
 many burrows which have been evacuated by their makers are, 
 however, seldom empty, but have plenty of tenants in the shape 
 of woodlice, centipedes, earwigs, spiders, millipedes, and sundry 
 predacious Beetles, the latter having evidently entered the 
 burrows in search of food. 
 
 Those who wish to capture the Musk Beetle will find that 
 they cannot do better than explore the largest, the oldest, and 
 the most rugged willow-trees. The Musk Beetle is not a very 
 active insect, and is fond of clinging to the bark of the willow, 
 and remaining perfectly still for many hours together. I may 
 mention that the surface of this Beetle affords a most gorgeous 
 object for the microscope. 
 
 On Woodcut XX. Fig. 5, is drawn a very pretty Beetle 
 called Callidium violaceum. In this genus the head is sunk 
 in the thorax nearly as far as the eyes, which are semilunar. 
 The body is slender, and the legs short. 
 
 The present species derives its specific name from its colour, 
 which is violet, sometimes glossed with green or bronze. 
 Whatever may be the exact hue, a deep, rich, shining violet is 
 always the predominant colour — a violet that would make 
 the fortune of any dyer if he could only transfer it to silk. 
 The eljTtra are thickly and coarsely punctured. This pretty 
 little Beetle is thought to have been introduced into this 
 country from America. It is well known that wood-boring 
 Beetles are often transported from one country to another, the 
 larva or pupa remaining in the wood after the tree is cut down 
 
 o 2 
 
196 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 and shaped into timber. Sometimes a Beetle has been known 
 to emerge from a piece of furnitm-e which has been in the 
 house for several years, the changed conditions having retarded 
 the growth of the Beetle. This insect inhabits the fir-tree, 
 and, as it has of late years become comparatively plentiful from 
 being one of our rarest Beetles, it is likely that many specimens 
 are imported in tlie fir cargoes from Canada, where it is one of 
 the commonest of insects. 
 
 The owners of the trees in question would be only too glad if 
 the Beetle were less common, for it does very great damage to 
 the timber, seizing upon the trees soon after they are felled, 
 and laying its eggs in crevices of the bark. When the larvse 
 are hatched they set to work at their burrows, driving oblique 
 tunnels deeply into the body of the tree, and so spoiling the 
 timber. As is necessary for such a task, the larva is furnished 
 with exceedingly stout and strong mandibles. Four British 
 species of Callidium are known. 
 
 On Plate VI. Fig. 10, maybe seen a figure of a very common 
 and very pretty Beetle, belonging to the same family, and 
 known to entomologists by the name of Clytus arietis. In this 
 genus the antennae are shorter than the body, the last joint 
 being somewhat conical. The palpi are short, with the last 
 joint stout and three-sided, the angles being rounded. The 
 thorax is globular, and the body is cylindrical. 
 
 The colour of this species is black, with three yellow bands 
 across the elytra, and a yellow patch at their tips, so that the 
 insect has a very waspish look, and is popularly known as the 
 Wasp Beetle. The similitude is increased by its fussy mode 
 of walking, and the perpetual movement of its antennse, and, 
 as it crawls in and out of the foliage on hedges, it has so very 
 wasp-like a look that few persons, except they be entomologists, 
 like to touch it. In its larval state it burrows into wood, and 
 emerges somewhere about midsummer. It is fond of fre- 
 quenting flowers, and can be taken in almost any quantity. 
 Being rather variable in the hue of its markings as well as in 
 size, a series ought to be taken for the cabinet. 
 
 Like many wood-boring insects, it sometimes makes its ap- 
 pearance when it is least expected. In 1833, for example, Mr. 
 Denny described a cm-ious visitation of the Wasp Beetle in his 
 
CURIOUS APPEARANCE OF THE WASP BEETLE. 197 
 
 museum. He had a case of stufifed birds, in which the birds 
 had been made to perch on oak branches. These branches had 
 been first carefully dried and then baked, and yet, after the 
 lapse of three years, three specimens of the Wasp Beetle 
 emerged from the branches, having survived the very un- 
 pleasant process to which they had been subjected. 
 
 This is not a solitary instance of the appearance of the Wasp 
 Beetle. In 1865 a piece of pollard oak was sent to the British 
 Museum, for the purpose of exhibiting the round, hard galls of 
 Cynips lignicola, which was then not nearly so common as it is 
 now. The oak, with its crop of galls, was placed in a glass 
 case, together with a large lump of camphor, a material which 
 is supposed to be poisonous to insects. Yet, on every suc- 
 ceeding spring, several specimens of the Wasp Beetle made 
 their escape from the wood in which they had passed their 
 larval state, the camphor having had no injurious effect upon 
 them. A still more curious example of the unexpected ap- 
 pearance of a wood-boring Beetle will presently be mentioned. 
 
 Our last example of this family is shown on Woodcut XXI. 
 Fig. 1. Its name is Gh^acllia jpygmcea. This genus is to be 
 distinguished by the long, slender body, the clubbed femora, 
 the long fifth joint of the antennte, and the elongated last joint 
 of the palpi. 
 
 As its specific name implies, this is a very small insect, never 
 exceeding a quarter of an inch in length, and being generally 
 much less. The colour of the Beetle is reddish-brown, with 
 the exception of the under surface of the abdomen, which is 
 shining-black. There is an angular projection iti the middle of 
 the elytra. 
 
 This tiny wood-borer is one of those insects which are very 
 local, but very plentiful in those places which they choose for 
 their residence. Sometimes it prefers to live in houses, and 
 sometimes in the open air. It takes as great a range in point 
 of diet as in residence. Its ordinary, and indeed its normal, 
 food is decaying wood, and the insect may accordino-ly be 
 found in old railings and similar localities. ' But it sometimes 
 takes a strange fancy for leather, and has been captured in 
 some numbers while feeding on old shoes. Sometimes speci- 
 mens of this insect have been taken in the middle of flour- 
 
198 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 barrels ; the larvae having probably been hatched in the wood 
 of which the staves were made, and then relinquished their 
 original habitations for the richer diet furnished by the flour. 
 
 We now come to a most extraordinary insect, which is drawn 
 on Woodcut XXI. Fig. 3. It goes by a great number of 
 names. The scientific title by which it is now known is 
 
 1. Gracilia pygmrea. 
 5. Rhagium inquisitor. 
 
 2. Strangalia annata. 3. Astinomus asdilis. 4. Pogonocerus pilosus. 
 
 Astinomus cedilis. There is no possibility of mistaking this 
 insect, our sole representative of its genus, which may be 
 known by the broad flattened body, the tubercles on the sides of 
 the thorax, and the enormous length of the antennae, which in 
 the females are twice as long as the body, and in the males some- 
 times more than four times the length of the body. This 
 inordinate length is obtained by the elongation of the joints, 
 not by multiplying them. 
 
THE TIMBERMAN. 199 
 
 This is essentially a uurthem insect, being seldom seen alive 
 south of Scotland. Rannoch Wood is the best known locality 
 for this wonderful Beetle, and in that favoured spot the ex- 
 perienced entomologist will generally manage to captui-e it. 
 Indeed, it is plentiful enough to have gained a popular name, 
 that of TiMBERMAN, uot ouly because it frequents timber, but 
 because its long antenna? present, when spread, a curious resem- 
 blance to a pair of compasses, these being used by the timber- 
 men in calculating the cubic contents of a tree-trunk or log of 
 wood. The specific name, cedilis, is that of the officer who in 
 ancient timas had charge of houses and public buildings. 
 When the insect flies, the long antennoD trail behind it, and 
 present a very cm'ious appearance. 
 
 Unfortunately for the entomologist, the males are exceed- 
 ingly quarrelsome, and when two of them meet together they 
 are sure to fight, especially if one of the opposite sex be at 
 hand. Their combats are so fierce that mutilation is sure to 
 be the result to one or both, so that a perfectly complete 
 specimen is of no small value for the cabinet. 
 
 In its larval state the Timberman Beetle lives in the in- 
 terior of pine stumps, its tunnels being of considerable size. 
 When it is full-fed, it makes a nest near the bark, in which it 
 changes to the pupal state. The pupa of a male Timberman 
 presents a very curious sight. All insects with long anteunte have 
 some remarkable mode of packing them away while they still 
 retain the pupal form. In this Beetle they are brought down 
 by the sides, along the body, and then curled back again over 
 the head, so as to make two large loops, one on each side.- 
 The larva changes to the pupal form somewhere about the end 
 of May, changes again to the perfect form in about a month, 
 but does not leave its nest until the following summer, its 
 surface gradually gaining consistence and hardness during the 
 time of its long repose. 
 
 It has been already mentioned that this is a northern insect. 
 Only the day before writing this account I was in the British 
 Museum, and asked whether the Timberman had ever been 
 taken in any of the southern parts of England. The answer 
 was, that the only southern place where it had been captured 
 alive was the British Museum. The insect had been discovered 
 within the walls of the Museum, having evidently escaped 
 
200 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 from timber which was being used for building purposes. This 
 Beetle has also been discovered embedded in a seam of coal at 
 Coatbridge, at a depth of nearly 900 feet from the level of the 
 ground. It is evident that the insect must have emerged 
 from some of the timber which is so largely employed in coal- 
 mines. 
 
 A EATHER remarkable Beetle is shown on "Woodcut XXI. 
 Fig. 4. Its name is Pogonocerus pilosus, both of which titles 
 refer to the structure of the antennae. In this genus the body 
 is short and rather convex, the disc of the thorax is covered 
 with tubercles, the tips of the elytra are developed into spines, 
 and the antennae are covered beneath with a clothing of hair. 
 The generic title Pogonocerus (mostly, but wrongly, spelt 
 Pogonocherus) is formed from two Greek words, the one signi- 
 fying a beard and the other a horn ; so that the whole word 
 may be translated as ' bearded-horn.' The specific name, 
 pilosus, is Latin, and signifies 'hairy.' There are three 
 known English species, one, Pogonocerus fascicularis, being 
 very rare, and the other two moderately plentiful. The present 
 species has the tubercles of the thorax pointed, and there are 
 two sharp spines on either side of the thorax. The general 
 hue of the insect is reddish-brown, the elytra having a broad 
 grey band at the base, and some black spots near the suture. 
 They have also a single spine on the outer edge. 
 
 The second species, Pogonocerus hispidus, may be distin- 
 guished by the fact that it has two tubercles on the upper 
 surface of the thorax, one spine on each side, and the tip of 
 each elytron developed into two teeth, of which the outer is 
 the longer. There are also some little black patches of hair 
 near the tips, close by the suture. All these species have much 
 the same habits, and can be found among dry wood. 
 
 The insect which is represented on Woodcut XXI. Fig. 5, 
 is called Rhagium inquisitor, and belongs to the family of the 
 Lepturidae. In this family the eyes are nearly rounded, and 
 the antennae are of moderate length and set before the eyes. 
 The head is bent rather downwards and narrowed into a neck, 
 the thorax is narrower in fi'ont than the head, and the elytra are 
 gradually narrowed from the base to the tips. In the genus 
 
COCOON OF THE RHAGIUM. 201 
 
 Rhagium the body is rather flattened, and there is a sharp 
 spine at either side of the thorax. The word Rhagium is a 
 Greek one, and signifies a little berry. 
 
 There is not the least difficulty in distinguishing the present 
 species. The colour is blackish, but the surface is covered 
 with a very fine yellowish down, and is thickly punctated. 
 The elytra have an elevated line, or rib, running longitu- 
 dinally along them ; and upon the middle, or disc, there are 
 two irregular reddish-yellow bands, placed as shown in the 
 illustration. During its larval . existence this insect lives in 
 decaying ash and willow-trees, and may be dug out of them in 
 spring, and found on and about them in summer. 
 
 There is another species, not so common as the former, 
 which inhabits decaying fir-trees. Only a short time before 
 writing this account, I dug several of them out of some fir- 
 stumps near my house. In one small stump, not more than 
 seven inches in diameter, I found four specimens. The name 
 of this species is Rhagium bifasciatum. It is marked much 
 as is the preceding insect, but may be known by a conspicuous 
 groove along the top of the head, and the fact that the elytra 
 have three longitudinal ridges instead of one. The yelluw 
 bands, too, are shorter, and the colour both of these and the 
 elytra is exceedingly variable. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that these insects invariably assume a 
 perpendicular position before changing into the pupal form. 
 They may always be found with their heads upwards, and their 
 antennae and legs packed closely against their bodies. Their 
 behaviour when the light is allowed to shine on them is rather 
 variable, and depends much on the weather. Should the day 
 be a warm one, the Ehagium seems glad to escape, and 
 struggles hard to free itself from the decaying wood with which 
 it is surrounded ; but on a cold day, especially if there be a 
 sharp wind, the insect retreats as far as possible into its curious 
 nest, and tries to shelter itself alike from wind and light. 
 
 The nest, or cocoon, which the Beetle makes is a very 
 curious one. Just before it undergoes its change into the pupal 
 form, it prepares an oval chamber, and within this chamber 
 makes a cocoon from rather long wood-chips, which it arrano-es 
 with great art, so as to form a soft bed in which it can repose 
 during the long period of quiescence. It is not easy to procure 
 
202 INSECTS AT HOME, 
 
 one of these nests, owing to the fragility of the material. One 
 of them, in which a female Ehagium was reposing, was found 
 in the fir- wood which has just been mentioned. The excava- 
 tion is rather more than an inch and a quarter in depth, and 
 the actual cocoon, which lies at the bottom of the burrow, is 
 five-eighths of an inch long and not quite a quarter of an inch 
 wide. The mouth of the excavation, however, is an inch and 
 a quarter in length, and a little more than a quarter of an 
 inch in width. I noticed that the inhabitant of this burrow, 
 instead of availing herself of the opportunity of escape, as did 
 all the others, crept closely into the recesses of the cocoon as 
 soon as it was opened, and would not leave it until she was 
 removed by force. The same stump contained two other 
 nests of the Ehagium, but none so perfect as that which has 
 been described. 
 
 Another Beetle, belonging to the same family, is shown on 
 Woodcut XXI. Fig. 2, and is known by tlie name of Strangalia 
 armata. In this genus the thorax is without spines, is narrow in 
 front and flattened above. The body is very narrow and almost 
 pointed behind. The front of the head is rather lengthened. 
 The present species has the ends of the elytra deeply cut, so as 
 to form a rounded notch \nth. toothed edges, and the male can 
 be recognised by two conspicuous tooth-like processes on the 
 inner side of the hinder tibiae. Owing to these peculiarities, the 
 specific name of armata, or ' armed,' has been given to the 
 Beetle. In colour and size it is one of the most variable of 
 British Beetles, scarcely any two specimens being exactly alike. 
 Sometimes it is almost entirely black barred with yellow, 
 sometimes yellow barred with black, while it varies in length 
 from five lines to three-quarters of an inch. Being so variable, 
 the entomologist ought to have a series of specimens in his 
 cabinet. There is not the least difficulty in obtaining them, 
 as it is a very common Beetle, and can be found in plenty 
 upon the umbelliferous plants — these being the favourite 
 resorts of many Beetles. It is tolerably active, and takes to 
 the wing as soon as it is alarmed. Seven species of this genus 
 are known in England. 
 
CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 EUPODA. 
 
 We now leave the Longicorn Beetles, and come to another 
 section, called the Eupoda, a name derived from two Greek 
 words, signifying ' beautiful feet.' By some authors the 
 section is named Phytophaga, this word being also of Greek 
 origin, and signifying 'plant-eater.' They are all pretty 
 insects, and some of them, though not large, are singularly 
 beautiful both in form and colour. In the Beetles belonging 
 to this section the antennae are short and slender, and have a 
 short basal joint. The head is deeply sunk into the thorax, 
 the elytra cover the sides of the abdomen, and the last joint 
 but one of the tarsus has two lobes. They are all vegetable- 
 feeders, and, as most of them are attached to certain plants, 
 there is little difficulty in finding them. 
 
 Passing by the family of the Sagridoe, of which we have but 
 four species in England, all belonging to one genus, we begin 
 with the Donaciadse. In this family the antennoe are longer 
 than is usually the case with the Eupoda, and they are set just 
 in front of the eyes. The head is large in front and narrowed 
 behind, and the first segment of the abdomen is very long. 
 Our example of this family belongs to the typical genus, and 
 is known to entomologists by the name of Donacia menyan- 
 thidis, a figure of which is given on Woodcut XXII. Fig. 1. 
 In this genus the body is flattened, polished, and shining above, 
 thickly punctured, and having altogether a metallic aspect. 
 Below, it is covered with a very fine down. The antennae have 
 the fourth and following joints elongated, as may be seen by 
 reference to the same woodcut, Fig. e. 
 
 All the Donacise may be found on water-plants, especially on 
 reeds, from which they derive the generic name, Donax being 
 a Greek word, signifying a reed. Although some of the species 
 
204 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 are rather rare, the Donacise are, beyond comparison, the most 
 common of water-frequenting Beetles, and the leaves of reeds, 
 water-lilies, and other plants are often studded with these 
 beautiful insects, whose polished and variously-coloured bodies 
 glitter in the sunbeams like living gems. As many of the 
 species are exceedingly variable in colour, it will be as well for 
 
 XKIL 
 
 1. Donacia Menyanthidis. 2. Crioceris merdi^era. 3. Chrysomela StarTiyl^a, 4. Cryp- 
 tocephalus coryli. 5. Timarcha iKvigata. <t. Chrysomela, antfiina. 6. Ciyptocephalus, 
 antenna. c. Cryptoceiihalis, labial palpi. d. Cryptocephalus, maxillary palpus. e. Donacia, 
 antenna. /. Crioceris, antenna. 
 
 the entomologist to procure a considerable number of speci- 
 mens, many, which at first sight appear to be different species, 
 being, when closely examined, seen to be nothing but varieties 
 of the same species. There is scarcely a colour of the rainbow 
 which is not exhibited by one or other of the Donacioe, and in 
 some instances the same species exhibits an astonishing variety 
 of colour — one being perhaps almost black, another blue, 
 
• LOSS OF COLOUE. 205 
 
 another green, another copper, another purple, another red, 
 while another is as made of burnished gold. 
 
 The larvae of these Beetles live within the stems of the 
 various water-plants, and on that accoimt the species have 
 derived their names from the plants on which they live. One 
 species, for example, takes its name from the bog-bean, or 
 yellow water-lily {Menyanthes nymphccoides), on which it is 
 found. Another is named Donacia typhce, from the common 
 bull-rush or reed-mace [Typha latifolia). Another has the 
 name of Donacia sagittarice, from the arrow-head {Sagittaria 
 sagittifolia) ; and so forth. Altogether, exclusive of varieties, 
 of which there are a great number, nineteen British species of 
 this beautiful genus are known. In some places these Beetles 
 are so plentiful that seven species have been found on water- 
 plants within the limits of one small pond. 
 
 The present species is shining-green above with a brassy 
 gloss, and below it is silvery-white, owing to the soft down 
 with which it is clothed. There is a bold groove on the front 
 of the head, and the elytra are both striated and ' crenated,' i.e. 
 covered with little marks formed like segments of circles. It 
 is not a very common species, being rather confined to certain 
 localities. 
 
 The next insect on our list is that which is shown on Wood- 
 cut XXII. Fig. 2, and is known by the name of Criocens 
 merdigera. It belongs to another family, the Crioceridse. In 
 this family, the outlines of the eyes are notched, and the antennae 
 are set in front, within the inner margin. The mandibles are 
 short and abrupt at the tip, and have several sharp teeth. The 
 genus Crioceris has the palpi slender, the joints of the antennae 
 short, and the elytra wide. The name Crioceris is formed from 
 two Greek words, signifying ' ram-horned,' and is given to the 
 insects on account of the form of the antennae. 
 
 Only three English species of this genus are known, of 
 which the insect which is shown on the illustration is by far 
 the most remarkable. Its colour is bright scarlet, but unfor- 
 tunately, as is the case with many brilliant insects, the colour 
 only exists during life, and fades rapidly after death. This 
 fading is generally caused by want of moisture, and in some 
 cases has been checked, if not altogether stopped, by opening 
 
206 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the insect, and introducing a small quantity of glycerine into 
 the body and under the elytra. This plan might be tried on 
 the present species, and certainly would do no harm even if it 
 did not succeed. The "insect is a very rare one, but may be 
 taken in the flowers of lilies. 
 
 The larva of this species feeds on lily leaves, and is pos- 
 sessed of a habit which, though very remarkable, is found in 
 other Beetles belonging to the Eupoda. The digestive appa- 
 ratus is so formed, that the excrements, instead of being 
 dropped, as is the case with most animals, are pushed upon 
 the back, where they soon dry, and form a covering which 
 protects the larva equally against the sun and the rain. The 
 larva has the power of freeing itself at will from this very 
 singular covering. When full-fed, the larva descends to the 
 earth, into which it burrows, and there makes an oval cocoon 
 in which it undergoes its changes. 
 
 The best known species of this genus is the Aspakagus 
 Beetle [Crioceris asparagi), which feeds on the plant from 
 which it derives its name. This insect is much longer in the 
 body than the preceding species, though smaller in point of 
 size. It is very prettily coloured, the thorax being deep-red, 
 and the head and elytra shining-blue or green-black, the latter 
 being marked with reddish-yellow, so as to look as if they were 
 yellow on which a black cross had been laid. The larvae are 
 grey, soft-bodied creatures, and, together with the perfect 
 insect, can be found in any number upon the asparagus after it 
 has been allowed to run to seed, and wave its feathery branches 
 and pretty round fruit in the air. 
 
 The family of the Cryptocephalidce is represented by Cryp- 
 tocephalus coryli, which is shown on Woodcut XXII. Fig. 4. 
 In this family, the head is so deeply sunk in the thorax that it 
 is quite invisible from above, a peculiarity which has earned 
 for the insects their name, which signifies ' hidden-head.' The 
 body is rather cylindrical and black, the antennae are slender, 
 and the eyes are kidney-shaped. The genus Cryptocephalus 
 has the antennae slender, and as long as the body. One of 
 these antennae is shown at Fig. b of the same illustration, the 
 labium at c, and the maxilla palpus at d. 
 
now TO CATCH TIMID BEETLES. 207 
 
 Many of the species of Cryptocephalus are very common, but, 
 plentiful though they be, cannot be taken without some trouble 
 and a perfect knowledge of their habits. They are the wariest 
 of insects, and at the approach of the would-be captor they 
 fall from the leaves on which they have been reposing, and 
 allow themselves to drop to the ground. 
 
 I do not know a more irritating habit than this. Many of 
 our wariest insects take to the wing at the slightest alarm ; 
 but in that case there is some hope of capturing them in 
 fair chase, and the excitement of the hunt affords some com- 
 pensation for the difficulty of capture. But when a little 
 Beetle simply lets itself fall among the thick herbage and 
 underwood, where even the sharpest eye can scarcely distinguish 
 it, nothing can be more annoying to the entomologist who was 
 in hopes of an easy capture. These lovely little Beetles give 
 excellent practice to the young entomologist in the art of 
 approaching insects. They will take alarm if he moves with a 
 hasty or noisy tread, and they will be sure to drop among the 
 underwood if he allows even the shadow of himself or his 
 net to fall across them. Moreover, as befits their splendid 
 clothing, they are creatures of light and warmth, and always 
 bask in the sunshine, so that it is no easy matter to come within 
 reach of them, and yet to avoid throwing a shadow upon them. 
 
 The larvce of these Beetles envelope themselves in a curious 
 pear-shaped cell, which seems to be formed from the same 
 materials as the covering of the larva cf Crioceris merdigera, 
 described on page 206. These lovely little Beetles are of 
 various colours, among which green and blue are the most 
 common. The present species is remarkable for the distinc- 
 tion in colour between the sexes — the thorax being black in 
 the male insect, and red in the female. The head is black 
 with a few yellowish spots on the front, and the elytra are red, 
 and covered with punctures arranged in irregular lines. As 
 the specific name implies, it feeds on the hazel {Corylus 
 avellana), and it has been taken upon the leaves of that tree 
 in Darenth \V.)od, and in Norfolk. It is a very rare species. 
 At least twenty species of Cryptocephalus are known in 
 Enoland, but many additions are likely to be made through 
 the rapid extension of entomological knowledge, and the 
 almost daily increase in number of insect-hunters. 
 
208 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Now we come to a family in which most of the species are 
 brilliantly colom-ed ; and even those in which the hue is appa- 
 rently of a sombre cast are seen, when closely examined, to be 
 really clothed with as much beauty as their more conspicuous 
 relatives. This family is called the Chrysomelidse, a name 
 which is composed of two Grreek words, signifying ' golden 
 apple,' and is appropriately given to these Beetles on account 
 of the globular shape of their bodies, and the lovely tints with 
 which they are adorned. In these Beetles the head is very 
 far sunk in the thorax, but not so deeply as in the last-mentioned 
 family, and the antennse are stouter, shorter, and more thickened 
 towards the tip. One of these antennse is shown on Woodcut 
 XXII. Fig. a. The body is oval or round, and the legs are of 
 equal size. In the genus Timarcha, from which our example 
 is taken, the wings are not developed, and the elytra are firmly 
 soldered together at the suture, so that they cannot be opened. 
 
 On Woodcut XXII. Fig. 5, is represented an insect which is 
 very plentiful, and known by the name of Tiinnarcha Icevigata. 
 It is better known, however, by the popular name of Bloodt- 
 NosK Beetle, because it has a habit of ejecting a large drop 
 of red fluid from its mouth when it is handled. There are 
 only two British species belonging to this genus, and they are 
 by far the largest English representatives of the Chrysomelidse. 
 The present species sometimes nearly reaches a length of three- 
 quarters of an inch, and, as the body is very stout and globular, 
 it may take rank among the larger British Beetles. 
 
 At the first glance, this insect appears to be black, but a 
 careful examination with a magnifying glass, aided by a strong 
 light, shows that the real colour is the deepest indigo-purple, 
 sometimes with a gloss of green. The whole of the upper 
 surface is thickly covered with small punctures, which impart 
 to it a sort of velvety gloss. The tarsi are very broad, and 
 furnished beneath with thick, greyish-yellow pads. There is a 
 very broad impression on the forehead. The second species, 
 Timarcha coriacea, much resembles the present insect. It is 
 not, however, so large, and is rather blacker above. The chief 
 distinction, however, is to be found in the punctures of the 
 elytra, which are deep, and have a tendency to run together, so 
 as to form irregular lines. This formation cannot be seen 
 without the use of a magnifying glass. 
 
A CONSPICUOUS LARVA. 209 
 
 The larva of this Bloody-Nose Beetle is wonderfully like the 
 perfect insect. It is large, heavy, soft-bodied, and covered 
 with a shining blue or green skin, a yellowish patch appear- 
 ing at the apex of the body. It is very common in the ditches 
 under hedgerows, especially if the hedge be allowed to flourish 
 in the luxuriant and picturesque manner which is so fascinating 
 to an artistic eye, and so hateful to the agricultural eye of the 
 farmer, who cares nothing for beauty, and would sacrifice the 
 loveliest country scene in England to get another cart-load of 
 turnips out of his field. How these great, sluggish, conspicuous 
 larvae ever escape the many perils of larval life is really won- 
 derful. I can only account for their survival on the supposition 
 that they are distasteful to the insect-eating birds. Very many 
 larvae of this section secrete a bitter, or acrid liquid, and the 
 Timarcha larva may perhaps be protected by some such means. 
 
 On Woodcut XXII. Fig. 3, is represented a member of the 
 typical genus, Chrysomela staphylea. In this genus the wings 
 are fully developed, and the last joint of the palpi is rather 
 hatchet-shaped. The present species is a moderately large one, 
 and has the body extremely convex. The general colour is 
 reddish-brown with a slight metallic gloss. The whole upper 
 surface is covered with punctures, those of the head and thorax 
 being very fine, and those of the elytra large and irregularly 
 disposed. Beneath, the body is pale-brown. There are about 
 twenty British species of this beautiful genus. The present 
 species takes its name from the common Bladder-nut {Staphy- 
 lea pinnata), upon which it can be foujid. It is a very 
 common insect. 
 
 We will take one more example of this family, namely, the 
 insect which is represented on Woodcut XXIII. Fig. 1, and 
 is known to entomologists by the name of Prasocuris [or 
 Helodes] beccabungce. In this genus the body is rather elon- 
 gated, the wings are developed, and the thorax is squared. 
 This beautiful little insect is found on the plant sometimes 
 called the Brooklime, or Short-leaved Water Speedwell ( Vero- 
 nica beccabunga), that is so plentiful in running streams, its 
 thick fleshy stems reclining upon the water and just upholding 
 its pretty blue flower. 
 
210 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The colour of the Beetle is bright polished-blue above, 
 sometimes taking a deep-green hue, and there is a reddish 
 patch below at the apex of the body. The thorax is rather 
 convex and thickly punctured, and on each elytron there are 
 ten rows of striae, the intervals between them being very finely 
 wrinkled. The insect is common in some localities, but in 
 
 zznL 
 
 1. Prasocuris beccabungse. 2. Phyllotreta brassicje. 3. Psylliodes hyoscyami. 4. Cas- 
 sida viridis. ■ S. Triplax russica. a. Phyllotreta, larva. 6. Cassida, larva. c. Cassida 
 pupa. d. Cassida, maxillary palpus. e. Cassida, labial palpi. 
 
 others seems to be rather scarce — its rarity or plenty depend- 
 ing, in all probability, on the presence or absence of the herb 
 on which it generally feeds. There are five British species of 
 thi.s eenus. 
 
 Passing by the family of the Galerucid^, we come to the 
 enormous family of the Halticidse, the members of which, 
 
THE TURNIP-FLEA. 211 
 
 though individually small and insignificant, collectively exer- 
 cise very great influence upon the agricultiire of our country. 
 One of these insects is shown on Woodcut XXIII. Fig, 2, and 
 IS one of several Beetles which are known by the popular name 
 of Turnip-Fleas or Hoppers. It is called scientifically Phyllo- 
 treta (or Haltica) brassicce. 
 
 All the Halticidse can be distinguished by the very thick 
 hinder femora, which denote the possession of great leaping 
 powers on the part of the insect. The antennae are set between 
 the eyes, and the edges of the elytra are wavy. They are 
 attached to different plants, and are so constant to them that 
 their specific names are often taken from their food-plant. 
 The colour of the present species is deep-black, and there are 
 two longitudinal yellow streaks upon each of the elytra, one 
 near the base, and the other towards the apex. The body is 
 egg-shaped, and the elytra are rounded at their tips. It is 
 about the smallest species of the genus. 
 
 The true Turnip-flea is another species, called Phyllotreta 
 nemorum, the colour of which is black, with a broad longitu- 
 dinal yellow streak running nearly, but not quite, to the end 
 of the elytra. Both in the larval and perfect stages this insect 
 is extremely damaging to the turnips, feeding upon the first 
 tender shoots as they appear above the ground, and so destroy- 
 ing the whole plant. Sometimes they will devastate a field so 
 completely, that it must be re-sown if a crop be wanted. The 
 early life of this Beetle has been well told by Mr. Le Keux, in 
 the ' Transactions of the Entomological Society,' vol. ii. After 
 narrating the destruction which these insects had wrought, he 
 proceeds as follows : — 
 
 ' Being still at fault as to the origin of the larvae, I captm-ed 
 ten males and ten females in pairs, and enclosed them in a 
 glass tube covered at each end with wire gauze, into which I 
 introduced a single leaf of tm-nip, with water to keep it fresh ; 
 by this means I was enabled to examine the insects and leaf 
 on all sides with a magnifying-glass at any time without dis- 
 turbing them. Having, previous to introducing the leaf, 
 ascertained with a strong magnifier that there were no eo-gs 
 or larvae upon it, on the following day I had the satisfaction 
 to perceive five small, smooth, oval-shaped eggs adhering to 
 the under side of the leaf, and so nearly resembling it in 
 
 p 2 
 
212 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 colour, that I was no longer surprised that they should hitherto 
 have escaped my observation. 
 
 ' This leaf was removed with the eggs upon it, and placed 
 in water, and its place supplied by a fresh one, which, on the 
 following day, had three eggs upon it, and the third leaf four 
 eggs, each of which leaves was placed separately in' water. 
 The fourth leaf I suffered to remain with the insects t week, 
 supplying it with fresh water daily, and at the end of that 
 time it had thirty-one eggs upon it. In two other glass tubes 
 I confined single pairs of insects, with a leaf in each, upon 
 which I never found more than a single egg deposited on the 
 same day, and in those leaves taken from the field with larvae 
 in them (some containing six), no two of them were of the 
 same growth. 
 
 ' I found great difiiculty in preserving the leaves during 
 the length of time necessary for the hatching of the eggs ; and 
 as it would have been impossible to have preserved them 
 long enough for the feeding of the larvae, I began to despair 
 of success, until I observed that, in those leaves taken with 
 larvae in them from the field, it was not uncommon for the 
 larva to leave the burrow it had first commenced, and, travel- 
 ling (which from its formation I had supposed it incapable of 
 doing) to a distant part of the leaf, form a new one. About 
 the time, therefore, when I expected the eggs to hatch, I placed 
 fresh leaves by tlie side of the old ones, to which the young 
 larvae soon found their way, and lodged themselves. 
 
 ' The egg hatches in ten days from the time it is laid, and 
 the larva immediately begins to eat its way into the leaf and 
 form u burrow by feeding upon the pulp between the upper 
 and under surface of the leaf, which, however, is not easily 
 perceptible to the eye unless held up against the light, al- 
 though the track is sufficiently obvious after the larva has left 
 it and it has become dry. The larva is full-fed and goes into 
 the earth at the end of sixteen days, burying itself about an 
 inch and a half below the surface, and in such a situation that 
 the turnip-leaf above may afi"ord shelter in case of rain. I 
 have reason to believe that it remains in the earth about a 
 fortnight before changing into the perfect Beetle. Some of 
 the first specimens of larvae and pupae which I took in the 
 field I placed in finely pulverised and very dry earth, and in a 
 
TORTOISE BEETLES. 213 
 
 few days they were shrivelled up. The others I also put into 
 fine earth, and saturated it with water. Unfortunately, there 
 was no opening at the bottom of the cup ; and the next day, 
 perceiving that the earth was still saturated with water, I 
 drained it and removed the larva, but they were all dead. This 
 accident may serve to account for the scarcity of the insects 
 after very wet seasons.' 
 
 The result of this and other experiments is, that the insects 
 are in all probability attracted to their food-plant by scent ; 
 and, as they have, large wings which they can use well, it is 
 impossible to keep them out of a field which contains their 
 favourite food. Mr. E. Newman suggests that all weeds should 
 be cut, dried, and kept in heaps until the Beetles are on the 
 wing, when they should be placed in heaps on the windward 
 side of the field and lighted, so that the smoke — strengthened 
 with a little sulphur — may blow over the ground and repel the 
 Beetles. If they can be kept off for a time, the plant gains 
 strength, and then the Beetles cannot kill it, though they 
 may seriously damage it. 
 
 The name Phyllotreta is of Greek origin, and signifies ' leaf- 
 borer.' There are more than a hundred British species of 
 these little Beetles, and the now restricted genus PhyUoti^eta 
 contains thirteen species. The larva of this Beetle is shown 
 on Woodcut XXIII. Fig. a. 
 
 Am OTHER example of this family is shown on Woodcut 
 XXIII. Fig. 3. Its name is Psylliodes hyoscyami. There is 
 a curious structure in the antennae of the insects belonging to 
 this genus — the second and third joints being so fused to- 
 gether as to form one long joint. The tibiae of the hind legs 
 are abruptly sloped at the end, and the tarsi are set on the 
 upper edge and above the apex. The colour of this Beetle is 
 green above and black below, a brassy gloss covering the whole 
 of the surface. The large hinder femora are black, and the 
 whole of the upper surface is thickly punctured, the punctures 
 being arranged in striae on the elytra. It is- not a very com- 
 mon insect. 
 
 We now pass to the family of the Cassidiidae, commonly 
 known by the popular and appropriate name of Tortoise 
 
214 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Beetles. There is no possibility of mistaking these Beetles, 
 which are flat-bodied, rounded, and have the head completely 
 hidden under the wide thorax, which overlaps the base of the 
 elytra. As the insects sit upon leaves, the whole of the head 
 and limbs are completely hidden by the thorax and elytra, just 
 as are those of a tortoise by its shell. Most of the species are 
 green, though some of them are adorned with spots and stripes 
 of red and gold. All these colours are exceedingly fugitive, 
 and vanish soon after the death of the insect. Glycerine 
 has been tried with some of these insects, as mentioned on 
 page 206. 
 
 A very common species, Cassida viridis, is shown on Wood- 
 cut XXIII. Fig. 4. It is of a rather dull-green colour, the 
 base of the elytra taking a slightly reddish hue. It may be 
 found plentifully on thistles. 
 
 At Fig. b of the same illustration is shown the extraordinary 
 larva of the Tortoise Beetle. It is very flat, and has the sides 
 covered with flattened spines. But the most curious portion 
 of its structure is the forked apparatus that proceeds from its 
 tail and passes over its back. This fork serves a very curious 
 purpose. Like the larva of Crioceris merdigera, which has 
 been described on p. 206, this creature is sheltered by a sort of 
 umbrella formed of the same materials as those of Crioceris. 
 But, instead of lying directly on the back, the umbrella is 
 supported on the fork at some little distance from the body, 
 and, when it becomes too weighty, it can be shaken off and a 
 new one gradually produced. The pupa is scarcely less curious 
 in appearance, and is drawn at Fig. c. Woodcut XXIII. The 
 maxilla of the perfect insect is shown at d, and the labium 
 
 at e. 
 
 There is only one British genus of this family, and it con- 
 tains about thirteen species. One of the variegated species is 
 shown on Plate VI. Fig. 11. Its name is Cassida murroea, and 
 its colour is sometimes red and sometimes green, blotched with 
 black near the suture and spotted with the same colour on the 
 disc. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 PSEUDOTBIMERA. 
 
 We now come to the last section of the Beetles, the Pseudo- 
 TRIMERA. This name is compounded of three Greek words, 
 signifying ' false three-joints,' and is given to the insects on 
 account of the structure of their tarsi, which appear to have 
 only three joints, though in reality they have four joints ; the 
 missing joint, which is the third, being very minute, and 
 hidden within the doubly-lobed second joint. This structure 
 can be seen by reference to Woodcut XXIV. Fig. e, which 
 represents the leg of a Lady-bird. 
 
 The first family of these Beetles, the Erotylidse, can be dis- 
 tinguished by the bold three-jointed club of the antennae, and 
 the large flattened club-shaped last joint of the maxillary 
 palpi. One example of this family is THplax russica, which 
 is represented on Woodcut XXIII. Fig. 5. In this genus the 
 body is oblong and the antennae rather stout, and the club has 
 the last joint blunt and egg-shaped, and the other two joints 
 transverse. The generic name, Triplax, is formed from two 
 Greek words, signifying 'three-plated,' and is given to this 
 genus on account of this structm-e of the club. 
 
 The present species is the largest of the genus, although it 
 never exceeds a quarter of an inch in length. The head and 
 thorax of this insect are red, and the elytra are deep blue- 
 black. The abdomen is reddish, and the whole surface is 
 shining. All the species of this genus live in fungi ; and in such 
 localities may be found this insect, which is not very common, 
 but is more plentiful than seems to be the case on account of 
 its way of hiding itself within the fungi. There is another 
 genus belonging to this family, called Engis, the members of 
 which are found in similar localities. They are pretty little 
 beings — shining, rather convex, and elongated, and usually dark- 
 
216 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 brown with yellow thorax and shoulders. The peculiar three- 
 jointed club of the family will at once distinguish them. The 
 genus Trvplax contains five English species. 
 
 The next family, the Coccinellidoe, is composed of insects 
 which are very familiar to us under the popular name of Lady- 
 
 1. Coccinella ocellata. 2. Lycoperdina bovistae. 3. Trlchopteryx atomaria. 4. Pselaphus 
 Heisei. 5. Claviger foveolatus. a. Coccinella, larva. 6. Coccinella, maxillary palpus, 
 c. Coccinella, labium. d. Coccinella, antenna. e. Coccinella, leg. 
 
 birds or Lady-cows — the former being the more common as well 
 as the more poetical name. These insects are all flat below 
 and convex above, the body is rounded and the antennae are 
 short. The structure of the various parts of this genus is 
 shown on Woodcut XXIV., the antenna being represented at 
 cZ, the maxilla and its palpUs at 6, the labium at c, and the leg, 
 with the tiny third joint of. the tarsus, at e. The typical 
 
LADY-BIRDS. 217 
 
 genus, Coccinella, lias the hinder angles of the thorax acute. 
 Many species of these pretty insects inhabit England, but some 
 of the species are so exceedingly variable in point of colour, 
 that the varieties have been described as actual species by 
 practised entomologists. It is common enough to find a blue 
 insect running into shades of green, and vice versa ; but in 
 some of these Lady-birds, the same species will be red spotted 
 with black, black spotted or blotched with red, black spotted 
 with yellow, yellow spotted and barred or blotched with black, 
 and so on in infinite variety. 
 
 We will now briefly describe two species, one a rarity and 
 the other a very common one, and then proceed to the habits 
 of^the insect. On Woodcut XXIV. Fig. 1, is represented a 
 very beautiful insect, which we may call the Eyed Lady-bird 
 {Coccinella ocellata). The head and thorax of this species are 
 black, and on the latter are two yellow spots at the base and a 
 patch of the same colour at each side. The elytra are red, 
 and upon each elytron are nine black spots, more or less oval, 
 each of them surrounded with a ring of yellow, giving them 
 the ' eyed ' appearance which is expressed by the specific 
 name ocellata. There is also a black, yellow-edged streak 
 over the apex of the elytra. Several varieties of colouring 
 are known. This insect has been found upon the pine, the fir, 
 and the beech. 
 
 On Plate VI. Fig. 12, is drawn the common Seven-spot 
 Lady-bird [Coccinella septempunctata), a species that derives 
 its name from the seven black spots upon the elytra. These 
 spots are exceedingly variable in size, and sometimes one or 
 two spots are absent, while there is one variety in which there 
 are no spots at all. It is represented in flight, in order to 
 show the large size of its wings. 
 
 Beautiful as are the Lady-birds, it is not for their beauty 
 alone that they are valued, inasmuch as they are among the 
 greatest benefactors of civilised man, and preserve many a 
 harvest which, but for their aid, would be hopelessly lost. For, 
 in their larval state they feed upon the aphides — the ' green 
 blight ' or ' green-fly ' of gardeners — and, being exceedingly 
 voracious, devour vast numbers of those destructive insects. 
 Few persons would suppose, on looking at the Coccinella larva, 
 what was its real condition of life. It looks as harmless, dull, 
 
218 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 sluggish a creature as can be imagined, and much more likely 
 to be eaten itself than to eat other insects. Yet, with all 
 this innocence of aspect, it is so ruthless a destroyer of animal 
 life, that if a few of them be placed on a bush or plant whicli 
 is infested with aphides, in a day or two not an aphis will 
 be left. 
 
 Especially is the Lady-bird useful in those parts of the country 
 where hops are grown. There is an aphis which feeds specially 
 upon this plant, and which has been known to destroy whole 
 plantations in a single season, causing the greatest distress 
 among the multitudes whose living depends more or less directly 
 upon the hop. Fortunately, the Lady-bird — usually the little 
 Two-Spot Lady-bird {Goccinella bipunctata) — comes to the 
 rescue, and follows the aphides wherever they are most plenti- 
 ful. The mother insect lays her eggs in packets among the 
 aphides, and, as soon as the young larvse are able to move 
 about, they begin to feed upon the insects near where they 
 have been placed. 
 
 In some seasons the swarms of Lady-birds almost exceed 
 belief. I have seen the streets absolutely red with them, and 
 the houses covered with their multitudes, while within doors a 
 thick band of Lady-birds ran along the angle of the walls 
 and ceiling like a red cable, large bunches hanging in each 
 corner. These insects very well illustrated the adage that 
 ' dirt is only matter in the wrong place.' Nothing could be 
 more beneficial than their presence in the locality, as it was 
 situated in the very midst of hop gardens, and by their means 
 the year's harvest was saved from destruction. But, though 
 they were very much wanted out of doors, they were not at all 
 wanted inside the house, especially as Lady-birds have a very 
 unpleasant odour, which, when multiplied by tens of thousands, 
 becomes almost unbearable. Even after the rooms had been 
 cleared, they were almost uninhabitable, and the more so that 
 it was impossible to keep the windows open, because the Lady- 
 birds flocked into the room in swarms, and would soon have 
 replaced^ those which had been ejected. Even throughout the 
 winter many of them retained their positions, having been 
 kept alive by the warmth of the fire. 
 
 When the larva is full-fed, it attaches itself to a twig or leaf 
 by the end of its tail, and thus hangs with its head downwards. 
 
A CUEE FOR THE TOOTHACHE. 219 
 
 Presently, the larval skin splits down the back, but the pupa 
 does not emerge, remaining within the larval skin until it has 
 changed into its perfect form. It has been mentioned that 
 the Lady-birds give out a very unpleasant odour. This is caused 
 by a yellowish liquid which issues from the joints of the limbs, 
 as has been described in connection with the Oil Beetle, on 
 page 1 54, and which has a very powerful and disagreeable scent. 
 In some parts of the country this liquid is considered to be a 
 cure for toothache, the finger being first rubbed against the 
 legs of the Lady-bird, and then on the offending tooth. In its 
 larval state it emits a similar liquid from the tubercles upon 
 its body. 
 
 It is rather remarkable that the popular names of Lady-bird 
 and Lady-cow are not peculiar to England. In France, for 
 example, the insect is called Bete de la Vierge, or Vache a 
 Dieu. The children, however, do not respect the insect in con- 
 sequence of its popular names, but, on the contrary, when they 
 catch one, look upon it as a means of showing their ingenuity 
 in prolonging torture without destroying life. 
 
 The next family, that of the Endomychidse, is represented 
 by one species, Lycoperdina bovistoe, which is shown on Wood- 
 cut XXIV. Fig. 2. 
 
 In this family the antennae are tolerably long, the thorax is 
 impressed behind, and the last joint of the maxillary palpus is 
 never hatchet-shaped. In the genus Lycoperdina the thorax is 
 heart-shaped, and abruptly cut off at the base, and there is no 
 distinct club to the antennae. The present species is an odd, 
 black, flat insect, which has been very happily compared to a 
 Blaps in miniature. It is to be found inside the well-known 
 puff-ball {Lycoperdon bovistce), from which it derives its 
 generic name, and makes its exit by the aperture which exists at 
 the top of the fungus, and through which the spores escape like 
 clouds of smoke. It is not at all a common insect, and a vast 
 number of puff-balls may be examined without a single speci- 
 men of the Beetle being found. But, like many other rare 
 insects, when one specimen is found, plenty more are generally 
 to be seen, and though five hundred of the fungi may have been 
 examined without success, the five hundred and first may con- 
 tain enough Beetles to stock a dozen cabinets. 
 
220 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The wide and deeply fringed maxilla is worthy of notice. 
 This is the only English species of the genus, the second sup- 
 posed species being nothing more than a variety. 
 
 The family of the Trichopteridae contains a good many 
 species, of which we select one as our example. This is Tri- 
 chopteryx atomaria, which is represented on Woodcut XXIV. 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 These are all little Beetles, and, indeed, are the tiniest of the 
 British Coleoptera. Small as they are, they can be easily 
 recognised when examined by the aid of a lens, so bold are 
 the characteristics which mark them. The antennse are long, 
 slender, and beset with long hairs, and having a bold three- 
 jointed club. The wings are very long and narrow, and fringed 
 with hairs, a peculiarity which has gained for them the name 
 of Trichopteryx, or ' hairy wings.' Sometimes the wings are 
 undeveloped, but when they are present they are always fringed 
 with hair. There are other characteristics of the family, but 
 these are sufficient for the recognition of any insect that belongs 
 to it. 
 
 In the typical genus, Trichopteryx, the antennae are about 
 half as long as the body, the head is convex, large and trian- 
 gular, and the wings are fui^nished at their tips with several 
 bundles of hairs. The present species is one of the largest of 
 the family, and yet it is only one twenty-fourth of an inch in 
 length. Small as it is, by the side of other species of the 
 same genus it is only a giant, most being the thirty-sixth part of 
 an inch in length, while there are some which are barely one- 
 hundredth of an inch long. Some notion of the size of these 
 tiny creatures may be obtained by looking at the little line on 
 the right hand of Fig. 3, and reflecting that they measure just 
 one quarter of that length. 
 
 The little insect which has been chosen as our example of 
 these ' micro-coleoptera,' as the tiny Beetles are called, is tole- 
 rably common, and can be found under heaps of decaying 
 leaf-mould and similar localities. Though the finder may not 
 be able to recognise the precise species when he discovers it, 
 he can at all events see that it is a Beetle, whereas, when he 
 finds the exceedingly minute creatures which have just been 
 mentioned, it is impossible for him to know, without the aid 
 
THE BLIND BEETLE. 221 
 
 of a lens, that the little black speck is even an insect, much 
 less whether it be a Beetle or not. The best mode of capturing 
 these Beetles is to take some leaf-mould from under a heap, 
 scatter it thinly on a sheet of white paper, and then go over 
 it carefully with a tolerably powerful lens. 
 
 Owing to the very minute dimensions of these Beetles, the 
 exact definition of the species is a very difficult business, but 
 it is estimated that twelve species are known in this country. 
 
 Passing by one family of this section, we come to the 
 Pselaphidse, of which remarkable family two examples will be 
 given, each illustrating one of the sub-families. 
 
 In these Beetles the elytra are very short, so short, indeed, 
 that for many years these insects were classed among the 
 Brachelytra. The club of the antennge is bold and well-defined, 
 the last joint being very large. The head is narrowed behind 
 into a distinct neck. 
 
 The first sub-family is called the Pselaphinse, and in them 
 the antennae have eleven joints, and the eyes and parts of the 
 mouth are well developed. The genus Pselaphus, of which 
 there are only two British species, has the antennae, palpi and 
 legs very long. The commonest species, Pselaphus Heisei, 
 which is represented on Woodcut XXIV. Fig. 4, is shining 
 yellow-brown, has its body very flat and wide, and on each side 
 of the suture of the elytra there is a stria which runs frorii' the 
 base to the tip. It can be shaken out of moss, as can its con- 
 gener, Pselaphus Dresdenensis, which may be distinguished 
 by its dark colour and a semicircular impression at the base of 
 the thorax. 
 
 The last example of the British Beetles is, perhaps, the 
 strangest of all our native insects, and how it can find any 
 gratification in existence is not easy to see. We think that 
 the life of a deaf and dumb man is a hard one, shut out as he 
 is from free intercourse with his fellow creatures, and incapable 
 of enjoying, or even of comprehending, the common blessings 
 of sight and hearing. Yet he is capable of one kind of 
 animal enjoyment, for he can eat, and indeed upon this capa- 
 bility is based the course of instruction by which such afflicted 
 persons have been rescued from their wretched isolation, and 
 
222 INSECTS AT HOME, 
 
 taught to interchange ideas with their fellow men. But, sup- 
 posing that a man who was incapable of sight or hearing were 
 also found without a mouth, and yet possessing the power of 
 living without food, we should think that such a being must 
 have reached the very abyss of misery — a misery beyond all 
 power of alleviation. 
 
 Yet in the Beetle which is shown on Woodcut XXIV. Fig. 5, 
 we see an insect in which these imaginary privations are the 
 normal state, and which possesses neither eyes nor mouth, and 
 is capable of supporting existence without food. We should, 
 however, be very wrong in supposing that this insect must be 
 miserable because a human being rmder such conditions would 
 be supremely wretched, and may be sure that, in some myste- 
 rious way, this Beetle, which leads a darkling life and is incapable 
 of eating, is just as happy in its way as the brilliant butterfly 
 that basks in the sunshine, and flits from flower to flower, en- 
 joying their lovely colours and sweet juices. 
 
 Whether the insect be possessed of some senses unknown to 
 us, must of necessity be a problem not likely to be solved, but, 
 as far as we can judge, the only sense which it can possess is 
 that of touch. The name Pselaphidse refers to this supposition, 
 and is formed from a Grreek word, signifying the groping move- 
 ments of one who tries to find his way in the dark. 
 
 The name of this Beetle is Claviger foveolatus, the former 
 name signifying 'club-bearer,' and given to the insect on 
 account of the form of the antenna, which is boldly clubbed, 
 and has only five joints. This Beetle can be found in the nests 
 of the yellow ant [Formica fiava), a very common insect, which 
 makes its nests under large stones if it can find them, or, in 
 default of such shelter, throws up little mounds of earth. It 
 can be found plentifully on heaths and hilly districts. The 
 colour of the insect is yellow, like that of the ant with which 
 it lives, and it has no wings. The name foveolatus is given 
 to it on account of the deep fovea, or hollow, in the middle of 
 the abdomen. 
 
DEEMAPTEEA. 
 
DEEMAPTEKA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 These insects, popularly known as Earwig?, are remarkatle for 
 many reasons. None of them are large, and some are very small. 
 There are but few species, and most of the British species 
 are very common — in fact, much too common as far as flower- 
 gardens are concerned. Yet, though they are small, few, and 
 common, they have been the occasion of more disputes among 
 entomologists than all the other insects put together. Some 
 asserted that they were an ' aberrant ' branch of the Brachelytra 
 and allied to the common Eove Beetles, while others as strenu- 
 ously asserted that they belonged by right to the Orthoptera, 
 and were allied, though distantly, to the Cockroach. The use 
 to which they put the forceps with which their tails are armed 
 furnished another fertile source of dispute, while even their 
 popular English name was cause for abundant quarrel — one 
 party considering the name to be properly Eanuig, in allusion 
 to the popular idea that they were in the habit of crawling 
 into human ears ; and the other spelling the word 'Eanvinrj, be- 
 cause the spread wing of the insect is shaped like a human ear. 
 
 We will take each of these disputed points in succession, 
 and begin with the first — namely, the position which they ought 
 to occupy in the world of insects. 
 
 It is satisfactorily ascertained that they cannot be Beetles, if 
 only for the one fact, that in the pupal state they are not in- 
 active, but resemble in every respect the perfect insect, except 
 that the wings are rudimentary. The elytra, instead of being 
 horny, are soft and leathery, very small, without veins ; and 
 nearly, but not quite, cover the wings, the leathery hinge of 
 which projects just beyond them when^ folded. This hinge 
 
226 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 is a most important part of the wing, and will be presently 
 described more fully. The name Dermaptera is formed from 
 two Greek words, signifying ' skin-winged,' and is given to these 
 insects on account of the structure of the elytra. 
 
 As the wings form one of the most important characteristics 
 in these insects, we will proceed to describe them. Very few 
 
 XXV 
 
 1. Pachytylns migratorius. 2. Thamnotrizon cinereiis. a. Forceps of Forficula gigantea, 
 male. fi. Do. female. c. Do. Fcrficula anriciilaria, male. d. Do. female. e. Blatta 
 orientalis, egg-case. /. Do. section. (/. Gryllotalpa, inside of front tibia. h. Do. outside, 
 i. Do. labium, j. Do. maxilla and palpus. 
 
 persons have the least idea that the Earwig is furnished with 
 wings of remarkable size and beauty, and that, although it is 
 possessed of much speed in running it is quite as active in the 
 air as on foot. On Plate VII. Fig. 2, the Com:mon Earwig {For- 
 ficula auricularia) is shown, as it appears with its beautiful 
 wings extended. 
 
WINGS OF THE EARWIG. 227 
 
 To display these wings properly is a business of exceeding 
 diflficulty, and demands the greatest patience as well as skill. 
 They have to be coaxed from under the tiny elytra with infinite 
 care, and their delicate folds spread one by one lest they should 
 be torn. I have found that a glass tube, drawn to a rather fine 
 point, is exceedingly useful, for the wings can often be blown 
 open by a current of air directed upon them, when the use of 
 a needle would be nearly certain to damage them. Even when 
 they are at last ' teased ' out, it is no easy matter to spread 
 them flat and keep them so while the card braces are being 
 pressed on them, inasmuch as the membrane, though delicate, 
 is very elastic, and has a tendency to contract and crumple up the 
 whole wing into folds, just as it has been nicely and satisfactorily 
 flattened. If any of my readers should be afflicted with hasty 
 tempers and wish to put themselves- through a course of disci- 
 pline, I can strongly recommend them to take a few Earwigs 
 and set them with expanded wings, taking care to make both 
 wings look alike. When they have succeeded in doing so 
 without losing temper they may be perfectly easy as to their 
 ability in conc^uering their infirmity. 
 
 The mode in whicli these large and delicate wings are packed 
 into so small a compass is singularly beautiful. The front 
 margin of the wing, from the base to a spot about half-way 
 along it, is rather hard and firm, and at that point is a broad 
 leathery patch which acts as a hinge. From this point the 
 folds of the wing radiate just like those of an open fan ; 
 and, at half their length, the edge of each of these folds is 
 strengthened by a small patch of similar leathery material. 
 
 When the wing is to be gathered together under its elytron, 
 the radiating folds are closed exactly like the bars of a fan, 
 and the closed folds are then doubled twice, once at the small 
 and once at the large hinge. If we suppose each of the bars of 
 a fan to have two hinges, so as to divide it into three equal parts, 
 we can understand that it could be folded into a very small com- 
 pass, first by closing the fan longitudinally, and then doubling- 
 it twice crosswise. In consequence of this beautiful piece of 
 mechanism Mr. Westwood proposed the name Euplexoptera 
 for the Earwigs, the name being of Grreek origin, and signifying 
 beautifully-folded wings. 
 
 I have mentioned that it is a very difficult task to get the 
 
 q2 
 
228 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 wings expanded. It is all but impossible to put them back 
 again under the elytra. How, then, can the insect manage to 
 replace them ? This question involves the real use of the for- 
 ceps at the end of the tail. They are generally considered as 
 instruments of offence, and as such they can be used, being 
 capable of inflicting a tolerably sharp pinch, as anyone can 
 testify who has handled an Earwig. This, however, is not their 
 primary use, for they are employed in the act of packing the 
 wings under the elytra, and without their aid the insect could 
 never secure its wings properly. I have more than once seen 
 an Earwig pack up its wings, and a very curious and interesting 
 sight it is. 
 
 As soon as the insect settles, it partially folds its wings, so 
 that they fall into a set of wrinkles, apparently without any 
 arrangement, but in reality — like the seeming confusion of 
 ropes on board ship — each being exactly in its appointed place, 
 and ready for tlie next movement. After a very brief pause, 
 the folds of the wings are brought still closer together, and 
 gathered towards the elytra ; and then the tail is bent over 
 the back, the wings are seized by the forceps, and by their aid 
 are tucked away under the elytra. 
 
 It is said that the insect also makes use of the forceps in 
 expanding tlie ^vings as well as in closing them. This may be 
 the case, but I have never seen an Earwig use its forceps ex- 
 cept for the latter office, the mere beat of the wings against the 
 air seeming to have the power of spreading them to their full 
 extent. In each case the species was the Little Earwig (Labia 
 TTiinw), and indeed I never did see the Common Earwig use 
 its wings. 
 
 . These insects are remarkable in many respects, and one 
 species — whatever may be the case with the others — has been 
 ascertained to behave very differently from the generality of 
 the insect-race. As a rule insects take no care of their young. 
 They deposit their eggs in some spot where the young larva 
 can find its food when hatched, and then take no further care 
 of them. Indeed, the greater number of insects die as soon as 
 they have deposited their eggs, so that maternal care is im- 
 possible. It may be iu"ged that bees, wasps,, and ants take care 
 of their young. This, however, is not the case. Care is cer- 
 tainly taken of the young larvse, but not by the mother, who 
 
PLATE VII. 
 EARWIGS, FIELD-COCKROACH, AND CRICKETS. 
 
 1. Forficula gigantea. 
 
 2. Forficula auricularia. 
 
 3. Blatta germanica. 
 
 4. Blatta germanica (egg-case). 
 
 5. Gryllotalpa vulgaris. 
 
 6. Gryllus campestris. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Great Bindweed (^Convolvulus septum). Above. 
 Purple Clover {Trifolium pratense). Right of Middle. 
 
THE EARWIG AND ITS YOUNG. 229 
 
 does nothing but deposit the eggs, and then leaves to the 
 workers the task of feeding and nurturing the helpless 
 young. 
 
 But, according to the observations of De Geer, the Earwig 
 forms an honourable exception to this rule, and watches as 
 carefully over the young as a hen does over her chickens. She 
 deposits the eggs in some spot which is at the same time 
 damp and moist, and if one of these conditions should fail 
 shifts the eggs to another place. The same observer noticed 
 that even after the eggs have been intentionally displaced the 
 mother insect will collect and replace them. These curious 
 statements have been corroborated by Mr. Spence, who writes 
 as follows : ' This remarkable fact I have myself witnessed, 
 having found an Earwig under a stone, which I accidentally 
 turned over, sitting upon a cluster of young ones, just as this 
 celebrated naturalist has described.' 
 
 The larvae very much resemble in form the perfect insect, 
 except that they have no wings, and the forceps are not well 
 developed, the prongs being neariy straight and not possess- 
 ing the bold curve which is seen in the perfect insect. In the 
 pupal state the wing-cases make their appearance in a rudi- 
 mentary form, but the wings are not developed until the insect 
 has passed through its final change. Moreover, in the imper- 
 fect stages of life the Earwig has much fewer joints in the 
 antennae — the perfect insect of the common species having 
 fourteen and the larva only eight. 
 
 Interesting as is the Earwig to the naturalist, it is specially 
 hateful to the gardener. It has a very disagreeable habit of 
 feeding on the petals of flowers, nibbling their edges and 
 making them unsightly. The dahlia and the carnation are 
 favourite flowers with the Earwig, and as a true and perfect 
 edge forms one of the chief points in these flowers the gar- 
 dener has good reason to hate the insect. As, moreover, the 
 Earwigs as a rule feed by night it is no easy matter to guard 
 the flowers from their depredations. 
 
 Disliking the light, Earwigs hide themselves by day in any 
 dark cranny that they can find ; and, by taking advantage of 
 this habit, their numbers can be sensibly diminished, though 
 they cannot be altogether extirpated. For this purpose, gar- 
 deners are in the habit of putting inverted flower-pots, lobster- 
 
230 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 claws, and similar objects, on the tops of the sticks to which 
 the plants are tied, so that the Earwigs may crawl into them at 
 night and be captured in the morning. There is, however, 
 a neater and more effective mode of catching these insects. 
 
 Instead of capping the tops of the sticks with such unsightly 
 objects as lobster-claws and flower-pots, let a number of tubes 
 be made, about three or four inches in length and half an inch 
 or less in diameter. These may be made from elder branches, 
 from wild hemlock stems, or even from brown paper. One end 
 must be plugged up, and the tube is then hung to the stick 
 with the open end downwards. In the morning, the tubes 
 should be gently lifted from the sticks to which they are sus- 
 pended, the plug removed, and the Earwigs blown into a con- 
 venient vessel, from which they can be thrown into boiling 
 water. The plug is then replaced, and the tube allowed to 
 hang in its former place. 
 
 These insects are able to devour both animal and vegetable 
 food, though they seem to prefer the latter. They are said to 
 enter the nests of certain solitary bees and to feed upon the 
 larvae ; and De Geer remarked that the young Earwigs wliich 
 he watched not only ate the bodies of their brethren who died, 
 but ill repaid the watchful care of their mother by devouring 
 her dead body. 
 
 Only a few species of Earwig are known in this country, and 
 none of them attain any great size. The GtIakt Earwig, the 
 largest and rarest of these insects, is represented on Plate VII. 
 Fig. 1. Its name is Labidura gigantea, and, as Lord Lytton 
 remarks, ' to the great grief of naturalists, and to the great 
 honour of Providence, is very rarely found.' It was first dis- 
 co ved by the Eev. W. Bingley, in 1808, upon the beach near 
 Christchurch. He observed that it seldom quits its place of 
 refuge in the rocks during the daytime, but runs about the 
 sands in search of food after the sun has gone down. 
 
 For many years, no other specimens of this fine insect were 
 discovered, and some doubts were entertained as to the pro- 
 priety of admitting it among the British insects. Of late 
 years, however, its haunts have been known, so that Mr. Bing- 
 ley's specimens were not the only examples. A good specimen 
 in my collection was taken on the sands at Folkestone by a 
 lady who had sufficient observation to see that the insect was a 
 
THE GIANT EAEWIG. 231 
 
 peculiar one, sufficient courage to capture it, and sufficient dis- 
 crimination to send it to me. It was caught in the afternoon, 
 and I think that it must have been frightened out of its hiding- 
 place by a little boy who was digging in the sand and getting 
 into mischief, after the custom of children on the sea-shore. 
 
 By some entomologists this insect is placed in a separate 
 genus on account of its antennae, which have more than twice 
 as many joints as those of the common species. The name 
 Labidura is composed of two Greek words, signifying ' pincer- 
 tail,' and is a very appropriate one, the forceps being of very 
 great proportionate size. The name Forjlcula, which is given 
 to the common species, is Latin, and signifies ' little forceps.' 
 
 As this instrument is so important, both in the economy of the 
 insect and in deciding the species, the forceps of the two species 
 which have been described are given on Woodcut XXV. At 
 Fig. a is shown the forceps of the male Giant Earwig, and at 
 Fig. b those of the female. Similarly, the forceps of the male 
 Common Earwig are shown at Fig. c, and those of the female 
 at d. 
 
OETHOPTEEA. 
 
OETHOPTEEA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The word Orthoptera signifies Straight-wings, and is given to 
 this order of insects because their wings are not capable of 
 being folded crosswise, as is the case with the Beetles and 
 Earwigs. The elytra are soft, leathery, strongly veined, and 
 cross each other at their tips, and the true wings are gathered 
 under them in longitudinal folds, like those of a fan, the tips 
 frequently projecting from under the elytra. The larvse and 
 pupae resemble the perfect insect in shape, but do not possess 
 wings, and the pupa has no quiescent stage, but is as active as 
 the larva or perfect insect, therein differing essentially from 
 the Beetles. In consequence of the soft texture of the wing- 
 covers, some entomologists have suggested that the name ' teg- 
 mina' be substituted for 'elytra.' I cannot, however, admit 
 the necessity for such alteration, and shall therefore retain the 
 word elytra. 
 
 This order of insects is tolerably well represented in this 
 country, and some of its members are so numerous and so dis- 
 agreeable that we should be very glad to dispense with them 
 altogether. Om* English Orthoptera may be classed under the 
 general terms of Cockroaches, Grasshoppers, and Crickets ; 
 while in other countries we find the strange ' Walking-stick ' 
 insects. Soothsayers, and Leaf-insects. A few examples will 
 serve to illustrate the British Orthoptera. 
 
 ]Mr. Westwood divides all the Orthoptera into four sections. 
 First come the Cursoria, or runners, of which the Cockroach is 
 a familiar example. Then come the Eaptoria, or snatchers, 
 such as the Mantis or praying insect, which have the first pair 
 of legs developed into instruments of prehension. The third 
 
236 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 section is the Ambulatoria, or walkers, such as the Walking- 
 stick insects ; and the last section is the Saltatoria, or jumpers, 
 such as the Grasshoppers and their kin. 
 
 The first section is represented in England by one genus 
 only — namely, Blatta — and, considering the nature of the 
 cursorial Orthoptera, we may be glad that they have no more 
 representatives in this country. In these insects the body is 
 rather oval and flat, the thorax is very large and shield-shaped, 
 the head being almost concealed under it, and the antennae are 
 very long and thread-like. The males are fully winged, while 
 in the females both wings and elytra are much smaller than in 
 the male, and in some species are altogether absent. There 
 are several species of Cockroach in this country, some of which 
 are indigenous, while others have evidently been imported. 
 
 Such is the case with the Domestic Cockroach {Blatta 
 orientalis), which has completely taken possession of England. 
 As far as is known it was originally imported from the Levant, 
 and at first was confined to seaport towns. The climate, 
 however, suited it, and so did the prevalence of kitchen fires, 
 which are allowed to smoulder through the greater portion of the 
 night, thus affording the requisite supply of warmth. As for 
 moisture, which is as necessary to the insects as warmth, the 
 drippings of the kitchen boiler are generally sufiicient for the 
 purpose. However this may be, the insects have spread them- 
 selves over England in ,a manner which is really wonderful, 
 considering that the female is wingless, and must thp.refore be 
 transported by other means of locomotion than her own limbs 
 can supply. 
 
 That the Cockroach should spread over London is easy to 
 understand. London is a seaport town, and the insect could 
 therefore establish itself firmly enough by the water-side, and 
 afterwards make its way to different parts of the metropolis, a 
 task in which it is greatly assisted by the laundress and her 
 basket. Innocently and ignorantly the laundress is one of the 
 principal agents in the dispersion of the Cockroach. Her 
 washhouse, with its perpetual fire and water, is a very paradise 
 for the Cockroach, which multiplies therein exceedingly, 
 keeping itself hidden during the day, according to the wont 
 of these light-hating insects. The laundress, having made up 
 her basket of linen, goes off to her well-earned rest ; and as 
 
THE COCKROACH. 237 
 
 80011 as the light is removed out come the Cockroaches in 
 shoals, and hold revel all night in the warmth and wet of the 
 room. In the morning they mostly retire to their hiding- 
 places, hut, if suddenly distm-bed, scurry off to any place 
 which can conceal them, and find the linen-baskets very con- 
 venient for the purpose. Hidden in the baskets, they are 
 carried off to the various houses, where they escape and soon 
 produce fresh colonies. 
 
 Still, though the Cockroach can be carried about London 
 by the laundress, it cannot reach the interior of England by 
 such means, and is in all probability imported in hampers, 
 paper parcels, and boxes, having crept into them while the 
 goods were waiting in the London offices. 
 
 Like many other insects, the Cockroach has a habit of dis- 
 charging from its mouth a dark-coloui'ed fluid which possesses 
 a most abominable smell. This odour, indeed, is one of the 
 principal reasons why the Cockroach is so imiversally detested, 
 for every place which the insects frequent becomes in time 
 impregnated with this nauseous odour, which sometimes is so 
 powerful that it sensibly affects the flavour of provisions that 
 have been left in larders in which the Cockroaches are specially 
 plentiful. Yet, in spite of this odour, and possibly on account 
 of it, the Cockroach is a favomite food with many animals, 
 almost all insectivorous birds being fond of it, and the hedge- 
 hog being so partial to it that one of these animals is some- 
 times kept in the kitchen for the express pui'pose of destroying 
 the Cockroaches. 
 
 I have even heard of a case where human beings have been 
 free from the usual dislike of these insects. Some thirty years 
 ago two young ladies, sisters, were at school in London, where 
 they had been sent from Jamaica, their native place. After 
 everyone but themselves was asleep they used to get up 
 quietly, slip down into the kitchen, and there catch and eat 
 the Cockroaches. This extraordinary habit was not detected for 
 some time, but at last the mistress found it out, and remon- 
 strated with them. They, however, defended themselves by 
 saying that they had seen her eat shrimps, which fed upon all 
 manner of carrion, whereas the Cockroaches were clean feeders, 
 living on the crumbs which had been suffered to lie about in 
 the kitchen. Even after the discovery it was almost im- 
 
238 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 possible to keep them from the kitchen at night, so strong was 
 their love for the Cockroaches. 
 
 In popular kitchen parlance these insects are called Black- 
 beetles, though why they should have such a name, not being 
 beetles and their coloui" being dark brown with a decided 
 tinge of red in it, is not easy to see. I find on enquiry that 
 in some bakehouses the males, which are distinguished by their 
 wings, are called Cockroaches, while the wingless females are 
 termed Black-beetles. As is the case with insects generally, 
 the Cockroach, when it first emerges from its pupal skin, is 
 almost white, the dark colour being attained by slow degrees. 
 Wishing to know how long a period was reqviired for the deve- 
 lopment of the dark hue, I tried the experiment by catching 
 one of these ' white Black-beetles,' as the servants called it, and 
 keeping it in my room imder a glass cover. The dark colour 
 was fully developed on the third day, but I fancy that a longer 
 period would be required in the darkling recesses in which the 
 insect loves to pass its life. 
 
 One of the most curious points about the Cockroach is the 
 mode in which its eggs are deposited. The eggs of most in- 
 sects are independent of each other, or at the most are attached 
 to each other after they are deposited, and are either defended 
 by being laid in some sheltered spot, by animal varnish with 
 which they are covered, or, in a few instances, by an artificial 
 covering placed over them by the mother insect. But the 
 eggs of the Cockroach are differently constituted, and are laid 
 all together, enveloped in a hard horny covering, in which 
 they lie like peas in a pod. The technical name for this egg- 
 case is ootheca, a word which signifies ' egg-purse.' The egg- 
 case of the common Cockroach is shown in Woodcut XXV. , 
 Fig. e, and at / the same egg-case is drawni, but represented as 
 laid open, so as to show the manner in whicli the eggs lie side 
 by side in it. 
 
 This egg-case looks exactly like the kind of tart called 
 popularly a 'turnover;' and indeed if the apple which is generally 
 enclosed in the ' turnover ' were cut into slices, and these slices 
 arranged side by side, a very accurate copy of the egg-case 
 would be made, the apple representing the eggs, and the crust 
 the egg-case itself. These egg-cases vary in appearance ac- 
 cording to the species of the insect which produced them. 
 
EGG-CASE OF THE COCKKOACH. 239 
 
 That of the domestic species is wonderfully large considering 
 the size of the insect, being three-eighths of an inch in length, 
 and nearly half as much in width. It is shaped something like 
 an oblong steel purse, the part which represents the purse itself 
 "jeing well rounded, and that which represents the clasp having 
 a row of very fine notches. When the young are hatched, they 
 escape through this portion of the egg-case, the whole side 
 opening exactly like the clasp of a purse, and, owing to the 
 elasticity of the material of which the case is composed, the 
 opening closes as soon as the young have escaped, and ex- 
 ternally the egg-case looks exactly as it did when the eggs 
 were still in it. 
 
 If the empty case be cut open a curious sight presents 
 itself. On the outside of the case are eight small rounded 
 projections, set in a row just beneath the opening. When the 
 interior of the case is shown, a double row of eight cells is seen 
 to occupy it, half of the cells lying on either side of the case ; 
 each cell being lined with a stout yellowish membrane, and 
 the end of the cells exactly corresponding with the little projec- 
 tions which have just been mentioned. The mother Cockroach 
 takes a considerable time in depositing this egg-sac, and carries 
 it about with her for several days before she finally places it 
 in the spot where the young are to be hatched. 
 
 Another species of Cockroach is shown on Plate VII., 
 Fig. 3. This is the Field Cockroach {Blatta germanica), a 
 much smaller insect than the domestic species. 
 
 Its colour is a pale yellow, sometimes taking a reddish hue, 
 and on the large prothorax are two conspicuous longitudinal 
 black lines, a peculiarity by which it may at once be recognised. 
 Unlike the domestic Cockroach, which only lives in houses, the 
 Field Cockroach lives in the open air as well as in houses, and 
 in the former case is to be found under decaying leaves and 
 similar situations. There is a slight difference in the colour 
 of the insect, according to its habitation, the paler specimens 
 being those of the open air, and the reddish hue belonging to 
 those which live within doors. 
 
 Whether or not this species is indigenous is a mooted poinfj, 
 but in all probability the insect has been introduced from the 
 Continent. Mr. Westwood remarks that he has received it 
 
240 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 from Van Diemen's Land, and has taken it on board vessels which 
 had just arrived from India. It is also common in Eussia, 
 where it is popularly known as the Prussian, because it is 
 thought to have accompanied the army on their return from 
 Germany after the Seven Years' War. 
 
 The egg-case of this species is just a quarter of an inch long 
 and one-eighth of an inch wide, and contains thirty eggs, 
 whereas that of the domestic species only contains sixteen, 
 eight on each side. 
 
 The escape of the young when hatched was witnessed by 
 Hummel, the naturalist. He took an egg-case of the Field 
 Cockroach, put it into a bottle, and then introduced a female 
 Cockroach. She at once seized the egg-case with her fore-legs 
 and slit it open from end to end. Within the case lay the 
 young larvffi attached to each other in pairs, and enveloped in 
 a delicate membrane, which the female stripped from them so 
 as to set them at liberty. 
 
 Although there has been some doubt respecting the native 
 country of these two insects, there is none respecting certain 
 small Cockroaches which are undoubtedly indigenous to England. 
 They all live in the open air, and may be captured with the 
 sweep net in long grass, heath, rushes, and similar situations. 
 One of the smallest, Blatta ericetorum, is barely one-third of 
 an inch in length, and like the rest of the out-door species is 
 pale yellow in colour. It is found among heath. 
 
 England possesses no example of the Ambulatoria or Eaptoria, 
 and we therefore pass at once to the Saltatoria, which may be 
 recognised at once by the length of their hinder legs and the 
 great development of the thighs, which are large and powerful, 
 as is the case with nearly all leaping insects. 
 
 The first family of these insects is the Achetidse or Crickets, 
 in which the antennae are very long and slender, often longer 
 than the whole body. The wings when folded project far beyond 
 the elytra, and form a pair of long, slender filaments. In the 
 .males there is a large spot at the base of the elytra, shining as 
 if made of talc, and at the end of the abdomen there are two 
 long and hairy bristles, which seem almost to serve as a second 
 
HOUSE CRICKET. 241 
 
 pair of antennae, and to warn the insect of any danger ap- 
 proaching from behind. The female has an ovipositor, or in- 
 strument for depositing the eggs, which in some species is as 
 long as the body. 
 
 The best known English species is the common House 
 Cricket (Acheta domestica), which is so well known as to need 
 but little description. Still, the reader will find that a careful 
 examination of this insect will be especially interesting and 
 instructive, as it affords an excellent type of the whole family. 
 The peculiar veining, or « neuration ' as it is scientifically called, 
 of the elytra is very well displayed, this being a very important 
 point in the economy of the insect. 
 
 Every one is familiar with the shrill noise or ' song ' produced 
 by the Cricket. This sound is not uttered from the mouth, 
 but is caused by the action of the elytra on each other. If 
 the reader will examine one of these elytra taken from the 
 male insect, he will see that there is a very strong vein or 
 nervure, starting from a thickened spot almost one-third 
 of the length of the elytra from the base. In the right 
 eljrtron this nervure is marked underneath with a series of 
 notches like those of a file, and this is the instrument which 
 produces the sound. When the wings are closed, the right 
 elytron lies over its fellow, so that its notched underside comes 
 upon the upper part of the corresponding nervure in the left 
 elytron. The elytra being put in rapid vibration, the notched 
 nervure plays against its fellow, and a shrill sound is produced, 
 strengthened by the form of the elytra, which act as sounding- 
 boards. The action of the notched nervure is exactly the same 
 as that of the iron ' rasp ' which used to supply the place of a 
 knocker in old houses. I may as well mention here that the 
 name Acheta is Greek, and signifies ' shrill-sounding.' 
 
 The whole arrangement of the nervures, indeed, differs in 
 the two sexes ; so that a single elytron is sufficient to tell the 
 entomologist the sex of the insect from which it was taken. 
 In the Mole Cricket, which will presently be described, this 
 peculiarity is of very great value, as it affords almost the only 
 external characteristic by which the male can be distinguished 
 from the female. In both sexes the elytra do not — as they 
 appear to do at a casual glance — merely lie flat on the back. 
 There is a very strong longitudinal nervure running from the 
 
 R 
 
242 INSECTS AT HOItfE. 
 
 base to the tip, which divides the elytron into two parts, 
 namely, a tolerably hard part that covers the back, and a softer 
 part that is folded on the sides, and cannot be seen when the 
 insect is viewed from above. On examination with a lens, 
 this nervure is shown to be a sort of hinge, and along its inner 
 side the elytron has a very deep fold, so that the soft part can 
 be turned down at right angles with the hard portion. 
 
 Up to this point, the elytra are alike in both sexes, but now 
 all resemblance ceases. The male elytron is much broader 
 than the female, and the nervures, instead of simply running 
 in a sort of network composed of delicate threads,' are very 
 strong, and converge towards the hard spot which has already 
 been mentioned, merging themselves into the fine network 
 only at the very end of the wing. On removing the right 
 elytron, and examining it carefully, the serrations which produce 
 the sound can be seen, if the light be properly adjusted. They 
 are not sharp, but rounded, and their outlines are waved in this 
 fashion |. I particularly mention the adjustment of the light, 
 because the serrations are not easily seen ; and indeed, when 
 I first looked for- them, I had some difficulty in finding them. 
 
 The true wings of the insect are large enough to carry their 
 owner through the air, but, like those of the cockchafer, the 
 dor, and stag Beetle, are not sufficiently large to prevent it from 
 knocking itself against obstacles. Gilbert White, in his ' Sel- 
 borne,' Letter XL VI., mentions that the house in which he was 
 writing was so infested with Crickets, that they became absolute 
 pests at night, even flying into the flame of the candle and 
 the faces of persons sitting in the room. 
 
 Of their mode of flight, he makes the following remarks : — 
 ' In the summer we have often observed them to fly, when it 
 became dusk, out of the windows, and over the neighbouring 
 roofs. This feat of activity accounts for the sudden manner 
 in which they often leave their haunts, as it does for the 
 method by which they come to houses where they were not 
 known before. It is remarkable that many insects seem never 
 to use their wings but when they have a mind to shift their 
 quarters, and establish new colonies. When in the air, they 
 move volatu undoso, in waves or curves, like woodpeckers, 
 opening and shutting their wings at every stroke, and so are 
 always rising or sinking.' Mr. Westwood remarks that he has 
 
FIELD CRICKET. 243 
 
 observed that Crickets not only appear suddenly in places 
 where they had not been seen before, but disappear as suddenly 
 from places where they had been plentiful. 
 
 In this insect, the ovipositor is long, straight, slender, and 
 spear-shaped, being armed at the end with a sharp and en- 
 larged tip, which looks just like the head of the spear, the 
 shaft being represented by the body of the ovipositor. On a 
 closer examination, this apparatus is seen to be double, and, 
 with a little pains, the two halves may be separated from each 
 other. Each half is then seen to be hollow, a deep groove 
 running throughout its whole length, so that when they are 
 placed in apposition, they form a tube along which the egg 
 
 can pass. 
 
 There is, however, a further provision for the deposition of 
 the eggs. Not only is the shaft of the ovipositor hollow, but 
 the enlarged tip is likewise hollow, each half looking very 
 much like the bowl of a spoon. A still closer examination 
 reveals another fact, namely, that each of these spoon-like 
 parts is itself double, being cleft along the centre, and capable 
 of being opened by pressure from within. The reader will 
 now see how beautiful and delicate is this contrivance, which 
 enables the mother insect to introduce her egg into a very 
 small crevice, and, while she is doing so, to hold it with a 
 grasp— not as of the two unyielding spoons, but of four elastic 
 springs, which can be relaxed, contracted, or entirely loosened, 
 at the will of the insect. 
 
 Crickets are wonderfully quarrelsome animals ; so quarrel- 
 some, indeed, that if they are kept in confinement, they must 
 be kept separately. Of a number which I placed under a glass 
 cover, for the purpose of studying them, not one escaped un- 
 hurt. Some had their limbs torn from their bodies, some had 
 their legs bitten completely through, all were more or less 
 shorn of their antennae, and several were killed outright. 
 Whether they fight in this manner when at liberty, I cannot 
 say ; but they invariably fight when placed in confinement, 
 maks and females being alike combative, and alike suffering 
 the penalties of warfare. 
 
 On Plate VII. Fig. 6, is shown the Field Cricket {Acheta 
 campestrls), an insect stronger, larger, and burlier than its 
 
 B 2 
 
244 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 domestic relative. The sexes rather differ in colour, the male 
 being black with a yellow patch on the base of the elytra, and 
 the female darkish-brown. As is the case with many other 
 insects, especially of this order, the colours change rapidly 
 after death. 
 
 This insect lives in the open air, residing in deep burrows, 
 which it digs in banks where the soil is loose and moderately 
 dry. The holes are tolerably deep, and carefully avoid a straight 
 line, so that the inhabitant cannot be seen while lying at the 
 extremity of the burrow. It is no easy task to get the Field 
 Cricket out of its burrow by force, for the burrow is deep, 
 and the soil mostly so loose that when the spade is introduced 
 into the ground, the earth all falls together, and the Cricket 
 is lost. A much surer way of obtaining it is to push a long 
 and flexible gTass-stem into the hole, for the Field Cricket is a 
 very irascible being, and is sure to seize the intruding object 
 so firmly in its strong jaws that it can be drawn out of its 
 hole before it quits its hold. In France children catch it by 
 tying a fly to the end of a horsehair, by way of bait, and then 
 pushing the fly towards the Cricket, by which it is at once 
 seized. The fly, however, is quite needless, as the bare horse- 
 hair wo\ild answer just as well^ the Cricket being actuated not 
 by hunger but by anger. 
 
 As far as is known, the Field Cricket is a solitary being, the 
 individuals of each sex living separately in their own burrow, 
 and only meeting at night. During the daytime, although 
 the insects will sit and sing at the mouths of their tunnels, 
 they will not use their wings, nor even exert their powerful 
 legs, except for slow crawling. This is a very wary insect, 
 taking alarm at the approach of a footstep, and retreating 
 at once into its burroAV ; so that although the place be one of 
 those localities which the Field Cricket is pleased to favour 
 with its presence, it is seldom seen though continually heard. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that the insect is a quarrel- 
 some one. Grilbert White, who has written a charming account 
 of it in his ' Selbome,' remarks that when he caught a number 
 of Field Crickets, and tried to stock an old stone wall with 
 them, the first comers took umbrage at the introduction of new 
 settlers, and invariably attacked them with their powerful 
 jaws. He found also, that to transplant a colony of these 
 
MOLE CRICKET. 245 
 
 insects was practically impossible, no matter how carefully the 
 habitation was prepared for them. He tried the experiment 
 of boring a number of deep holes in a sloping bank in his 
 garden, and putting into them a number of Field Crickets 
 which he took from their accustomed haunts outside the village. 
 For a time he thought that he had succeeded in his wish, as 
 the insects fed and sang, but they deserted their new habita- 
 tion by degrees, and at last wholly abandoned it. 
 
 Another species of British Cricket is the "Wood Cricket 
 {Acheta sylvestris). This is much smaller than the preceding 
 insect, the head and body not being quite half an inch in 
 length, excluding the antennae and appendages of the abdomen. 
 It may be known by the structure of the elytra, which in the 
 male do not reach to the end of the body, and in the female 
 are only one-third as long as the abdomen. The male is darker 
 and more mottled than the female. This is a very rare insect. 
 Its home is in the New Forest, where it has been found near 
 Lyndhurst, under dried leaves in a gravel-pit. 
 
 On Plate VII. Fig. 5, is shown the odd-looking Mole 
 Cricket [Gr^llotalpa vulgai^e), one of the largest insects 
 inhabiting England, not only being larger than most of our 
 insects, but stouter and more muscular. The name of Mole 
 Cricket is a very appropriate one, for the insect is not only 
 a Cricket, but is shaped wonderfully like the mole, and has 
 many of the habits of that animal, as we shall presently see. 
 There is but one genus and one species of Mole Cricket in- 
 habiting England, and there is no possibility of mistaking the 
 insect even in the earlier stages of existence. The tibise of 
 the fore-legs are developed into a stout, broad, flat, digging 
 apparatus, armed with sharp and strong claws, the whole limb 
 being almost exactly like that of the mole. Two views of this 
 extraordinary apparatus are given in Woodcut XXV., the upper 
 surface being drawn at Fig. 9, and the under surface at Fig. 6. 
 The latter figure shows how the small feet and claws are tucked 
 away under the broad, palmated tibia, so as not to be injured 
 while the insect is employed in digging. Other portions of 
 the anatomy of the insect are given in the same illustration, 
 Fig. i representing the labium and j the maxilla with its palpus. 
 
246 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 In these insects the female does not possess any ovipositor, 
 and the only method of determining the sex without dissection 
 is by examining the structure of the elytra, the males possessing 
 the notched nervure, and the females being without it. The 
 sound produced by the Mole Cricket is neither so loud nor so 
 shrill as that of the domestic Cricket, but yet it has been pro- 
 duced artificially by rubbing together the elytra of a newly 
 killed insect. The males, by the way, seem to be rarer than 
 the females. 
 
 In consequence of this sound, it is called by several popular 
 names, varying according to the district in which it is found. 
 In some places, for example, it is called the Churr-worm, or 
 Jarr-worm, or Eve-Churr, while in others it is named the 
 Croaker. Its hard, shelly limbs and general conformation 
 have also gained for it the name of Earth Crab. The colour 
 of this insect is brown above, with a peculiarly velvety surface, 
 and the elytra are much paler, with brown nervures. 
 
 The Mole Cricket is, as its structure shows, one of the bur- 
 rowers, and it carries out, though to a greater extent, many of 
 the habits of the Field Cricket, and prefers similar ground, so 
 that it is necessarily a local insect. Loose sandy places are the 
 best spots wherein to find the Mole Cricket, which can generally 
 be captured by the simple device of pushing a flexible twig or 
 long grass-stem into its burrow, and then digging round the 
 twig. There is a village called Besselsleigh, a few miles from 
 Oxford, where the Mole Cricket is tolerably plentiful, and from 
 that place Dr. Kidd obtained the specimens which he employed 
 when writing his admirable monograph on the insect. The 
 soil there is loose dry sand, heaped in many places in hillocks 
 and partly overgrown with grass, and, as it is dry, the sand 
 falls back into the holes made by the spade. Yet, Grilbert 
 White, in his ' Selborne,' states that the Mole Cricket haunts 
 most moist meadows, and frequents the sides of ponds and 
 banks of streams, performing all its functions in a swampy, 
 wet soil. 
 
 The normal food of the Mole Cricket is of a vegetable cha- 
 racter, and in some places where the insects are common, they 
 do much damage to the root-crops, and even destroy garden 
 flowers, cabbages, and grass, by devouring their roots. They 
 will, however, eat raw meat, and on occasions become cannibals. 
 
GRESAT GREEN GRASSHOPPER. 247 
 
 Dr. Kidd mentions in his monograph that he often found the 
 hard and horny parts of various insects when dissecting the 
 digestive apparatus ; and another student of this curious insect 
 has stated that he fed a Mole Cricket for several months on ants. 
 Like other Crickets, the males are very quarrelsome, and fight 
 to the death, the victor always eating his conquered adversary. 
 The males appear to be much scarcer than the females, and 
 in them the right elytron laps over the left, whereas in the 
 females the reverse seems to be the case. The male may 
 also be knowij by the arrangement of the nervures of the 
 elytra and the notches of the large nervure of the right 
 wing-case. 
 
 The eggs of the Mole Cricket are deposited under ground in 
 a chamber about the size and shape of a hen's egg cut longitu- 
 dinally. This cell is dug near the surface of the ground, so 
 that the warmth of the sun can penetrate through the thin 
 covering of earth, while the eggs are perfectly concealed from 
 any ordinary foe. The eggs vary in number from one to four 
 hundred, and are a greyish-yellow in colour. The wings being 
 small in proportion to the size of the body, the flight of the 
 Mole Cricket is in a succession of dips, like that of our 
 ordinary short-winged birds. 
 
 We now come to another family, namely, the Gryllidse, in 
 which are included the great bulk of the British Grasshoppers. 
 The word Ginjllidoi is taken from the Greek, and signifies ' a 
 murmurer,' in allusion to the familiar sound which is produced 
 by the males of most though not ©f all the species. 
 
 In this family the antennae are long and very slender ; the 
 females are furnished with a sword-shaped ovipositor, and 
 the wing covers of the males have a talc-like spot at their 
 bases. Mostly both wings are furnished with these spots, but 
 in some species there is only one spot. There is, however, one 
 character which is common to both sexes, namely, the disposi- 
 tion of the wings and their covers, which, when the insect is at 
 rest, are laid along the back and elevated in the middle like a 
 slanting roof. These wing-covers often extend far beyond the 
 end of the body. 
 
 Our best type of these insects is the Great Green Grass- 
 hopper (Acrida viridissima). This handsome insect lias 
 
248 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 always been a favourite of mine, partly on account of its 
 beauty, partly on account of its habits, and partly on account 
 of its size, which renders it an admirable object for the 
 entomologist who is studying that most absorbing branch 
 of science, the comparative anatomy of insects. Moreover, 
 the structure of the internal organism is so clearly marked, 
 that its dissection is quite an easy task, compared with that of 
 many insects. A figure of the Great Grreen Grasshopper is 
 given in the frontispiece, a female insect being shown in the 
 act of depositing her eggs. 
 
 When living, this insect is of the most beautiful leaf-green, 
 but, unfortunately, this colour is very evanescent, and no sooner 
 is the grasshopper dead than the colour begins to fade. Indeed, 
 the hue of a living and dead specimen is as different as that of 
 a living and dead leaf, the one being light-green and the other 
 yellowish-brown, even becoming black in some places. I do not 
 know any mode of preserving for any length of time the soft 
 green hue of this beautiful insect, and regret this the more, 
 because the creatures, which would form such beautiful objects 
 in a cabinet, actually become unsightly, and can only be valued 
 for scientific purposes. 
 
 This is a tree-loving insect, and is seldom found in the grass. 
 When I was engaged in studying the internal structiu-e of in- 
 sects, I procured my specimens of the Great Green Grasshopper 
 from a hazel hedge in a garden just on the outskirts of Oxford, 
 the insects having for some reason or other taken an extra- 
 ordinary fancy to this hedge. The young entomologist must, 
 however, bear in mind that .for the Great Green Grasshopper 
 to be in a particular tree is one thing, and that to find it is 
 another ; for its colour harmonises so exactly with that of the 
 leaves that no small practice is required before it can be 
 detected. The cry of this insect is a loud one, and when 
 it produces the shrilling sound, it clings tightly with its 
 feet to the object on which it is standing, presses its body 
 slightly downwards, and seems to shudder as long as the sound 
 lasts. 
 
 The ovipositor of the female insect is very long and sword- 
 shaped, and, on being closely examined, is foimd to consist of 
 several blades, which fit against each other when the instru- 
 ment is not in use, and can be separated to allow the egg to 
 
WAKTBITER. 249 
 
 pass to its extremity, and thus be emitted. In consequence 
 of the shape of the ovipositor, some entomologists invented the 
 generic name Phasgonura, or sword-tailed, and placed in it 
 this and allied insects. When the young are hatched, an event 
 which takes place in the spring, they are very tiny, but are 
 shaped much like their parents, except that there are no wings, 
 and in the females there is no sign of the ovipositor. This 
 remarkable appendage does not appear until the larvae is seven 
 or eight weeks old, and it increases in size with every change 
 of skin. 
 
 If the reader should possess sufficient skill and time, he 
 should dissect a few specimens of this insect, for the purpose of 
 studying the internal structure. Among other points, one of 
 the most interesting is the ' gizzard.' Before it is opened, it 
 looks very like a swelling of the digestive tube, but if it be 
 carefully slit horizontally, and spread flat, a number of 
 narrow, parallel bands will be seen. On placing one of these 
 bands under the microscope, it will be seen to consist of a 
 number of very small teeth, arranged with perfect regularity, 
 and admirably calculated for triturating morsels of the leaves 
 which have been cut off by the powerful jaws, and then swal- 
 lowed. As for the jaws themselves, their power may be easily 
 ascertained, for the insect is generally given to biting ; and if the 
 searcher after knowledge will put his finger in the way of this 
 Grasshopper's jaws, he will at once be convinced both of the 
 sharpness and strength of the jaws. Moreover, he will not 
 feel it necessary to repeat the experiment. 
 
 There is a smaller species of this group, which is closely 
 allied to the Great Green Grasshopper. This is the Tree 
 Grasshopper [Meconema varia), an insect which, as its name 
 implies, is a denizen of trees rather than a dweller on the ground. 
 It is to be found on the oak, and the best mode of obtaining 
 it is to beat the branches and catch the falling insects in a 
 sheet or net held beneath the boughs. Otherwise, there will 
 be much difficulty in detecting its presence, its bright green 
 colour being almost identical in hue with the oak leaves among 
 which it dwells. In this insect the wing-covers of the male are 
 without any stridulating apparatus, so that it is quite silent, 
 and the difficulty of finding it is thereby increased. 
 
250 INSECTS AT HOME. • 
 
 Another of these insects is rare in England, tbongh plentiful 
 on the Continent. It is known by the name of Wartbiter, 
 because its bite is supposed by the Swedish peasant to have 
 the effect of destroying the wart. Its scientific name is Dec- 
 ticus griseus. 
 
 Very probably it really does have this effect,* for there is no 
 doubt that these unpleasant and mysterious excrescences do 
 make their appearance and disappear without any assignable 
 reason. Only a few days before writing this account, I over- 
 heard a dialogue between some tradesmen's boys, who, after 
 the manner of their kind, were having a chat under cover of a 
 hedge, instead of going about their duties. One of them made 
 some jeering remarks to the others respecting the warts with 
 which his hands were covered. The boy replied that he did 
 not care for the warts, as he was going to have them charmed 
 away next morning, and appealed to another boy, who said that 
 his hands had been covered with warts, but that he had been 
 to an old man who charmed them away for twopence. He 
 held out his hands in proof of his assertion ; and certainly, 
 whatever may formerly have been the state of his hands, there 
 was then not a wart upon them. 
 
 It is remarkable, by the way, that scarcely any two wart- 
 charmers employ the same method. Some rub the wart with 
 a piece of bread or oat-cake, which they bury in the earth, the 
 wart being supposed to vanish as the bread decays. Some 
 hold the afflicted hand between their own, and blow on it, while 
 some stroke the spot and repeat some gibberish in an undertone. 
 All, however, appear to agree in one point — they must be paid, 
 and paid in coin. However small the fee, it must be a 
 bond fide payment in cash, as otherwise the charm loses its 
 efficacy. 
 
 The only solution of the problem that has been afforded is, 
 of course, that the cure is wrought, not by the means employed 
 by the charmer, but by the imagination of the person who is 
 acted upon. But how imagination can so act upon a wart as to 
 cause it utterly to vanish is in itself a problem which requires 
 solution, and certainly has never received one. It is easy to see 
 how imagination can cure an imaginary malady, but how 
 an emotion of the mind ca,n absorb into the system an external 
 excrescence of the skin is not so easy of comprehension. 
 
MIGEATORY LOCUST. 251 
 
 The very remarkable insect which is shown in Woodcut 
 XXV. Fig. 2, may be known by the exceedingly small size of the 
 wings and elytra, which in the female are practically absent, 
 and in the male are exceedingly small, not extending one- 
 fourth along the body. 
 
 Its name is Thamnotrizon cinereus, and the name is a very 
 appropriate one. It is composed of two Greek roots, the first 
 signifying a garden, and the other, to sing, or rather, to trill, 
 and is given to the insect on account of its habits of singing in 
 gardens. The colour is brownish or rather grey, which in the 
 male is marked with dark browm. The colour is altogether 
 darker in the male than in the female. As is often the case 
 with insects of this order, the males are comparatively rare, so 
 that the capture of a perfect male Thamnotrizon may be looked 
 upon as an event in an entomologist's day. The insects are 
 found in gardens, or sitting among logs and brushwood, and 
 they also frequent fir woods. 
 
 We now pass to the true Locusts, of which we shall take one 
 example. In these insects, the antennae are comparatively 
 short, and the female is without the sword-like ovipositor. On 
 Woodcut XXV. Fig. 1, is shown the well-known Migratory 
 Locust {Pachytylus migratorius). The name Pachytylus is 
 composed of two Grreek words, one signifying thick and the 
 other a knot or hump, and is given to the insect because the 
 front of its forehead is rather projecting, and very hard and 
 thick. Some authors give it the name of (Edipoda, or Swollen 
 Leg, on account of the enormous dimensions of the thighs of 
 the hind pair of legs. 
 
 This fine insect is very variable in point of colour, but is ge- 
 nerally as follows : — The colour is pale brown, the elytra being 
 simply spotted with dark brown. The wings are very large and 
 shining, and have a slight green tinge. The legs are brown, 
 banded alternately with black and yellow, as shown in the illus- 
 tration. The thorax is covered with fine down. 
 
 This insect is happily very rare in England, and, although a 
 few specimens make their appearance almost annually, the insect 
 has never fairly acclimatised itself. During the summer, news- 
 paper paragraphs are plentiful, announcing the capture of the 
 Locust, and describing its dimensions. Many of these insects, 
 
252 INSECTS AT HOIHE. 
 
 however, are not Locusts at all, the word Locust being applied 
 in various parts of England to any large caterpillar or grub. 
 Mr. E. Newman, being aware of this fact, tried to verify the 
 ' Locust of the newspapers, and succeeded in six cases, three of 
 which turned out to be caterpillars of the Death's-head Moth, 
 one the same insect in its perfect state ; and the other two 
 were specimens of the common Humming-bird Hawk-moth. In 
 all other instances I have gained no reply whatever, the writers 
 being so confident of their entomological omniscience as to 
 resent the idea of identification being needful.' 
 
 In hotter countries, however, the Migratory Locust is one 
 of the most dread plagues that can pass over a land. The 
 insects swarm in countless myriads, and, as they fly on their 
 course, they darken the air like black clouds. Like cloiids 
 also they follow the course of the wind, for they have little 
 power of guiding their flight, and are carried along as the 
 wind happens to blow. Nothing but a change of wind seems 
 to have the least effect in checking their progress, for they 
 seem to care nothing for every obstacle that the art of man 
 can place in their path ; and even fire can do nothing to stop or 
 divert them. Vast ranges of brushwood have been fired as 
 soon, as the Locusts were in sight, but the insects were swept 
 whistling along by the wind ; and though hundreds of thou- 
 sands perished in the flames, the survivors continued their 
 onward course, and the Locust army passed on, its numbers 
 scarcely perceptibly thinned. 
 
 Even in Europe the ravages of the Locust have been 
 terrible ; and in the South of France rewards have been offered 
 for many years for the destruction of these insects, a certain 
 sum being paid per kilogramme of the eggs, and double the 
 amount for the perfect insects. But in Asia and Africa, their 
 armies almost exceed belief. One column of these insects 
 measm-ed no less than five hundred miles in length, and was 
 so wide that, as it passed along, it darkened the earth to such 
 an extent that large buildings could scarcely be seen at a 
 distance of less than two hundred yards. This swarm occurred 
 in India. 
 
 There is a powerful account given by Chenier, and quoted 
 by Southey in his ' Thalaba,' of the effects produced by a swarm 
 of Locusts in Morocco. ' In 1778, the empire of Morocco 
 
RAVAGES OF THE LOCUST. 253 
 
 was ravaged by these insects. In the summer of that year 
 such clouds of Locusts came from the south that they darkened 
 the air and devoured a part of the harvest. Their offspring 
 committed still greater mischief. Locusts appeared and bred 
 anew in the following year, so that in the spring the ground 
 was wholly covered, and they crawled one over the other in 
 search of their subsistence. 
 
 ' The whole country was eaten up : the very bark of the fig, 
 pomegranate, and orange-tree — bitter, hard, and corrosive as it 
 was — could not escape the voracity of these insects. The lands, 
 ravaged throughout all the western provinces, produced no 
 harvest ; and the Moors, being obliged to live on their stores, 
 began to feel a dearth. Their cattle died with hunger ; nor 
 could any be preserved but those which were in the neigh- 
 bourhood of mountains or in marshy grounds, where the re- 
 growth of pasturage is more rapid. 
 
 ' In 1780, the distress was still- further increased. The dry 
 winter had checked the products of the earth, and given birth 
 to a new generation of Locusts, who devoured whatever had 
 escaped from the inclemency of the season. The husbandman 
 did not even reap what he had sowed, and found himself 
 destitute of food, cattle, or seed corn. In this time of extreme 
 wretchedness, the poor felt all the horrors of famine. They 
 were seen wandering over the country to dig roots, and, 
 perhaps, abridged their days by digging into the entrails of 
 the earth in search of the crude means by which they might 
 be preserved. 
 
 ' Vast numbers perished of indigestible food and want. I 
 have beheld country people in the roads, and in the streets, 
 who had died of hunger, and who were thrown across asses 
 to be taken and buried. The husband, with the consent of his 
 wife, would take her into another province, there to bestow 
 her in marriage, as if she were his sister, and afterwards come 
 and reclaim her when his wants were not so great. I have 
 seen women and children run after camels, and rake their 
 dung, to seek for some undigested grain of barley, which, 
 if they fovmd, they devoured with avidity.' 
 
 The writer also mentions the mode in which the young 
 Locusts were destroyed in one province. A vast trench was 
 dug, more than three miles in length, and extending from the 
 
254 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 sea to a river. The miniature Locusts, which were unable to 
 fly, their wings not being as yet developed, were driven into 
 the ditch, whence they were unable to escape. In this way 
 the district was cleared of the Locusts ; but their numbers 
 were so vast that, on the third day after they were driven into 
 the ditch, their putrefying bodies infected the air, so that no 
 one could approach the trench. The reader will doubtless 
 have noticed how similar is this account to the many Scriptural 
 references to the Locust and its numbers. In Southern Africa, 
 the young Locusts are called Voet-gangers, or Foot-goers, and 
 are even more dreaded by the agriculturist than the mature 
 insects.- 
 
 There is certainly one redeeming point about the Locusts. 
 They eat the leaves, the flowers, the grass-blades, and the very 
 twigs ; but, then, they can be eaten themselves. I never had 
 the opportunity of tasting a Locust, but I know several tra- 
 vellers who have done so ; and they all agree in saying that the 
 insect, though dry, is rather palatable than otherwise, and 
 that, when the provisions run short, the Locusts form an 
 acceptable addition to the commissariat. I think, however, 
 that the dryness which is mentioned is caused by the rough- 
 and-ready style of cooking which is adopted by travellers 
 under such circumstances, and that if the insects were better 
 cooked they would be better flavoured. 
 
 I am led to this belief by the Nineveh sculptures in the 
 British Museum. One of them represents a train of servants 
 carrying various meats to a great feast. Among them there 
 are several men, who are bearing long sticks, on which are tied 
 Locusts, just as cherries are tied on a stick or onions on a 
 string. It is evident that in this case the Locust is not looked 
 upon merely as a succedaneum for better food, but as being a 
 delicacy which was worthy of a place at a public feast, and 
 was borne aloft by bearded attendants. 
 
 Although this is the species which is most common in these 
 Locust armies, several other species equally deserve the name 
 of Migratory, and are equally destructive to the herbage. 
 
 I cannot leave the Orthoptera without mentioning that the 
 arrangement of its members is very unsatisfactory, and, in 
 spite of the exertions of several able entomologists, much 
 
ARRANGEMENT OF ORTHOPTERA. 255 
 
 remains to be done. No common arrangement has as yet been, 
 accepted, and the consequence is that scarcely any two books, 
 or two cabinets, employ the same system, to the very great 
 confusion of the beginner in entomology. Still, the broad 
 distinctions which have been given in the preceding pages 
 are simple and intelligible, and, by their means, the various 
 Orthopteran insects of England can be grouped without much 
 difficulty. 
 
THYSANOPTEEA. 
 
THYSANOPTEEA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The little creatures which will be briefly described in :hese 
 pages are now ascertained to belong to a separate order, 
 which has been named Thysanoptera, on account of the 
 curious structure of their wings. This name is derived from 
 two Greek words — one sigiiifpng a tassel, and the other a 
 wing — and has been given to the insects of this order because 
 their wings are furnished on the edges with a fringe of long 
 hairs. These wings are long, narrow, and are not folded, but 
 lie flat along the back, and slightly crossed over each other. 
 There is no distinction between wings and elytra, and in most 
 of the species the hairy fringe is more than twice as wide as 
 the wing which it surrounds. In some species the wings are 
 long, but in some they are short, while in others they are 
 practically absent, being only represented by the undeveloped 
 rudiments. 
 
 One of these insects, Phlceothrijos conacea, is shown in 
 Woodcut XXVII. Fig. 1 , and is a good example of the order. 
 As may be seen by the line on its left side, it is a very tiny 
 insect, about the twelfth or fourteenth of an inch in length, 
 and yet it is larger than many of the same curious group. 
 Owing to their small size, it is not very easy to make out their 
 structure, but the reader should try, with the aid of the micro- 
 scope, to examine the head and the parts of the mouth, which 
 are very remarkable ; and, though formed of mandibles and 
 palpi, are united into a sort of conical sucker, which lies under 
 the breast when the insect is still. 
 
 There is no difficulty in procuring specimens, as the insects 
 are exceedingly plentiful — much too plentiful indeed — and 
 
 8 2 
 
260 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 may be seen in swarms upon flowers and various plants, espe- 
 cially infesting those of the greenhouse, where they become an 
 absolute pest, particularly if the gardener be careless about his 
 plants. They collect in great numbers on the underside of 
 the leaves, the chief part of the damage being done by the 
 larvae, which mark the leaves with little decayed patches. 
 Stone fruits of various kinds are also much damaged by them, 
 the little creatures making their way into the ripe fruit at the 
 base of the stalk, and then crawling in — much as do the ants — 
 between the stone and the soft substance of the fruit. 
 
 There are many species of these insects, which popularly go 
 under the collective name of Thrips, but the distinctions are 
 too many and minute for any but a purely scientific work. 
 The exact position of the order is still a mooted point among 
 entomologists, as these insects resemble the Orthoptera and 
 Hemiptera in their transformations, while the structure of the 
 mouth is quite unlike that of either of these orders. Van der 
 Hoeven seems scarcely to think that the Thysanoptera con- 
 stitute a separate order, and considers them as an appendix to 
 the Orthoptera. 
 
NEUEOPTEEA, 
 
NEUEOPTEBA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The important order of insects which comes next on our list 
 is a very remarkable one. The name Neuroptera is formed 
 from two Greek words, the one signifying a nerve, and the 
 other a wing, and has been given to these insects because the 
 transparent wings ai-e traversed by a vast quantity of nervures, 
 which divide the wings into a greater number of spaces or 
 ' cells ' than is the case with any other order of insects. Both 
 pairs of wings are of equal size and of equal solidity. The 
 larva has always six legs, and the pupa is sometimes quiescent 
 and sometimes active. 
 
 The Neuropterous insects fall naturally into several groups, 
 the characteristics of which are so strongly marked that they 
 are well known by popular names, such as Stone-flies, Dragon- 
 flies, Lace-wing-flies, and the like. There are not many 
 species inhabiting England, but the insects are mostly plentiful, 
 and are sufficiently large and handsome to constitute much of 
 the beauty of our country scenes. 
 
 We will begin with the Perlidse, or Stone-flies, as they are 
 popularly called. These insects are very dear to the angler, 
 inasmuch as they supply some of his best and most certain baits, 
 whether the real insect be used, or only the imitation called 
 the 'artificial fly.' They are the more valuable from being 
 dull and sluggish in their habits, so that they can be easily 
 captured as they sit upon the trunks, stones, and other objects 
 near the water's edge. 
 
 One of these insects, Perla marginata, is shown in Wood- 
 cut XXVI. Fig. 1, and may be at once recognised. The 
 colour of this insect is pale yellowish brown, and the nervures 
 
264 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 of the upper wings are peculiarly large and bold. All the 
 Perlidge have the second pair of wings, very large, and capable of 
 being folded. The body is rather flattened, and equally wide 
 throughout its length. The tarsi have three joints. 
 
 These insects are aquatic in their habits. During their 
 larval and pupal stages they live in the water, and after they 
 
 XXVI 
 
 1. Peria marginata. 2. Limnephilus bicolor. 3. Phryganea minor. 4. Leptocenis 
 
 ochraceus. a. Limnephilus, labium. 6. Limnephilus, maxilla. c. Labium of ditto, 
 
 female. d. Labium, male. e. Anal appendages or clasper, male. 
 
 have attained their perfect condition, they love to remain near 
 the water in which they were reared, and seldom travel to any 
 distance from the familiar banks. The mother insect imitates 
 in one respect the female Cockroach, for she carries the eggs 
 about with her, attached to the end of the abdomen, for some 
 time before they are laid. They are not, however, enclosed in 
 a hard case or pouch, like those of the Cockroach, but are 
 merely united together in a small black globular bundle. 
 
STONE-FLIES. 265 
 
 the effect of which against the light-hrown grey body and 
 wings is very remarkable, as the insect flutters heavily from 
 spot to spot. The membranous envelope within which the 
 eggs are contained is exceedingly delicate, so that it shows 
 both the shape and colour of the eggs which it encloses. The 
 egg-cluster of Perla marginata is about as large as a swan- 
 shot, and nearly as black. It is rather more barrel-shaped 
 than globular, and, on being examined with a lens, is seen to 
 be composed of several hundred eggs, agglutinated together in 
 a sort of semi-order, as if the eggs had been deposited in strings, 
 and the strings wound at random into a ball. 
 
 These eggs are deposited in the water, and when hatched, 
 the young larv® manage to crawl under stones and similar 
 sheltered localities. They prefer running to still waters, and 
 the more rapid parts of the stream to those which are com- 
 paratively still. In the swift river Dove these creatures are 
 very plentiful, and I used to capture almost any number of 
 them in the spring time, the rippling, eddying stream exactly 
 suiting them. Near my present house is a very small pond, 
 through which a stream of water continually runs. It is mar- 
 vellously rich in insect life, and I have captured in it a variety 
 of aquatic insects in all stages, which utterly astonish those 
 who are not initiated in the wealth of entomology. Yet, 
 though I have industriously fished every inch of this pond, I 
 have never found the larva of the Stone-fly. Larvse of May- 
 flies, Dragon-flies, Caddis-flies, Dyticus, Acilius, Gyrinus, Noto- 
 esta. Gnats, and other aquatic creatures, I take in plenty, but 
 not one single Stone-fly larva have I found, though I have 
 sedulously examined both the inlet and outlet of the stream 
 which runs through the pond and keeps it supplied with water. 
 
 In the present genus, the abdomen is very stout, and has 
 two long slender appendages at its tip. The wings of the male 
 are very short in proportion, and altogether he is quite an 
 inferior being to his stately mate. There are several species of 
 this group in England, some of which are known to anglers by 
 various popular names. The name of Stone-fly is, however, 
 given indiscriminately to at least four species. One is that 
 which has already been mentioned; another is scientifically 
 known as Perla grandis ; a third is Perla cephalotes, which, as 
 its name implies, has a very large head ; and a fourth, perhaps 
 
266 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the best known, is Perla bicaudata. Then, the familiar 
 ' Yellow Sally ' of anglers is Chloroperla viridis, and the 
 equally familiar ' Willow-fly ' belongs to the genus Nemoura. 
 
 As is the case with many other aquatic insects, the pupse of 
 the Stone-flies crawl out of the water when they are about to 
 assume their perfect state, so that when they come to expand 
 their wings an ample space may be gained for this important, 
 and often perilous, task. The details of this process will be 
 explained in connexion with the various species of Neuropterous 
 insects. 
 
 All the Perlidse have a very moth-like aspect, especially on 
 the wing, and, owing to the invariable sombreness of their hues, 
 and their great similitude in shape, there is considerable diffi- 
 culty in distinguishing between the various species. With 
 many species this difficulty is still more increased by the 
 difference in size between the sexes, the males being scarcely 
 one-third as large as the females, and having wings very short 
 in proportion to the length of their bodies. 
 
 Now we come to another family, the Epheraeridae, 'better 
 known by the popular name of May-flies. In many respects 
 these are very curious insects, and not the least remarkable 
 point about them is that in the perfect state they have no 
 mouth. Tlie parts of the mouth are certainly there, but in a 
 rudimentary condition, and entirely incapable of receiving 
 food, so that during the time of its existence as a perfect 
 insect, the Ephemera never eats, neither does it require to eat. 
 
 The wings are very unequal in size, the lower pair being very 
 small, and in some species reduced to mere rudiments. In 
 consequence of this formation of the wings, Dr. Leach con- 
 sidered that the May-flies ought to be formed into a separate 
 order, to which he gave the name of Anisoptera, or imequal- 
 winged insects. The end of the body is furnished with either 
 two or three long and slender filaments ; and by these three 
 characters — the mouth, the wings, and the tail — the May-flies 
 may be at once distinguished from all other insects. The best 
 known species, Ejphemera vulgata, or Common Mat-fly, is 
 shown on Plate VIII. Fig. 1. 
 
 The transformations of the May-flies are very remarkable, 
 and in some respects almost unique. In its larval condition, 
 
PLATE VIII. 
 DRAGON-FLIES, MAYFLIES, AND CADDIS. 
 
 1. Ephemera vulgata. 
 
 2. Ephemera, larva. 
 
 3. Libellula depressa. 
 Sa.Libellula emerging from pupa-case. 
 
 4. Libellula, larva. 
 
 5. Calopteryx virgo. 
 
 6. Agrion minium. 
 
 7. Phryganea grandis. 
 
 8. Phryganea, larva cases, or Caddis. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Flowering Rush (Butomus umhellatus). In Centre. 
 Mare's-tail {Hippuris vulgaris). On Right. 
 Water Bistort {Polygonum amphibium). On Left, 
 
MAY-FLIES. 267 
 
 the May-fly is an inhabitant of the water, and in form much 
 resembles the perfect insect, except that it has no wings. 
 This species lives in the muddy banks of rivers and ponds, and 
 burrows for itself certain ingenious tunnels. These burrows 
 are double, running horizontally into the mud, and having two 
 outlets. In fact, they are shaped much like the letter C, so 
 that the larva can crawl in and out of its hole with perfect 
 ease. Its food appears to consist of the decaying vegetable 
 matter of which fresh-water mud is largely composed. 
 
 In consequence of its hidden dwelling, this larva is not often 
 seen even by those who are in the habit of fishing for aquatic 
 insects. I have found two plans to be successful in its capture. 
 The first is, to detach a large piece of mud, take it carefully 
 from its place, and then examine it under water. The second 
 plan is, to push a stick into the mud and work it about so as 
 to drive the larvae out of their burrows, and then to move the 
 net rapidly to and fro in the clouded water. By this plan 
 several other aquatic insects may be captured, which are much 
 too wary to allow a net to come near them as long as they can 
 see it. The muddy water, however, reduces them to a tem- 
 porary state of blindness, and they are then taken without 
 difficulty. Some of the smaller species do not burrow, but 
 live at liberty in the water. In these species the surface of the 
 body is harder than in those which burrow. 
 
 One of these larvae is shown in Plate VIII. Fig. 2, in order 
 to give the reader an idea of its shape. In its larval condition 
 this creature is furnished with two rather long and many- 
 jointed antennae, which, in the perfect insect, shrink into an 
 almost rudimentary form. Along each side of the body runs a 
 series of thin plates in which the branchiae or gills spread them- 
 selves. These are said to assist in locomotion, but I have not 
 seen them used for that purpose ; the undulation of the body 
 and the employment of the legs seeming to be sufficient for 
 that purpose. At the end of the abdomen are three fringed 
 appendages or setae, and it is a rather curious fact that even in 
 those species which have only two setae in the perfect state, the 
 larva possesses three of those appendages. The pupa differs 
 little in shape from the larva, except that the wings show 
 themselves boldly in the form of projections in the back of the 
 thorax. 
 
268 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 After passing some two years in the preliminary stages, the 
 Ephemera prepares for its change into the perfect form. The 
 pupa leaves the water, and almost as soon as it emerges into 
 the open air, the pupal skin splits, and enables the insect to 
 crawl from within its former envelope. The wings are soon 
 stretched to their utmost, and the insect then flies slowly to 
 some tree or post where it affixes itself, and appears to rest 
 after its exertions. 
 
 Another change, however, awaits the insect, for this state is 
 only preliminary, and is scientifically called by the name of 
 ' pseudimago,' or false insect. After it has waited for some 
 little time — depending, as far as I can see, on the warmth and 
 dryness of the atmosphere — the skin again splits, and through 
 the aperture the insect emerges, leaving the abandoned skin 
 clinging to the tree, and looking exactly like the living insect. 
 The wings now assume a lighter and more delicate aspect, the 
 filaments at the end of the body increase to nearly twice their 
 former length, and the May-fly launches into tlie air to take 
 its part in that evening dance with which we are all so familiar, 
 the insects rising and falling almost in the same place for several 
 hours together. Should the reader be an angler, he will 
 recognise in the female pseudimago the ' Green Drake,' and in 
 the perfect insect the ' Grey Drake.' The angler only cares 
 for the female insects, because the fish prefer them, laden as they 
 are with eggs, to the males, which have little in them but air. 
 
 The May-fly has not much time in which to enjoy its new 
 phase of existence. As has already been mentioned, it has 
 no mouth, and as it cannot eat, is evidently incapable of any 
 lengthened term of life. It has in fact but one business, 
 namely, to seek a mate, and provide a new generation in place 
 of that which is now passing away. The May-fly seldom lives 
 more than a few hours, and in its natural condition is supposed 
 never to exceed the limits of a single day. The name Ephem- 
 era, which is formed from two Greek words signifying an 
 existence of a day, alludes to this shortness of life, and was 
 given to the insect as long ago as the time of Aristotle. 
 Isolated specimens have certainly lived longer than tliis brief 
 term, for tliey have been known to live more than a week in 
 captivity. Had they, however, been at liberty, it is most pro- 
 bable, if not certain, that their lives would have been as short 
 as is mostly the case with the May-flies. 
 
DRAGON-FLIES. 269 
 
 In Kirby and Spence's well-known work, there is an account 
 of a still more strange prolongation of life. There are certain 
 flies whose larvae feed on aphides, which live in their three 
 stages about six weeks. One of tliem had been caught when 
 half-grown, and, having been once or twice fed, was forgotten 
 for three months, when it was found to be alive. It actually 
 lived for a whole year without a particle of food, and, as is well 
 remarked, ' it had existed in the larva state more than eight 
 times as long as it would have lived in all its states, if it had 
 regularly undergone its metamorphoses, which is as extraordi- 
 nary a prolongation of life as if a man were to live 560 years.' 
 
 Sometimes tlie May-flies are wonderfully numerous, the air 
 being filled with their swarms as they flutter up and down in 
 their strange flight, and the trees and banks covered with the 
 shed pellicles of the first-winged stage. Even in England I 
 have known the May-flies to be in such swarms that the 
 very trout could not be taken with the hook, so gorged were 
 they with the May-flies that fell by thousands into the water. 
 In some parts of Europe, however, tlie numbers of these insects 
 are so vast, that their bodies are collected into heaps and used 
 for manuring the fields. 
 
 The next family is a very conspicuous one, and there is no 
 likelihood of mistaking one of them for any other kind of 
 insect. Scientifically these insects are termed Libellulidae, and 
 they are familiarly known as Dragon-flies or Horse-stingers, the 
 latter name being given them from an absurd notion that they 
 sting horses. It is curious to notice how widely and deeply 
 this idea has impressed itself upon the general mass of country 
 people, and to see how terrified they are at the very idea of 
 touching a Dragon-fly. I suppose that the convulsive jerkings 
 of the long-bodied Dragon-flies when captured have given rise 
 to this opinion. With regard to the name of Dragon-flies, it 
 is a very appropriate one, as we shall presently see. 
 
 In these insects the body is always long, and in most cases 
 nearly cylindrical, though in some it is rather wide and flat- 
 tened. The wings are very large, powerful, translucent, 
 strongly veined, and of equal size ; and the meshes, or ' reticula- 
 tions,' are so close as to divide the wing into a very great num- 
 ber of cells. 
 
270 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The head is adorned with two enormous eyes, or rather eye- 
 masses, and, dui'ing the life of the insect, the light plays in 
 and through these eyes in a most beautiful but quite inde- 
 scribable manner. Unfortunately, this play of colour and 
 light fades together with the life, and, when the insect is dry, 
 it vanishes altogether. Beside the compound eyes, there are 
 three ' ocelli,' or simple eyes, placed usually in a row on the 
 front of the head. The antennae are very short and small, 
 and have never more than eight joints. The mouth is very 
 curiously formed, the mandibles and the maxillse being hidden 
 behind two large flat lips, which move up and down while the 
 insect is eating, so that at first sight the Dragon-fly really 
 looks as if its mouth worked vertically and not laterally. 
 
 During its preliminary stages the Dragon-fly lives in the 
 water, and the larva is one of the most curious and interesting 
 beings which our waters produce* These larvae are so wonderful, 
 in fact, and possess so many points of interest, that I scarcely 
 know which to take first. The chief points of interest lie, 
 however, in the head and the tail, and we will give to the 
 former the place of honour. 
 
 At first sight the head does not appear to differ very much 
 from that of otlier insects, but on closer examination a very 
 singular development of the mouth is shown. If the creature 
 be turned on its back, a horny plate will be seen, which covers 
 the whole of the under side of the head and descends as far as 
 the bases of the middle pair of legs. With a pin it is easy 
 to raise this plate, which then shows itself to be composed of 
 several portions and furnished with a hinge, by means of 
 which it can be doubled upon itself. The upper part, which 
 covers the face, is much widened, and is furnished with two 
 jaw-like appendages, which can be opened or closed at will, 
 and are finely toothed at their lower edges. 
 
 This remarkable apparatus is a development of the lower lip, 
 and is called the mask, because, when closed, it covers the 
 lower part of the head. The object of the mask is to catch 
 prey, and a very effective apparatus it is. When an unfor- 
 tunate insect comes near, the Dragon-fly larva suddenly un- 
 folds its mask, darts it out to its full lengtli, and seizes the 
 insect in the jaws. The mask is then closed again, and, when 
 folded, the jaws of the mask come exactly upon those of the 
 
L.\EVA OF THE DRAGON-FLY. 271 
 
 mouth, SO that the prey can be eaten without trouble. In 
 Plate VIII. Fig-. 4, the end of the still folded mask is seen, the 
 jaws being opened preparatory to the darting forward of the 
 mask. Tlie shape and details of this structure vary somewhat 
 in the different species. 
 
 The larva is a voracious creature, and will eat almost any 
 aquatic insect which it can master, and has even been known 
 to catcli and eat small fishes. In its own turn, however, it 
 falls a victim to the more powerful inhabitants of the water, 
 being attacked and eaten by the Dyticus and even by the 
 Acilius. Two specimens of Acilius which I kept in an 
 aquarium managed to eat, in little more than a fortnight, 
 three out of four Dragon-fly larvae which were in the same 
 vessel ; and in the waters where the creatures live I have often 
 found the dead and partly-eaten bodies of Dragon-fly larvae, the 
 destroyer having evidently been the Dyticus. 
 
 We will now proceed to the other end of the creature, and 
 examine its tail. When taken out of the water, the tail 
 appears to end in a sharp, horny point; but, when it is re- 
 placed in water, the pointed tail opens and shows that it is 
 composed of five sharp appendages, three being much larger 
 than the others. When they are opened, a tube is discovered 
 passing into the body of the larva. All the five spikes are 
 jointed together at their bases, so that if one be drawn aside 
 the other four immediately spread themselves apart. The 
 aperture which lies between them is just large enough to allow 
 an ordinary pin to pass easily through it. 
 
 Within the abdomen is the respiratory apparatus, which ex- 
 tracts the oxygen from the water, and, when that gas has been 
 exhausted, the water is expelled and a fresh supply taken in 
 through the same apertm-e. If the larva be placed in a shallow 
 vessel and watched carefully, the process of respiration can 
 be easily observed. The five pointed projections are kept about 
 half open, and the water is ejected in gentle and tolerably 
 regular pulsations as long as the creature is undisturbed. 
 Should it, however, be alarmed, it suddenly expels the water 
 with such violence that it drives itself forward with great 
 speed the principle being exactly the same as that which 
 causes the flight of a rocket. 
 
 If the bottom of the vessel in which the larva is kept be 
 
272 INSECTS AT HOME, 
 
 dusted with fine sand, the force of the expelled water can be at 
 once measured by the displacement of the sand. If the vessel 
 be a deep one, no such proof of the propelling power can be 
 seen, and the creature darts through the water as if impelled 
 by some magic power. The reader may perhaps remember 
 that a ' direct action ' movement has lately been applied to 
 steamboats, the principle having been avowedly borrowed from 
 this very creature. 
 
 There is very little change in form or habits between the 
 larva and the pupa. Towards the end of the larval existence, 
 a sort of longitudinal hump makes its appearance on the upper 
 part of the thorax, and, when the last larval skin is thrown off, 
 this hump is seen to consist of the future wings, which are at 
 present thick, narrow and small, their tips only reacliing about 
 one quarter of the length of the abdomen. The mask retains 
 its place and office, but the head is much larger and broader, 
 and the splendid eyes of the perfect insect begin to shine 
 under their covering. 
 
 It is quite as voracious in the pupal as in the larval stage of 
 existence. One of my own specimens has just seized with its 
 mask the larva of a Whirlwig Beetle which had been unlucky 
 enough to come within reach. The whole proceeding was very 
 much like that of the toad when catching insects. The mask 
 flashed out so rapidly that its movements were scarcely visible, 
 and in a moment the unfortunate larva had been grasped 
 by the middle and held against the cruel jaws. So rapid, 
 indeed, was the movement, that it looked very much as 
 if the larva had intentionally darted into its destroyer's 
 mouth. 
 
 One of these insects made a rather absuixl mistake. It saw 
 a detached leg of a Dyticus which was floating on the surface, 
 shot itself immediately under it, and seized the leg in passing. 
 It soon discovered its error ; and, after trying in vain to eat 
 the hard-shelled limb, jerked it away as if in anger. I have 
 noticed that in seizing its prey the Dragon-fly larva prefers, 
 like the shark, to get below it, and to make an upward stroke 
 with its armed mask. 
 
 A still stronger proof of voracity was also given. I had 
 taken a larva of the Acilius, one of the Water Beetles, which 
 is closely allied to the Dyticus described on page 59. It is 
 
VORACITY OF THE DRAGON-FLY LARVA. 273 
 
 itself a voracious and formidable creature, being furnished 
 with two enormous curved jaws, and in foi'm almost exactly 
 resembling the larva of the Dyticus shown on Plate III. Fig. 4. 
 Thinking that the larva would be very well able to take care 
 of itself, I put it into the basin, intending next morning to 
 observe through the microscope the fringed apparatus at the 
 end of the body. But, at a very early hour next morning, the 
 larva had vanished. I knew that it was physically incapable 
 of crawling out of the vessel, and at last, after a strict search, 
 I found one of its large mandibles lying at the bottom of the 
 basin, the only vestige that the voracious Dragon-fly larva had 
 left of its victim. 
 
 Since that enormous meal the larva has changed into a 
 pupa, and is just as restless and voracious, and has completed 
 its course of destruction by killing and eating its companion, 
 the contents of whose body it has completely scooped out. 
 
 Although neither in the larval nor pupal state does it 
 possess the vivid colours with which the perfect insect is 
 adorned, it is yet possessed of a certain beauty. The colour of 
 the body is pale brown, but the legs are as translucent as if 
 made of horn and banded at regular intervals with small 
 dark-brown stripes. Along the sides, each segment of the 
 body is furnished with two sharp and projecting spikes, which 
 point towards the tail. In consequence of this structure, the 
 creature is a difficult one to hold, wrigo-ling itself like a snake 
 when held in the fingers, and gradually working its way through 
 them. The best way of examining these curious beings is to 
 take one of them and place it in a shallow saucer, with just 
 enough water to cover it. The under surface can be observed 
 in the same vessel ; for, if the larva be laid on its back, it 
 gives a few struggles and then seems to acquiesce in its posi- 
 tion, lying perfectly still, and allowing the lens to be placed 
 close to its body without appearing to be in the least 
 alarmed. 
 
 The particular larva that has been described is that of 
 ^Eshna grandis, one of our largest Dragon-flies, but the de- 
 scription will suit almost any species, their general form and 
 habits being very much alike. 
 
 When the pupa has nearly completed its time it ceases to 
 feed, and the respiration seems difficult and laboui'ed. An 
 
 T 
 
274 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 irrepressible instinct then drives it to leave the water in which 
 it has so long- lived, and, seizing the stem of a reed or other 
 aquatic plant, it crawls upwards until it is a foot or two above 
 the surface ; clasping the reed firmly with its feet, it sways 
 itself backwards and forwards until the pupal skin splits along 
 the shoulders and the wings and body of the perfect insect 
 show themselves beneath it. 
 
 The respiration is now changed. Formerly, as has been 
 described, that function was performed by means of a gill-like 
 apparatus within the body, but now the insect begins to 
 breathe atmospheric air by means of spiracles. It rests for a 
 time, as if to accustom itself to so radical a change, and then 
 recommences its struggles. By degrees it draws itself entirely 
 from the pupal envelope, which is left still clinging to the 
 plant up which it had crawled. In spots where Dragon-flies 
 abound, these shed skins can often be found, clinging as firmly 
 to the plant as if still tenanted by the insect. The meta- 
 morphosis, though complete in one sense, is not yet finished ; 
 for the wings are still thick, short, and scarcely larger than in 
 the pupal state. Presently the insect begins to take a series of 
 deep inspirations, quivering the wings tlie while ; and, as it 
 does so, they rapidly enlarge, fold after fold shakes itself out 
 as the air is driven through the vessels which permeate them, 
 and at last they are spread in all their shining beauty. Yet a 
 while the insect waits until the wings have gained their need- 
 ful strength, and then it darts off into the air to begin its 
 new life. 
 
 As in its former stages, the Dragon-fly is terribly preda- 
 ceous, and, contrary to the ways of most insects, eating seems 
 to be the chief object in life. From early morning to night- 
 fall the Dragon-fly is perpetually hunting and devouring prey, 
 and in nowise particular respecting the nature of its food nor 
 the way in which it is obtained. For example, if a Dragon-fly 
 be caught uninjured, and held by its wings, it will eat almost 
 any amount of insects that may be supplied to it. Nor does it 
 confine itself to insects, for it will devour spiders, centipedes, 
 millipedes, fresh-water shrimps, and similar creatures ; and, as 
 soon as it is released, it will start off again on a hawking ex- 
 pedition, apparently as hungry as if it had had nothing to eat 
 for a whole day. 
 
FLIGHT OF THE DRAGON-FLY. 275 
 
 There is a peculiarity in the flight of the Dragon-fly — at all 
 events in some species — which assists it greatly in chasing prey. 
 It has the power of suddenly reversing the stroke of its wings, 
 so tliat it can stop itself in full career, and can even fly back- 
 wards with some speed. This power is specially useful when 
 the Dragon-fly is engaged in chasing an insect among obstacles, 
 and, when it has darted into a narrow passage in which there 
 is not sufficient space for it to turn, it can back itself out again 
 without much difficulty. 
 
 It is a pity that the lovely colours with which most of these 
 insects are decorated should be so fleeting, but it is a sad fact 
 that there are scarcely any insects in which the colours last for 
 so short a time after death. The only plan for preserving 
 them that seems at all feasible is that which was employed by 
 the late Mr. Waterton, namely, taking the insect to pieces, 
 removing the interior, painting the inside of the empty shell 
 with the requisite colours, and then putting the pieces to- 
 gether again. Still, even this tedious and laborious plan does 
 not answer with the comparatively solid thorax, and, as many 
 species have stripes of bright scarlet, yellow, blue or green on 
 the thorax, the process is evidently an imperfect one. The 
 species which is shown in the Plate, Libellula depressa, 
 keeps its colour better than any which I know, but then its 
 hues are never at any time brilliant. Some of them retain 
 sufficient colour to show what their hues have been, but in all 
 cases the brilliancy of the various tints passes away and cannot 
 be renewed. 
 
 We will now take in detail one or two of the most prominent 
 species as examples of this beautiful family. They are divided 
 into two large groups, called Libellulides and Agrionides. The 
 insects of these groups may easily be distinguished by the 
 shape of the head, which in the Libellulides is rounded, and in 
 the AgTionides is more cylindrical and set cross-wise to the 
 body, something like that of the hammer-headed shark. So 
 strongly is this mode of structure defined in some of the 
 species, that without their wings they bear no little resem- 
 blance to croquet-mallets. We will take two examples of each 
 group. 
 
 On Woodcut XXVII. Fig. 2 is represented one of our finest 
 
 T 2 
 
276 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Dragon-flies, known to entomologists as Cordulegaster annu- 
 latus. In tliis genus the ocelli are set in a row, the eyes 
 toward each other above ; the lower or anal angles of the lever 
 wings are boldly angulated, and the abdomen is club-shaped. ' 
 Reference is made to this peculiarity in the generic name 
 Cordulegaster, which is composed of two Greek words, the 
 former signifying a club, and the other the belly. The insect 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 1. PhlKothrips coriacea. 2. Cordulegaster anniilatus. 3. Eaphidia ophiopsis. i. Chrysopa 
 Tulgaris. 5. Osmylus chrysops. a. Eggs of Chrysopa. 
 
 attains a very great size, being sometimes even larger than 
 the illustration, and is veiy handsome in point of colour, the 
 whole body and thorax being marked with bold bands and 
 stripes of rich golden-yellow. A specimen in my collection 
 has retained the yellow marks of the thorax in a wondeTfully 
 perfect manner, but those of the abdomen have almost wholly 
 perished. 
 
DEMOISELLE DRAGON-FLY. 277 
 
 Our next species is that which is represented on Plate VIII. 
 Fig. 3. Its name is Libellula depressa, and it is generally 
 accepted as the typical species of the family. In the insects of 
 this genus the ocelli are set in a triangle, the body is mostly 
 broad and flattened, and the anal angle of the lower wings is 
 rounded. The present species is not so handsome in point of 
 colour as the preceding, but is yet adorned with a delicate 
 blueish tint, looking in life very much as if the body had been 
 first painted blue, and then dusted very finely with pearl- 
 powder. The upper part of the thorax is yellow. The dark 
 spots at the bases of both pairs of wings are deep rich chestnut 
 brown. 
 
 This is a wonderfully active insect, and, probably on account 
 of its short body, it has a way of darting boldly among the 
 branches of trees and shrubs in order to chase its prey. When 
 thus engaged, and with prey in sight, it becomes so much 
 engaged in pursuit that it can be easily captured in the net, 
 though at other times it is very wary, and will seldom permit 
 the net to approach within striking distance. The larva of this 
 insect is shown at Fig. 4 at the bottom of the page, and at 
 Fig. 3a is represented the escape of the perfect insect from the 
 pupal skin. 
 
 Next come the Agrionides, two of which are shown on the 
 same page. At Fig. 5 is shown the beautiful Demoiselle 
 Dragon-fly {Galojpteryx virgo). In the insects of this genus there 
 is no ' stigma,' or dark spot on the outer edge of the wings. 
 This species is remarkable for the very great difference in colour 
 between the sexes. The females, one of which is here figured, 
 are totally green, both wings and body, whereas the males are 
 deep-blue, with black patches on the wings. In some places 
 these insects absolutely swarm, and about Oxford they may 
 be found in the greatest profusion, hovering over the many 
 streams and ditches which intersect the country, and givino- 
 almost a tropical beauty to the scene, as they flit about with 
 the sunshine glittering on their richly-tinted bodies and 
 wings. 
 
 An example of the typical genus Agrion minium is given 
 on Plate VIII. Fig. 6. There is no difficulty in distinguishing 
 the members of this genus from other Dragon-flies. The 
 
278 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ' stigma ' is not only existent on both pairs of wings, but it is 
 boldly rhomboidal in shape, the angles sloping inwards. 
 
 It does not look very conspicuous, and this is exactly its 
 character. The Agrions are so slender and delicate that on a 
 bright summer day they scarcely look like insects, but appear 
 more like streaks of coloured light wafted here and there 
 without any settled purpose. The eye soon learns to distin- 
 guish their forms, but there is really something so delightfully 
 fairy-like about them as they come and go, apparently by 
 magic, that the disillusioning is really matter of regret. They 
 are of various colours, among which red and blue predominate. 
 The present species is vermilion-red, from which it derives its 
 specific title of minium, and on the thorax are streaks of 
 yellow as well as of red. The red colour forms a conspicuous 
 patch on the end of each joint of the abdomen. 
 
 With very great regret I must leave these beautiful and 
 interesting insects, and proceed to another family, which are 
 not at all beautiful, and, though interesting in their way, 
 cannot be compared in that respect to the Dragon-flies. These 
 are the Eaphidiidse, a family of insects formed after a very 
 curious fashion, the prothorax being lengthened into a pro- 
 longed neck, and the head being rather broad and much 
 flattened. The females are furnished with a long and slightly 
 curved ovipositor, consisting of two blades. The wings are of 
 moderate dimensions, and nearly equal in point of size, and 
 they are very strongly veined. 
 
 Owing to the long neck-like prothorax, the insects are able 
 to twist their heads about in various directions, from which 
 habit they have received the popular name of Snake-flies. 
 They are predaceous in their habits, and may mostly be seen on 
 or near the banks of ponds and small streams, where they can 
 find their prey. They are not at ^11 handsome in point of 
 colour, their hues being confined to greyish -brown, mottled 
 with darker brown or black. One of the largest British species, 
 Rhaphidia ophiopsis, is shown on Woodcut XXVII. 
 
 The larva of this insect is predaceous, feeding upon small 
 insects. It is long and narrow, and even in the larval form 
 shows the elongated prothorax which is so characteristic of the 
 perfect insect. Mr. Westwood, who had this creature alive, 
 
LACEWING-FLY. 279 
 
 states that ' it creeps but slowly, but gives to its body violent 
 jerking motions in every direction, somewhat like those of a 
 serpent.' In the pupal state, the wings are pressed to the body 
 in such a way that they cover the hind pair of legs. These 
 larvoe may be found under the bark of trees. 
 
 The name Raphidla is formed from a Greek word signifying 
 a needle, and is given to these insects on account of the great 
 elongation of the prothorax. The specific name ophiopsis is 
 also from the Grreek, and signifies ' snake-eyed.' The females 
 of this group have a long and slightly curved ovipositor, formed 
 of two plates. 
 
 On Woodcut XXVII. Fig. 4 is shown one of our most 
 beautiful British insects. This is the Lacewing-fly {Chrysopa 
 vulgaris), a representative of the family Hemerobiidas. The 
 wings of this family are large and broad, and pressed against 
 the sides of the body when at rest : the antennae are long, 
 delicate, and many jointed; and the head is small, with two 
 very prominent and rounded eyes. The tarsi have five joints. 
 The form of this insect is very accurately given, though it is 
 impossible with the simple black and white of a wood en- 
 graving to do justice to the wonderful and delicate beauty of 
 the insect, about which is not one particle either of black or 
 white. Its body, head, and tliorax are leaf-green, and its wings 
 are wide, thin, gauzy, and glossed with changing hues of green 
 and pink, according to the angle at which the light falls on 
 them. 
 
 The chief beauty of the insect lies, however, in its eyes, 
 which, without the aid of a magnifying glass, look like two 
 tiny beads of burnished gold, and have earned for the insect 
 the popular name of Gtolden-eye, of which the Grreek word 
 Chrysopa is but a translation. But if the insect be placed 
 under the microscope, and a brilliant light be directed on the 
 eyes, a wonderful change takes place. They are very convex 
 in form, and the hexagonal facets are marked with extreme 
 boldness, considering the small size of the organ. They are so 
 clearly defined, indeed, that even with a common pocket 
 magnifier of low power they can be easily distinguished. 
 
 Were the eye to be simple brown or even black it would be a 
 beautiful object, in consequence of these hexagonal lenses, but 
 
280 ' INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 over the whole surface of the compound eye plays a brilliant 
 combination of colour. Every separate hexagon looks like a 
 framework of burnished gold, changing with the shifting light 
 into various hues of rich green and carmine. In fact, the 
 whole eye looks very much like a hemispherical brooch, entirely 
 covered with emeralds and rubies. 
 
 It is rather hard on the insect to expose it to this strong 
 light, which is needed to bring out its beauties, for it is a lover 
 of darkness, and only comes out after sunset, when it may be 
 observed fluttering with apparently aimless flight in the air. 
 But it is impossible to see the full splendour of this magnifi- 
 cent object without exposing the insect to some inconvenience. 
 A dead specimen is useless, for the colour departs alike from 
 body and eye. As to the pale-green of the body, it is the most 
 fugitive colour that an insect can possess, while the more 
 gorgeous hues of the eye vanish soon after the life departs, and 
 very little is left of their once magnificent beauty. Would that 
 some method could be discovered of preserving the too fugitive 
 tints of this lovely insect. There is a specimen now before me 
 which has only been dead some forty-eight hours, and already 
 the tender green of its body is fading, and the fiery splendour 
 of its eyes is quenched. Lovely as is the insect to the eye, it 
 can offend another sense most grievously, for it possesses a 
 peculiarly evil odour, which attaches itself strongly to the 
 finger that crushes it, and cannot be removed without many 
 washings. 
 
 The Lacewing-fly is allied to the Ant-lions, of which we have 
 no genuine representative in England. When in the larval 
 state it is very predaceous, as is betokened by its large and 
 curved mandibles. It feeds mostly on aphides, of which it 
 devours vast numbers, draining them of their juices, and then 
 covering itself with the emptied bodies of its victims, so as to 
 render itself scarcely distinguishable from the lichens among 
 which it mostly lives. The neck of the larva is very flexible, 
 so that it can dart its head in any direction in order to seize 
 its prey. It can eat two large aphides in one minute, and is so 
 voracious that if two Lacewing larvte meet each other they are 
 sure to fight, and the conqueror is equally sure to eat the 
 vanquished combatant. These larvae are quick in their growth, 
 and do not require much more than a fortnight before they 
 
EGGS OF THE LACEWJNG-FLY. 281 
 
 pass into the pupal state, provided only that they can find an 
 abundant supply of aphides on which to feed. When full fed 
 the larva spins a cocoon, in which it passes into the pupal and 
 perfect stages. Like the Ant-lion, to which it is allied, it 
 packs itself up in a wonderfully small compass, for the cocoon 
 is only as large as a sweet pea, and very much of the same 
 shape. 
 
 The eggs of the Lacewing-fly are quite as remarkable as the 
 cocoon. They are generally deposited on leaves, but, instead 
 of being laid directly on the leaf, every egg is fixed to the end 
 of a slender footstalk about half an inch in length. This foot- 
 stalk is formed from a viscous matter secreted by the female, 
 and is delicately white and translucent. Mr. A. G. Butler, of 
 the British Museum, told me that he has kept Lacewing-flies, 
 and often seen them lay their eggs. The end of the abdomen 
 is first pressed against the leaf, and a tiny drop of the viscous 
 matter deposited. The abdomen is then raised quickly, so as 
 to draw out a thread, which becomes stiff and hard almost as 
 soon as it comes into contact with the air. Then the insect 
 pauses a little, and rapidly places an egg on the end of the 
 thread, fixing it there with another tiny drop of the secretion. 
 The eggs are always laid in groups, one of which is shown on 
 Woodcut XXVII. Fig. a. Some specimens in my own col- 
 lection are laid along a lilac twig, and in all of them the 
 remains of the viscous drops are apparent in the form of a partly 
 conical footstalk, much resembling in shape and translucency the 
 foot and stem of a wine-glass. The eggs themselves are pure 
 white, and, when viewed through a microscope, have something 
 of a papery aspect. They bear a curious resemblance to the 
 capsules of certain mosses, and indeed have been described 
 and figured in books as specimens of British moss. 
 
 Another member of the same family is shown on Woodcut 
 XXVII. Fig. 5. This is called scientifically Osmylus chrysops, 
 but I am not aware whether it possesses any popular name. 
 This genus can at once be distinguished from Chrysopa by 
 looking at the front of the head, in which there are three 
 ocelli or simple eyes, set in a triangle on the forehead, whereas 
 there are no ocelli in Chrysoi^a. 
 
 This is the largest British example of the family, and, 
 
282 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 though not so eminently beautiful as the preceding insect, is yet 
 a pretty creature. The wings are translucent, with a glossy, 
 iridescent sheen, very much resembling the surface of the 
 varnished skeleton leaves on which the Chinese artists paint 
 such exquisite little pictures. The spots with wliich they are 
 variegated are pale brown. The insect is tolerably common, 
 and at Oxford is plentiful on the branches of oaks. The pupa 
 is to be found in the moist earth of ditch banks. 
 
 Befobe passing to the next order, it is necessary to say 
 a few words respecting the Scorpion-fly, or Panorpidoe, which 
 form a very marked family of their own. 
 
 They derive their popular name from the remarkable con- 
 formation of the abdomen, the joints of which are almost 
 exactly like those of a Scorpion, and in the typical insect, the 
 common Scokpion-fly {Panorpa communis), are terminated, 
 in the male, by a pair of small forceps, sufficiently strong to 
 make themselves felt on the skin of the human hand. When 
 the insect is handled, it brandishes its abdomen about in so 
 menacing a fashion that I have often seen its captors hastily 
 loosen their hold, thinking that it really must possess the 
 power of mischief which it so well imitates. The pincers are 
 formed by a development of the eighth segment of the abdomen. 
 The insect is a very common one, and can be taken by beating 
 hedges and underwood. 
 
 There are only two British genera of Panorpidse — one to 
 which the common Scorpion-fly belongs, and which contains 
 five species ; and the other, named Boreus, of which a single 
 species is known, Boreus hyemalis. 
 
 This is a most singular being. It is a very tiny insect, and, 
 with its long legs and peculiarly shaped body, bears a great 
 resemblance to a larval grasshopper. The form of the head, 
 however, is enough to show that it really belongs to the 
 Panorpidse. In the male, the wings are very small, useless 
 for flight, and project from the back something like Mr. Punch's 
 hunap. In the female, the wings are entirely undeveloped, 
 and the body is terminated by a long ovipositor, very curiously 
 constructed. There is no direct passage or ' oviduct,' so that 
 the eggs must first be deposited, and then picked up between 
 
THE SCORPION-FLY. 283 
 
 the blades of the ovipositor, which open vertically, and not 
 laterally, like those of the Orthoptera. 
 
 This is not a common insect, and, as if to add to its 
 eccentricity, it chooses the middle of winter for its appearance 
 in the perfect state. Hence its scientific name of Boreus 
 hyemalis— the former word signifying the north wind, and the 
 other wintry. The males are rarer than the females. 
 
TEICHOPTEEA. 
 
TKICHOPTEEA. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 There has been much discussion respecting the insects which 
 now come before our notice, some entomologists thinking that 
 they ought to belong to the Neuroptera, but the majority 
 deciding that they really form an order of their own, which 
 has been called by the name of Trichoptera, on account of the 
 structure of the wings. They are popularly known as Caddis- 
 Fi.iES, sometimes abbreviated into ' Cads,' Straw-worms, Pipers, 
 Cockspurs, Cod-baits, Grannunis, &c. ; and, both in the perfect 
 and larval conditions, are very familiar to anglers. 
 
 In this order the wings are four in number, the first pair 
 generally covered profusely with hair, and the second pair 
 large, and folded when at rest. The tibise are furnished 
 with long spurs, in some species running to a wonderful length 
 in the second and third pair of legs. The mouth, like that of 
 the May-fly, is quite undeveloped, so that when the insects 
 have attained their perfect state they can take no nourish- 
 ment. 
 
 The larva is aquatic, and furnished with six feet. It lives 
 in cases more or less cylindrical, constructed by itself from 
 various materials, such as leaves, sticks, bits of grass, stones, 
 sand, shells, and even the opercula of water-snails. I have 
 taken within the distance of a few yards several cases thus 
 constructed ; and I once took a case, the principal portion of 
 which was a chrysalis of a moth — I believe the common 
 Hop-dog — which had fallen into the water. The larva retains 
 its position by means of two hooked appendages at the end of 
 the tail. 
 
 Having now glanced at the leading characteristics of the 
 
288 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 order, we will proceed tj a more detailed examination, and 
 take for our type the GtReat Caddis-fly (Phryganea grandis), 
 which is drawn on Plate VIII. Fig. 7, and can be easily 
 recognised from the figure. 
 
 In this genus the spurs of the tibise are moderately 
 developed, and the wings are very heavy. The palpi of the 
 male have only four joints, whereas those of the female have 
 five. The wings are very thickly covered with hair, so thickly 
 indeed that, under the microscope, they look as if they were 
 clothed with fur. The hairs are comparatively pale and small 
 on the membrane of the wing, but dark, stout, and bristle- 
 like upon the nervures. The body is similarly furred, and 
 even the antennae are so densely haired that the divisions of 
 the joints are quite hidden. It is on account of this profuse 
 growth of hair that the name Trichoptera, or Hairy-wings, 
 has been given to this order of insect. 
 
 There is no particular beauty of colour to be found in any 
 of the Trichoptera, the hues being in all the species nothing 
 miore than various shades of brown, the difference in colour 
 being produced in most species by the greater or less admixture 
 of yellow. 
 
 The habits of these insects are very interesting. Unlike the 
 Lace wing-fly, they are quick on foot, and can run with a 
 curious celerity, being even able to miake their way upon the 
 surface of the water, over which they scuttle quickly, using 
 much exertion, and the edges of their closed lower wings 
 leaving a long track behind them. They can even travel 
 under water. The females are in the habit of crawling 
 down the stems of aquatic plants nearly a foot below the 
 surface, in order to deposit their eggs. If the plant to which 
 they are clinging be smartly tapped, they will at once leave it 
 and swim under water to another submerged plant. This 
 habit of theirs often causes them to fall victims to various fish, 
 which towards midsummer find an unfailing supply of such 
 food. 
 
 As in the case with the Stone-flies, which have already been 
 described, the female Caddis-fly collects her eggs and carries 
 them about at the extremity of the body. The egg-cluster is 
 double, green in colour, and the eggs are held together by a 
 gelatinous substance, in which they are enveloped. By means 
 
- CADDIS-FLIES. 289 
 
 of this o-elatinous secretion, which has tlie capacity of resisting 
 water, the egg-cluster is affixed to the stem of some subaquatic 
 pkmt, and there left to be hatched in due time. The duties of 
 the mother Caddis-fly being then over, she perishes, either by 
 natural decay, or by means of some fish, wliich doubtlessly 
 thinks itself deceived in having been induced to eat a mere 
 sliell of an insect, as is the Caddis after she has deposited her eggs. 
 
 When the little larvae emerge from the egg, they set to 
 work in forming for themselves the remarkable habitations in 
 which they pass the whole of their larval and pupal existence. 
 Being long, soft-bodied creatures, with only the head and neck 
 defended by a horny covering, they would fall victims to 
 various predacious inhabitants of the water, if they possessed 
 not the power of forming for themselves some sort of pro- 
 tection. Following the general rule under such circumstances, 
 the protection in question assumes the shape of a case more or 
 less cylindrical, and is capable of being enlarged in proportion 
 to the growth of the inhabitant. 
 
 As has been already mentioned, these habitations are made 
 of various materials, and are all more or less cylindrical as far 
 as regards their interior, though in many instances their 
 exterior departs as far as possible from that shape. 
 
 For example, one or two of the species always select dehd 
 leaves, which they fit together, face to face, so that scarcely 
 anyone on seeing them would imagine that between the leaves 
 was the tubular residence of a Caddis-worm. Sometimes, as in 
 Phin/ganea rhovibica, short pieces of grass stems are used, which 
 are cut into tolerably equal lengths, and fixed across each other 
 so as to leave a hollow in their centre. Sometimes, as in 
 Phin/ganea lunaris, the pieces of grass are much" longer, and 
 laid side by side. Some species, such, for example, as Phry- 
 ganea fusca, use the shells of various aquatic molluscs, which 
 they fasten together without the slightest reference to the 
 feelings of the inhabitants, some of which may be seen vainly 
 trying to progress in one direction, while the Caddis-worm is 
 crawling in another. Examples of these two last-mentioned 
 forms may be seen in Plate VIII. Fig. 8. Some species, such 
 as Serieostoma tnultiguttatum, employ particles of sand, 
 tiny stones, and similar materials, forming them into a conical 
 case with a slight curve, very much resembling in shape an 
 
 u 
 
290 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ordinary cow's horn. In fact, the materials, and consequently 
 the forms, of these remarkable habitations are so various that 
 it is imijossible to do more than briefly describe the leading 
 varieties. 
 
 All the habitations which have just been mentioned are 
 movable, and are carried about by the larva, just as the Hermit 
 Crab carries its shell-house with it. There are, however. 
 Caddis-cases which are fixed to stones, and which cannot be 
 moved. Such, for example, are the habitations of Hydro- 
 psyche senex and Hydropsyche Tnaculicornis, the former of 
 which makes a house that is shaped very much like a leech 
 when at rest, and is fixed by the whole of its under side to the 
 stone. The habitation of the latter, however, is quite worm- 
 like in shape, and often considerably curved. 
 
 In consequence of the differing form of these habitations, it 
 follows that there must be a corresponding difference in the 
 structure of the inhabitants. All the Caddis larvae hold them- 
 selves within their cases by means of claspers at the end of the 
 body, and very firmly they hold, as anyone can tell who has 
 ejected them from their habitations. But these claspers are 
 modified in their construction according to the kind of habita- 
 tion. Those larvae which dwell in movable tubes never leave 
 them, but crawl at liberty from one spot to another in search of 
 food. They have really wonderful powers of adhesion, and can 
 climb smooth and hard surfaces with the greatest ease. There 
 are now before me some larvae of Sericostoma which have 
 crawled up the sides of a glass vessel, one or two of them 
 having even raised themselves partially above the surface of the 
 water. In all these species the claspers are short, so that they 
 only permit the head and leg-bearing segments of the body to 
 protrude beyond the mouth of the tube. But in the species 
 which live in fixed tubes the claspers are placed at the ends of 
 two long footstalks, so that the larva can thrust itself far out of 
 its tube, and thus obtain a wide range wherein to procure food. 
 Some of these creatures feed upon small aquatic larvae, but the 
 food of the greater part seems to be mostly vegetable, though 
 all the species appear to vary their diet occasionally with 
 animal substances. 
 
 Whatever may be the species, and whatever the material of 
 their cases, the various portions of which the habitations are 
 
LARVA OF THE CADDIS-FLY. 291 
 
 composed are always fastened very strongly together with a glu- 
 tinous cement which has the property of hardening under 
 water. If one of these cases^ be pulled asunder, and the 
 severed surfaces submitted to the microscope, the cement will 
 be seen to have been torn into short, white threads, very much 
 like the ' byssus ' of certain bivalves, such as the common 
 mussel of oui- sea-coasts. 
 
 When the larva is full-fed, and is about to pass into the 
 quiescent and feeble state of pupa, it fortifies its habitation by 
 spinning across each end a network of a very peculiar construc- 
 tion. There are many species of Caddis-flies, and I do not 
 think that in any two species the network is exactly the same. 
 In all it is very stiff and strong, but there is invariably a dis- 
 tinct pattern on which the meshes are arranged, and which 
 can only be made out by the use of a tolerably powerful mag- 
 nifier. 
 
 After remaining within the fortified case for a time, which 
 varies according to the species, the pupa makes its way out of 
 the case, and, when fairly in the open air, shakes off its pupal 
 skin and assumes its perfect form. There is some slight dif- 
 ference as to the mode of performing this feat, the larger 
 species acting like the Dragon-flies, and crawling up the stems 
 of aquatic plants, while the smaller are content to make use of 
 their cast skins as rafts, on which they can stand while they 
 shake out their newly-acquired wings to dry in the air. 
 
 Having now traced the life of the Caddis-fly from the egg 
 to the perfect insect, and taken one species as the type* we 
 will briefly examine one or two other species as examples of 
 this remarkable, though small order. 
 
 The first of these is the Lesser Caddis-fly {Phryganea 
 minor), a figure of which is given on Woodcut XXVI. Fig. 3. 
 This, though smaller than the Grreat Caddis-fly, is really a 
 handsomer insect, being much more variegated than its larger 
 relative. The colour of the body is yellowish-brown, and the 
 back of the head and thorax are covered with yellowish down. 
 The upper wings are densely clothed with hair, and are pale 
 brown, variegated with a rich dark brown, which near the 
 end of the wing forms a band stretching nearly across it, in a 
 slightly diagonal direction. The lower wings are shining 
 
 V 2 
 
292 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 and iridescent, and the antennae are pale brown barred with 
 the same dark hue as that which ornaments the upper wings. 
 
 On Woodcut XXVI. Fig. 2, is shown an insect which has the 
 popular name of the Elegant Gteanncm {Limnejjhilus ele- 
 gans). In the genus to which this insect belongs, the body is 
 rounded, and the wings are narrow and rather squared at the 
 ends. The maxilla and its palpus is shown at Fig. h, and the 
 labium with its palpi at Fig. a. There are nearly fifty species 
 of this large genus, all of which have a very moth-like appear- 
 ance, specially when seen on the wing or when ' set ' in a 
 cabinet. 
 
 When alive, the body of this species has a slight yellowish 
 tinge, the upper part being blackish, and the segments being 
 edged with whitish grey. The wings are very shining, and the 
 upper pair are pale brown with dark nerviu'es, and one or two 
 dark spots and streaks. The lower pair are pearly in hue, and 
 rather iridescent when the light falls on them in different 
 angles. 
 
 On the same Woodcut, Fig. 4, is shown another of these curious 
 insects, named scientifically LeptoceriLS ochraceus. In the 
 insects belonging to this genus, the tibiae of the hindmost 
 pair of legs have two spurs, and the antennae are exceedingly 
 long and slender. The name Leptocei^s alludes to this latter 
 characteristic. It is formed from the Grreek words, sigTiifying 
 ' slender-horned.' In the illustration, the antennae are of the 
 right length, but are too thick, especially at the base. These 
 organs are in reality almost as slender as hairs, and even when 
 the insect has been set and dried, the long and delicate an- 
 tennae wave about with every breath of air, and give to the 
 dead insect an air as if it were again alive. When the wings 
 are closed, and the insect is sitting on a leaf, it bears a 
 ciu'iously close resemblance to the Long-horn moths which will 
 be described on a futm-e page. There are rather more than 
 thirty species of this genus. 
 
HYMENOPTEEA. 
 
HYMENOPTEBA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SA W-FLIES. 
 
 We now come to one of the largest and most important orders 
 of insects, namely the Hymenopteea, an order which com- 
 prises the insects known popularly as Saw-flies, Gall-flies, 
 Ichneumon-flies, Ants, Wasps, and Bees. Those insects which 
 are known as White Ants or Termites, belong, however, to a 
 different order, namely the Neuroptera. 
 
 The characteristics of this order are well defined, and there 
 is no difficulty in ascertaining, almost at a glance, whether an 
 insect belongs to the Hymenoptera or not. The wings are 
 four in number, the second pair being smaller than the first 
 pair, and having fewer veins. They are without hair and 
 membranous, as indeed is shown by the name Hymenoptera, 
 which is formed from two Greek words, the one signifying a 
 membrane, and the other a wing. When at rest, the wings 
 are separate, but when the insect flies, both pairs are hitched 
 together by a series of little hooks which run along the upper 
 edge of the lower pair, so that, for the time, the insect flies 
 with two wings instead of four. These hooks are beautifully 
 constructed, and should be examined with a microscope. They 
 will be found well developed in the common wasps and bees. 
 On Woodcut XXVIII. the wings of a hornet are shown on the 
 left side as they appear when separated, and on the right as 
 they are when united by the hooks. The head is armed with 
 horny jaws, and between them lies a fleshy tongue enclosed in 
 the maxillse, which form a sort of sheath to it. The abdomen 
 of the female is furnished with a horny ovipositor formed of 
 
296 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ANATOMY OF A HYMENOPTEROUS INSECT.— THE HORNET (VESPA CRABRO), 
 
 1. Head and parts of the mouth. a. Lingua, or tongue. 6 6. Labial palpi. cc. Maxillary 
 palpi. rfd. MaxillJE. cf. Mandibles. //.Eyes. gr gr. Toruli, or beds of the base of the 
 autennfe. fi h. Ocelli, or simple eyes ; sometimes called Stemmata. j. Clypeus. k. La- 
 brum. 1. Epipharynx. 2. Thorax. a. Mesothorax. 6 6. Tegulre. c. Scutellum 
 (/. Prothorax. e. Postscutellum. /. Metathorax. 3. Abdomen, upper surface. 4. Ab 
 domen, profile. 5. Head, front view. a a. Antennse. 6 6. Eyes. cc. Ocelli. d. Scu 
 tellum. e e. Mandibles. 6. Thorax, under surface. a. Bed of cox» of pro-legs. 6. Sternum, 
 c. Bed of coxae of intermediate legs. d. Bed of coxae of posterior legs. e. Bed of neck, 
 
 7. Anterior, or pro-legs. a. Tarsus. 6. Tibia. c. Femur. d. Trochanter. c. Coxa 
 
 8. Middle, or intermediate legs. 9. Hinder, or posterior legs. 10. Eight wings. a. Costal 
 cell. 6. Externo-medial cell. c. Interno-mcdial cell. d. Anal cell. e. Marginal ceU. 
 /. First Submarginal cell. g. Second Discoidal cell. h. Second Submarginal cell. ;. Third 
 Submarginal cell. *. Fourth Submarginal cell. I. First Discoidal cell. m. Third Dis. 
 coidal cell. n. First Apical cell. o. Second Apical cell. II. Left wings separated. 
 
SAW-FLIES. 297 
 
 several pieces, which in many instances is modified into a 
 poison-bearing sting. The pupa is quiescent, and the larva 
 is both quiescent and without feet, except in one group, that of 
 the Saw-flies. 
 
 In all books that treat scientifically of the Hymenoptera, a 
 vast amount of •technical language will be found. Many of the 
 words, such as those winch express the general divisions of the 
 body, the parts of the mouth, the anatomy of the limbs, &c., 
 are the same as those which we have already learned when 
 treating of Beetles. Biit, in this order of insects, very great 
 stress is laid upon sundry portions of organisation which are 
 but little considered in the Coleoptera, and therefore I have 
 given a chart-drawing of a hornet, similar to that of the Stag- 
 beetle on page 9. I strongly advise the young entomologist 
 to take a hornet, or even a wasji, and make out all the parts 
 by means of this diagram, and he will find that if he colours 
 the diagram he will fix it more firmly in his memory. The 
 colouring should be taken from the insect itself. 
 
 According to INIr. Westwood's system, the Hymenoptera are 
 divided into two great sections, namely, the Terebrantia, or 
 Borers, and the Aculeata, or Sting-bearers. We will proceed 
 with these sections in order. The first subsection is called 
 Serrifera, or Saw-bearers, in which the abdomen is attached to 
 the thorax by the whole of its diameter, and the larvai feed 
 upon vegetable substances, and have a well-developed mouth 
 furnished with mandibles. This subsection includes the whole 
 of the Saw-flies and Gall-flies. 
 
 We will begin with the insects which are so well known as 
 Saw-flies, and are scientifically termed Tenthredinidse. This 
 word is a very old one, being used by Aristotle in his ' History 
 of Animals ' to signify some kind of bee or wasp. It is formed 
 from a Grreek word signifying to gnaw or nibble. The names 
 Andrena, Pemphredon, &c., are derived from the same source. 
 In these insects, the wings are large, with many ' complete ' 
 cells, i.e. cells closed on every side by nervures, and having a 
 large stigma or spot. The abdomen has no footstalk, and is 
 furnished in the females with the extraordinary apparatus 
 which has gained for the group of Hymenoptera the popular 
 and appropriate name of Saw-flies 
 
298 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 At the extremity of the abdoiaen and on its under surface 
 are placed two flat horny plates set side by side. These are 
 the saws, and, like the well-known ' tenon-saw ' of carpenters, 
 have one edge toothed, and the other strengthened by a flat 
 thick plate. On examination with a tolerably powerful lens, 
 the teeth are seen to be most elaborately constructed. Instead 
 of being mere simple teeth, like those of a saw, each tooth is 
 formed of a cone set in a footstalk, the cone being deeply cut 
 into eight or ten deep grooves, having a sharp edge between 
 each. This structure is wonderfully adapted to prevent the 
 saw from clogging with the green wood in which it has to work, 
 and might with advantage be copied by our tool-makers. The 
 toothing of the saw differs in the various species of Saw-fly, 
 Ijut the form which has been described is found in some of the 
 insects with which our list commences. 
 
 The strengthened backs of these saws are received into grooves 
 or sheaths in which they slide backwards and forwards, and they 
 are so contrived that while one saw is being thrust forward, 
 the other is being drawn back. There is not the least difficulty 
 in getting these beautiful instruments under the microscope. 
 They are of course best seen in the recent specimen, but even 
 after the insect has been long dead and dry, the saw can be 
 detached with a little careful manipulation. The object of the 
 saw, which is indeed a modification of the ovipositor, is to pre- 
 pare a resting-place for the eggs. By alternately working the 
 saws, a groove is rapidly cut in a twig, or a leaf rib, and an 
 egg is then passed between the saws and deposited in the groove, 
 where it is fixed by a small drop of liquid secreted by the insect. 
 The number of grooves and of the eggs deposited in them 
 varies according to the different species of Saw-fly. Even if the 
 observer should fail to see a Saw-fly in the act of depositing 
 her eggs, he can always see the grooves and the eggs in them, 
 by carefully examining the leaves and young twigs of various 
 trees. The common currant is often much damaged by Saw- 
 flies, and on a single bush there will be scarcely a leaf in 
 which the grooves cut by the Saw-fly cannot be found. These 
 grooves are made on the under side of the leaf, partly because 
 the. nervures are thicker, and partly because the eggs are 
 sheltered from the rain. 
 
 In process of tiine the eggs are hatched, and from them are 
 
JjAKVm of the saw-flies. 
 
 299 
 
 produced larvae which very much resemble those of moths. 
 They can, however, be at once distinguished from them by the 
 fact that they have more legs and ' pro-legs,' or false feet, 
 than the true caterpillars. No caterpillar has more than 
 sixteen of these members, whereas the larva of the Saw-fly 
 has from eighteen to twenty-two. One of these larvae, that 
 
 Tx^nr 
 
 1 Hylotoma roste. 2. Croesus septentrionalis. 3. Athalia spinarum. 4. Allantiis 
 
 scrophularia. a. Croesus larva. b. Athalia larva. c. Allantus larva. d. Hylotoma, 
 antenna. e. Croesus, antenna. /. Athalia, antenna. g. Allantus, antenna. 
 
 of Cimbex lutea, is shown on Plate IX. Fig. 3, and others are 
 seen on Woodcut XXIX. Figs, a h and c. 
 
 Having thus rapidly gone through the chief characteristics 
 of the Saw-flies, we will examine them somewhat more in 
 detail. 
 
 The first insect on our list is Cimbex lutea, which is shown 
 on Plate IX. Fig. 1, of its natural size, and a more detailed 
 
300 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 drawing is given on Woodcut XXX. Fig. 1, in order to show 
 the characteristic details of the genus. In this genus the club 
 of the antennae consist of two joints soldered together, and the 
 rest of the organ is formed of five joints. The spurs are 
 rather short and blunt, and in the male insect the tarsi of the 
 fore-legs are spined beneath. There are about eight British 
 species of Cimbex. The colour of the present species is, as may 
 be inferred from its name, yellow, and all inexperienced 
 observers might easily mistake the insect for a wasp, especially 
 when flying. 
 
 The larva is shown both in Plate IX. Fig. 3, and in Wood- 
 cut XXX. Fig. a, the latter figure being given in order to 
 show its structure. It has in all twenty-two feet and four 
 legs, and the body is covered with very small tubercles. Just 
 over the spiracles, or breathing holes, there are some apertures^ 
 through which the larva can spirt a greenish fluid to some 
 little distance. It ejects the fluid when it is alarmed, but the 
 supply is limited, and each successive discharge is weaker than 
 its predecessor. Like most Saw-fly larvae its colour is greenish 
 grey. Contrary to the usual practice among insects, this larva 
 prefers the upper side of the leaf, where it may be found partly 
 coiled up, with its tail in the centre. It feeds on various trees, 
 such as the elder, the birch, and the beech, but Mr. F. Smith 
 tells me that he has generally found it on the willow. 
 
 In process of time, the larva attains its full growth, and then 
 sets to work at spinning a cocoon in which it can undergo its 
 transformations. The cocoon is wonderfully tough and leathery 
 in texture, brown in colour, and is rather flufiy on the outside. 
 It is affixed to some twig of the tree on which the larva fed, 
 and in winter time is very conspicuous owing to the absence 
 of leaves. One of these dwellings is shown on Plate IX. Fig. 2. 
 If one of these cocoons be carefully opened before the insect 
 has made its final change, the pupa can be seen lying quietly 
 in its cell like a child in a cradle, and apparently as help- 
 less. It remains for a considerable time in the cocoon, and 
 finally makes its escape at one end of its dwelling. 
 
 On Plate IX. Fig. 5, is seen a very fine insect, known 
 scientifically as Trichiosoma lucorum. The name of this 
 genus is formed from two Grreek words, signifying Hairy- body, 
 
PLATE IX. 
 SAW-FLIES, GALLFLIES, AND SIREX. 
 
 1. Cimbex lutea. 
 
 2. Cimbex, cocoon. 
 
 3. Cimbex, larva. 
 
 4. Lyda hortensis. 
 
 5. Trichiosonia lucorum. 
 
 6. Cynips Kollari. 
 
 7. Sirexjuvenc lis (Male). 
 
 .Plants : — 
 
 Oak. Fir. and Hawthonu 
 
COCOONS OF SAW-FLIES. 
 
 301 
 
 and is given to the insects because their bodies are thickly 
 covered with hair, instead of being nearly naked like those of 
 the preceding genus. The whole appearance of the body is so 
 bee-like that most persons who see the insect imagine that it 
 belongs to the bees and not to the Saw-flies. It can, however, 
 
 /A/, 
 
 1. Cimbex lutea. 2. Tenthredo zonatus. 
 a. Cimbex larva. 6. Lophyrus larva. c. 
 e. Do. antenna, female. 
 
 3. Cryptus pallipes. 4. Lophyrus pini. 
 Lophyrus, cocoon. d. Do. antenna, male. 
 
 be distinguished by the shape of the antennae, which are ter- 
 minated by round knobs composed of three joints fused to- 
 gether. The rest of the organ is composed of five joints. 
 The colour of the insect is dark brown, and the wings are 
 darkish, with a smoky streak along their lower edges. 
 
 The insect is common upon whitethorn, and may be seen in ail 
 these stages. The larva, like that of the last-mentioned Saw- 
 fly, prefers the upper surface of leaves, and coils itself up in a 
 
302 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 similar fashion. The cocoons are not easily seen as long as the 
 leaves are on the trees, but if a whitethorn hedge be carefully 
 examined in the winter, the cocoons of the Trichiosoma will 
 probably be found in tolerable plenty. The twig on which 
 they are fixed should be cut off, and the cocoons placed in a box 
 with a cover of wire gauze in order to await the appearance of 
 the perfect insect, which takes place in the spring. At that 
 time of year, the fly is not at all uncommon, and may be cap- 
 tured with the net as it flats about the hedges, seeking for con- 
 venient spots wherein to deposit its eggs. 
 
 I well remember taking some of these Saw-flies when begin- 
 ning my entomological career, and, not having access to books, 
 being entirely puzzled by them. At first, I naturally took 
 them for bees, but could not understand how the knobbed 
 antennae could belong to a bee. Then, the creatures, though 
 they were females, had no sting, and as I was not then aware 
 that Saw-flies of such magnitude existed in this country, I was 
 naturally puzzled. Yet, the very fact of this bewilderment 
 served to fix the creatures so firmly in my mind that, even at 
 this distance of time, I could draw from memory the first 
 Trichiosoma that I ever caught. The saws of this insect are 
 well worthy of examination, as they possess the cone-tipped 
 teeth which have been described on page 298. 
 
 The larvffi can be taken at the end of summer, when they 
 are nearly full-fed, and as they are very large and conspicuous, 
 there is little difficulty in obtaining them. ' 
 
 On Woodcut XXIX. Fig. 1, is seen a figure of the Eose 
 Saw-fly, called scientifically Hylotoma rosoc. The name Hylo- 
 toma is formed from two Grreek words, signifying ' Wood- 
 cutter,' and is therefore a very appropriate one. 
 
 In this genus the marginal cell is drawn out to a point, and 
 the shape of the antennse differs in the two sexes. Those of 
 the male are nearly straight and hairy, while those of the 
 female are smooth and tend to a club towards the ends. The 
 antenna of the male is shown on Woodcut XXIX. Fig. d. 
 
 This is a much smaller insect than those which have been 
 described, as may be seen by the cross-mark immediately below 
 it. The colour of the thorax is black, and that of the abdomen 
 bright yellow, with an orange tinge during life. The upper 
 
TUENIP-FLY OR 'NIGGER.' 303 
 
 edge of the wing, is black, and the tips are darker than the 
 centre. The larva of this insect may be known by having the 
 sides of each segment of the abdomen lengthened into a sort of 
 flap, which covers the pro-legs. This larva may be found on 
 the leaves of the rose, with its body bent upwards, and some- 
 times even assuming a double curve. 
 
 The most superficial observer must notice that the insect 
 which is represented on Woodcut XXX. Fig. 3, is a very 
 curious one. It belongs to the same group of Saw-flies as the 
 last-mentioned insects. 
 
 The male is remarkable for the structure of the antennse, 
 which, as may be seen from the illustration, are not only 
 feathered, but double, the divisions taking place at the scape 
 or first joint. In the female the antenna is single and not 
 feathered. The head and thorax of this curious insect are 
 black, and its abdomen yellow. Its scientific name is Schizo- 
 cerus pallipes. Both names are appropriate. The first is 
 formed from the Greek words signifying ' Divided horn,' and 
 the second, which signifies Pale-footed, is given to the insect in 
 consequence of the pale colour of its legs. The insect was first 
 taken in Coombe Wood, by Mr. J. King, and has since been cap- 
 tured sparingly. It still remains, however, a very rare insect. 
 
 Here must be mentioned the terrible Tdrnip-fly or Niggeu 
 {Athalia spinarum) which is shown on Woodcut XXIX. Fig. 3. 
 In this genus the insects have either nine or ten joints in the 
 antennse, the third joint being a long one and the ends widen- 
 ing into an ill-defined club, as may be seen at Fig. /. In the 
 wings there are two marginal and four submargiujil cells. 
 The reader will now see the importance of these cells in the 
 arrangement of the Hymenoptera. Many persons seem to 
 think that neither number, shape, nor size is of the least con- 
 sequence, and that, in drawing such an insect, the artist may 
 put in any number of cells and shape them as he likes. The 
 entomologist, however, knows better, and though he cannot be 
 expected to carry in his mind the exact number and shape of 
 the cells, he can always tell at a glance whether the wings 
 have been carefully sketched from nature, or carelessly drawn 
 from imagination. 
 
304 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The head of the insect is black, and so are the sides and 
 base of the thorax, while the rest of the body is bright yellow. 
 The wings are translucent, and along the upper edge is a 
 streak of black. The larva of this insect is grey-black, and 
 is therefore popularly called the Nigger. It is always to be 
 found in some localities where turnips are grown, but in certain 
 years it appears in vast numbers, and is one of the worst 
 plagues that a farmer can fear. Somewhere about July, the 
 parent insects appear by thousands, and make their way to the 
 turnip-fields, where they lay their eggs, using for the purpose 
 the saw-like ovipositor which has already been mentioned. 
 Mr. E. Newman has given great attention to these small 
 though terrible insects, and his description of them in the 
 ' Letters of Eusticus ' is so graphic that I cannot do better than 
 transfer it to these pages : — 
 
 ' These flies do not taste the turnips, but only come to them 
 on family business : they deposit their eggs on the under side 
 of the leaf, gluing them on the cuticle. In a very few days 
 they were hatched ; from the eggs had emerged the little 
 caterpillars. On August 9, these little creatures swarmed on 
 every leaf. I walked over field after field, and found them all 
 in the same state. On Mr. Moline's farm, at Old Pond, three 
 men were hoeing the turnips on a Saturday ; I showed them 
 the enemy, and told them that the turnips would be thin 
 enough by Monday, without any hoeing ; however, they were 
 farmer's men, and " knowed better." On Sunday I could not 
 get out 30 far as a turnip-field. On Monday I was again in the 
 field at Old Pond, and the turnips were not. Since my last 
 visit they had been swept from the face of the earth. The 
 land was everywhere as bare as on the day it had been sowed. 
 There was no speck of green for the eye to rest on. It was a 
 wild and universal desolation ; and the black, crawling vermin 
 that had caused the ruin were clustered in bunches on the 
 ground, or lingering about the skeletons of the turnip-leaves. 
 No plague of Egypt could have been more effective ; the mis- 
 chief was complete. Some fields received the blast a few days 
 later than others, but all had it ; not one escaped, unless the 
 crop were swedes, and it is remarkable that these were un- 
 touched. 
 
 ' I will now give a somewhat more particular history of this 
 
EAVAGES OF THE 'NIGGER.' 305 
 
 blight. The egg is of an oblong form and pale colour, and is 
 so firmly glued to the cuticle of the leaf that I have never 
 been able to get one off without breaking it ; but when the egg 
 is removed it leaves, or rather discloses, a wound in the cuticle 
 of the leaf, and I have little doubt that this wound is made 
 by the parent fly, in order that the egg itself may receive 
 nourishment from the juices of the plant. This is perhaps 
 a little hypothetical, but there is a fact which seems to re- 
 quire such an explanation, for the egg positively grows, while 
 still to all appearance an egg. At the end of four days its 
 bulk is nearly doubled, and by the ninth day, when the grub 
 comes out, it is actually three times as large as when 
 deposited. 
 
 ' Directly* the young Nigger is let out of the egg-shell, he 
 begins eating away in right earnest. The first onslaught is 
 generally made as near as possible to the spot where he was 
 born, but after a day or two the edges of the leaf seem to be 
 most favoured by his attentions, and here the whole family may 
 be seen working with a will, their heads at the work of demolition, 
 and their tails cocked up in the air. In an incredibly short 
 space of time the green of the leaf is gone, and nothing is 
 visible but the naked skeletons of veins, which the Niggers do 
 not choose to consume. The colour of the grub is a dull lead 
 colour, with a rather rough or wrinkly skin, but without hairs ; 
 and down each side, from stem to stern, is a paler line. Its 
 length, when full grown, is between half and three-quarters of 
 an inch. It has no less than twenty legs, six of which are placed 
 in three pairs, very near the head. These six are long, hard, 
 horny, and sharp-pointed, and with them the grub holds fast 
 the edge of the leaf while he goes on devouring it ; the other 
 fourteen legs are arranged in seven pairs along the body, and 
 are soft and fleshy without any horny substance, and quite 
 without sharp points. These legs are used when the grub is 
 crawling; but while he is eating, and the tail, indeed the 
 gi-eater part of the body, is, as I have already said, cocked up 
 in the air, they are quite unemployed. Sometimes, and es- 
 pecially when offended or in danger, the Nigger-grub coils him- 
 self up in a ring, holding the leaf very slightly by the first 
 pair of legs, that pair next the head," and when touched in this 
 state, falls directly to the ground, and there lies as though 
 
 X 
 
306 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 dead ; indeed, if not in a ring before, he almost always rolls 
 himself into one when touched. 
 
 ' When the Nigger has reached his full size — a period de- 
 pending on the temperature of the weather and the . supply of 
 food, but averaging twenty days — he burrows in the earth, 
 and there makes a little oval house, just big enough for his 
 body, which has all at once become shorter and thicker ^ he 
 then plasters the walls of this place with a sort of sticky varnish 
 or glue, which he discharges at this time only ; he keeps on 
 discharging and spreading this glue till he is quite surrounded 
 with a strong, tough, and hard cocoon, the particles of earth 
 being mixed with the glue, and the whole forming an admirable 
 and perfect defence against wet or the attacks of insects. The 
 period of his stay in this cocoon varies according to circum- 
 stances : if the weather is hot, it sometimes happens that the 
 grub becomes a mummy-like chrysalis in ten days, and a 
 perfect fly, and again on the wing, in five more ; but the 
 greater part of the brood remain unchanged all through the 
 autumn, winter, and spring. I have turned up the cocoons, 
 and found the grub little altered even in May. 
 
 ' Soon after this the change to a chrysalis must take place, 
 and the change to a fly occurs, in average seasons, about the 
 middle of July ; when this is accomplished, it moistens one 
 end of its cocoon, so as to make it easy to come out, and then 
 it climbs up through the earth and takes wing. But the 
 plough and harrow, the operations of which are sure to follow 
 the eating off of the turnip-crop, often turn up and expose the 
 cocoons, so that, instead of being an inch or two below the 
 surface, they are laid at the top. The system of crop rotation, 
 however, serves to remove the fly of the Nigger from the food 
 best fitted for its progeny ; and it often happens that the flies 
 come to maturity in a field of ripening grain, the ears of which 
 they mount, and, spreading their wings, float off in myriads to 
 the nearest turnip-field. 
 
 ' I find a hundred recipes for the destruction of these 
 Niggers, all of which are moonshine except one, and this, for a 
 wonder, is rational. It is this : buy an immense number of 
 ducks, and turn them into your turnips, and they will devour 
 the niggers by millions, and in a few days become as fat as 
 butter. Thus two birds are killed with one stone — the ducks 
 fattened and the turnips saved. 
 
HAND-PICKING. 307 
 
 ' When we get on a little farther with our inquiries into the 
 history of animals, and especially such little things as insects, 
 you may depend on it we shall find the best way to check the 
 increase of any hurtful kind is to encourage any other animal, 
 whether beast, bird, fish, or insect, that makes the injurious 
 one its prey.' 
 
 Hand-picking has also proved serviceable, but I am not 
 aware of any other plan that is of the least practical use in 
 destroying this insect. The rule which Mr. Newman has laid 
 down is a most admirable one, and is worth the attention of 
 all cultivators of land, whether for farming or horticultural pur- 
 poses. The ' Nigger ' larva is shown on Woodcut XXIX. Fig. b. 
 
 There is a closely allied genus, called Selandria, the larvae 
 of which are singularly unpleasant to the eye, as well as 
 injurious to vegetation. They continually exude from the sides 
 of the body a thick, sticky liquid, of a greenish-black colour, 
 in which they are completely enveloped. This is evidently used 
 as a means of concealment, for the larva does not move so long 
 as daylight endures, but flattens itself to the object on which it 
 is resting, and looks like a mere lump of unpleasant slime that 
 has accidentally fallen upon the tree. In America these larvae 
 go by the popular and expressive name of Slug-worms, and 
 often do great damage to the peach, the plum, the cherry, the 
 quin«e, and similar fruit-trees. 
 
 Next in order comes the insect which is shown on Woodcut 
 XXIX. Fig. 4. Its name is Allantus scrophularirr. 
 
 In this genus the abdomen is longer and more slender than 
 in the preceding genera, the hind pair of legs are com- 
 paratively long, the clypeus is deeply notched, and the antennae 
 are rather slender, the third joint being longer than the fourth. 
 One of these antenna is sliown at Fig. g. The cells of the 
 wings are formed like those of Athalia. These insects are 
 very plentiful, and are decidedly pretty, the abdomen being- 
 coloured with bright yellow or green, the former hue pre- 
 dominating. In the present species the antennae are rather 
 short and thick, but in some they are much longer. There 
 are between forty and fifty species of this large genus. 
 
 The larva, which is shown at Fig. c, feeds upon the Figwort 
 
 X 2 
 
308 INSECTS AT HOiyiE. 
 
 {Scrophularia), from which the insect derives its specific name. 
 It has twenty-two feet, and varies much in colour after its 
 changes of skin. When it is full-fed, it leaves the plant on 
 which it has fed, and burrows beneath the soil at its root, 
 making for itself a cell below the surface of the earth, but not 
 spinning a- genuine cocoon. 
 
 On Woodcut XXIX. Fig. 2, is a rather remarkable Saw-fly, 
 called Croesus septentrionalis. In this genus the antennae are 
 composed of nine elongated and slender joints, as may be 
 seen at Fig. e. The wings have one marginal and four sub- 
 marginal cells, and into the second run two small nervures, 
 called ' recurrent ' nervm'es. The hind legs are large, and the 
 first joint of the tarsi very large and flattened. There are 
 many species of this genus, and the present species is a very 
 pretty one. The head, thorax, and base of the abdomen are 
 black and shining, and the rest of the body is bright red. 
 The legs are black, diversified with many white patches, as 
 seen in the illustration. The name Croesus is given to the 
 insect in allusion to the golden red of the abdomen. 
 
 This is a very local insect, and though not generally spread 
 throughout the country, is tolerably plentiful in places where 
 it does exist. Mr. F. Smith tells me that he has taken it near 
 Poole, feeding upon the alders that grew upon marshy ground. 
 Mr. Doubleday has taken it in Epping Forest, feeding on the 
 filbert. The larvae are partly gregarious, dull green in colour, 
 spotted with black, and changing to yellow at the end of the 
 body. When they are alarmed, they protrude from between 
 the fore-legs a number of blackish tubercles, and withdraw 
 them when the danger has passed away. Like the larvae of 
 the Cimbex, they roll themselves up if touched. When full-fed, 
 the grub seeks the ground, and constructs under the sm'face 
 a small cocoon, brown in colour, and very slight in texture. 
 Darenth Wood is mentioned as one of the localities in which 
 it is to be found. The larva of this species is shown at Fig. a. 
 
 The fine insect shown on Woodcut XXX. Fig. 2, belongs to 
 the typical genus of this family, and is known as Tentkredo 
 zonatus. This genus has the antennae long and slender, the 
 third joint not being longer than the fourth. The wings have 
 
PINE SAW-FLY. 309 
 
 two marginal and four submarginal cells, and the abdomen is 
 rather long and flattened. The present species differs con- 
 siderably in colour, according to the sex, the male being 
 almost entirely yellow, while the female is black, with a 
 broad yellow band or zone across the body, as is seen in the 
 illustration. The specific name zonatus, or banded, refers to 
 this yellow belt in the female. The male is rather smaller 
 than the female, but his inferiority in size is compensated by 
 the superior brilliancy of his colour. 
 
 / Most persons who possess, or who take an interest in gardens, 
 have noticed how liable is the gooseberry to be destroyed by a 
 caterpillar-like grub. This is the larva of a Saw-fly called 
 Nematus (/rossularice, an insect which is more pretty than it is 
 agreeable. The insects of this genus have nine joints to the 
 antennae, and in the wings there are one marginal and four 
 submarginal cells, into the second of which run two 'recurrent 
 nerves.' The tarsi are not dilated. 
 
 When these larvae take possession of the gooseberries, it is 
 most difficult to extirpate them, and I believe that nothing 
 but handpicking will answer the purpose. Mr. Waterton's 
 plan of ' dishing ' the gooseberries, i.e., cutting away the centre 
 and training the branches so as to radiate in the form of a 
 hollow cone reversed, makes this operation much easier, as well 
 as permits the gooseberries to be gathered without risk of 
 pricking the fingers. As many as a thousand larvae have been 
 found on a single gooseberry bush, and as there are two broods 
 in a year, the mischief which they can do is almost incalculable. 
 Throughout their imperfect stages, these creatures are social, 
 and their cocoons may be found in great numbers, attached to 
 each other by their ends. The colour of the larvae is a smooth 
 leaden hue, and across their bodies are many rows of tiny 
 black, hair-bearing warts. There are many species of this genus, 
 which feed upon various trees, and which do much damage, 
 not only in the orchard but in plantations, the willow, alder, 
 osier, &c., being specially subject to their attacks. 
 
 On Woodcut XXX. Fig. 4, is a slightly magnified figure of 
 a Saw-fly with rather curious habits. This is the Pine Saw- 
 fly [Lophyrus pini). In this genus the male is always less than 
 
310 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the female, and may be distinguished by the form of the 
 anternee. In the female these organs are comparatively 
 simple, as is shown at Fig. e, but in the male they are deeply 
 and doubly toothed, the teeth being very much longer on the 
 inner than on the outer side. One of these antennae is shown 
 on Fig. d. 
 
 In this species, the male and female also differ greatly in 
 colour, the former being wholly black, while the latter is yellow, 
 with a black head, and broad black-grey band across the middle 
 of the abdomen. The comparative proportions of yellow and 
 black vary much in different specimens. As its name imports, 
 this insect feeds, while in a larval state, on the pine, and con- 
 sequently is found more plentifully in the northern than in the 
 southern parts of Europe. Happily, in this country, it is 
 rather a scarce insect, but in some of the pine-growing dis- 
 tricts of Northern Europe it does considerable damage. 
 
 The larva which is shown at Fig. 6, is dirty yellow in colour, 
 diversified with black spots arranged longitudinally. Like the 
 larva of the Nematus, it is social in its habits, and may be found 
 in groups, numbering a hundred or so, upon the pine-trees, 
 feeding upon the leaves. Their mode of eating the needle-like 
 leaves of this tree is from tip to base, and has been graphically 
 compared to the manner in which men eat radishes. When the 
 leaves are finished, the larvae proceed between the young shoots, 
 which they completely strip of their bark, and so proceed from 
 one branch to another, rendering them as leafless as if the 
 trees were dead. 
 
 Owing to the nature of their food, they naturally swallow a 
 large amount of pure resin, and, if they are touched, they allow 
 a drop of liquid resin to flow from their mouths. When they 
 are full-fed they proceed to envelope themselves in cocoons, 
 which are attached to the pine-leaves, and it is remarkable 
 that the cocoons of the female insects are larger than those of 
 the male. One of these cocoons is shown at Fig. c. The 
 perfect insects make their appearance about May. Only a 
 very few British species of this genus are known. 
 
 The Saw-fly which is represented on Plate IX. Fig. 4, belongs 
 to a genus named Lyda, in which the larvae of the different 
 species vary remarkably in their habits. In this genus the 
 
HORN-TAILED SAW-FLIES. 311 
 
 antennae are not feathered, and their joints vary in number from 
 nineteen to thirty-six. There are two marginal and four sub- 
 marginal cells, and the tibiae of the second and third pairs of 
 legs have three spines. The name of the present species is 
 Lyda hortorum, and it is a really pretty insect. The head 
 and thorax are black, and the abdomen a very warm orange 
 red. The wings are peculiarly shining. Mr. F. Smith tells 
 me that it is a very erratic and uncertain insect in its appear- 
 ance, being foimd in plenty one day, while on the next not a 
 solitary specimen is to be seen. It is exceedingly active and 
 difficult to catch, and while flying, its wings glitter in the 
 sunshine as if they were made of burnished gold. 
 
 The larvce of this genus have no pro-legs on the abdomen, 
 but at the end of the body are two jointed projections some- 
 what resembling the true legs of the thorax. In consequence 
 of this structure, the movements of the larvaa are slow and of a 
 gliding character. The larvae are semi-social, and live in 
 company after a very curious fashion. A number of them 
 associate together upon a branch, each larva spinning for 
 itself a separate case in which it lives, while the entire associa- 
 tion is covered by a common roof formed of the leaves of a tree 
 fastened to each other with silken webs. The larvae of some 
 species of Lyda form their cases of leaves, which they roll 
 up into a cylindrical form, and in which they live like the 
 caddis-worms in their tubes. 
 
 We now come to a remarkable group of Saw-flies, which at 
 first sight scarcely seem to belong to the same family, as those 
 which have just been mentioned. They are, indeed, so different 
 in aspect that many systematic entomologists have formed them 
 into a separate family, named Uroceridae, i.e. Horn-tailed Saw- 
 flies. In these insects, the saws are modified into a powerful 
 boring apparatus, by means of which the female insect can 
 drill a hole into solid timber, instead of merely cutting a groove 
 in soft bark. The body is nearly cylindi-ical in form, but flatter 
 in the males than in the females. The prothorax is elongated, 
 and forms a sort of neck between the head and the thorax. The 
 mandibles are strong and horny, though small ; and the front 
 tibiae have one spur at the tip, and in the males the hinder 
 tibiae are flattened. 
 
312 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 On Plate IX. Fig. 7, is shown one of these remarkable Saw- 
 flies, called Sirex or Urocerus juvencus. The specimen is a 
 male, so that the very long ovipositor is not shown. In this 
 genus the neck is a very short one, there are two marginal and 
 four sub-marginal cells, the maxillary palpi are very short, and 
 the boring instrument is very long, and exterior to the body. 
 The colour of the present species diflfers greatly according to 
 sex, the male being black and yellow, while the female is a 
 very deep violet, almost amounting to black. 
 
 I very strongly recommend any of my readers who may obtain 
 a female Sirex to disengage the actual borer from its two-bladed 
 sheath, and examine it with the aid of a microscope. A half- 
 inch object-glass will give quite sufficient power. It is straight, 
 stiff, and elastic, as if made of steel, and, if bent, will spring- 
 back to its proper form with the elasticity of a Toledo rapier. 
 In form it somewhat resembles the instrument known technically 
 as a ' rymer,' except that the edges are rounded, and not square. 
 But the borer possesses an auxiliary cutting apparatus which 
 places it far above the rymer in point of efficacy. Even with 
 an ordinary magnifying lens, it is easy to see that the end of 
 the borer is developed into a sharp head very much resenabling 
 that of a boarding-pike, and that the outline of the shaft is 
 broken into a series of notches. 
 
 The half-inch glass, however, discloses a marvellous example 
 of mechanical excellence. The head of the borer is then seen 
 to be armed with long, sharp teeth, slightly curved inwards, 
 and acting just as does the carpenter's ordinary centre-bit. 
 So much for the head of the borer : we will now turn to the 
 shaft. It appears that, in order to make a clean-cut hole for 
 the reception of the egg, the shaft of the borer has to finish the 
 task which the head begins. Accordingly, it is armed on each 
 of its sides with a series of hard, sharp-edged ridges, running 
 diagonally across it, and acting exactly as do the sharp ridges 
 of a coffee-mill. A more effective implement could not have 
 been invented, and the 'various boring instruments of modern 
 days, however novel they may appear to be, are in reality formed 
 on exactly the same principle as the borer of the Sirex, though 
 perhaps they may not carry out their object with such perfection. 
 
 This is a wood-boring insect, the female drilling a hole in the 
 solid wood, usually that of the fir, and depositing her eggs in 
 
THE SIREX AND THE PINE-TREE. 313 
 
 it. It is thought by many naturalists that the Sirex never 
 attacks • growing trees, but restricts itself to those which are 
 either dead or dying. The late Mr. Waterton was of this 
 opinion. Shortly before liis lamented death he showed me two 
 fir-trees which he had ' girdled' in order to kill them, for the 
 purpose of seeing whether or not the Sirex would attack them. 
 Unfortunately, the accident from which he died put a stop to 
 the experiment. 
 
 It is, at all events, certain that the Sirex does exist in dead 
 timber, and nothing is more common than to see a newly 
 erected summer-house absolutely infested by the Sirex, which, 
 although harmless enough, looks so like a hornet that scarcely 
 any persons who are not practical entomologists can believe 
 that an insect so formidable in appearance, and armed with 
 so huge a sting, can be anything but dangerous. 
 
 In Curtis' 'British Entomology' it is mentioned that the 
 Sirex has made its appearance in York Minster, a number of 
 the males having been captured as they were flying about the 
 tower ; and Mr. Curtis took occasion to prognosticate danger 
 to the tower, not only from the weakening of the timber, but 
 from its increased liability to combustion, owing to the nume- 
 rous tunnels -with which it is perforated. 
 
 I have quite a collection of these insects, sent to me by 
 persons Who have found them in newly-panelled rooms, in 
 summer-houses, and similar localities, and who have been quite 
 alarmed at their presence. These, however, mostly belong to 
 another species, Sirex gigas, the female of which is yellow and 
 black, like the male, and which therefore looks much more 
 like a hornet than its relative, Sirex juvencus. It is really a 
 splendid insect. One that I have taken at random from a box 
 measures an inch and a half from the head to the end of the 
 tail, the spread of wing is two inches and three quarters, and 
 the boring apparatus, which is as large as a ' No. 5 ' needle, is 
 rather more than an inch in length, so that if people mistake 
 it for a poison-bearing sting, they are likely to be afraid of the 
 insect. 
 
 The colouring of this insect is peculiarly bold. The head 
 is thickly punctured, and deep black, except a patch of brio-ht 
 yellow behind the eyes. The thorax is also black, punctured, 
 and covered with a coating of line black down. The abdomen 
 
314 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 is bright ochreous yellow, with the exception of a broad 
 satin-like belt round the middle, the colour being black, 
 glossed with violet. The boring instrument is brown, with a 
 slight tint of- red in it. The femora, or thighs of the legs, are 
 black, and the rest yellow, and the antennae are yellow. Even 
 the wings have a decided yellow tinge about them. 
 
 The reader may remember that most wood-boring insects are 
 exceedingly variable in size. The Sirex is no exception to the 
 rule, for, while some specimens are almost gigantic in dimen- 
 sions, others are the merest dwarfs by their side. 
 
 The larva bears some resemblance in general form to that of 
 the Musk Beetle, described on page 195. The mandibles are 
 very strong, and furnished with saw-like teeth at the end, their 
 action being as remarkable as it is powerful. They remain in 
 the larval state for a considerable time ; but the duration of the 
 pupal existence depends much on circumstances, those which 
 change to the pupal condition in the summer only waiting a 
 month or so, while those which change at the end of autumn 
 have to wait for nearly a year. 
 
 As a rule, none of the species of Sirex are very common in 
 this country. They are, however, tolerably plentiful in the 
 neighbourhood of my house, because there is a small fir-wood 
 within a hundred yards of it, and that wood has been fenced 
 off by a paling made from the misshapen firs. That they may 
 be thus locally common may be seen from an account published 
 in the first volume of the ' Transactions of tlie Entomological 
 Society.' A part of a fir-tree, some twenty feet long, was placed 
 in an outhouse, and for several months the Sirex juvencus issued 
 at the rate of five or six jper diem. At first they were nearly 
 all males', then a few females appeared, and dm'ing the last two 
 weeks, i.e. the end of November, females alone made their 
 appearance. The piece of wood in question was sent to the 
 Society by Mr. Eaddon, from Bewdley Forest, Worcestershire. 
 
 An enormous group of Hymenoptera now comes before us, 
 appropriately entitled Entomophaga. This name is formed 
 from two Greek words, signifying ' insect-eating.' It is given 
 to them because, in the larval state, the greater number 
 of them are parasites within other insects ; usually, but not 
 always, attacking them while still larvae. In them the abdomen 
 
THE GALL-FLIES. 315 
 
 is attached to the thorax by a very small portion of its dia- 
 meter, and is often lengthened into a more or less slender 
 footstalk. The females are furnished with an ovipositor com- 
 posed of several valves, and similar in most respects to that of 
 the Sirex- Mr. Westwood arranges them in two groups ; the 
 one, which he calls Spiculifera, having ' two delicate spicula, 
 working in a horny semi-canal, which is defended at rest by 
 two often partially exserted valves.' The second division in- 
 cludes those in which the abdomen is terminated by a tele- 
 scopic retractile tube. 
 
 The first family is the Cynipidce, popularly known as Gall- 
 flies, in which the ovipositor is internal and more or less spiral, 
 and the antennae are straight and have from thirteen to fifteen 
 joints. By means of the ovipositor, the female insect punctures 
 various portions of plants, the ribs and nervures of leaves, 
 young twigs and roots, being the favourite objects, and by the 
 same instrument she introduces an egg into the wound, to- 
 gether with a drop of some irritant liquid. The effect of this 
 liquid is very curious. It mixes in some way with the sap of 
 the tree, which causes ?. swelling to take place, in the middle 
 of which the egg is hatched into a larva, and finds at once its 
 board and lodging combined. As is the case with the Saw- 
 flies, the egg of the Gall-fly enlarges after it is deposited, 
 until it is three or four times as large as when it was first de- 
 posited. 
 
 The varieties of galls, in shape, colour, and size, are almost be- 
 yond calculation ; for, despite the enormous number of Gall-flies 
 that are already known, new specimens are still being discovered, 
 and every species makes its oAvn gall. How the instilled liquid 
 acts no one knows, and there are few more curious problems in 
 nature than that which the growth of the gall involves. Were 
 each kind of tree, for example, to produce one kind of gall, 
 it would be easy enough to understand that the irritating liquid 
 introduced by the insect would produce a certain sort of ab- 
 normal swelling. But when we find that a variety of Gall-flies 
 attack one tree, such as the oak, and that each produces an 
 entirely different gall, the problem is a very perplexing one. 
 In many cases, such as the well-known currant-gall, the nut- 
 gall, and the hard, woody gall of Cynips Kollari, which is shown 
 on Plate IX. Fig. 6, each gall has but one inhabitant. But in 
 
316 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 others, of which the common ' oak-apple ' gall and the ' bede- 
 guar ' of the rose are familiar examples, a number of cells are 
 enclosed in a common gall, and each insect inhabits its own 
 cell. 
 
 We will now examine in detail a few of the most prominent 
 insects of this group. The insect on Plate IX., to which refer- 
 ence has just been made, belongs to the typical genus of the 
 family. By some entomologists it is called Cynipa Kollari, in 
 honour of the well-known entomologist, and by some it is en- 
 titled Cynips Ugnicola, in consequence of the hard and almost 
 woody structure of the gall. In this genus the abdomen is 
 rather egg-shaped, and there is a small, but boldly marked 
 triangular submarginal cell. The antennae of the male have 
 fifteen, and the female fourteen joints. The colour of this 
 species is dull plain brown. 
 
 The rapid manner in which insects can spread themselves 
 over a district when the conditions are favourable is well ex- 
 emplified by this Grall-fly. Comparatively a few years ago it 
 was unknown in the vicinity of London. But Mr. F. Smith 
 brought from Devonshire a branch on which were a number of 
 the galls, and fastened it in an oak hedge. Next year the oaks 
 bore these galls in numbers, and the insect has so rapidly made 
 its way that its galls are now better known than those of any 
 other species. They are so plentiful that they are even strung 
 on wires, and made into ornamental baskets for holding ferns. 
 I have in my garden an oak hedge which is thickly studded 
 with the round, hard galls. Even in summer-time, when the 
 leaves are on the trees, these galls are easily seen ; but in the 
 winter, when no foliage obstructs the sight, they are the most 
 conspicuous objects in the hedge. In this part of the country, 
 i e. "West Kent, there is great abundance of oak underwood, and 
 in consequence this species, in common with other oak-loving 
 insects, finds ample subsistence. 
 
 I have had great numbers of these Gall-flies, and when the 
 first batch escaped from the galls, I Avas sadly disappointed at 
 the dull, sombre brown colour, and altogether commonplace 
 look of the insect. Still, owing to the size of the Cynips, the 
 structure of the ovipositor can be easily made out with the 
 aid of a tolerable microscope and a fair stock of patience. 
 
A CAUTION TO ENTOMOLOGISTS. 317 
 
 Sometimes two, or even more, of the galls will be made so 
 close together that they coalesce to a greater or smaller de- 
 gree. I possess one rather remarkable instance of this fusion. 
 Contrary to the general practice, the instinct of the enclosed 
 insect misled it. After the pupa has changed into the perfect 
 state, the Cynips gnaws its way through the substance of the 
 gall, and so gains the outer air. The distance to be traversed 
 is about half an inch, and the insect has quite enough strength 
 to accomplish the task. But, in the instance of which I speak, 
 one of the G-all-flies had mistaken its way, and, instead of 
 directing itself to the point which would lead it most directly 
 into the open air, unfortunately took exactly the opposite direc- 
 tion, and hit upon the very spot where the galls were joined 
 after the fashion of the Siamese twins. Consequently, instead 
 of having to gnaw its way through a wall barely half an inch 
 in thickness, it had to traverse an inch and a half before it 
 could reach the air. Very naturally, its strength was ex- 
 hausted before it could perform such a task, and I found it 
 lying dead on the spot where the galls were joined. 
 
 To me, one most interesting point was to observe the 
 economy of Nature even in so small an insect as a Gall-fly. 
 Normally it has to bite its way through half an inch of material, 
 and it has strength for that purpose. But it has not more 
 than sufficient strength, and so it happened that the insect in 
 question, after traversing its allotted half inch, had no strength 
 to proceed further, and so died on the scene of its uncompleted 
 labours. 
 
 An insect so plentiful, so conspicuous, and so sluggish 
 might be supposed to suffer much from birds. It has, how- 
 ever, been well observed that this species has, when handled, 
 a very disagreeable odour, and that therefore the birds may 
 reject it, as is known to be the case with many other insects. 
 
 It is impossible, with the limited space at our command, to 
 do more than give this brief sketch of the life of a Gall-fly. 
 There are very many other species, some of which are exceed- 
 ingly beautiful and others comparatively dull. Breeding them 
 from the gall is a very interesting pursuit, but I must warn 
 the novice in this art that, although he may hatch a number 
 of Hymenoptera from galls, it does not by any means follow 
 
318 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 that they are its lawful inhabitants ; for there are certain 
 ichneumon flies (of which we shall presently treat) which are 
 parasitic upon the gall insects, and take their place within the 
 galls. 
 
 Some of the habitations produced by these insects are very 
 beautiful. For example, the leaf-galls of the oak are of a 
 pearly translucency, and coloured with golden yellow, orange, 
 and red, like a ripe apple. The currant galls, which hang in 
 strings from the twigs, are similarly beautiful in colouring, 
 while the rich crimson bedeguar of the rose, with its thick, 
 fur-like clothing, is too familiar to need description. 
 
 To secure the . insects which inhabit these galls is easy 
 enough. Those which are found at the middle or end of 
 autumn may be plucked, together with the part of the tree 
 to which they are attached, and placed in boxes, each box 
 being carefully labelled with the date and locality of the 
 capture. But when the galls are found at the beginning of 
 summer, this plan often fails, because the galls are still draw- 
 ing nourishment from the sap, and, unless they can do so, the 
 insect does not obtain sufficient nutriment, and either perishes 
 before it can make its way through the partly dried walls of 
 its habitation, or is itself withered, shrivelled, or deformed, in 
 consequence of the deterioration of its food. 
 
 In such cases, the best plan is to take a piece of green 
 muslin or leno, and tie it loosely over the gall. In gardens or 
 private grounds this is always the best plan, and, even in 
 places open to the public, the green muslin will mostly escape 
 observation. Indeed, it is often so difficult to discover, that 
 the safest plan is to note in the pocket-book the particular 
 tree and branch on which any galls have been thus secured. 
 It is rather curious that, although the Grall-flies can gTiaw their 
 way through the walls of their former habitations, they seldom, 
 if ever, try to break through the gauze in a similar manner, 
 but crawl about in an uncertain way, as if bewildered with 
 their new position. 
 
 TjiEEE is one small but remarkable family of these insects, 
 called the Evaniidse, in which the relation, size, and position 
 of the abdomen and thorax are most curiously modified. Like 
 several other groups of insects now inhabiting Britain, they 
 
THE EVANIID^. 319 
 
 are thought by many entomologists not to be indigenous, but 
 to have been brought over by vessels, and to have acclimatised 
 themselves. 
 
 In these insects the thorax is enormously large, and the 
 abdomen is curiously small, scarcely larger, in fact, than one 
 of the hind-legs. It is very slender, and attached to the upper 
 part of the thorax by a slight footstalk, just below the inser- 
 tion of the wings. In some species, the abdomen is barely 
 half the size of one of the hind legs, and bears about the same 
 relative proportion to the thorax that a comma (such as this ,) 
 bears to the capital letter 0. In fact, the creature seems to 
 be all legs and wings, without any nutritive apparatus. 
 
 All the Evaniidae are small, but we may gain some idea of 
 their remarkable construction if we take the head, thorax, 
 legs, and wings of a wasp, remove the abdomen altogether, 
 and substitute the corresponding part of a gnat, stuck on 
 the upper part of the thorax, just at the base of the wings. 
 Only, to make the resemblance clearer, we must make the 
 hind legs nearly twice as long, and flatten the tibiae into trian- 
 gular plates. The Evaniidae are parasitic in their nature, but 
 their economy is not yet thoroughly known. 
 
320 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE ICHNEUMON FLIES. 
 
 "We now come to the Ichneumonidae, one of the largest, most 
 important, and most perplexing groups in the insect world. 
 They are termed Ichneumonidae, or Ichneumon-flies — because 
 they enact the same part towards various insects that the ichneu- 
 mon was said to act towards the crocodile. They are parasites 
 upon other insects, and for the most part they spend their 
 larval existence within the bodies of their victims, where they 
 lurk unseen and unsuspected until the time comes when they 
 have to change their forms. In this family the abdomen is 
 attached to the end of the thorax, and not to its upper part, 
 as in the Evaniidse, and the first pair of wings have always 
 ' perfect ' cells, i.e. cells closed on all sides within their disc. 
 The ovipositor of the females is straight, and the antennae are 
 not elbowed. There are many other characters of this family, 
 but these are sufficient for identification. 
 
 The first and typical genus of this family is Ichneumon, in 
 which the abdomen is rather egg-shaped but oblong, and the 
 ovipositor is not external. The antennae are linear, and the 
 wings have the areolet five-sided and boldly marked. The 
 outer cell is complete. 
 
 Our first example of this genus is given on Woodcut XXXI. 
 Fig. 1, and is called Ichneumon proteus. Why it should have 
 obtained the name of Proteus is more than I can understand. 
 The name decidedly implies that it is exceedingly variable in 
 some way, but in a long series that I have examined I could 
 not find any variation worth noticing. The colour of this 
 insect is black, with a yellow scutellum, and a yellowish patch 
 in the middle of the antennae. The wings are translucent, but 
 shaded toward the tips. 
 
 At Fig. 2 of the same Woodcut is shown the male of another 
 
THK OVIPOSITOR AS A WEAPON. 
 
 321 
 
 species of this genus, Ichneumon crassorius. In this insect 
 there is a bold distinction between the two sexes, the females 
 being altogether black, with the exception of a yellow scutel- 
 lum, and the males having a broad band of orange-yellow across 
 the middle of the abdomen. When a female of any large 
 species of Ichneumon is caught in the hands, she uses her ovi- 
 positor as a weapon of offence, by bringing its sharp point 
 against the skin. She cannot do any injury, for she has no 
 
 ZXZI 
 
 1. Ichneumon proteus. 2. Ichneumon crassorius. 3. Tryphon rutilator. 4. Cryptus 
 migrator. 5. Pinipla instigator. a. Tryphon, larva. b. Pimpla instigator, female, pro- 
 file of abdomen. c. Do., dried specimen, d. Do., seen from beneath, e. Do., abdomen of 
 male. 
 
 poison apparatus, and the ovipositor is too feeble even to 
 
 penetrate the skin. She can, however, prick sharply enough 
 
 to cause a novice to think that she really has a sting, and to 
 release her accordingly. 
 
 We now come to the genus Ti-yphon, in which the tarsi of 
 
 Y 
 
322 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the hinder legs are very slender, the abdomen has a very short 
 footstalk, and the areolet is not well defined, but is either 
 triangular, or approaching to a circular form. One of these 
 insects, Tryphon rutilator, is drawn on Woodcut XXXI. Fig. 3. 
 The present species is exceedingly variable, but in general 
 the head and thorax are black, and the abdomen dull red in 
 the middle, with a black base and tip. A rather curious cir- 
 cumstance has occasionally happened to one or two species of 
 this genus. The eggs had been extruded — probably by pres- 
 sure when the insect was caught — and remained at the end of 
 the abdomen, where they were hatched. Having no proper 
 food, they commenced feeding on each other. One of the 
 larvae is shown at Fig. a. 
 
 On Plate X. Fig. 3, is seen a very fine Ichneumon-fly, which 
 is called Tragus atropos. In this genus the scutellum is 
 elevated, the head is large and wide, the abdomen is joined to 
 the thorax by a footstalk, is convex, and the ovipositor is not 
 protruded. The coloiir of this species is black, with the 
 scutellum and the basal half of the abdomen yellow. 
 
 This insect preys upon the caterpillar of the Death's Head 
 Moth {Acherontia atropos), one of which is partly shown in 
 the middle of the Plate. Those who rear moths from the 
 caterpillar are too familiarly acquainted with the Ichneumon, 
 for it often happens that, after watching and cherishing a 
 caterpillar until it is full-fed, the creature dies, and from its 
 withering body proceeds the splendid but objectionable Ich- 
 neumon. It is in consequence of choosing this caterpillar 
 that the name of Atropos has been given to the insect. 
 
 Another species of Ichneumon is shown on "Woodcut XXXI. 
 Fig. 4, and is called Cryptus migrator. In this genus the ovi- 
 positor is rather long and protruded. In other respects it agrees 
 with the preceding genus. This is rather a variable species, 
 but in general it is black, with the exception of the abdomen, 
 which is dark-red. It is parasitic on solitary bees, belonging 
 for the most part to the genus Odynerus. The name Cryptus, 
 which signifies hidden, was given to the insects on account of 
 the manner in which they lie hidden in the bodies of their 
 prey until they are developed. This is a very large genus, 
 containing some sixty species. 
 
THE SPIDER PARASITES. 323 
 
 On Plate X. Figs. 2, 3, and 6, are d^a^vn two species of a 
 most curious little Ichneumon, which might easily be thought 
 not to be a winged creature at all. In this genus the abdomen 
 has a footstalk, and the ovipositor is short and protruded. 
 The wings are unfitted for flight. The generic name of Pezo- 
 machus is Greek, and signifies a foot-soldier. It is given to 
 those insects because the females are unable to use their rudi- 
 mentary wings. 
 
 At F'igure 6 is represented the female of Pezomachus zona- 
 tiLS. The head of this species is black, and the rest of the 
 body is yellow, with the exception of two black belts across 
 the abdomen, from which the insect derives its name of zonatus, 
 or belted. 
 
 In Pezomachus fasoiatus, which is seen at Fig. 3, the female 
 is entirely without wings. Its colour is yellow, and it has a 
 single black band on the abdomen, from which it derives its 
 specific name of fasciatus, or banded. In one species, Pezo- 
 nnachus hemipterus, the female has very short wings with 
 black tips. They are, however, merely rudimentary, and quite 
 incapable of flight. The specific name of hemipterus, or half- 
 winged, refers to this structure. 
 
 The Pezomachi are parasitic on spiders, and can be almost 
 always obtained by using the sweep-net among grass and 
 bushes where the spiders' nests abound. There is a very common 
 spider, called Agelena brunnea, which makes its nest on furze 
 and grass, and then covers it with earth, so as to hide the 
 white, glittering silk of the nest itself. From these nests the 
 Pezomachus may often be hatched. In all cases, the male is 
 much rarer than the female, and the surest mode of procuring 
 it is to take a number of spiders' nests and await the exit of 
 any Pezomachi that may happen to have been parasitic on 
 them. 
 
 One of the larger species of Ichneumons is represented on 
 Woodcut XXXI. Fig. 5. Its name is Plmpla tTistigator. In 
 this genus the abdomen has no footstalk, and is smooth and 
 convex, with the segments marked by tubercles. The areolet 
 is triangular, and the ovipositor is protruded. 
 
 The colour of this species is black, and the legs are reddish. 
 It is a wonderfully variable insect in point of size ; some speci- 
 
 T 2 
 
324 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 mens being as large as the figure, if not larger, while others 
 are no bigger than gnats. The mode in which the Pimplas 
 deposit their eggs is well told by Mr. Westwood : — 
 
 'May 29, 1830, I observed a Pimpla, with the ovipositor 
 almost as long as the body, in the act of oviposition in a dry 
 paling, which had been much perforated, and out of which I 
 had just dug a black Pemphredon. The part in which the 
 ovipositor was introduced appeared to be quite solid. (Eeau- 
 mur represents his specimens as inserting their ovipositors 
 in a circular patch of dried clay, used to stop up the entrance 
 to the nest of the intended victim.) There were several very 
 minute blackish spots, as they seemed to be, close to the place 
 where the ovipositor was inserted, and which were probably 
 other places of insertion of the ovipositor. 
 
 * When first observed, the insect had introduced about half 
 the terebra into the post, the part remaining uninserted being 
 at right angles with the body, the sheaths being curved and 
 their tips being brought to the place of insertion, thus evidently 
 strengthening the terebra in its operations. The abdomen was 
 at this time alternately turned from left to right, and vice versa, 
 whereby a bradawl kind of motion was given to the terebra, 
 enabling it to penetrate the w^ood to a greater depth. It then 
 alternately partially withdrew and replunged the terebra into 
 the hole thus made, as though in the act of passing an egg or 
 eggs, standing all this while on the tips of the tarsi. On cutting, 
 however, into the post, I was not able to discover any lignivorous 
 larva, finding only a channel of fine, white pulverised wood, 
 which had been made by a previous occupier of the 
 tube.' 
 
 Some further details of this insect are given on Woodcut 
 XXXI. Fig. b shows the lateral view of the female abdomen 
 in a fresh insect, and c is the same portion of a dried specimen. 
 Fig. d shows the abdomen as seen from beneath, and Fig. e 
 shows the end of the male abdomen. 
 
 Some of the Ichneumons have wonderfully long and slender 
 ovipositors. One of them, Rhyssa persuasoria, is shown on 
 Plate X. Fig. 5, one being seen in the act of depositing her 
 eggs, and the other to be flying. In thi^ genus the abdomen 
 Is without a footstalk, long, convex, and furnished with a very 
 
PLATE X. 
 PARASITIC HYMENOPTERA. 
 
 1. Pezomachua zonatus and nests of Spider. 
 
 2. Pezomaclius fasciatua. 
 
 3. Trogus atropos. 
 
 4. Rhyssa persuasoria. 
 
 5. Ehyssa depositing eggs, 
 
 6. Chelonus oculator (rather magnified). 
 Caterpillar of Death's Head Moth. In Middle. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Willow. Above. 
 
 Dog-grass ( Cynomrm). In Middle, with mud-nests of Spider. 
 
 Wood Sorrel (^Oxalis acetosella). Below. 
 
THE PRESERVEES OF THE CABBAGE. 325 
 
 long ovipositor. The present species is nearly as variable in 
 size as the Pimpla which has just been described. Its colour 
 is black, diversified by bright yellow spots along the sides of 
 the thorax and body, as seen in the illustration. Like some 
 other Ichneumons with very long ovipositors, it is parasitic on 
 larvae which burrow into solid wood. 
 
 On Plate X. Fig. 6, is seen a magnified figure of a curious 
 insect, called Chelonus oculator. In this genus there are two 
 submarginal cells, the first of which is not complete. The 
 eyes are hairy. This species is not a common insect, and seems 
 to be a local and recurrent one. Mr. F. Smith tells me that in 
 one day he took more than fifty specimens, by sweeping the grass 
 on the top of the cliffs at Lowestoft, and that he has hardly ever 
 seen as many since as he took on that one occasion. The 
 colour of the insect is black, some specimens, particularly the 
 males, having a yellow band across the abdomen. It is, how- 
 ever, very variable both in size and colour. The economy of 
 this insect is very curious, and is not thoroughly cleared up. 
 
 On Woodcut XXXII. Fig. 1, may be seen a much mao-nified 
 
 illustration of a very small but singularly useful insect so 
 
 useful, indeed, that without its aid we should scarcely be able 
 to raise a single cabbage. This is called Microgaster glome- 
 ratus. In this genus the eyes are hairy, the antennee long and 
 consisting of eighteen joints. The present species is dark- 
 bodied, and its wings are translucent, but, when viewed through 
 the microscope, are wonderfully beautiful, glittering with every 
 hue of the rainbow as the light plays over them. 
 
 This little insect is parasitic on the common Cabbage-cater- 
 pillar, i.e. the larva of the Oreat Cabbage White Butterfly, and 
 so rapidly does it multiply that, after watching its progress 
 from the larva to maturity, it seems strange that a single 
 Cabbage White Butterfly should be found in the country. 
 Owing to its numbers-, the young entomologist will find this 
 insect an admirable one for experiments. If a hundred Cab- 
 bage-caterpillars be captured, there will be only one or two 
 which do not contain the larvae of the Microgaster. Their rela- 
 tive size in proportion to the caterpillar is shown at Fio-. c of 
 the same Woodcut, but neither their numbers nor their position. 
 
326 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 If a ' stung ' caterpillar be carefully dissected, so that the skin 
 is removed from the body, the space between the digestive 
 organs and the skin, which ought to be occupied by a layer 
 of fat, is found to be literally stuffed with the tiny white 
 grubs of the Microgaster. 
 
 The fatty substance on which these larvae feed is intended 
 
 1. Microgaster glomeratus. 2. Mymar pulchellus. 3. Teleas elatior. 4. CleonymuB ma- 
 ciilipennis. a. Teleas, antenna, female. b. Do., antenna, male. c. Microgaster, larva 
 in caterpillar of cabbage-butterfly. rf. Microgaster alvearius, cocoons. 
 
 as material from which the future butterfly is to be evolved. 
 But, as it is almost entirely consumed by these internal foes, 
 the insect seldom has sufficient strength to effect its change 
 into the pupa — much less into the butterfly. Just in propor- 
 tion as the fat decreases, the Ichneumon larvae increase, so that 
 to the eye the caterpillar looks quite plump and healthy, when 
 it is in reality absolutely emaciated. Yet the presence of these 
 
DEATH OF THE CATERPILLAR. 327 
 
 parasites seems to have no effect on the caterpillar, who eats as 
 voraciously and grows as rapidly as if it were free from its in- 
 ternal devourers. 
 
 All, therefore, goes on apparently well, until the time when 
 the insect ought to make its change to the pupal state, being 
 full-fed, or at least as full-fed as it can be. But the larvse of 
 the Microgaster are full-fed too ; and, just before the caterpillar 
 changes into the pupa, they burst through it in all directions 
 and leave it to die. Generally, it dies so soon that its shrivelled 
 body remains in the midst of its enemies, and it seldom has 
 sufficient strength to move more than a few inches away from 
 them. The Ichneumon larvae immediately begin to spin for 
 themselves little yellow cocoons of silk, very much resembling 
 that of a silkworm, and clustered closely together. I have 
 noticed that those which come from one caterpillar generally 
 congregate into two totally distinct clusters, those which occu- 
 pied the different sides of the caterpillar remaining neighbours 
 as before. The specific name of glomeratua, or clustered, 
 refers to this habit. 
 
 Almost any number of these cocoon-clusters may be obtained 
 from the Avails, posts, or palings that adjoin kitchen-gardens; 
 and the tree-trunks of the garden are equally prolific in them. 
 If a cocoon be cut open with a very fine pair of scissors, the 
 pu pa may be seen lying in its silken cell, and, with a little care, 
 the whole progress of the insect can be watched, from the lajva 
 to the pupa. I have dissected great numbers* of cabbage cater- 
 pillars for the sake of observing the curious relationship between 
 the caterpillar and the Ichneumon, and the development of 
 the latter insect. 
 
 There is a closely allied species, named Microgaster olveaHua, 
 which in many things resembles the preceding species, but which 
 has a different method of arranging its cocoons. Those of the 
 preceding insect are arranged quite at random, or indeed can 
 scarcely be said to be arranged at all, the larvse spinning their 
 cocoons without any reference as to the position in which they 
 might happen to be at the time. But, the present insects 
 when they are about to change into the pupal state, arrange 
 their cocoons side by side with the greatest regularity, as seen 
 at Fig. d on Woodcut XXXII. Masses of these pretty cocoons 
 
328 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 can be found adhering to twigs, and from them the insects can 
 be procured in considerable numbers. I find, on examining a 
 series of these cocoon-masses, that the number of individual 
 cocoons is somewhere about one hundred and fifty. 
 
 When the pupa changes to its perfect form, it gnaws a round 
 hole at one end of the cocoon, so as to cut out a sort of lid, by 
 raising which it can escape. Very often, the inverted lid is 
 left in the cut end of the cocoon and closes it. The average 
 length of the cocoon-cluster is nine-tenths of an inch, its width 
 nearly a quarter of an inch, and the depth of cell one-tenth of 
 an inch. The insects are pale and shining yellow, with the 
 upper part of the abdomen and end of the thorax black. 
 
 We now come to the great family of the Chalcididse. 
 These insects are parasitic, are for the most part exceedingly 
 small, and many are very tiny indeed. The head is trans- 
 verse, the eyes set on the sides, and the antennae are short.- 
 The upper pair of wings are almost without nervures, though 
 the course of one or two can be traced by careful examination 
 with a microscope. The lower wings have only a single nervure. 
 They are parasitic insects, many of them being actually para- 
 sitic upon other parasites, and some depositing their eggs in 
 various galls, where they feed upon the rightful inhabitants, 
 and in due time make their appearance, to the great perplexity 
 of practical entomologists who have kept the galls for the pur- 
 pose of rearing the particular Grall-flies which belong to them. 
 
 One of these insects, called Cleonymus maculipennis or 
 depressus, is shown on Woodcut XXXII. Fig. 4. 
 
 It is a very pretty little insect, the colour being a deep 
 metallic blue, changing to green and pink according to the 
 variation of the light. The antennae are red, tipped with black, 
 and the abdomen is flattened, a characteristic which gained for 
 it the name of depressus. The wings are prettily mottled 
 with brown, as seen in the illustration. Mr. F. Smith says 
 that he has often seen it running quickly about posts and rails, 
 busily engaged in prying into every orifice, probably for the 
 sake of detecting some wood-boring insect, in whose body it 
 can lay its eggs. 
 
 In this genus the thorax is rather long and egg-shaped, the 
 
THE MYMAR AND ITS WINGS. 329 
 
 antennae have eleven joints, the second of which is longer 
 than the fourth. The ovipositor is not protruded. 
 
 We now pass to the family of Proctotrupidjp. This family 
 comprises some of the smallest known Hymenoptera ; indeed, 
 many of them are so exceedingly minute that they can only be 
 seen by the aid of a lens. In these insects the hind wings have 
 no nervures at all, while those of the fore wings are but few in 
 number. The antennae have the first joint larger than the 
 others, and in some species they are as long as the body. 
 
 One of the larger species is given on Woodcut XXXII. 
 Fig. 3. Its name is Teleas elatior. In this genus the legs are 
 formed for jumping, the abdomen has a footstalk, and the 
 antennae have twelve joints, and are hairy in the male. The 
 male antenna is shown at Fig. 6, that of the female at Fig. a. 
 The colour of this species is very deep black-blue, and the 
 wings are very iridescent. 
 
 The various species of this genus deposit their eggs in the 
 eggs of other insects, particularly those of moths and butterflies, 
 and so very minute* are some of them that a single butterfly's 
 egg will serve for the support of several Teleas' larvae. By the 
 assistance of these tiny parasites, it therefore happens that even 
 the eggs of the Lepidoptera are destroyed before they can 
 hatch, and so our gardens and crops are protected by friends so 
 exceedingly minute that they can scarcely be seen without the 
 aid of a lens. 
 
 Another example of this curious family is given on Woodcut 
 XXXII. Fig. 2. It is called Mymar pulchellus. In this 
 genus the antennae of the male have thirteen joints, while 
 those of the female have only nine. The first joint is very lono- 
 and slender. The very remarkable little insect which is drawn 
 in the illustration has the lower pair of wings red.uced to mere 
 bristles, and the upper pair are little more than two very long 
 nervures with a broad fringe at the ends. This species may 
 be taken with the sweep-net by brushing it over grass throughout 
 the summer and autumn. This and other species are often found 
 crawling up the window-panes of houses, when they can be easily 
 taken by putting a pill-box over them. 
 
330 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The next group of this enormous array of Hymenoptera is 
 that which is called Tubulifera, or Tube-bearers, because the 
 last segments of the abdomen are modified into a telescopic 
 and retractile tube. The antennae are elbowed. Only one 
 family belongs to this group, namely, the Chrysididse, popularly 
 
 XKXili 
 
 1. Chrysis ignita. 2. Mutilla Europsea, female. 3. Mutilla Europsea, male. 4. Eormica 
 rufa, winged female. 5. Do., neuter or worker. 6. Do., winged male. a. Formica 
 
 rufa, labium. b. Do., antenna, male. c. Do., antenna, worker. 
 
 called Euby-tailed flies, and familiarly known on account of 
 their splendid colouring. 
 
 At first sight the abdomen appears to consist of a very few 
 segments, sometimes three, and five at the utmost, but, in fact, 
 the missing segments are modified into the telescopic tube 
 which has just been mentioned, and which is retracted within 
 the body when not required for its legitimate purpose, namely, 
 the deposition of eggs. The abdomen is attached to the thorax 
 
THE EUBY-TAILED FLIES. 331 
 
 by a very short foot-stalk. In consequence of the mode by 
 which the abdomen is attached, the insect is able, when alarmed, 
 to roll itself up into a ball, in which it is aided by the shape of 
 the abdomen, the under surface of which is concave so as to 
 receive the thorax. At the end of the retractile tube, is a 
 small, sting-like ovipositor, capable, as I can testify from ex- 
 perience, of inflicting- a smart prick when the insect is moved 
 to anger. There is, however, no poison-gland, so that the prick, 
 though it may startle, cannot injm-e. 
 
 The Euby-tailed flies are among the most beautiful of our 
 insects, and if they were only enlarged, might challenge the 
 most gorgeous productions of the tropics for brilliant splendour. 
 The head and "thorax are coloured with vivid blue or green, 
 and the abdomen is of a fiery ruby, looking, as the insect flits 
 about in the sunshine, as if made of burnished metal. Five 
 genera of these insects are known to inhabit England, contain- 
 ing altogether about twenty-four species. They are all para- 
 sitic upon other insects, mostly affecting the larvae of solitary 
 Hymenoptera, among which the well-known Sand-wasp {Ody- 
 nerus) is so frequently the victim that Dr. Chapman, who has 
 paid great attention to the Chrysididse, states that 'the de- 
 struction caused by Chrysididae amongst the young brood of 
 Odynerus spinipes, roughly measured by the cocoons collected 
 last winter, is in the proportion of one to three of those of the 
 wasp.' The mode in which these paiasitic insects achieve their 
 task is so well narrated by Dr. Chapman that I cannot do better 
 than quote his own words. 
 
 ' On July 1 7th I observed a nest of Odynerus paHetum, with 
 one cell open, and containing a nearly complete supply of 
 Lepidopterous larvae. A Ghrysis ignita, flying about, settled 
 beside the cell; and, after a brief examination with her 
 antennae, wheeled round, and introducing her abdomen into 
 the cell, rested for about twenty seconds, doubtless in the act 
 of oviposition. I now regret that I did not then examine the 
 contents of the cell, in order to ascertain the fate of the egg 
 of Odynerus parietum. Three-quarters of an hour later, 
 Odynerus parietum had closed the cell with the usual earthen 
 pellets. Two days afterwards I examined this cell, when I 
 found a larva of Ch^sis ignita a quarter of an inch long, 
 together vrith the Lepidopterous larvae stored by the wasp, but 
 
332 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 there was no trace of either egg or larva of the latter. On the 
 23rd, six days from the date of oviposition, the Chrysis larva 
 had eaten all the store, and was full-fed. I obtained evidence, 
 by finding the exuvise, of its having cast its skin three times, 
 whilst under observation ; and from the analogy of Chrysis 
 bidentata, I believe it had done so four times altogether. The 
 stored larvae had all been eaten, their heads alone remaining, 
 just as when eaten by the wasp grub. The larva then spun a 
 cocoon, which I know to be typical of C. ignita. This was the 
 only occasion on which I had a feeding larva of C. ignita, and 
 the rapidity with which it fed up astonished me. None of my 
 G. neglecta or bidentata fed up so rapidly; but the warm 
 sunny wall on which 0. parietum had built her nest may partly 
 account for this, my larvae of the other two species having been 
 kept comparatively cool. 
 
 ' Ghi'ysis bidentata, when about to deposit her eggs, searches 
 for a full-grown larva of Odynerus spinipes at, or immedi- 
 ately after, the period of spinning. 0. spinipes, on the com- 
 pletion of her burrow, fills up the mouth with clay long before 
 the most accessible cells can contain full-grown larvae ; but it 
 happens that, in a large proportion of cases (about half), the 
 wasp meets with some accident, and her burrow remains un- 
 completed, the cell last constructed being thus only protected 
 by the wall of clay that was to serve as a party wall between 
 it and the succeeding one, had the wasp lived to complete her 
 work. Such slightly protected cells are those chosen by 
 G. bidentata for her oviposition. I once found satisfactory 
 evidence of G. bidentata having burrowed through half an 
 inch of the clay stopping placed by the wasp over one of these 
 cells. The parasite was in the burrow, covered with the dust 
 brought down into it by her excavation to form an entrance — 
 a passage too small for the wasp to enter, but just large 
 enough for herself ; and in the cell thus reached by her were to 
 be seen her eggs, freshly deposited. On another occasion, a 
 G. bidentata alighted on a spot I was examining, and where I 
 had partially exposed some cocoons of 0. spinipes : she com- 
 menced to carefully investigate them with her antennns, and 
 now and then to scratch away some earth partly covering 
 them ; she did not, however, deposit any egg, possibly because 
 tlie inmates of the cocoons were not in proper condition. 
 
PERSEVERANCE AND ITS REWAED. 333 
 
 'When a cocoon contains eggs of C. b'ldentata, there is often 
 to be found, at its upper end, a minute aperture, through 
 which the ovipositor of the Chrysis has been thrust ; at other 
 times, this aperture is wanting, simply, I believe, because the 
 larva of 0. spinq^es had not done spinning her cocoon when 
 the Chrysis dejiosited her eggs within it. There is nearly 
 always a small spot outside on the yellow silken top of the 
 cocoon, as if the Chrysis had attacked it first with her jaws ; 
 and those containing C. bidentata may be selected by this mark 
 from a number of cocoons of the Odynerus. 
 
 ' The young larva of C. bidentata seizes that of 0. spinipes 
 with its jaws, pinching up a fold of skin, and contrives to 
 extract fluid nutriment from it, without, apparently, making 
 any aperture in the skin, until it approaches to mature growth 
 itself. I have very carefully examined larvae of 0. spinipes 
 that were thus half sucked away (I cannot say eaten), and I 
 could find no mark at the spot whence I had just removed a 
 larva of Chrysis. I have several times squeezed the Odynerus 
 larva firmly, without any fluid exuding : even when squeezed 
 almost to bursting, on only one occasion did a drop of clear 
 flu.id exude. Nor is the Chrysis larva particular as to where . 
 it seizes the Odynerus, any point that may offer itself to its 
 jaws being seized. 
 
 ' When the devourer is nearly full-grown, and the victim is 
 very flaccid, a process that may be called eating takes place, 
 and the spinipes larva almost entirely disappears. The manner 
 in which the larvae of C. negleda and ignita and of 0. spinipes 
 itself eat the little green grubs is precisely similar. When 
 young, they merely suck the juices of several, and sometimes 
 return to and finish these when they are larger, but they may 
 often be found neglected when the larva is full-grown.' 
 
 These insects are wonderfully persevering in their attempts 
 to deposit their eggs. A French naturalist mentions that he 
 saw one of them enter the nest of a solitary bee which builds 
 in the holes of walls, while the bee was absent in search of the 
 pollen on which the young larva was to feed. She happened 
 to return while the Euby-tail was still in the nest, and at once 
 attacked the intruder, which endeavoured to avoid her jaws by 
 rolling into a ball, after the fashion of her kind. The bee, 
 however, persevered in her attacks, bit off all the enemy's wings, 
 
334 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 dragged her out of the nest, threw her to the ground, and pro- 
 ceeded to deposit her load of pollen in the cell. She then 
 flew off in search of a further supply, when the Euby-tail, 
 all mangled as she was, crawled up the wall, re-entered the 
 nest, and succeeded in depositing her egg, which she pushed 
 carefully between the pollen and the wall of the cell, so that 
 the bee should not see it on her return. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 . ANTS AND DIGGERS. 
 
 The insects which compose the remainder of the Hjnnenoptera 
 have been arranged by Mr. F. Smith, who has brought to bear 
 upon them an enormous amount of labour and knowledge. 
 His arrangement and definitions will be observed in this work. 
 He divides them primarily into four tribes, the first of which 
 is called Heterogtna. These insects are sometimes solitary 
 and sometimes social, the latter being more common than the 
 former. The social species have apparently three, but really 
 only two sexes, namely, perfect males, perfect females, and 
 workers, which are, in fact, partially developed females. The 
 males are always winged, but the females only possess these 
 organs temporarily. As to the solitary species, the females 
 are altogether without wings. 
 
 The first division of the tribe is the Aculeata, or sting- 
 bearers. In them, the females have an abdomen consisting of 
 six segments, and furnished with a sting. The antennae have 
 twelve joints. The antennae of the males have thirteen joints, 
 and the abdomen has seven segments, but has no sting. In 
 fact, as the sting is a modification of the ovipositor, it follows 
 that no male insect can possess a sting. 
 
 We pass to the first family of these insects, the Formicidae, 
 or Social Ants. In this family the head is more or less trian- 
 gular, and the basal joint of the antennae is extremely long, 
 often occupying half the length of the entire organ, and form- 
 ing a bold elbow at the juncture with the third joint. The 
 eyes are placed at the sides of the head, and do not reach to its 
 top. In the perfect males the ocelli are three in number, set 
 triangularly, and larger than those of the opposite sex. The 
 wings are large and delicate, and only exist in the males and 
 
33(5 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 females, the workers, or neuters, as they are sometimes called, 
 being wingless. 
 
 Our first example of this most interesting group is the 
 Woou-Ais'T, Hokse-Ant, or Hill- Ant {Formica rufa), which is 
 shown on Woodcut XXXIII. Figs. 4, 5, 6, all the figures being 
 magnified. At Fig. 4 is shown the perfect male, at Fig. 6 
 the perfect female, and at Fig. 5 the imiDerfect female, neuter, 
 or worker. 
 
 These are our largest British ants, the female exceeding a 
 third of an inch in length, and the male being only a little 
 less. The workers are of two sizes, one rather more than a 
 quarter of an inch in length, and 'the other about the fifth or 
 sixth of an inch. In the female, the head and thorax are rust- 
 red, and the abdomen black. The wings are translucent milky 
 white, with a tinge of brown towards the base. The male is 
 yellowish-black, with red legs, and has wings like those of the 
 female. The larger workers are coloured much like the per- 
 fect female, but there is more black about them. The smaller 
 workers are generally darker than their larger sisters of labour. 
 
 This is one of the commonest species of British ants, as is 
 evident from the fact that it has three popular names. It is 
 termed Wood-Ant because it prefers woods for its habitation ; 
 Horse- Ant, because it is larger than the other species ; and 
 Hill-Ant on account of the shape of its nests. These nests are 
 very common in our woods, and especially plentiful in fir- 
 woods, because in them the needle-like leaves of the fir-trees 
 fall in numbers to the ground, and afford material ready pre- 
 pared for making the hillocks in which are concealed those 
 portions of the habitation which are above ground. .Sometimes 
 the ants further protect themselves by taking advantage of a 
 tree which is hollow to the ground, and building their nests 
 within it. 
 
 In order to form this external nest, which is often of enor- 
 mous size, the ants travel to great distances, always following 
 some definite track, which in course of time is plain to the 
 eye, even though all the ants be within their nest. When 
 once these ants have taken to a track, tliey adhere to it, and 
 many successive generations continue to use it. I have been 
 shown ant-roads by old men, who stated that they have been 
 familiar with them from their earliest recollections. On a fine 
 
THE WOOD ANT AT HOME. 337 
 
 day, it is very interestiiifr to watch the Ants travelling back- 
 wards and forwards on these roads, some going out to their 
 work, and others returning with bits of stick, blades of grass, 
 small leaves, and other materials for the nest. Some, again, 
 carry in their jaws caterpillars, flies, and other insects for food, 
 and in all cases, whenever a caterpillar or a grub is carried, it 
 is held by one end of the body, so that it projects straight in 
 front of the Ant. 
 
 Some Ants are detailed to climb the trees near the path, m 
 search of aphides or other insects, and in many cases, if a tree 
 be examined closely, it will be found to swarm with Ants, even 
 to the ends of the twigs. A smart kick to the trunk of the 
 tree will often bring down quite a shower of Wood Ants, many 
 of them retaining in their jaws the prey which they "had cap- 
 tured. 
 
 The nest, towards which all their labours tend, is mostly 
 built under some sort of cover, such as a bush or tree, though 
 many nests are totally unconcealed. It consists of two por- 
 tions, one below the surface of the ground, and the other above 
 it. Though it is made of such fragile materials as small twigs 
 and leaves, which are put together without any cement or 
 without being even interwoven, it is tolerably firm in its struc- 
 ture, and completely riddled with chambers and passages, all 
 communicating with each other. In consequence of the loose 
 architecture of the nest, it is a very difficult business to see its 
 internal economy, the walls of the chambers and passages 
 falling to pieces as soon as the nest is opened, and leaving not 
 a vestige of their presence except the unfortunate inhabitants 
 which they contained. 
 
 I have, however, succeeded in obtaining an excellent view 
 into the interior of a Wood Ants' nest, though it was but a 
 short one. Accompanied by my friend Mr. H. J. B. Hancock, 
 I was visiting some remarkably fine Wood Ants' nests neai 
 Bagshot. We took with us a large piece of plate-glass, placed 
 it edgewise on the top of an ant-hill, and, standing one at each 
 side, cut the nest comjjletely in two, leaving the glass almost 
 wholly buried in it. After the expiration of a few weeks, 
 during which time the Ants could repair damages, we returned 
 to the spot, and, with a spade, removed one side of the nest as 
 far as the glass, which then served as a window through wbicLt 
 
 z 
 
338 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 we could look into the nest. It was really a wonderful 
 sight. 
 
 The ant-hill was honeycombed into passages and cells, in 
 all of which the inhabitants were hurriedly running about, 
 being alarmed at the unwonted admission of light into their 
 dwellings. In some of the chambers the pupse were treasured, 
 and these chambers were continually entered by Ants, which 
 picked up the helpless pupae and carried them to other parts of 
 the nest where the unwelcome light had not shown itself. 
 Unfortunately, this view lasted only a short time. Owing to 
 the partial decomposition of the vegetable substances of 
 which the Ants' nest is made, the interior is always hot and 
 always moist. Now, the day on which we visited the nest 
 happened to be a cold one, and, in consequence, the moisture 
 of the nest was rapidly condensed on the inner surface of the 
 glass, and in a few minutes completely hid the nest from view, 
 leaving me only time to make a rapid sketch. Unfortunately 
 some one discovered the plate of glass and stole it. Next time 
 that I examine a Wood Ants' nest I shall take care to insert 
 the glass exactly east and west, and shall open its southern side 
 towards noon on a hot, sunshiny day, so that the rays of the 
 sun may warm the glass and prevent evaporation. 
 
 At the bottom of Plate XI. part of this nest is shown, with 
 the Ants running to and fro and carrying off the white pupse 
 which are lying in the passages. On the left hand, near the 
 bottom, may be seen that curious little beetle, Quedius 
 brevis, which has so strange a habit of living in the nests of 
 this Ant. This beetle has been described on page 75. No less 
 than twenty species of beetles have been found by Dr. Power 
 inhabiting the nest of this Ant. When the nest is disturbed a 
 very pungent vapour arises, not unlike that of strong vinegar, 
 and grievously affects both the eyes and nostrils. This is 
 caused by the formic acid, which is secreted by Ants in great 
 quantities. Indeed, it is so plentiful that in some parts of the 
 world ' ant-vinegar ' is made by steeping Ants in boiling water 
 and extracting the formic acid from them. 
 
 Mention has been made of the pupae of the Ant. These are 
 the little, oval, white bodies that are popularly called ' ants 
 eggs.' The transformations of the Ant tribe are very simple. 
 The larva is fed by the nurses until it is full-grown, when il 
 
THE BLACK ANT. 339 
 
 sets to work and spins for itself a cocoon in which it is entirely 
 enveloped. The charge of these cocoons falls upon the workers, 
 and admirable nurses they are. They take the greatest care of 
 the cocoons, continually shifting them to higher or lower parts 
 of the nest according to the temperature of the day. If one of 
 these cocoons be opened the insect is found lying inside it, 
 nearly as white as its habitation, and having its limbs tucked 
 against its body. The cocoons are of dififerent sizes, the largest 
 containing those of the perfect males and females, the next size 
 those of the larger workers, and the smallest those of the little 
 workers. 
 
 When the perfect insects are developed, they often make 
 their appearance in vast multitudes, and, as they are not able 
 to direct their flight against the wind, are blown about at 
 random just as the breeze happens to turn. Sometimes they 
 fall into the river, where the iish hold high festival over them, 
 and, out of the swarms which leave a nest only a very few 
 survive and found fresh colonies. Indeed, were they all to live, 
 or were even a moderate percentage to survive, the whole country 
 would be eaten up by the Wood Ant alone in a few years. 
 Supposing, however, a pair to have escaped the many dangers 
 of their flight, they disrobe themselves of their wings, and do 
 so, not by tearing them from their insertions, but by simply 
 unhitching them. The wings are thrown well forward, and the 
 insect sharply presses their ends against the ground, when they 
 immediately fall oflF, and are left lying where they fell, the Ant 
 running away, apparently quite pleased at being rid of its 
 beautiful wings. 
 
 The habits of other British Ants are, on the whole, very 
 much like those of the Wood Ant, though each species has 
 some peculiarity of its own. For example, the Black Ant 
 (Formica fuliginosa) is remarkable for its sluggish natm-e, so 
 different from the quick, active fussiness of Ants in general. 
 If a nest of the Black Ant be opened the insects take it very 
 easily, moving gently and quietly as if half-paralysed. How- 
 ever, ^vith all their slowness, they seem to have a very good 
 idea of taking care of themselves, and contrive to sHp out of 
 sight, while the more active Yellow or Eed Ants would be 
 fussing about, trying one means of escape after another. 
 
 z 2 
 
340 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Sometimes two entirely distinct species of Ant may be found 
 to occupy different sides of the same hillock, and I have found 
 the Black Ant and the Yellow Ant under the bark of a little 
 fir-stump about seven inches in diameter. Until I took off 
 the bark I was not aware of their existence ; and it was a very 
 curious sight to see two distinct colonies in such close proximity, 
 yet neither interfering with the other. Mr. F. Smith mentions 
 that he has found a nest of another ant, Myrrrdca Icevinodis, 
 within a hill made by the Wood-Ant. Myrmica nitidula has 
 been taken in the same locality. 
 
 The Eed Ant {Formica sanguinea) is worthy of some notice, 
 because it is one of the slave-making species. It invades the 
 nests of other Ants and carries off the pupae, and transfers them 
 to its own nest. The captors take as much care of them as of 
 their own pupse ; and, when they assume the perfect form, make 
 slaves of them. Mr. Smith mentions no less than four species 
 of Ants which are thus imprisoned and enslaved by the Eed Ant. 
 The large workers resemble the females in colour, and vary in 
 length from the third to the fourth of an inch. They are 
 fierce and courageous, and by them tlie nests of other Ants are 
 stormed and the pupae carried off as spoils of war. The small 
 worker is rather duller in hue, the crown of the head, the 
 middle of the thorax, and the legs being rather dun than red. 
 
 The colour of the female is blood-red, slightly toned down 
 with a very fine ashen dun. The abdomen is reddish-black, 
 and so are the top of the head and the face. The wings re- 
 semble those of the Wood Ant. The male resembles that of 
 the Wood Ant, but is redder. This Ant is not very generally 
 distributed throughout England, but is plentiful in some 
 places, such as the New Forest. 
 
 There is a very singular family of Ants, called MutillidcB, or 
 Solitary Ants, very few of which are known to inhabit Eng- 
 land. This is rather curious, because they are very plentiful 
 in most quarters of the globe, and seem equally at home in the 
 hottest and coldest climates. More than three hundred species 
 of the Solitary Ant are in the British Museum, and this num- 
 ber will probably be increased as soon as practical entomologists 
 get to work in various parts of the world which have hitherto 
 
« THE DIGGERS. 341 
 
 not been explored by them. In these Ants there are no 
 workers or neuters, and the males are always winged and the 
 females without wings. The legs of the female are strong and 
 used for burrowing. 
 
 On Woodcut XXXIII. Fig. 2, is shown the female of one of 
 our few species, Mutilla Europcea, the male being drawn at 
 Fig. 3. In this insect the principal colours are black and 
 yellow. The head and legs are black, the thorax is rust-red, and 
 the abdomen is shining black, with a band of pale, shining 
 yellow hair on the first, second, and third segments. The legs 
 are black, and covered with liair and bristles. The male is 
 steely-blue rather than black, the thorax is redder than in the 
 female, and the wings are dusky, darkening on the edges to- 
 wards the tips. This is a scarce, though widely-distributed 
 insect, and lias been taken in that very fertile locality, Darenth 
 Wood. It is also found in the New Forest. 
 
 It is a parasitic insect, the larva of the Mutilla feeding on 
 that of the Humble Bee. In Denmark, out of a nest of 
 Humble Bees containing nearly eighty cells, only two of the 
 legitimate inhabitants were hatched, and seventy-six Mutillas, 
 forty-four being males and the remainder females. The 
 JNIutillidse are not all parasitic on Humble Bees ; as, in coun- 
 tries where Humble Bees are very scarce, the Mutillidas are 
 plentiful ; while in England, where the Humble Bees and their 
 nests are so common, the MutillidaB are very scarce. 
 
 We now come to the Diggers, and take first the family of 
 Pompilidce, in which the thorax is broad — sometimes broader 
 than it is long, and sometimes slightly squared. The hinder mar- 
 gins are rather angular, the legs are long, and the abdomen is at- 
 tached to the thorax by a short footstalk. On Woodcut XXXIV. 
 Fig. 1, is shown one of these insects, called Pompilus fuscus, 
 slightly enlarged, so as to show better the formation of the 
 wing. In this genus the head is wide, and set transversely on 
 the thorax, and the three ocelli are placed in a triangle on the 
 forehead. The antennae of the female form a curl at the end, 
 as represented in the illustration, while those of the male are 
 only bent. The front wings have one marginal and three sub- 
 marginal cells. The hind legs are long, and their claws have 
 a little pad between them. The abdomen is longer in the 
 
342 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 female than in the male. At Fig. a is shown the maxillary 
 palpus, and at Fig. b the labium. 
 
 These insects are all burrowers, and vary much in the soil 
 which they prefer for their tunnels. The present species pre- 
 fers such soil as is found on sandy heaths, and, as it is plentiful 
 all over Eiigiand, may be captured almost anywhere. The 
 
 XIXIM 
 
 1. Pompilus fuscus. 2. Astata boops. 3. Mellinns arvensig. 4. Crabro quadrimaculatiis. 
 5. Cerceris arvensis. a. Pompilns, maxilla and palpus. b. Do., labium. c. Mellinus, 
 mandible. d. Do., labium. e. Do., maxilla and palpus. /. Crabro, larva. g. Astata, 
 head of female. 
 
 object of the burrow is to form a retreat for its young ; and, 
 when the tunnel is formed, the insect lays an egg in it, nearly 
 fills the hole with spiders, and then closes its mouth. The 
 young Pompilus, when hatched, begins to feed upon the spiders, 
 and the mother insect is taught by instinct to place in the 
 nest just so many spiders that, when the last is eaten, the 
 larva is ready to change into its pupal state. 
 
HABITS OF THE ASTATA. 343 
 
 All the Pompili are pretty insects. The general colour of 
 this species is slightly shining black. The first three segments 
 of the abdomen are rust-red, each having a narrow black band. 
 The wings arc dusky, with a livid blackish band on the tips 
 and lower edges. About twenty British species of Pompilus 
 are now known. 
 
 In the family Larridce, which comes next in order, the outer 
 edges of the mandibles are curved towards their bases. The 
 tibiae of the two first pair of legs have one spine at their tips, 
 whereas those of the hind pair of legs have two spines. These 
 may seem to be but trifling characteristics, and yet we shall 
 see their value when we come to define the next family. 
 
 On Woodcut XXXIV. Fig. 2, is drawn an example of this 
 family. Its name is Astata boops, and both names are pecu- 
 liarly appropriate, as we shall presently see. The head is very 
 large, and wider than the thorax, and the eyes are very large, 
 even in the female, while in the male they are so enormous 
 that they meet on the top of the head, of which they occupy 
 the greater part. The specific name of 6o6>}9s, or ox-eyed, i"s 
 given to it in consequence of its very large eyes. The figure 
 is that of a male, while the head of the female is shown at 
 Fig. g. The antennae are much more curved in the female 
 than in the male. The first pair of wings have one marginal and 
 three submarginal cells, shaped as may be seen at Fig. 2. The 
 abdomen has a very short footstalk, and in the male the upper 
 surface is flattened. The colour of the insect is black ; there is 
 a little grey down in front of the face. The abdomen is black, 
 with the first and second segments rusty-red, as also the base of 
 the third segment. Its edges are somewhat flattened. The wings 
 are nearly transparent, and have a broad blackish band at the 
 tip of the submarginal cell. This is the colouring of the 
 female. The male is usually, though not always, smaller than 
 the female, and the whole face and cheeks — i.e., the part be- 
 hind the eyes — are covered with shining silvery white down. 
 His eyes are red and the sides of the thorax, the tip and base 
 of the abdomen are covered with long, greyish down. 
 
 This is one of the burrowing insects, and is a very active " 
 creature, from whence is derived its name of Astata, signifying 
 
344 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 something that is too restless to stand still. It is a sand-lover, 
 and sand-pits and their neighbourhood are good localities 
 wherein to search for it. Mr. F. Smith states that he has 
 taken it in plenty on Hampstead Heath during the end of July 
 and August. It is not, however, a common species, being one 
 of the many local insects that are plentiful enough in the place 
 which they frequent, but not to be found out of certain limited 
 districts. 
 
 The female prefers the hard to the loose sand, and makes 
 therein a tunnel, some four or five inches in depth, stocking it 
 with different insects. According to Mr. Smith the Astata 
 generally selects for this purpose the larvae of one of the field- 
 bugs {Pentatoma), but he has seen it carrying a hymenop- 
 terous insect, belonging to the genus Oxybelus. Only two 
 British species of Astata are at present known. 
 
 The family of the Nyssonidse are easily distinguished from 
 the preceding family by the jaws and the legs. The mandibles 
 are not waved beneath, and all the legs are moderately spined. 
 A rather pretty and very interesting example of this family is 
 given on Woodcut XXXIV. Fig. 3. Its name is Mellinus 
 arvensis. 
 
 In this genus the head is not wider than the thorax, and the 
 eyes are large and oval. These large eyes are used to some 
 purpose, as we shall presently see. The front pair of wings 
 have one marginal and four submarginal cells, the fourth ex- 
 tending to the tip of the wing. The abdomen is long, and its 
 first segment is so drawn out as to form a sort of footstalk by 
 which it is attached to the abdomen. The colour of the insect 
 is black, diversified with yellow feet, and four yellow bands on 
 the abdomen. It is one of the commonest of its kind, and by 
 the following extract the reader will see how to search for and 
 catch it. Mr. F. Smith gives the following graphic account of 
 the Mellinus in his ' Catalogue of British Hymenoptera in the 
 British Museum.' 
 
 ' Having frequently observed the habits of the type of this 
 genus, Mellinus arvensis, and reared it from the larval state, 
 a few observations are here required. When the parent insect 
 has found a burrow of the required length, and enlarged the 
 extremity into a chamber of proper dimensions, she issues forth 
 
HOW THE MELLINUS CATCHES FLIES. 345 
 
 in search of the proper food for her young. This consists of 
 various Dipterous insects. Species of various genera are equally 
 adapted to her purpose. 
 
 ' It is amusing to see four or five females lie in wait upon a 
 patch of cow-dung until some luckless fly settles on it. When 
 this happens, a cunning and gradual approach is made. A 
 sudden attempt would not succeed, for the fly is the insect of 
 quickest flight, and therefore a degree of artifice is necessary. 
 This is arranged by running past the victim slowly and ap- 
 parently in an unconcerned manner, until the poor fly is caught 
 unawares and carried off by the Mellinus to its burrow. The 
 first fly being deposited, an egg is laid, the necessary number 
 of flies are soon secured, and her task is completed. Some- 
 times she is interrupted by rainy weather, and it is some days 
 ere she can store up the quantity required. 
 
 ' A larva found feeding became full-fed in ten days ; six 
 flies were devoured, the heads, harder parts of the thorax, 
 portions of the abdomen, and the legs, being left untouched. 
 The larva spins a tough, thin, brown, silken cocoon, passes the 
 winter in the larval state, changes to the nymph (or pupa) on 
 the approach of summer, and appears about the beginning of 
 autumn in the perfect state.' 
 
 The mandible of this insect is shown at Fig. c, the labium 
 at d, and the maxilla at e. Only two British species of the 
 genus are known. 
 
 In consequence of the vast number of British Hymenoptera, 
 we are forced to select a comparatively few examples, taking 
 those which afford the best types of the different families. 
 "We now come to the family of the Crabronidse. In them the 
 head is large, and frequently of very great size in proportion 
 to the body. The shape of the abdomen is extremely variable, 
 sometimes having a foot-stalk and sometimes none ; while it 
 may be either oval, elliptical, or club-shaped. The eyes aie 
 oval, and sometimes have an impression on one side, which 
 gives them somewhat of a kidney shape. 
 
 On "Woodcut XXXI"V. Fig. 4, is drawn Crabro quadrimacu- 
 latus, one of the most common of its kind. In consequence of 
 the great number of species in this genus, nearly forty being 
 already known, Mr. F. Smith separates them into several 
 
846 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 divisions, the first of which has the abdomen set on a long foot- 
 stalk ; the second, in which the abdomen has a moderate foot- 
 stalk ; and the third, in which it has a very short foot-stalk, and 
 the ocelli are set in an equilateral triangle. To this divisiori 
 the present species belongs. Its colour is black, variegated 
 with yellow patches, which are variable both in number and 
 size. The clypeus is deeply keeled in the centre, and thinly 
 covered with fine yellowish down. The abdomen has generally 
 four yellow patches — hence the name of quadrimaculatus — 
 and one yellow band. 
 
 It is a very common species, and makes its burrows in de- 
 cayed wood. The future larva is supplied with various insects, 
 mostly gnats and other small Diptera. The larva of this 
 insect is shown at Fig. / 
 
 The family of the Philanthidse comes next on our list. In 
 these insects the head is always wider than the thorax. The 
 tibiae of the middle pair of legs have a single spur at their tips, 
 and the front tarsi are strongly fringed. A good example of 
 this family, CerceHs m^ensis, is shown on Woodcut XXXIV. 
 Fig. 5. The coloiu: of the insect is black, with the face and 
 thorax mottled with yellow. The female has four yellow bands 
 on the abdomen and the male five, and there is a yellow spot 
 on each side of the first segment. In this genus, the head is 
 squared, and the three ocelli are set in a triangle on the crown. 
 The first pair of wings have one oblong marginal, and three 
 submarginal cells. The first segment of the abdomen is 
 narrowed to half the width of the second, so as to form a sort 
 of footstalk. The legs are strong and the tarsi of the first pair 
 are fringed on the outside. 
 
 All the members of this genus are burrowers, and this species 
 prefers hard, flat, and sandy spots. It is, perhaps, the most 
 plentiful of its genus, and Mr. F. Smith remarks that it is 
 more miscellaneous in its choice of food for its young than any 
 other of the burrowing Hymenoptera. It always takes weevils, 
 but, owing to the vast numbers of these beetles, it has a very 
 wide choice. It has been observed to carry off the Nut-weevil 
 {Balaninus nucum), and even the Grooved-weevil {Otio- 
 rhynchus sidcatus). Both of these insects have been de- 
 scribed, the former on page 180, and the latter on page 175. 
 
FOOD OF THE CEKCERIS. 347 
 
 That the latter beetle should be selected for such a purpose 
 is really astonishing. As all entomologists know, its round, 
 hard-shelled body is scarcely pervious to a pin, and, before it 
 can be placed on the setting-board, a needle has to be used in 
 order to pierce the hard elytra and make way for the pin. 
 Yet such an insect as this is actually used as food for the young 
 larva of the Cerceris. Mr. Smith remarks that this difficulty 
 is obviated by a peculiarity in the development of the Cerceris. 
 The egg is not hatched until some days after it has been depo- 
 sited, so that the dampness of the soil acts upon the hard 
 exterior of the beetle, and renders it soft enough to be pierced 
 by the jaws of the larva. 
 
 The Cerceris seems not to be in the least particular as to 
 the species of weevil with which it provisions its nest, but to 
 take any species that may be most plentiful in the neighbour- 
 hood of its burrow. The middle of July is the best time in 
 which to search for this beetle. 
 
348 INSECTS AT HOMK 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WASPS AND SOLITARY BEES. 
 
 We now come to the great group called Diploptera, or ' folded 
 wings,' because in repose the second pair of wings are folded 
 longitudinally. In these insects there are Solitary and Social 
 species, and in all the former there are only two sexes, namely, 
 the perfect male and female, while in the latter there is a third, 
 or imperfect or neuter sex, called the Worker. These are, in 
 fact, undeveloped females. All the females, whether perfect 
 or not, are armed with a venomous sting, the construction 
 of which will be described when we come to treat of the 
 Hive Bee. We know these insects popularly by the name of 
 Wasps, and while some species are familiarly known to all 
 who take the least interest in the. works of Nature, others, 
 more especially the solitary species, are utterly unknown except 
 to naturalists. 
 
 We will begin with the Solitary Wasps, or Eumenidse, 
 which may be distinguished by the claws of the tarsi, which 
 are double in the Solitary and single in the Social Wasps. On 
 Plate XI. Fig. 1, may be seen two examples of these remarkable 
 insects, one shown in flight, and the other, just below it, 
 engaged in forming its curious nest. The latter specimen, as 
 well as Fig. 3, serves to show the longitudinal folding of the 
 lower pair of wings. The name of tliis insect is Eumenes 
 coardata, the only British example of its genus. 
 
 In this genus the head is triangular, the wings large, with 
 one marginal and three submarginal cells, and the abdomen is 
 somewhat pear-shaped, the first segment being drawn out so as 
 to form a decided footstalk. Its colour is black, variegated 
 with yellow. The front edge of the prothorax and the tibiae 
 and tarsi are yellow. The segments of the abdomen are edged 
 with yellow, and there are ten spot^ of the same colour on the 
 
SOLITAEY WASPS. 
 
 349 
 
 second segment. Tins is another of the local insects which are 
 tolerably plentiful in their limited districts. Mr. Smith men- 
 tions Sandhurst and Sunning Hill as places where it may be 
 found in moderate numbers, and Weybridge as a place where 
 it has occurred sparingly. 
 
 This insect is chiefly remarkable for the vase-shaped nest 
 which it constructs from mud. These nests, or cells, are 
 
 1. Vespa crnbro, female. 2. Vespa vulgaris, female. 3. Halictus mbicundus, female. 
 
 4. Dasypoda hirtipes, female. a. Vespa crabro, head of male. 6. Dasypoda, leg of male. 
 
 c. Do., head of male. d. Halictus, head of male. e. Do., abdomen of male. /. Vespa 
 vulgaris, head of male. g. Vespa arboiea, head. h. Vespa vulgaris, head of female. 
 
 attached to the twigs of various plants, but especially to the 
 common heath, as is shown on Plate XI. In each of these 
 cells the mother-insect lays a single egg^ and then provisions 
 the cell with the larvse of small Lepidoptera. 
 
 Before parting with the Solitary Wasps, of which we have 
 80 few British examples, we must mention a very interesting 
 
350 INSECTS AT HOMK 
 
 genus called Odynerus, the members of which make their nests 
 in tubes and hollows of various kinds. Some of them are very 
 fond of boring out the pith of dead rose or bramble sticks, 
 making therein a series of cells, and placing in each cell an 
 egg and a supply of food, such as small caterpillars. Two 
 species, Odynerus Icevipes and melanocephalus, adopt this 
 plan, and their curious cells may be found in almost every 
 garden. The former of these insects — a rare species — lines 
 the tube with sand, and constructs the cells of the same mate- 
 rial. Some of them, such as Odynerus quadratus, burrow into 
 old wood if they can find no hole ready made ; but if they can, 
 they make use of it. Mr. F. Smith mentions that he has found 
 its nests in the hollow reeds that formed the thatch of an out- 
 house, and that he has known of a case where it tilled with its 
 cells both barrels of a pistol that was hanging to a post in a 
 garden-house. The cells of this species are provisioned with 
 small green caterpillars. 
 
 The next family is that of the Social Wasps, or Vespidse. 
 There is but one British genus, namely Vesjpa, and eight 
 British species, some of which, such as the Common "Wasp and 
 the Hornet, are very well known, while others are almost 
 imknown except to naturalists. All the species build nests of 
 remarkable beauty, some being built under cover, and some 
 being so constructed that they can endure the open air. I once 
 had a beautiful series of nests of British Wasps. The collection 
 included not only the nests, but the nests in various stages of 
 progress, from the first cell to the complete edifice, and each 
 complete nest was accompanied by the male, female, and 
 worker Wasp. The collection was made for me by the late 
 Mr. S. Stone, whose lamented loss deprived the scientific 
 world of a laborious, close, and accurate observer. 
 
 In all these nests, however different they may appear ex- 
 ternally, there are one or two points in which they agree. The 
 cells are all placed with their mouths downwards, and are 
 arranged side by side in regular tiers, one above another, with 
 just sufficient space between each tier for the Wasps to pass 
 freely. They are all made of a paper-like substance, obtained 
 by tearing off and masticating small fibres of wood, sometimes 
 sound and sometimes decaying wood. 
 
PLATE XI. 
 ANTS, WASPS. AND SOLITARY BEES. 
 
 1. Formica rufa and nest. 
 
 2. Quedius brevis. 
 
 3. Eumenes and nest. 
 
 4. Vespa arborea and nest. 
 
 5. Andrena nitida. 
 
 6. Andrena Trimmerana. 
 
 7. Cilissa hsemorrhoidalis. 
 
 8. Nomada ruficornis. 
 
 9. Stylops melittae. 
 
 Plants : — 
 Harebell. 
 
 Common Heath (Erica cinerea)^ with nest of Eumenea. 
 Ivy. 
 
NEST OF THE COMMON WASP. 351 
 
 We will take first the Common Wasp {Vespa vulgaris), 
 which may be seen on Woodcut XXXV., and watch it through 
 the process of making its nest. 
 
 In the spring a female Wasp issues from the hiding-place 
 in which she has passed the winter, and begins to search for a 
 suitable locality in which to make her nest. She always 
 chooses for this purpose a hole, such as that of a mouse or rat 
 — generally the former — and, at some distance from the en- j— 
 
 trance, sweeps away the earth, so as to form a small rounded pj 
 
 chamber. Somewhere in the roof of this chamber there is £> 
 
 sure to be a root of some kind, and to this root the Wasp Q 
 
 attaches a short pillar of papier-mache, somewhere about one- ^ 
 
 third of an inch in length. At the lower portion of this pillar 
 she forms a small cell, not a sixth of an inch in length, and j 
 
 after a little while places two others at its side. An egg is 
 then deposited in each cell, and the Wasp proceeds to make a 
 roof over them, shaped just like an umbrella. 
 
 More cells are now made, more eggs laid, and the first larvae 
 are hatched, require constant feeding, and grow rapidly, so 
 that, in proportion to their growth, the length of the cell-walls 
 has to be increased. The umbrella-like covering is now too 
 small to serve its purpose, so the Wasp makes a larger one, 
 cutting up and re-masticating the old one. This is always 
 done whenever the nest is enlarged, and it is quite easy to 
 trace the remains of the successive coverings. By this time 
 the larvae are about to change into the pupal state, and each 
 spins a white silken cocoon over the mouth of its cell, thus 
 shutting itself up from all disturbance. It soon passes through 
 its transformations, and then bites its way through the cell- 
 cover and issues into the nest, a perfect insect, ready to take 
 its share in the enlargement of the nest. 
 
 All these early Wasps belong to the workers, and, like the 
 worker -ants, are undeveloped females. They cannot lay eggs, 
 leaving that duty to the original queen, if we may so call her ; 
 but they can, and do, collect materials, masticate them into 
 papier-mache, and build fresh cells. They also scoop away the 
 earth from the chamber and enlarge it, so as to fit it for tbe 
 increasing nest. 
 
 By this time the number of worker-wasps has increased 
 so much that a second tier of cells is needed for their energies 
 
352 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 to be expended on. Accordingly, they fix a number of papier- 
 mache pillars to the mouths of the cells of the first tier, and 
 to them they suspend a second tier of cells. A third, fourth, 
 and fifth tier follow in rapid succession ; and, as the nest is 
 enlarged, so the covering is enlarged in proportion. Some- 
 times the Common Wasp builds its nest in a hollow tree or 
 in some similar locality ; and it is remarkable that the 
 covering of the nest is, in this case, very different from that 
 which is employed when the insect builds an imderground 
 habitation. In the latter case the nest is surrounded with 
 layer after layer of paper, so as to protect the cells in case the 
 sides or any of the earthen chambers should collapse ; but in 
 the former case the covering is quite thin, and scarcely con- 
 tains a tenth of the material that is needful for the sub- 
 terranean nest. 
 
 Whatever may be the shape of the nest, the Wasp never 
 leaves the cells without a covering. Knowing this instinct, 
 Mr. Stone induced Wasps to build nests in any form which he 
 liked, simply by arranging pieces of the comb and waiting till 
 the Wasps had covered them. For this purpose he prepared a 
 series of boxes, and actually induced a single swarm of Wasps 
 to build six complete nests, and to begin a seventh. These 
 nests were of all kinds of shapes. One, for example, was like 
 an hour-glass, another like a claret-jug without its handle, 
 another like a stalactite cavern, and so forth. Indeed, when I 
 last saw him, he said that he meant in the following spring to 
 make the Wasps build a nest shaped like St. Paul's cathedral, 
 and I have not the least doubt that he would have suc- 
 ceeded. 
 
 Wasps feed chiefly on other insects, though they are very 
 fond of ripe fruit and sugar, and have a fashion of picking out 
 the ripest part of the choicest fruit in a way that is anything 
 but agreeable to the gardener. Flies they eat in great abund- 
 ance, and, at Walton Hall, I have seen the Wasps flying by 
 hundreds into the pig-sties, and carrying off the flies as they 
 swarmed upon the pigs that were luxuriously basking in the 
 sun. Thus they are not without their usefulness, and, unless 
 they swarm to a great extent, certainly do more good than 
 harm. There are two species of Wasp which are very much 
 alike. These are the Common Wasp ( Vespa vulgaris), and 
 
BRITISH WASPS AND THEIR NESTS. 353 
 
 the German Wasp ( Vespa germamai). The latter, however, 
 may be knowii by three black spots upon the edge of the first 
 segment of the abdomen. In the construction of the nest, the 
 former insect uses decaying, and the latter sound wood. Con- 
 sequently, the nests of the former insect are of a paler and 
 greyer hue than those of the latter. I have seen a nest which 
 was made by a double swarm of Wasps, one half of eacli species. 
 The nest was a singularly beautiful one, the grey and warm 
 brown being curiously variegated, according to the portions 
 made by the different species. The nest was preserved by Mr. 
 Stone, and given by him to Mr. F. Smith. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that some of the Wasps build 
 their nests in the open air. One of these insects, together with 
 its nest, is drawn on Plate XI. Fig. 3. This is called the Tree- 
 Wasp {Vespa arborea), because its nests are suspended from 
 the branches of trees and bushes, the Wasp sometimes choosing 
 quite a low bush, and sometimes building in a lofty tree-branch. 
 In this insect, the ' scape,' i.e. the long joint of the antennae, 
 is yellow in front, in both sexes, and there are three black 
 spots on the clypeus. The nest is very delicately and beau- 
 tifully made, and, in spite of the apparently fragile natm-e of 
 its structure, is perfectly able to resist the weather. The nest 
 is suspended by an elongated footstalk, running for nearly an 
 inch parallel with the twig to which the nest is suspended. 
 
 Another species, the Norway Wasp ( Vespa Norvegiea), also 
 builds in trees, and the nest is very similar to that of the 
 former insect. A specimen in my collection shows very plainly 
 the successive coverings that have been made by the mother 
 insect. There are only five cells, and the outer covering has 
 been drawn about half way over that which actually protect." 
 the cells. On holding it up to the light and looking at it, tbt 
 streaks made by the Wasp, while spreading the papery paste, 
 are as plain as those of a painter's brush on the canvas, and the 
 outer covering is so thin that the light can be plainly seen 
 shining through it. Compensation, however, is found for this 
 delicacy by the fact that the several coverings, each standing 
 a little from the other, protect the cells far better than would 
 be the case if there were but one covering, and that a very 
 thick and strong one. 
 
 A A 
 
354 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Now we come to the largest and most formidable of the 
 British Wasps, the terrible Hornet ( Vespa crahro), a figure of 
 which is given on Woodcut XXXV. Fig. 1. This figure re- 
 presents a perfect female of the natural size. The workers are 
 much less, and, indeed, many worker Hornets are no bigger 
 than the common Wasp, from which, however, they can at once 
 be distinguished by the dark red-brown of their markings. 
 
 The nest of the Hornet is exactly similar in character to that 
 of the common Wasp, but the cells are very much larger. The 
 nest is usually made in hollow trees ; and within a few hundred 
 yards of my house are several Hornets' nests — a fact which I 
 take care not to mention, lest any anxious parent should 
 destroy them, fearing that they might injure his children, a 
 fate that befell one of these nests last year. There is really not 
 the least occasion for fear. The Hornet has a great deal too 
 much to do to spend its time in stinging children, and, unless 
 its nest be attacked, it is peaceable enough. Mr. Stone kept 
 many Hornets' nests at work, and was no more stung by thera 
 than a bee-master is stung by his bees. Outhouses and similar 
 places are favourite localities for Hornets' nests. 
 
 The successful capture of a Hornets' nest is a very difficult 
 business, and that of a Wasps' is child's play to it. In the first 
 place, it is much more difficult to cut a nest out of a hollow 
 tree than to dig it out of the earth ; and in the next place, 
 the Hornet works all night, provided the moon shines, whereas 
 the Wasp stays at home. 
 
 The food of the Hornet consists of other insects, and it has a 
 special liking for Wasps. My brother once saw a Hornet in 
 chase of some Atalanta butterflies, and the instinct exhibited by 
 the insect was really wonderful. In the open air the short- 
 winged, heavy-bodied Hornet would have no chance of catching 
 the ample-winged butterfly. So the Hornet kept flying back- 
 wards and forwards in front of the butterfly, until the Atalanta 
 thought to escape by flying through the branches of an elm 
 tree. This was the object of the Hornet's manoeuvres, for it at 
 once dashed among the foliage, where the wide wings of the but- 
 terfly were at a disadvantage, captured the unfortunate Ata- 
 lanta, bit off its head and wings, and flew away with the body. 
 
 The next tribe of Hymenoptera is that which is called An- 
 
SOLITARY BEES. 355 
 
 thophila, or Flower-lovers, and sometimes Mellifera, or Honey- 
 bearers. It comprises the insects which are familiarly known 
 as Bees. As is the case with the Wasps, the Bees are both Social 
 and Solitary, and in the former case the workers, or imperfect 
 females, form the majority of the community. The antennse 
 of the male Bees have thirteen joints, and those of the females 
 only twelve ; and the same proportion exists in the rings or 
 segments of the abdomen, the male having seven, and the 
 female only six. The larva is always fed on pollen or honey, 
 or both, this food being stored in cells constructed for the 
 purpose. 
 
 All these insects possess a very remarkable modification of 
 the parts of the mouth which are formed with the organ 
 known as the tongue, trunk, or proboscis. The end of the 
 tongue is furnished with a slender brush, formed by tiny hairs 
 which edge the rings of which the organ is composed. Mag- 
 nified illustrations of the tongues of two kinds of Bee may be 
 seen on Woodcut XXXVII. Figs, a and b. A very full and 
 detailed description of this organ is given by Mr. Westwood in 
 his admirable 'Introduction,' vol. ii. pp. 256-260. I strongly 
 recommend any of my readers who wish to make themselves 
 adepts in practical entomology, to procure a few specimens of 
 the largest Bees and examine this beautiful apparatus with the 
 aid of a lens The common Humble-bees will answer the purpose 
 very well. This apparatus is used, as we all know, for ex- 
 tracting from flowers the sweet juices which will become honey 
 after being taken into the system of the insect. The juices in 
 question are not sucked, as they are by the proboscis of a 
 moth or butterfly, but are swept out of the flower by means of 
 the brush. 
 
 The first family, called Andrenidse, comprises the Solitary 
 Bees, and is divided into two groups, namely, the Obtusi- 
 lingues, or blunt-tongued Bees, and the Acutilingues, or sharp- 
 tongued Bees ; the tongues of the former group resembling 
 those of the wasps, while those of the second group are long, 
 lance-shaped, and pointed. Examples of the sharp-tongues 
 will presently be given. 
 
 On Woodcut XXXV. Fig. 3, is drawn a Solitary Bee called 
 Halictus rubicundus. In this genus the head is rather trian- 
 gular, and the ocelli are set in a curve upon the crown. The 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 wings have one marginal and three submarginal cells, the first 
 of which is nearly as long as the other two together. The 
 antennae of the males are much longer than those of the females. 
 The colour of the present species is black, a very fine dun- 
 coloured brown being upon the face, and a fringe of shining 
 yellow hairs edging the labrum. The middle of the thorax is 
 covered with tawny red down, becoming paler on the sides and 
 towards the base of the thorax. The abdomen is smooth and 
 shining, with a little tawny down at the base. The females 
 have narrow white bands on all the segments, and the males 
 have a similar band on the first four segments only. The shape 
 of the male abdomen is shown at Fig. e. The head of the male, 
 with its long antennae, is drawn at Fig. d. 
 
 This is a burrowing insect, making a tunnel several inches in 
 depth, and only just large enough to allow of the passage of 
 the Bee. The end of the burrow is slightly enlarged, so as to 
 form a sort of chamber, and in this chamber the Bee places one 
 egg and a quantity of pollen. I have found that the pollen is 
 kneaded together so as to form a hard, paste-like ball, which, 
 by careful digging, can be removed from the burrow without 
 being broken. Nor is this all. From the main shaft, if we 
 may so call it, several short burrows are made, not more than an 
 inch or so in length, and in each of them an egg and a supply 
 of pollen are placed. 
 
 Mr. F. Smith has paid great attention to these insects, and 
 has observed that the female Halicti appear early in April and 
 are hard at work until the end of June, when they gradually 
 disappear. About August the male Bees begin to show them- 
 selves, soon followed by a quantity of females, who immediately 
 begin to form fresh tunnels. The time occupied in passing 
 through the changes is very short, for in ten or twelve days 
 after the larva is hatched it is ready to pass into the pupal 
 state. It is evident, therefore, that, like the Social Wasps and 
 Bees, the Halicti females hybernate after meeting their mates, 
 so as to begin their nest-making as early as possible in the 
 following year. 
 
 There ' are more than twenty species of this genus, among 
 which, one, called appropriately Halictus minutissimus, is 
 remarkable for being the smallest British Bee yet known. The 
 male is barely one-eighth of an inch in length. 
 
THE ANDRENA AND HER PARASITIC BEETLE. 357 
 
 Next comes the typical genus of tlie family, two examples of 
 which are given on Plate XI. The genus Andrena has the 
 head as wide as the thorax, and, in the male, occasionally 
 wider. The antennae are elbowed ; the wings have one mar- 
 ginal and three submarginal cells, and the hinder tibise are 
 furnished with stiflf bristles by means of which the insect can 
 carry to its home the pollen which it obtains from flowers. 
 One of these Bees may be seen on Plate XL Fig. 4. It is 
 called Andrena nitida, from the polished and shining abdomen. 
 The colour is black, the thorax being clothed with yellowish 
 down. The nervures of the wings are rust-red, and there is a 
 darkish clouding at their tips. On each side of the second and 
 third segments of the abdomen is a patch of white down, 
 and the tip of the abdomen has a fine dun-coloured fringe. 
 
 This pretty species occurs early in spring, and may be found 
 on the flowers of the common dandelion. It makes a burrow 
 very similar to that of the Halictus, and, like that insect, forms 
 short accessory burrows radiating from the principal shaft. 
 
 Another species, Andrena Trimmerana, is seen on Plate 
 XI. Fig. 5. The colour of this Bee is black, the thorax being 
 covered with a reddish-dun down, and the legs being covered 
 with brownish hairs on their upper surface. The anteimae of 
 the female are longer than is usually the case. One of its 
 burrows is seen, from which it is just emerging. One of the 
 larvae is shown at Fig. 10. 
 
 This insect is common near London, and is worthy of atten- 
 tion as being often infested with the remarkable little beetle 
 called the Stylops, which has been described on page 157. At 
 Fig. 5 the Stylops may be seen just appearing from beneath 
 one of the segments of the abdomen ; and at Fig. 6, at the 
 top of the Plate, the insect is seen as it appears when flying, 
 the peculiar milkiness of the wings being very well given. 
 The species which is most attacked by the Stylops is Andrena 
 convexiuscula. Out of thirty specimens of this insect, not 
 one had escaped the Stylops. It is found in the Isle of Wight 
 and other places, but does not appear to live near London. 
 
 Of this enormous genus, nearly seventy species are in the 
 British Museum. Some burrow in loose sand, some in hard 
 ground, and some even prefer very hard, strong paths, over 
 
358 * INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 which there is continual traffic. One species is called by 
 Mr. F. Smith the Kentish Bee (Andrena pilijpes), because it 
 is almost peculiar to Kent. It is a very boldly marked Bee. 
 The down on the head and thorax is black, the abdomen is 
 shining, and the hinder tibise are silvery white beneath and 
 brown above. I have found it burrowing in a nearly perpen- 
 dicular sand-bank at Abbey Wood, and reared several of the 
 Bees from their pupa-cells. The tunnels do not run to any 
 great depth, and I was able to cut out the cells with an ordi- 
 nary pocket-knife. In one year there was quite a colony of 
 the Kentish Bee in that spot. It frequents the thistle ; and as 
 it returns to its nest, covered with the white pollen of that 
 flower, it presents a very singular appearance. 
 
 Just above Andrena nitida, on Plate XI. and at Fig. 7 is 
 seen another Bee belonging to the same family. Its name is 
 Cilissa hamorrhoidalis. 
 
 In this genus the head is transverse, the ocelli are set in a 
 curve upon the crown, and the wings are like those of Andrena. 
 
 The colour of the present species is black, with a sprinkling 
 of pale down. The face of the male is densely clothed with 
 bright, but pale yellowish down. On the middle of the thorax 
 the down is black, and the rest similar to that of the face. 
 The down on the first joints of the antennae is pale and on the 
 others is black, with a few yellowish hairs along the sides. 
 The wings are clouded towards their ends. There is a slight 
 difference between the sexes, the female being decidedly larger 
 than the male, and having a line of bright yellowish hair round 
 the thick patch on the thorax, the rest of the down being grey. 
 The fifth and sixth segments of the abdomen are covered with 
 dense golden yellow down. 
 
 According to Mr. F. Smith, this is a local insect, and seems 
 to confine itself to places in which the blue-bell grows, that 
 flower being the only one which it frequents. The habits of the 
 insect are exactly like those of Andrena. There are only two 
 species known to inhabit England. 
 
 The very beautiful Bee which is shown on Woodcut XXXV. 
 is our last example of the Andrenidse. It has, I believe, no 
 popular name, but its scientific title is Dasypoda hirtipes. 
 
THE WASP-BEES AND THEIR HABITS. 359 
 
 In this genus the ocelli are set in a slight curve on the 
 crown of the head. The upper wings have one marginal and 
 two submarginal cells, the labial palpi have four joints and the 
 maxillary palpi six. Mr. F. Smith calls this ' the most beau- 
 tiful Bee found in this country ; the appearance of the female 
 when loaded with pollen is sufficiently singular to attract the 
 attention of the most apathetic observer.' There is no dif- 
 ficulty in identifying it, as the very long and dense hair of the 
 legs, especially of the hinder pair, is sufficient to indicate it. 
 The general colour is black, but the abdomen has three white 
 bands. The male may be distinguished by his smaller size and 
 brighter colouring. Each segment of the abdomen is reddish 
 yellow at the upper edge, and is fringed with pale yellow down. 
 
 It is one of the burrowers, making its tunnels in sand-banks. 
 It does not appear to breed in the immediate neighbourhood 
 of London, but is plentiful in many parts of Kent, especially 
 those in which sand abounds. Sandown, Isle of "Wight, is, 
 for that reason, a favourite locality of this beautiful insect. 
 The head and hind legs of the male are seen at Figs, c and d. 
 Both the scientific names of this insect refer to the exceedingly 
 long hair of the hinder legs. The word ' Dasypoda ' is Grreek, 
 and signifies 'shaggy-footed,' and the word 'hirtipes' has 
 exactly the same signification in Latin. 
 
 We now come to the Bees or Apidse. In these insects the 
 tongue is very long, and can be folded under the head and 
 breast when not in use. They are divided into several groups 
 or sub-families, the first of which is called Andrenoides, or An- 
 drena-like Bees. They have similar habits to the Andrena. 
 Only two species of this sub-family are known, both belonging 
 to the genus Panurgus. 
 
 An example of the next sub-family, the Cuculinse, is given on 
 Plate XL Fig. 9, and is named Nomada ruficornis. The insects 
 belonging to this group are popularly known as Wasp-beeSj 
 because, although evidently Bees, they have a very wasp-like 
 look about them, especially in the colouring. They have no 
 pollen-gathering apparatus, neither pollen brushes nor pollen- 
 scales, and are by some authors termed Denudata, or Naked 
 Bees, in consequence of this peculiarity. The reason for the 
 absence of this apparatus is evident enough. Nature never 
 
360 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 supplies organs unless they have their work to do, and, as the 
 Bee is a parasitic one, there is no reason why it should take the 
 trouble of gathering pollen. The name of Cuculinse, or Cuckoo- 
 bees, is given to them in consequence of their parasitic habits. 
 
 In this genus the antennse are elbowed, and are nearly as long 
 as the thorax. The upper wings have one marginal and three 
 submarginal cells. The last segment of the abdomen is blunt 
 in the females and sharp in the males. 
 
 This is a most variable insect in point of colour, but it may 
 be generally described as rust-red, with three black longitudinal 
 lines in the thorax, and with yellow spots and bands on the 
 abdomen. There is but little difference in the dimensions of 
 the sexes. 
 
 That these Bees are parasitic is well known, but the par- 
 ticular mode of parasitism is scarcely ascertained. 
 
 They enter the burrows of certain Solitary Bees, and in those 
 burrows the young Nomadse are matured. It is supposed that 
 when the Solitary Bee has laid in its stock of pollen, the Cuckoo- 
 bee enters the burrow, deposits an egg, and goes off to repeat 
 the process elsewhere. When the real owner of the burrow 
 returns, she finds an egg already laid, takes it for her own, and 
 so goes away and makes a fresh burrow. This, however, is only 
 conjectured, as is the theory that the parasite not only lays an 
 egg, but closes the burrow herself. 
 
 One of the most curious points connected with these insects 
 is the fact that the Solitary Bee never interferes with the 
 parasite. Mr. F. Smith has the following remarks on this sub- 
 ject : ' I have on several occasions watched with much enjoy- 
 ment a large colony of Eucera longicornis ' (this will be pre- 
 sently described) ; ' the males occasionally darting forwards 
 with great velocity, then turning sharply round, and as it were 
 swimming in circles close to the ground ; then darting off again 
 and again in an unceasing round of sportive enjoyment. Their 
 industrious partners, whose whole existence appears to be bound 
 up in one unceasing round of labour, would occasionally return 
 home laden with food for their young progeny. 
 
 ' Sometimes it would happen that a Nomada had previously 
 entered her nest. When such proved to be the case, she 
 would issue from it, and, flying off to a short distance, wait 
 patiently until the parasite came forth, when she would 
 
CUCKOO BEES. 36X 
 
 re-enter and deposit her burden. It will be observed in this 
 instance, that between Eucera and Nomada no resemblance 
 exists in general appearance, one being several times larger 
 than the other, and covered with pubescence of a sombre 
 colour ; whereas the parasite is a gaily-coloured insect, desti- 
 tute of pubescence, and readily observed from the brightness 
 of its colouring.' 
 
 As the result of long, laborious, and minute examination, 
 Mr. Smith is of opinion that the Nomada is parasitic upon 
 the food, and not upon the larva of the Solitary Bee, and that 
 when the latter finds an egg in her burrow, she deserts it and 
 goes off to make another. Altogether, twenty-four British 
 species of a Nomada are known. The generic name Nomada 
 is Greek, and signifies a creature that wanders in search of 
 food and has no fixed home. 
 
 On Woodcut XXXVI. Figs. 1 and 2, are shown both sexes of 
 the parasitic bee called Goelioxys simplex. One of the most 
 striking points in this genus is the strongly marked difference 
 in form of the two sexes. In the female, as seen at Fig. 2, 
 the abdomen is peculiarly sharp, giving occasion for the 
 generic title of Goelioxys, or ' sharp-bellied.' The abdomen of 
 the male, however, is broad, and boldly toothed at the end. 
 The head is as wide as the thorax, and the ocelli are placed 
 upon the crown in a triangular form ; the eyes are rather long 
 and hairy. The thorax is rather globular, and the scutellum 
 has a tooth on either side. The upper wings have one mar- 
 ginal and two submarginal cells, as shown in the illustration. 
 
 The present species is perhaps the most plentiful of its 
 genus, of which six British species are known, all being 
 parasitic on Solitary Bees. The colour of the insect is black, 
 with a very pale yellowish down on the head and thorax. The 
 wings are dusky, but translucent, and are darker towards their 
 tips. The abdomen is shining black, with a few large punc- 
 tures. These Cuckoo-bees are often parasitic on the well- 
 known Leaf-cutter Bees, one of which is shown at Fig. 5 of 
 the same Woodcut. 
 
 In the Bee which is drawn on Woodcut XXXVI. Fio-. 3 
 we have an example of parasitism carried out to a curious 
 
362 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 extent, as we shall presently see. Its name is Melecta armata. 
 The genus to which this Bee belongs has the head transverse, 
 and the ocelli set in a line upon the crown. The upper wings 
 have one marginal and three submarginal cells. There are 
 only two species of Melecta known to inhabit England, the 
 present species being the more common of the two. 
 
 xxxvi 
 
 1. Coelioxys simplex, male. 2. Do., female, 
 female. 5. Megacblle centnncularls, female. 
 
 3. Melecta armata, female. 4, Osmia rufa, 
 
 The colour of the insect is variable, but is mostly as 
 follows : — The general colour is black, and the greater part of 
 the body is covered with ashen grey down. There is a tuft of 
 white down on either side of the thorax, and the wings are 
 transparent, but clouded towards their tips. The abdomen is 
 shining black, with the exception of a white patch on either 
 side of the base, another on the second segment, and a very 
 small white spot on each side of the third and fourth segments. 
 
THE SOLITAEY BEE AND ITS ENEMIES. 363 
 
 In some specimens the white spots do not appear, so that the 
 insect is entirely black. Both sexes are coloured much in the 
 same manner, with the exception that the whole of the downy 
 clothing- has a slight yellowish tinge. 
 
 This is a parasitic insect, laying its eggs in the nest of one 
 of the burrowing bees, named Anthophora acervorum. This 
 Bee makes its nest in the holes of old walls, chalk-pits, and 
 similar localities, and is a very common insect, absolutely 
 swarming in some localities. It is subject to the attacks of 
 three other insects, which are the common Earwig, the Firetail- 
 fly, already described on page 330, and the Melecta, the two 
 Hymenopterous foes being often seen at once engaged in their 
 destructive work. The Melecta is, however, itself much 
 infested with the larvse of the Oil-beetle, which may be found 
 clinging to the under side of the thorax. 
 
 At Fig. 4, Woodcut XXXVI. is shown an example of one of 
 our most interesting groups of wild Bees, named scientifically 
 Osmia rufa. The specimen is a female. In this genus 
 the upper wings have one marginal and two submarginal 
 cells. The ocelli are set in a slight curve on the crown of the 
 head. 
 
 The present species is black and hairy. The head of the 
 female is provided with a sort of horn on either side of the 
 face, the ends of the horns being slightly bent inwards. The 
 down on the middle or disc of the thorax is black, becoming 
 dun towards the base, while on the sides and beneath it is ashen 
 grey. The male has no horns on the head, and the face is 
 covered with long white down. The antenna are long and 
 slender, and the head and thorax, instead of being black, are 
 deep green-blue. The abdomen is covered with thick yellowish 
 down arranged in successive bands or belts. 
 
 I mentioned just now that this insect belongs to one of our 
 most interesting groups of Bees. It has always interested me 
 greatly on account of the curious nests which it makes. 
 Generally, one species adheres strictly to one kind of locality, 
 but this is not the case with the Osmia, which adapts its 
 cells to various localities, according to the exigencies of the 
 moment. There are ten species of Osmia, each having some 
 particular point of interest attached to its mode of nesting. 
 
364 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Take, for example, Osmia bicolor. This insect generally 
 makes its cell within the empty shells of garden snails, not 
 because it is unable to make a burrow, but because it finds the 
 empty shells to be as good as ready-made burrows. So it begins 
 by depositing an egg at the end of the whorl, putting in a suf- 
 ficiency of honey and pollen, and making a partition wall of 
 some vegetable substance. A second chamber is then formed in 
 like manner, and so on until the Bee has reached the mouth of 
 the shell, which it closes with a strong barrier. 
 
 There is in the British Museum a very curious example of 
 sagacity in this Bee, showing clearly that the insect possesses 
 some share of reasoning powers as well as mere instinct. She 
 had taken the shell of the large garden snail, and when she came 
 near the mouth, found that it was much too large. So, instead 
 of proceeding after the usual fashion, she has made two cells 
 and placed them side by side, and close to the mouth itself 
 has actually set the cells crosswise. 
 
 As, in order to emerge into the air, it is necessary for the 
 inhabitants of the lower cells to pass through the others, this 
 necessity is met in a very simple manner. Those eggs which 
 are laid in the outermost cells produce males, and are developed 
 before the others, so that those insects which inhabit the cells 
 immediately beneath them can pass through their deserted 
 homes. 
 
 Another species, Osmia lev,coinelana, burrows in bramble- 
 sticks, not taking out the whole of the pith, but scraping out a 
 series of chambers, which are connected by small passages, so 
 that the walls of division take but little material. 
 
 Another species, Osmia fulviventris, makes its bm-rows in 
 decaying wood ; while another, Osmia parietana — a northern 
 species — chooses the under surface of stones. There is in the 
 British Museum a stone, measuring ten inches by six, on which 
 are no less than two hundred and thirty cells of this Bee. Mr. 
 F. Smith took charge of this mass of cells, and found that the 
 Bees escaped at intervals during three years. ' When found, 
 one-third were developed. The following year a second brood 
 came forth, and while in my possession a third. In the first 
 instance, the whole deposit was subject to the same influences 
 and had produced larvae ; what was the cause of the retarded 
 development of the rest, it were vain to attempt to determine.' 
 
HOOP-SHAVER BEE. 365 
 
 To the next genus belong those curious Bees which are popu- 
 larly called Leaf-cutter Bees, because they line their burrows 
 with pieces of various leaves, those of the rose being the favour- 
 ites. They burrow in various materials, and sometimes the same 
 species makes its tunnels in decaying wood or in sandstone. 
 The species which is shown on Woodcut XXXVI. Fig. 5, 
 Megachile centuncularis, sometimes burrows in decaying wood, 
 sometimes in old walls, and sometimes in the ground. 
 
 In this genus the head is large, and the ocelli are set in a 
 triangle on the crown. The upper wings have one marginal 
 and two submarginal cells, and the females have a very thick 
 pollen-brush on the abdomen. This species, which is very 
 plentiful, is black, with ashen grey down, becoming yellowish 
 on the face. The disc of the thorax is nearly naked. The 
 abdomen is heart-shaped in the female, and longer and blunter 
 in the male, and each segment has a very narrow edging of 
 pale yellow down. Beneath, the down is bright golden yellow. 
 It must here be remarked that these colours are only to be 
 found in specimens recently escaped from the pupal cell, the 
 beautiful hues fading by exposure. 
 
 On Woodcut XXXVII. Fig. 1, is a rather magnified figure 
 of the insect called by Gilbert White the Hoop-shaver Bee, 
 from a habit which will be presently described. In this genus, 
 of which only one species is known to inhabit England, the head 
 is nearly as wide as the thorax, and the ocelli are set in a tri- 
 angular form rather forward on the crown. The upper wings 
 have one marginal and two submarginal cells, and the abdomen 
 is rather curved, and furnished in the female with a thick pollen- 
 brush, and in the male with spikes at the end, as seen in the 
 illustration. The present species has five of these spines. Its 
 colour is exceedingly variable in detail, but is generally black, 
 with yellow on the sides of the face and the clypeus. The ab- 
 domen has a yellow spot on either side of each segment. 
 
 The Bee is a burrower in the decayed wood of willow- 
 trees, but, if possible, slie will take advantage of the deserted 
 burrows of the Groat-moth, which will be described in the fol- 
 lowing pages. In order to prepare a home for its future young, 
 it goes to some down-covered plant, such as the campion, and 
 strips oflf the woolly covering, running along the stem, and 
 
366 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 shaving it quite bare. It then collects the bundle of down 
 between its head and fore-legs, carries it off to the burrow, 
 and with it makes a cocoon-like cell, binding together the 
 fibres of down with some kind of glutinous material. Within 
 this cell it places an egg and a quantity of pollen sufficient to 
 last the young grub throughout its larval condition. When 
 
 IlZYLl 
 
 1. Anthidium manicatum. 2. Bombus lapitlarius, female. 3. Do., neuter. 4. Do., male. 
 a. Tongue of Anthidium. 6, Tongue of Bombus. c. Mandible of Anthidium. 
 
 full-fed, the larva spins within its cell a silken cocoon, from 
 which it emerges in its j)erfect state somewhere about Mid- 
 summer. 
 
 This Bee presents one very remarkable point of difference 
 from insects in general, the male being as much larger than 
 the female as the female is usually larger than the male. The 
 species is quite a common one, especially towards the south of 
 England. 
 
USE OF A NOTCH. 3fi7 
 
 The Bee which occupies the centre of Phite XII. well 
 deserves its names of Eucera longicornis. The former of 
 these two names is Greek, and signifies ' beautiful horns,' 
 while the latter is Latin, and signifies ' long-horned.' Both 
 titles are given to the insect on account of the great length of 
 the antennae of the male, which are as long as the head, 
 thorax, and body together. These antennae are very remark- 
 able when viewed through the microscope, the joints being 
 covered with honeycomb-like markings, as if a net with six- 
 sided meshes had been drawn over them. The ocelli are set in 
 a slight curve on the crown of the head, and the upper wings 
 have one marginal and two submarginal cells. 
 
 Only one species is known in England. It is black, clothed 
 with a dun-coloui-ed down, changing to very pale yellow on the 
 sides, and ashen grey beneath. 
 
 This is one of the burrowing Bees, preferring a hard, clay 
 soil for that purpose. It needs no lining for the cells, but 
 kneads the clay wall of its cell so hard and smooth that it is 
 able to hold the soft paste of pollen and honey with which it 
 is stored. Some of the habits of this insect have been 
 mentioned when treating of the Firetailed-fly (p. 331). Mr. 
 F. Smith has the following remarks on this Bee : ' It does 
 not spin a cocoon, but passes the winter in the larva state, 
 changing about the end of April to the pupa, and shortly 
 after arriving at its perfect condition. The pupa throws off a 
 thin, transparent shroud. The male, on emerging from its 
 cell, passes its long antennae through the notch at the base of 
 the first joint of the anterior tarsus, drawing the antennae 
 through, and thus readily divests those -organs of the thin 
 pellicle in which they are enveloped. Here we see another 
 beautiful exemplification of the truth that " nothing is made 
 in vain." The long antennae of the males of this genus 
 are doubtless adapted to some peculiar phase in their 
 economy, and the remarkable hexagonal reticulation of the 
 joints also answers some pui-pose connected with a peculiar 
 sense the exact functions of which we are unable to ap- 
 preciate- ' 
 
 This is not a rare insect, but in some localities is much 
 more plentiful than in others, forming large colonies, and 
 almost honeycombing the earth with its bm-rows. 
 
368 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 SOCIAL BEES. 
 
 The Social Bees may be roughly divided into two groups, 
 the Wild Bees and the Domesticated Bees. I use the latter 
 terms intentionally in the plural number, because there are 
 several species of Domesticated Bees, two of which are culti- 
 vated in this country. "We will begin with the Wild Social 
 Bees, popularly known as Humble Bees, Hummel Bees, or 
 DuMBLE Bees, the popular name evidently referring to the 
 deep humming sound which they produce when on the wing. 
 In this country the greater part of them constitute .one genus, 
 namely Bombus, of which we will take some of the most 
 conspicuous insects as examples of the rest. 
 
 In this genus of Bees, the body is egg-shaped, and thickly 
 covered with hair. The head is somewhat triangular in form, 
 and the antennae are slender, elbowed, and a little longer 
 than the head. On the crown there is a semilunar groove or 
 impression, in which the ocelli are placed. The mandibles are 
 stout, and their tips are rounded and grooved. The upper 
 wings have one marginal and three submarginal cells. The 
 females have on the tibia of the hind legs a thick fringe of 
 stiff hairs, which forms a sort of basket for carrying the 
 pollen with which the young are fed. This apparatus is 
 scientifically termed the corbicula, or little basket. In the 
 males, the mandibles are fringed with cmied hair, and there 
 are no pollen-baskets on the hind legs. 
 
 The history of these Bees is at once interesting, simple, and 
 perplexing, and perhaps is the more interesting on account of 
 the extraordinary and apparently contradictory mixture of 
 simplicity and complication. Everyone knows the Humble 
 Bees, but it is not everyone who can say, upon seeing a 
 
THE CARDEE BEE. 369 
 
 Humble Bee, to which species it belongs. Eighteen species of 
 Humble Bee exist in this country, and, except in some of the 
 more prominent species, it is not easy to identify the insects. 
 Varieties in colour and size are almost interminable, especially 
 among the males ; and so striking are these varieties, that 
 INIr. F. Smith did not dare to publish his researches on the 
 Humble Bees until he had worked for more than twenty 
 years at them. The result of his labours has been — as is the 
 result of all true labour — simplification. He has found that 
 no less than seven species described by Kirby are but varieties 
 of the Carder Humble Bee, and that six more so-called 
 species are varieties of the Meadow Humble Bee. 
 
 Our first example of these insects is the Carder Bee 
 {Bombus muscorum), so called on account of the curious 
 manner in which it constructs its nest. One of these insects is 
 represented on Plate XII. Fig. 2, in the act of flying, and 
 with its tongue extended. Part of the nest itself is seen 
 below, with one of the inhabitants just entering it. 
 
 The colouring and dimensions of this Bee are exceedingly 
 variable, but the following description is that which has been 
 decided upon by Mr. F. Smith :— The Bee is very hairy, 
 and the general colour of the female is black, with the face 
 covered with dull yellow down. The thorax is orange above, 
 yellow on the sides, and grey beneath. The abdomen is more 
 or less banded with black. The male is less than the female, 
 'and has the down on the head of pale yellow, becoming 
 blackish on the crown. The abdomen is yellowish-grey, with 
 several ill-defined dark bands. The worker is often barely 
 half the size of the male, and in colour almost exactly re- 
 sembling the female. 
 
 The habits of this species are very interesting. During thc> 
 winter, a number of females or ' queens ' lie torjjid, as do those 
 of the wasp and hornet, in any convenient crevice that they can 
 find, seldom if ever remaining for that purpose in the nest 
 which they inhabited. Hollow tree-trunks, haystacks, the thatch 
 of barns and outhouses, and similar localities, are much favoured 
 by these females, the intended progenitors of future colonies. 
 
 In the spring, the Bees recover consciousness, and at once 
 set to work in searching after fit spots for nest-building. It is 
 
 B S 
 
370 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 very interesting to watch a Carder Bee thus engaged. In 
 the early part of the present year, I watched for nearly an hour 
 the proceedings of a Carder Bee, who fortunately restricted 
 herself to a small patch of ground. The soil is very light, 
 partly covered with ferns, and on it are one or two oak trees, 
 one of large size. There is also plenty of moss within a few 
 yards, so that the locality is a very favoui'able one. As long 
 as she was on the wing I had to be very quiet, as she would 
 have taken alarm at a sudden movement, but whenever she 
 settled I was able to approach her quite closely. She investi- 
 gated almost every inch of ground, trying it in all directions, 
 and apparently testing the character of the soil by scratching it 
 with her feet. At last, she evidently fixed upon a convenient 
 spot — a small hollow in the ground near the roots of an oak. 
 
 She was so absorbed in her work, that I was able to kneel 
 down and watch her through a magnifying glass without dis- 
 turbing her. At last, I thought I would try a small practical 
 joke, and built over her a small hut of twigs and leaves. She was 
 still so preoccupied that she took no notice, until I pushed her 
 gently with a grass stem through the interstices of the hut. 
 This treatment roused her from her abstraction, and she 
 bounced up against the roof of the miniatui'e hut in great 
 perturbation, at last forcing her way through it, and going off 
 at full speed and with an angry hum. 
 
 When the Bee has fixed upon a suitable spot, she procui'es 
 some vegetable substance, generally moss, but sometimes dead 
 leaves, grass, fern-fronds, &c., and draws them through her 
 legs, much as wool is carded. With these materials she builds 
 a sort of low dome, so arranged as to harmonise with sur- 
 rounding objects, and look like a mere swelling of the ground. 
 Mr. F. Smith mentions an instance in which the Bee flew into 
 a stable, and carried off a quantity of horsehair, which she wove 
 into a nest as if it had been moss. In order to preserve the 
 . interior from rain, she lines the dome with a coarse wax, similar 
 in nature, though not in quality, to that of the Hive Bee, and 
 under its protection she makes a series of cells. These cells 
 are not in the least like the delicate, sharply defined, hex- 
 agonal cells of the Hive Bee, but are oval, and distributed 
 almost at random. 
 
 In them are laid the eggs which at first produce worker 
 Bees, they being needful in order to help the Queen Bee in 
 
PLATE XII. 
 HUMBLE BEES. 
 
 1. Bombus lucorum (Female). 
 
 2. Bombus miiscorum (Female). 
 
 3. Apathus vestalis (Female). 
 
 4. Eucera longicomis (Male). 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Hawthorn. Above. 
 
 Sea Campion (^Silene maritima). Below. 
 
WOOD HUMBLE BEE. 371 
 
 forming a large colony. The larvae soon become full-fed, and 
 then spin a silken cocoon, in which they pass their helpless 
 state. When they have attained the perfect condition, they 
 gnaw round the top of their cocoons, and escape by means of 
 the circular orifice. When they first emerge, their colours are 
 very ill-defined, and several days elapse before the long down 
 with which they are so profusely clothed changes to its varied 
 and beautiful colouring. 
 
 On Plate XII. Fig. 1, is shown another well-known species of 
 Humble Bee, with her nest. This is the Wood Humble Bee 
 {Bomhus lucorum). The colour of this Bee is black, with the 
 front of the thorax and the second segment of the abdomen 
 yellow, and the end of the body white. The worker is scarcely 
 half the size of the perfect female, but is coloured after the 
 same fashion. The male is intermediate in size, and has the 
 face, the front of the thorax, the scutellum, and the two first 
 segments of the abdomen yellow, and the three last segments 
 of the belly white. Beneath it is yellowish-white, and on the 
 tibiffi is a fringe of yellow hairs. 
 
 This is one of the earliest of the Humble Bees in appearing, 
 and is generally spread over the kingdom. Like one or two 
 other species, it makes its nest underground, and is rather a 
 ferocious sort of Bee, resenting even an approach to its nest, and 
 using its large sting very freely. Many persons have an idea 
 that Humble Bees cannot sting, an idea that is probably 
 originated from the fact that at certain times of the year the 
 male Bees, which have no sting, are rather more plentiful than 
 the females. 
 
 Not that they are more numerous, but that we see more of 
 them, because the male Bees have no hard duties to perform at 
 home. They collect no honey nor pollen, they secrete no wax, 
 they build no cells, and they nurse no young. Those Bees within 
 the nest are almost invariably females, while those which roam 
 about at their ease from flower to flower are very often males, 
 and consequently cannot sting their captors. If anyone doubts 
 whether the female Humble Bees have stings, let him attack 
 the nest of any of the underground species, particularly that of 
 the Stone Humble Bee, and he will be speedily convinced of his 
 error. I have taken the nest of most of the British Humble 
 
 B B 2 
 
372 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Bees, and can testify that, whereas the females of the Carder 
 Bees take such attacks quietly, and seldom use their stings, 
 those species which build underground resent the assault, and 
 very soon let their assailants know that they have stings and can 
 use them. 
 
 The Plate gives a very good idea of the Wood Humble 
 Bee's nest, and of the shape and position of the cells. The 
 wax of which they are made is coarse and brown, and the walls 
 of the cells are of considerable thickness. They are of various 
 sizes, according as they are intended to serve as the habitations 
 of females, males, or workers. Some contain honey, which is 
 usually of a pinker hue than that of the Hive Bee, and is 
 peculiarly sweet and fragrant. It is, however, seldom fit for 
 food, as it gives a violent headache to most persons, myself 
 among the number. I have suffered severely from a hard, 
 throbbing headache, caused by eating scarcely a teaspoonful of 
 this insect's honey, before I found out its evil qualities. It is 
 a pity that the honey should have such an effect, for it is far 
 superior in flavour to that of the Hive Bee, having a sort of 
 delicate perfume about it. 
 
 The size as well as the position of the nest differs greatly. 
 Sometimes there are but a few cells, and sometimes the colony 
 is so strong that there are about two hundred cells in the nest. 
 The depth in the ground also varies, much as does that of the 
 common wasp, and for the same reason. The Humble Bee 
 very seldom, if ever, makes the whole of the excavation in 
 which her nest is placed, but takes advantage of a deserted 
 mouse-hole, and scoops out the earth wherever she finds it 
 most convenient. 
 
 Another species, the Stone Humble Bee {Bombus lapi- 
 darius), is drawn on Woodcut XXXVII. Figs. 2, 3, and 4. 
 At Fig. 2 is shown the perfect female, or Queen Bee ; 3 is 
 the imperfect female, or worker, and 4 the male, these 
 figures being of the average size of the sexes. This is the 
 red-hipped Humble Bee ' of Shakspeare, and is a very familiar 
 insect. The female is black, with the three last segments 
 of the abdomen bright rusty-red. The worker is coloured 
 like the female, and the male is black, with yellow down on 
 the face, top of the head, and collar. Yellow hairs are also 
 
THE STONE HUMBLE BEE. 373 
 
 scattered on the scutellum and first segment of the abdomen, 
 the four last segments of which are red. 
 
 This is a very common species, and derives its name of 
 lapidarius from tlie fact that it always, if possible, constructs 
 its nest under stones. Those heaps of rough stones which are 
 often left for several years on the sides of country roads are 
 favoured habitations of this Bee, which seems to consider that 
 not only the particular stone-heap which it has chosen, but 
 also a considerable surrounding space, is its own property. In 
 most cases, the attacks of the Bees are so fierce that anyone 
 who is tempted to linger near the heap finds himself obliged 
 to remove at once from the vicinity of these irritable insects. 
 
 It does not, however, absolutely restrict itself to such habi- 
 tations, for stone-heaps are not to be found everywhere, and so 
 it has to put up with burrows in the ground, preferring such 
 places as banks and the roots of trees. 
 
 On the upper part of Plate XII. Fig. 3, is represented a very 
 remarkable insect. At first sight, anyone would say that it wfts 
 a Humble Bee ; and, as the insect may be found in Humble 
 Bees' nests, it may well be ranked among their number. Yet, 
 as we shall presently see, it must not be reckoned among these 
 insects, and, though with them, it is scarcely of them. 
 
 The genus Apathus very much resembles Bombus in its 
 characteristics. But it has no pollen-baskets in the female, 
 the tibia of the male is convex on the outside, and there is no 
 worker. The absence of the pollen-basket in the female and 
 the convexity of the hind tibiae in the male are the most 
 striking points of difference. 
 
 We naturally ask ourselves, why the Apathus does not 
 possess the pollen-basket. The reason is, that it does not 
 require it. It does not work, but subsists on the labour of 
 others, and that in a very curious manner. As a general rule, 
 the presence of parasites in a nest is exceedingly troublesome 
 to the rightful inmates, who resent with all their power the 
 presence of the intruder. This, however, is not the case with 
 the Apathus. 
 
 Mr. F. Smith, who has paid great attention to this curious 
 subject, and has thoroughly tested and investigated the re- 
 searches of Kirby, the original discoverer of the distinction 
 
374 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 between the Apathus and the Humble Bee, has the foUo'wing 
 remarks on these insects : — 
 
 ' Although the parasitic connection between these and the 
 true Bombi has long been conjectured, no author has hitherto 
 found them in the nests of the working species. Although 
 I have taken or examined a very large number of the nests 
 of Bombus, I have only occasionally met with the parasites in 
 them ; but never in the nests of the brown Humble Bees. . . . 
 
 ' What oflSce these Bees perform in the economy of the nest 
 has not been discovered. They live on the most friendly 
 terms with the industrious part of the community, and it is 
 probable that upon them devolves some important office, the 
 nature of which it would be very interesting to discover. It 
 has been supposed, from the very close resemblance of the 
 Apathi to the Bombi, that the former are an idle race reared 
 at the expense of the industrious Bees, and wearing a livery 
 in imitation of them, for the purpose of deception. But, 
 there can be little doubt of these aristocrats of the community 
 ;^erforming important and necessary duties highly conducive to 
 the general prosperity of the whole. That the close resem- 
 blance of these Bees is not for the purpose of deception is at 
 once proved by the fact of Apathus barbatellus, a yellow- 
 bearded Bee, being found in the nest of Bombus Derhamellus, 
 a black species, having the tip of the body red ; and we have 
 already seen that amongst the solitary Bees the greatest 
 difference in appearance exists.' 
 
 The colour of this species is black, with a broad orange 
 band in front of the thorax. The abdomen is shining and less 
 covered with down than is the case with the true Humble 
 Bees. TherQ is a little white down on the sides of the third 
 segment, followed by yellowish down on the fourth and fifth, 
 and the sixth has a little reddish tuft at the tip. This is the 
 colouring of the female. That of the male is somewhat similar 
 but brighter, the wings are slightly clouded at their tips, and 
 there is some yellow down on the scutellum and the first 
 segment of the abdomen. The insect is quite a common one, 
 and is parasitic in the nest of the Common Humble Bee 
 {Bombus terrestns). 
 
 The whole of Woodcut XXXVIII. is devoted to one insect, 
 
THE HIVE BEE. 
 
 375 
 
 the common Hive Bee (Apis nielUficd). The three sexes are 
 shown at P^igs. 1, 2, and 3. Fig. 1 represents the perfect 
 female, or 'queen,' of which there are very few in one 
 community, and only one that is active. Fig. 2 is the male or 
 * drone ' Bee, of which a considerable number exist ' for a 
 limited period, and Fig. 3 is the worker, of which the popula- 
 tion of the commimity is chiefly composed. 
 
 1. Apis inelHfica, female. 2. Do., male. 3. Do., neuter. a. Antenna, female. 
 
 h. Hind leg, male. <;. Tongue of male. rf. Antenna, male. e. Mandible, male. 
 
 /. Hind leg, neuter. g. Hind leg, female. h. Sting and venom glands. 
 
 In this genus the eyes of the male are very large, meeting 
 on the crown, as may be seen at Fig. 2, and the tibiae of the 
 hind legs are slender at the base, gradually widening to the 
 end, as shown at Fig. 6. The eyes of the female and worker 
 are comparatively small and unhairy. The workers have the 
 basal joint of the tarsi of the hind legs concave, and covered 
 with transverse hairy ridges, as shown at Fig. /. That of the 
 
376 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 perfect female, or queen, is smooth, as shown at g. The 
 antennae, too, are different in the sexes, as may be seen by 
 referring to Figs, a and d, the former representing the antenna 
 of the female, and d that of the male. 
 
 I ihay mention here that the little hieroglyphic marks 
 attached to the figures on this and a few other woodcuts 
 denote the sex. They are, in fact, the old astronomical 
 figures used to denote the planets by a sort of short-hand. 
 The circle with the barbed point was used as the emblem of 
 Mars, and is employed by naturalists to denote the male sex. 
 The circle with the crossed line below it was the emblem of 
 Venus, and denotes the female sex, while the circle with the 
 uncrossed line denotes the imperfect female, or neuter. 
 
 A detailed account of this wonderful insect would be abso- 
 lutely impossible within the limited space at our command, 
 inasmuch as the whole volume would be consumed in such 
 an undertaking. I will, therefore, only mention a few of the 
 more salient points connected with the economy of the Hive 
 Bees, and leave the reader to look for further information 
 into the many excellent works which have been written ex- 
 pressly on this subject by men practically skilled in bee- 
 keeping. 
 
 The constitution of the community, or, as we popularly call 
 it, the hive, differs from that of other social insects. 
 
 There is but one perfect female permitted to live within the 
 hive, her duty being a very simple one — namely, to lay the 
 enormous number of eggs from which proceed the future 
 swarms. She never leaves the hive except when she issues 
 into the air to find a mate, and she does no work of any kind, 
 not even requiring to feed herself. In form, she is somewhat 
 longer than the worker, and, though, when young, she is 
 scarcely different from the worker in size, she may be recognised 
 by the shortness of her wings, and the manner in which they 
 cross each other at the tips as they lie at rest on her back. 
 Her whereabouts in the hive can soon be detected by a prac- 
 tised eye, as there is always a cluster of Bees around her, with 
 their heads towards their sovereign. They behave as politely 
 as any modern courtier. Wherever she goes they go too, but 
 they never turn their backs on her, always keeping a small 
 space clear round her, just large enough to enable her to 
 
FORMATION OF WAX. 377 
 
 walk, and advancing, retreating, or sidling as she happens to 
 move. 
 
 The males, or drones, are comparatively numerous. They 
 can be at once recognised by their greater thickness, and the 
 blunt abdomen with its little tufts of hair. Even on the wing 
 the drone Bee can be distinguished by its low, dull, deep hum. 
 It seems to be much more sluggish in its ways than the worker. 
 Some years ago, when I was engaged in reproducing the dis- 
 sections of John Hunter, I supplied myself with drone Bees, by 
 watching the entrance of the hive, and taking the drones off 
 the foot-board as they came out of the hive. They seldom 
 troubled themselves to make any effort at escape, and I could 
 take as many as I liked without even arousing the anger 
 of the workers. 
 
 As to the workers themselves, they are so familiar that 
 nothing need be said about their appearance. 
 
 The constructiqn of the nest differs from that of any other 
 insect, though it bears a great resemblance to that of the wasp 
 or the hornet. The cells are hexagonal, but are made of wax 
 instead of paper. They are double, being set end to end, or 
 rather, base to base, and lie nearly horizontally, instead of 
 perpendicularly as in the wasp tribe. We will glance at each 
 of these points, and will first take the material of which the 
 nest or ' comb ' is made. 
 
 This, as we all know, is wax, and, as most of us know, is 
 secreted by the Bee, and not gathered from flowers, as was 
 formerly thought to be the case. When the Bees are about to 
 build a new comb they hang in strings, holding by each other's 
 feet, and remain in that position for a considerable time, 
 perfectly still. If, at the expiration of that period, the under 
 side of the insect be examined, six tiny white crescents will be 
 seen. These crescents are the edges of the wax plates, which 
 project from beneath the little flaps called ' wax-pockets,' 
 With the exercise of a little care, the plates of wax may be 
 removed from the pockets, and put up as specimens. Much 
 care, however, must be taken of them, as I have learned by 
 experience. I had, with some trouble, secured the six plates of 
 a single Bee, and had arranged them in their order upon a slip 
 of dark -blue paper, which was carefully inserted into a bottle. 
 One bright summer day, a visitor was examining the series of bee- 
 
378 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 dissections, and was particularly pleased with the wax plates. 
 He took the bottle to the window to examine the plates more 
 easily, held the bottle in the hot rays of the sun, and 
 melted the six plates into six formless waxen drops. 
 
 A sufficient quantity of wax being obtained, the Bees set to 
 work at kneading it with their jaws, and continue to do so 
 until they have made it quite plastic. They then begin their 
 labours, and, urged by an instinct which is quite beyond our 
 comprehension, construct with this substance a double set of 
 perfectly hexagonal cells, which practically illustrate the 
 problem of constructing a vessel which shall consume the 
 minimum of material and hold the maximum of contents. 
 The mathematical problems involved in the structure of the 
 bee-cell are most interesting, but there is not sufficient space 
 at our command. I would, therefore, refer the reader to my 
 'Homes without Hands,' page 428, in which these problems 
 are given in detail. Suffice it to say that the key to the 
 structure of the bee-cell lies in the angles of the three equal 
 lozenge-shaped plates which form the base of the cell. 
 
 If the reader will examine a fresh bee-comb he -will see that 
 the edges of the cells are much thickened and rounded, besides 
 being rather darker and redder than the wax which forms the 
 sides. The material with which this is done is termed ' pro- 
 polis,' and is a gummy substance obtained by the Bees from 
 certain trees, among which the horse-chestnut is conspicuous. 
 Everyone is familiar with the sticky substance that coats the 
 buds of this tree, and guards them from the weather. This is 
 the principal source of the propolis, and the Bees may be seen 
 continually scraping off and carrying home this material, which 
 they use as a cement as well as a strengthening edging to the 
 cells. 
 
 Still looking at the comb, the reader will see that the cells 
 are not quite horizontal, but that they slope slightly from 
 mouth to base. The object of this slope is that they shall the 
 more easily receive the honey which is stored in them, and 
 which is, when first placed in the cells, nearly as transparent 
 and liquid as water. In fact, it is much of the consistency of 
 eau sucree. Honey is a really peculiar substance. It is not 
 obtained ready-made from the flowers, and simply transferred 
 to the cells. 
 
HONEY AND BEE-BREAD. 379 
 
 The sweet juice of the flower is indeed to honey much what 
 grape-juice is to wine. It is licked out of the flowers by the 
 brush-tipped tongue of the Bee, and then passed into the 
 honey-bag, a nearly spherical membranous sac, situated at the 
 base of the abdomen, close to the short footstalk which conjoins 
 the thorax and abdomen. Within this sac it undergoes the 
 change which converts it from a mere saccharine juice into 
 honey. What that change is we do not precisely know, nor 
 how it is achieved, for the honey-bag appears to be nothing more 
 than a membranous sac. Still, some change, and that a great 
 one, is made, as is evident from the fact that if the Bees be 
 supplied with sugar and water they make honey from it. 
 Despite this change, however, the honey always retains some- 
 thing of the flavour belonging to the flower whence it was 
 obtained, together with some of its properties ; so that there 
 have been instances where those who have eaten honey have 
 been nearly poisoned by it, the Bees having made it from 
 plants which possessed poisonous qualities. That which is 
 made from heather is generally thought to be the best and 
 purest. We may, perhaps, ask ourselves why the Bee should 
 take the trouble of making so many cells wherein to store the 
 honey, instead of putting it into one or two larger vessels. 
 The reason is that when honey is taken out of the cells, and 
 placed in larger vessels, it soon crystallises, and in that state is 
 even injurious to the Bees, whereas it can be kept perfectly 
 fluid while in the small and tightly-closed cells. 
 
 The ' bee-bread,' on which the young Bees -are fed, is made 
 from the pollen of various plants pressed tightly into the cells. 
 If a cell full of bee-bread be cut longitudinally, each cargo of 
 the Bee can be discerned, some eight or ten journeys being 
 required to procure a sufficiency of pollen to fill up the cell ; 
 and the pollen of each cargo being generally marked by a 
 slight difference of colour. 
 
 Some six or seven species of Bee are domesticated in dif- 
 ferent parts of the world, and Mr. Westwood suggests that there 
 are many other species which might with advantage be brought 
 to subserve the purposes of man. The structure of the sting 
 is shown on Woodcut XXXVIII. Fig. h. This well-known 
 weapon is in fact a modification of the ovipositor, with the 
 addition of a poisonous liquid. This liquid is secreted by two 
 
380 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 very delicate poison- glands, which resemble threads, not nearly 
 so thick as a human hair, and white in colour. These glands 
 unite together at their bases and form a short common tube, 
 which opens into the poison sac, in which the venom is retained 
 until it is wanted. The base of the sting is connected with 
 the poison sac, and as soon as the weapon is used, the poison 
 flows down the sting and is injected into the wound. 
 
LEPIDOPTEEA. 
 
 «*.-<^ 
 
LEPIDOPTEEA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 RHOPALOCERA, OR BUTTERFLIES. 
 
 I VERY much regret the necessity for using such words as that 
 which appears at the head of this chapter. I employ such words 
 as seldom as possible, and always explain them when compelled 
 to use them, as is the case at present. Still, in many instances, 
 scientific terms are absolutely necessary, because there are no 
 existing English words which have the same signification, and, 
 in many others, even though there may be English equivalents, 
 the scientific terms are so universally employed that it is neces- 
 sary to introduce them and explain their meaning. 
 
 To begin with the word Lepidoptera. It is formed from two 
 Greek words, the one signifying a scale, and the other a wing, 
 and is given to those insects because their wings are, for the 
 most part, covered on both sides with flat scales which overlap 
 each other just like the tiles of a house. This is the most 
 important characteristic of the order, but there are one or two 
 others which must be noticed. The moutli is formed for 
 suction. The mandibles, or jaws, which are so conspicuous in 
 the insects which we have hitherto examined, and which indeed 
 are large and powerful in the larval state, are scarcely visible, 
 being reduced to mere rudiments of jaws. The maxillae, on the 
 contrary, are very much elongated, and modified into the 
 beautiful proboscis through which the insect is able to suck 
 +he sweet juices of flowers. The pupa is enclosed in a hard, 
 shelly case, not resembling the perfect insect, this form beino- 
 scientifically called ' obtected.' 
 
 The Lepidoptera fall naturally into two great divisions or 
 
384 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 sections, known popularly as Butterflies and Moths. We will 
 begin with the Butterflies. 
 
 These insects are, as may be seen by reference to the be- 
 ginning of the chapter, called Ehopalocera. This term is 
 formed from two Grreek words, the one signifying a club and 
 the other a horn, and is given to the Butterflies because, as a 
 rule, their antennae are clubbed, or knobbed, at the end. As 
 far as English Lepidoptera are concerned, there is no difficulty 
 whatever in distinguishing between them and the Moths, the 
 latter always having their antennse pointed instead of clubbed 
 at the tip. Butterflies, moreover, cannot fold their antennse to 
 the body as is done by many of the Moths, those organs always 
 standing out boldly from the head. 
 
 Then, the head itself is very distinct from the thorax, and is 
 never simk into it, as is the case with so many insects, but is 
 attached by a slender neck. The compound eyes possessed by 
 Butterflies are remarkable for the astonishing number of facets 
 which they possess, some of them having sixteen thousand 
 facets on each side, or thirty-two thousand in all. The wings, 
 too, serve to distinguish Butterflies and Moths. The latter 
 insects often have the hind, or second, pair of wings folded 
 longitudinally, but those of the Butterflies are quite rigid and 
 incapable of being folded. When the insect is at rest both 
 pairs of wings are raised over the back, and mostly pressed 
 closely together. This attitude is often employed as a means 
 of avoiding detection, for the Butterfly, when its wings are thus 
 closed, has very much the air of a leaf or a flower petal, and 
 so escapes observation. The splendid and conspicuous Red 
 Admiral and Peacock Butterflies frequently elude the eye in 
 this manner. 
 
 Following the plan which I have adopted throughout this 
 work, I now give a map or chart of a Butterfly, showing the 
 principal portions of the insect, and the distinctive names 
 attached to them by entomologists. Some of these words look 
 rather formidable, but there is really little difficulty in learn- 
 ing and retaining them ; and the best way of learning them is, 
 to trace them out on the wings of various Butterflies, and, if 
 possible, to sketch those wings on an enlarged scale, and write 
 the names of the different portions. The principal portions of 
 
ANATOMY OF A BUTTERFLY. 
 
 385 
 
 the wings are those which are denoted by letters, and which 
 should therefore be learned first ; the knowledge of the other 
 
 I. Front view of head. H. Side view. 
 
 ni. Fore tcing. 1—5. Subcostal nervnles. 6, 7. Discoidal nemiles. 8—10. Median 
 
 nervujes. 11. Submedian nervure. 12. Internal nervure. 13—15. Disco-cellnlar nervules. 
 16. Interno-niedian nervule. 17. Median nervure. 18. Subcostal nervure. a. Costal ner- 
 vure. 6. Costa or anterior margin, c. Apex or anterior angle. d. Posterior or hind mai-gin. 
 e. Posterior or anal angle. /. Interior or inner margin. g. Base. h. Discoidal cell. 
 
 IV. Niiid King. 1, 2. Subcostal nervnles. 3. Discoidal nervule. 4—6. Median nervules. 
 7. Submedian neiTure. 8. Precostal nervure. 9. Subcostal nervure. 10. Median 
 nervure. 11, 12. Disco-cellular nervules. a. Costal nervure. 6. Costa or anterior 
 margin. c. Apex or anterior angle. </. Hind margin. e. Tail or caudal apiiendage. 
 /. Anal angle. g. Abdominal or inner margin. h. Base. 
 
 V. Underside of body. 1—7. Abdominal segments. 8. Caudal or anal extremity. 
 a. Antennse. b. Tarsus. c. Tibia. d. Femur. e. Palpi. /. The head. g. The 
 thorax, h. Abdomen. 
 
 portions being gained by degrees. Here I may mention that 
 Mr. E. Newman repudiates the word neyvure, .and substitutes 
 
 c c 
 
386 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the simpler word ' ray,' as analogous with the fin-rays of 
 fishes. He is undoubtedly justified in considering that 'ray' 
 is the better word, but as in all scientific accounts of the Lepi- 
 doptera the word ' nervure ' is used, I have employed it, leaving 
 the reader to substitute the word ' ray ' if he should prefer it. 
 
 The reader will notice the enormous size of the eye-masses, 
 as shown in Fig. 1, this great size and bold projection being 
 rendered necessary by the fact that these insects are all day- 
 fliers, perpetually on the wing, and, consequently, very con- 
 spicuous. Now, there are many creatures- — certain birds, for 
 example, dragon-flies, and other predacious foes — which are very 
 fond of Butterflies, and would wofully thin their numbers did 
 not their multitudinous eyes enable them to see the approach- 
 ing enemy in time for their broad wings to carry them out of 
 danger. The form of the proboscis is also shown in Figs. 1 
 and 2, the former representing it as it appears when coiled up 
 so as to be out of harm's way, and the latter showing it as 
 partly uncoiled, as it appears when the insect is about to take 
 food. 
 
 We now proceed to take in their order some typical examples 
 of British Butterflies. The first family is called Papilionidse, 
 and may be distinguished by having the first pair of legs formed 
 for walking, the tip of the antennae not hooked, and the dis- 
 coidal cell of the hind wings quite closed. Only one genus 
 inhabits this country, and only one species, the beautiful 
 Swallow-tail Butterfly {Papilio Machaon), which is Siown in 
 the frontispiece. 
 
 In the genus to which this Butterfly belongs, the hind wings 
 are tailed, and the caterpillar, or larva, is furnished with a 
 forked appendage called the ' nuchal horn ' because it issues 
 from the neck. In this species the horn is only used in 
 moments of irritation, and is concealed within the body, its 
 place being only marked by two dots. If, however, the cater- 
 pillar be irritated or hurt, it immediately throws out the horn, 
 which can be produced to the length of half an inch or so. 
 Many naturalists suppose that this liorn is intended for the 
 purpctee of driving away the ichneumon flies when they attack 
 tr.e larva. I can, however, scarcely accept this theory, oeoause 
 the ichneumon flies are terribly injurious to many other ^ater- 
 
A DAY WITH THE SWALLOW-TAIL. 387 
 
 pillars, whicli yet are supplied with no apparatus for driving 
 them away. This organ, whatever purpose it may subserve, 
 gives forth a very strong odour, much resembling that of 
 fennel, and so powerful that even in the open air it can be 
 perceived, at some distance. 
 
 The colour of this splendid Butterfly is almost entirely 
 yellow and black. On the lower wings, however, there is a row 
 of six cloudy blue spots, sprinkled with yellow dots, and at the 
 anal angle of each lower wing is a large red spot with a slight 
 blue crescent on the upper part. This Butterfly was once spread 
 over a considerable part of England, but now seems to be 
 restricted to the marshy parts of Cambridge, Huntingdon, and 
 Norfolk. It has been taken in many other places, but I believe 
 that in all those instances it was not native to the place, but 
 had been artificially introduced. I once saw a specimen in a field 
 by the Cherwell, close to Oxford, and chased it for some time, 
 but unsuccessfully. Whether or not this was an introduced 
 specimen, I have no means of ascertaining. 
 
 I was never fortunate enough to have a day's Machaon- 
 hunting, but my friend, Mr. D. J. PVench, has sent me an 
 account of a very successful day's hunt : — 
 
 'Saturday, July 10, 1871, will always be a red-letter day in 
 my annals of natural history. 
 
 ' My brother and I drove off, amid the rain-like mist, along 
 one of those everlastingly flat Cambridge roads, till we sighted 
 the whitewashed front of the old public, with the conspicuous 
 sign of " Five miles from anywhere." In a few minutes more 
 we were over the ferry, and stepping off to the fens with some- 
 what hopeful feelings, for the sun was peeping out. The ditch 
 was soon cleared by the help of the jumping-pole, kept at the 
 aforesaid inn for the use of entomologists. My brother was 
 over first, and before I could follow a hearty shout informed me 
 that a Swallow-tail was captured. In less than three minutes, 
 at 1.5 P.M., three hurrahs rang through the fens, as I beheld, 
 for the first time in my life, a self-captured Papilio Machaon 
 within my net. Oh, 'twas a pleasant sight to see ! 
 
 ' The next two hours were exciting ones indeed, for no sooner 
 had I pinned an insect than another was seen. Although 
 ready to drop through the heavy chase just completed, off we 
 dashed, disturbing from their nests and passing unheeded 
 
 cc 2 
 
388 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 whinchats, stonechats, whitethroats, and other sedge and grass- 
 loving birds. A swift foot soon brought the aerial object near; 
 then came the sudden switch and the simultaneous drop — a sign 
 that all was right. The fall into a sitting posture was the 
 natural, necessitous, and happily convenient move, for directly 
 the capture was made our legs lost all power, and suggested a 
 seat on the fen as the right position for pinning the prize; 
 and so it was. 
 
 ' Experience taught me these lessons in the capture of the 
 Swallow-tail. . When in the neighbourhood of flowers, take it 
 gently ; move slowly up to the insect, and when within a 
 couple of yards secure it with a dash. This is all easy enough ; 
 but when forced into a smart chase over the fen, the following 
 manoeuvre proved successful. I found that the pursued insect, 
 after a long flight, generally branched off at a right angle ; so 
 that if I kept a respectful distance behind, and when it altered 
 its course turned at an acute angle in the same direction, I was 
 fortunate enough to meet the object of my chase, so that the 
 Butterfly and I formed a right-angled triangle. Intelligisne ? 
 I think the description clear, though it may perhaps smell a 
 little of the mathematical odour of the 'Varsity. We caught in 
 the two hours thirty-five specimens, one of which I send here- 
 with. Several, however, were much worn ; no doubt through 
 creeping about in the herbage during the preceding unfavour- 
 able weather for flight. My brother obtained eleven larvae 
 from the same spot last year. All the pupae have not yet dis- 
 gorged their contents. An imago gladdens my eyes every now 
 and then. Several of the specimens have slightly different 
 markings. One, however, has the hind margins of the under 
 wings lightly coloured with the same chestnut-red hue which 
 composes the prevailing tint in the large spot close to the anal 
 angle of each wing ; a unique variety, I believe.' 
 
 The egg of this insect is light green in colour and oval in 
 shape. It may seem rather superfluous to say that an egg is 
 oval in shape, but we shall presently see that many eggs of 
 Butterflies are anything but oval in shape. Just before the 
 egg is hatched, its colour darkens until it is nearly black, which 
 in fact is the colour of the young caterpillar. As soon as the 
 larva is hatched, it eats the shell of the egg in which it has 
 been developed, and after every change of skin it eats in like 
 
THE WHITE BUTTERFLIES. 389 
 
 manner the garment which it has thrown ofif. The colour of 
 this caterpillar is a beautiful leafy green, the interstices between 
 the segments being velvet-black. Upon each of the twelve 
 segments of the body there is a black bar, which in all the seg- 
 ments except the second is adorned with six orange spots. 
 There are other markings, but these are the most charac- 
 teristic. 
 
 This beautiful larva feeds on several plants, such as the 
 hog's-wort, or cow-parsnip {Heracleum sphondylium), the 
 marsh-parsley {Peucedanurri palustre), and even on the leaves 
 of the common carrot, when nothing better can be obtained. 
 Larvae of this splendid Butterfly have been successfully reared 
 upon carrot leaves. 
 
 When the caterpillar is full-fed, it quits its food-plant, 
 crawls up the stem of a weed, and there assumes the pupal 
 form, binding itself to the weed by a sort of belt, like that of 
 the chrysalis shown in Woodcut XL. Fig. b. This belt may 
 be almost called a cable, for it is very stout and strong, as well 
 as elastic, and will sustain a considerable tension before it is 
 snapped. There are many British Butterflies whose pupae are 
 thus girt to the object on which they undergo their trans- 
 formation. Mr. Newman gathers these together in a group, 
 which he terms Succincti, or Grirted Chrysalids. All these 
 pupae have the head directed upwards. 
 
 The next family, the Pieridae, is distinguished by the fact 
 that the hind wings form a sort of receptacle in which the 
 abdomen lies. The larvae do not possess the nuchal horn, and 
 are wider in the middle and narrower at the two ends. The 
 insects which compose this family are the most familiar of our 
 English Butterflies, and are popularly known as White Butter- 
 flies. There are, however, several White Butterflies that do not 
 belong to this group, and several that belong to it which can 
 scarcely be called white. However, the popular name is 
 expressive, though not wholly accurate. 
 
 Common as they are, they have raised great controversy 
 among entomologists, and have been shifted backwards and for- 
 wards into the various genera, until it is scarcely possible to 
 reconcile the conflicting statements. ' Who shall decide when 
 doctors disagree ? ' So we will not attempt to decide upon 
 
390 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 such a subject, but accept Doubleday's system. In accordance 
 with this principle we proceed to the best known of all our 
 Butterflies, the Laege Cabbage Butterfly {Pieris brassicce), 
 which is drawn in Woodcut XL. Fig. 3. As to the colours of 
 this insect, they are simply black and white, so that the illus- 
 tration gives us a very good idea of the colour as well as of the 
 
 1. Roneptei-j-x rhamni. 2. Colia= ednsa, male. 
 
 6. Do., pupa. c. Do., egg. e. Do., ])alpus. 
 
 d. Larva of Colias. 
 
 3. Pieris brassicce. a. PierLs, larva. 
 /. Do., head. g. Do., claw of foot. 
 
 form of the insect. • The specimen represented is a male ; the 
 female being similarly coloured, but without the two large 
 black spots on the fore wings. In its larval condition this is a 
 most destructive creature, and does great damage to the plant 
 from which it takes its name. It is, in fact, so destructive that 
 those who keep kitchen gardens, or are interested in agricul- 
 ture, should ruthlessly kill every Cabbage Butterfly that comes 
 across them. There is no cruelty in doing so, for no one has 
 
THE BLACK- VEINED AND SMALL WHITES. 391 
 
 any scruple in killing the caterpillar, and it is surely better to 
 kill one Butterfly than fifty or sixty caterpillars which it 
 produces. 
 
 At Fig. c is shown the egg of this insect. The reader may 
 remember that, when treating of the Swallow-tail Butterfly, I 
 stated that all insect eggs were not oval. This egg is an 
 example of a considerable departure from the oval shape. 
 These eggs are deposited in small clusters, varying from two or 
 three to twelve, and they all stand upright on their bases, just 
 like a number of little bottles, being fixed to the leaf by a 
 gummy secretion. The caterpillars are hatched in about a 
 fortnight, and grow very rapidly. One of them is shown at fig. 
 a. When full-fed they ascend some convenient object, and 
 change into the pupa, which is fixed by its tail, and prevented 
 from falling by a stout silken belt passed loosely round its 
 body. This pupa is seen at Fig. b. Its colour is grey-white, 
 with a slight dash of blue, diversified by a number of little 
 black spots. The point of the head is yellow, and so is a line 
 along the ridge of the back. 
 
 There are two broods of this destructive insect, the first in 
 May and the second in August, so that, if its numbers were not 
 kept down byxthe ichneumon flies, we should scarcely have a 
 cabbage in England. I have dissected the larvse of all our 
 common Lepidoptera, and never found any to be so afflicted 
 with the ichneumon as that of the Cabbage Butterfly. Indeed, 
 the difficulty was to find one that was not being slowly 
 consumed by the tiny but fatal larvse of the Microgaster, 
 which has been described on page 325. 
 
 Other details of this insect are given on Woodcut XL. Fig. e 
 representing the palpus, / the head, and g the claw of the foot. 
 
 There are several other Butterflies which go by the popular 
 name of Whites. There is, for example, the Black-veined 
 White {Pieris cratcegi), which is without spots, but the 
 nervures are black. This is, in consequence, an admirable 
 insect for the study of the wings. It is a local and somewhat 
 intermittent insect, and appears about Midsummer. 
 
 Then there is the Small White {Pieris rapce), a very 
 variable Butterfly, in which the male is nearly white, except a 
 clouding at the tips of the upper wings, and a rather indistinct 
 
392 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 dark spot on the costal edge of the lower wings. The females 
 are at once distinguished by having two black spots on the disc 
 of the upper wings. The caterpillar is a pretty green larva, 
 and is a very indiscriminate feeder. I have bred a long series 
 of them from mignonette growing in a window-box. The 
 Butterfly appears in the midst of summer. 
 
 The G-REEN-VEiNED White {Pieris Najpi) may be known by 
 the peculiarity from which it takes its name. When inspected 
 from below, the under surface of the lower wings is seen to be 
 dull yellow, the nervures being edged with a greyish tint, which 
 has the effect of green when contrasted with the yellow. The 
 upper wings have much the same colouring, but not so strongly 
 marked, except at the tips. It is a variable insect, and the 
 varieties have been considered by some authors as being three 
 distinct species, one of which they call by the specific name 
 of Napi, another by that of Napece, and a third was called 
 Sabellicce. Indeed, I find, on referring to my old cabinet, 
 which I arranged according to Stephens's system, these varieties 
 under their different names. This caterpillar feeds on the 
 watercress and one or two other plants. 
 
 Lastly, there is the Gtkeen Chequered White [Pieris Da- 
 plidice), which derives its name from the beautiful gTeen 
 mottlings of the under surface of the lower wings. It is a very 
 local insect, and is generally taken on the coast of Kent. 
 Mr. E. Newman has a theory that, although a few specimens 
 may be had in England, it is properly a French insect, and is 
 blown across the Channel. This theory is strengthened by the 
 fact that Butterflies have been seen to cross the Channel, 
 settling on the water when tired, and taking to wing with- 
 out difficulty. August is the best month for finding this 
 insect. 
 
 There is also the little Wood White (Leucophasia sinapis), 
 a small, rather narrow-winged, slow-flying insect, with white 
 wings clouded with black at the ends of the upper pair 
 Grenerally this spot, or cloud, is more or less squared. . 
 
 Closely allied to the Whites is the beautiful Orange-tip 
 {Anthocharis cardammes), so well known by the orange-tipped 
 wings of the male, from which it derives its popular name. 
 The female is without the orange hue, but both sexes have the 
 
THE BEIMSTONE BUTTERFLY. 393 
 
 under side of the lower wings beautifully mottled with green. 
 The insect is as plentiful as it is beautiful, and may be 
 captured in almost every meadow or lane in the early summer. 
 It does not fly very fast, and generally keeps rather low, so 
 that there is no diflficulty in taking it. The caterpillar feeds 
 on various cruciform plants, and its colour is opaque green. 
 
 On Woodcut XL. Fig. 1 may be seen a drawing of a very 
 well-known insect, the Brimstone Butterfly {Gonepteryx 
 o'hamni), the popular name being derived from the beautiful 
 deep yellow of the male. The female is very much paler, as if 
 the colour had been washed out of her, and in both sexes there 
 is a little orange-red spot on each wing, the position and shape 
 of which are indicated in the illustration. In this genus the 
 wings are boldly angled at their tips, from which circumstance 
 the name of Gonepteiyx, or ' angle-winged,' has been given to 
 it. The antennae have a peculiar curve downwards, which can 
 be seen by viewing the insect sideways. 
 
 This is one of our earliest Butterflies, sometimes making its 
 appearance even in winter, should the sun happen to shine 
 brightly. I see, by reference to my notes, that I took it at 
 Oxford in February. These early specimens are, in fact, the 
 Butterflies which are developed in the autumn of the preceding 
 year, and which had retired to some secluded spot wherein to 
 hibernate. The warmth and light of a bright, sunshiny day 
 awake them from their torpor, and tempt them into the open air. 
 
 I believe that such early Butterflies only live a few hours, 
 because the exertion of flight causes them to need food, and no 
 food is to be found at that time of year. It is a remarkable 
 fact, noticed by Mr. Newman, that, although both sexes of the 
 Brimstone Butterfly are developed in the autumn, they take 
 no notice of each other unless they happen to survive to the 
 following spring. The larva of this Butterfly feeds on the 
 buckthorn (Rhamnus), from which it derives its specific name 
 of Rhamni. The colour of the larva is green, but the surface 
 of the body is thickly covered with tiny black projections or 
 warts, each tipped with a slender white point. 
 
 On Woodcut XL. Fig. 2, is represented one of the prettiest 
 of our Butterflies, the Clouded Yellow {Golias edusa). 
 
394 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 All those who have studied the Lepidoptera must have "been 
 struck with the marvellous variety and contrast of colour that 
 can be produced by one or two hues. This insect is nothing- 
 more than black and orange, and yet is a singularly handsome 
 one. The upper wings are warm orange, edged with a deep 
 border of black, in which are a few pale orange spots in the 
 female, the black band of the male being unspotted. There 
 is also a bold black spot near the upper edge. The lower 
 wings are coloured in much the same way, except that the 
 orange is pale, and approaching to yellow. There is, however, 
 a warm orange spot on the disc. Both pairs of wings are 
 edged with a very warm border of orange, brighter and warmer 
 in the upper than in the lower pair. Beneath, the colour is 
 yellow, warming into orange on the disc of the upper wings, 
 and the spot on the lower wings is brown, with a white centre. 
 
 This handsome Butterfly is widely spread, and occasionally 
 occurs in considerable numbers, especially in and near our 
 Southern coasts. I have a number that were taken by my 
 brother at Sheerness, and others taken by myself in Oxford- 
 shire and Wiltshire. It is found in best condition at the end 
 of summer, and through the autumn ; but, as it is a hibernator, 
 individuals are seen in the early spring, somewhat shabby 
 and worn in appearance, and lacking the brilliancy which 
 distinguishes the newly-developed insect. 
 
 The larva is grass-green in colour, and is covered with a 
 great number of tiny bristle-bearing warts. It feeds on the 
 clover, and consequently clover fields are much haunted by the 
 perfect insect. The eggs are long and narrow, and have been 
 compared to ninepins in shape. They are affixed to the leaf 
 by one of the ends, so that they stand upright. The larvae are 
 hatched about Midsummer. One of them is shown on Wood- 
 cut XL. Fig. d. The chrysalis, or pupa, is attached by its 
 tail and a belt, like that of the Cabbage Butterfly, and does 
 not seem to be very particular as to its position, generally 
 being upright, but sometimes horizontal. 
 
 We now come to the beautiful family of the Vanessidse, 
 which includes some of our handsomest and best-known 
 Butterflies. Among other distinctions, in all these insects, the 
 first pair of legs are very small, and not used in walking. 
 
THE FRITILLAEIES. 
 
 395 
 
 Our first example is the Dark Gtreen Fritillary (Argynnis 
 aglaia), a figure of which is given on Woodcut XLI. Fig. 3. 
 The Butterflies belonging to this genus are popularly known as 
 Fritillaries, and all of them have the under surface of the lower 
 wings adorned with metallic spots and markings which look as if 
 made of burnished silver. The generic name Argynnis, which 
 
 XLI. 
 
 1. Vanessa Antiopa. 2. Grapta C. album. 3. Argynnis Aglaia. 
 
 a. Argynnis, larva. b. Argynnis, pupa. 
 
 is taken from the Grreek, signifies ' brilliant ' or ' shining,' and is 
 given to the insects in consequence of this peculiarity. The 
 colour of the present species is bright warm brown in the male, 
 marked with a dark bronze-green in the female. The wings 
 are profusely spotted with black on the upper surface, and on 
 the under surface of the lower wings are a number of round 
 bright silver spots, and near the margin of the wing is a row 
 of seven semicircular silver spots. 
 
396 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 This insect is generally spread over England, and is plentiful 
 in many parts of Kent, especially on the downs which lead 
 towards the sea. Mr. Newman remarks that hilly, fern- 
 covered ground is the best locality for this Butterfly. The 
 larva, which is shown at Fig. a, feeds on the dog violet 
 ( Viola canina). Its colour is very dark shining grey, mottled 
 with black. When full-fed, which takes place about the 
 middle of July, it selects a suitable spot, and th^re changes 
 into a pupa, suspending itself by its tail, which is very strongly 
 curved. One of these pupao is shown at Fig. b. It remains in 
 the pupal state about eighteen days, and then emerges in its 
 perfect form. 
 
 There are five other species of the Fritillary, all of which are 
 very similar in their colouring. As they are liable to varia- 
 tion, the beginner finds great difficulty in identifying them. 
 This, however, can generally be done by means of the silver 
 markings on the lower wings, which in some species form bold, 
 clearly defined spots, like solid silver leaf, and in others 
 take the shape of marks or streaks, just as if a brush had been 
 dipped in silver powder and drawn over the wing. The larvae 
 of all the species are spiny, and feed upon the violets and their 
 kin. 
 
 Next we take the typical genus Vanessa, of which we must 
 examine several examples, as they are among the most con- 
 spicuous of our insects. In this genus the club of the antennae 
 is short and bold, the first pair of wings are more or less 
 regulated, and the eyes are extremely hairy. If examined 
 with the microscope, it will be seen that the hairs are planted 
 at the angles of the hexagonal facets. 
 
 The handsomest and rarest of these Butterflies is drawn on 
 Woodcut XLI. Fig. 1. Its scientific name is Vanessa Antiapa, 
 and it is popularly called the White-bordered, on account of 
 the broad white edging of the wings, or the Cambbrwell 
 Beauty, because in 1748 three specimens were taken near 
 Camberwell. 
 
 My brother saw one on the banks of a railway cutting in 
 Wales, as he was going to church with his wife. Eare insects 
 are always perverse. You may go to the most famous localities 
 for them, furnished with every appliance, search and watch day 
 
THE CAMBEEWELL BEAUTY. 397 
 
 after day, and never even see a specimen. Then, just where 
 they are least expected, and when no means are at hand for 
 capturing them, they make their appearance — and generally 
 their escape — in a manner that is calculated to test the temper 
 severely. 
 
 In the present instance, the sudden appearance of such an 
 insect at his very feet was too much for the discoverer, and, 
 hat in hand, he dashed down the cutting after the Butterfly. 
 Of course, having taken him to the bottom, it ascended to the 
 top, and so on, giving him a chase of a quarter of an hour 
 perpetually up and down the cutting, and at last getting away 
 over a hedge, leaving its pm^suer breathless on the ground, and 
 his hat and clothes generally in a more than dishevelled state. 
 In his letter to me relating the circumstance, he says that if 
 anyone wants to take a Turkish bath, and is not within reach 
 of one, he recommends a chase of the Camberwell Beauty in a 
 deep railway cutting with very steep sides. 
 
 The colour of this magnificent insect is rich brown, shot with 
 deep purple. The wings are edged with a broad grey-white 
 band, just inside which is a row of blue spots. This is a very 
 plentiful insect in America and on the Continent, and speci- 
 mens are often taken from France and passed off as English. 
 They can, however, be detected by the colour of the white 
 band, which in genuine English specimens is grey-white, and 
 in foreign specimens yellow-white. 
 
 It is a very capricious insect in its appearance in this 
 country. Owing to the great and rapidly increasing number of 
 entomologists in this country, and the many periodicals which 
 are devoted to Natural History, scarcely a specimen of this 
 conspicuous Butterfly can be at large without being seen and 
 recorded. It seldom happens that a single specimen is thus 
 mentioned ; but, if one entomologist happens to be fortunate 
 enough to capture an Antiopa on Monday, several others are 
 nearly sure to be caught vdthin the week, and then no more 
 seem to make their appearance. I never had the good fortune 
 to see one of these Butterflies at liberty, and very much suspect 
 that I never shall. 
 
 On Woodcut XLI. Fig. 2, is seen a profile portrait of the 
 Comma Butterfly, scientifically termed G. album, or the 
 
398 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 White C. These names are given to the insect becaiise on the 
 under surface of the loWer wings there is a curved mark, very- 
 much like the letter C in shape, and of the purest white. 
 There is not the least difficulty in identifying this insect, even 
 without taking the trouble to inspect the under surface, for 
 both pairs of wings are so deeply scalloped that there is no 
 possibility of mistake. The upper surface of the wings is warm 
 red-brown, mottled with black, both the ground hue and the 
 markings being subject to considerable variation. 
 
 This is considered to be an inland species. In those places 
 which it frequents it is common enough. I have taken many 
 specimens in Bagley Wood, near Oxford, in the days when that 
 beautiful little wood was one of the finest insect preserves in 
 England. 
 
 The larva is known to feed on the elm, the hop, and the 
 cm-rant, and in the midland counties is said to be common in 
 the hop-growing districts. It is a thick spine-bearing larva, 
 grey in colour, mottled with chestnut, and having a white 
 stripe along part of its back. The perfect insect appears in 
 the beginning of autumn. 
 
 Next we come to the Gtreat Tortoiseshell ( Vanessa poly- 
 chloros), which is drawn on Plate XIII. Fig. 1. 
 
 This handsome insect is well named, as its rich mottlings of 
 black and warm chestnut-brown bear no small resemblance to 
 the colours of the tortoiseshell. In some parts of England 
 this species is tolerably common, while in others it is never 
 found. The first specimen that I ever took I saw in the 
 window of a grocer's shop at Oxford, one of the very last places 
 where one might have expected such a Butterfly to be found. 
 It was quite plentiful in Bagley Wood, ^here any number 
 could have been taken, and had evidently been blown into the 
 streets and then attracted by the sugar in the window. 
 
 It is common in Kent. Lieut.-Col. C. J. Cox, who has given 
 great attention to this insect, told me an anecdote of the mode 
 in which it deposits its eggs. He watched a female deposit an 
 egg or two on a leaf, and, wishing to rear the insect from the 
 egg, he cut off the branch and removed it. The Butterfly, 
 however, continued to fly up and down near the spot, and 
 refused to leave it, evidently searching for the leaf on which 
 
PLATE XIII. 
 BUTTERFLIES. 
 
 1. Vanessa polychloros. 
 
 2. Vanessa Atalanta. 
 
 3. Vanessa cardui. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Meadow Crane's Bill (Geranium pratense). Above, on Right. 
 Buttercup (Manunculus hulbosus). In Middle. 
 
THE TORTOISESHELL AND ATALANTA. 399 
 
 she had deposited her eggs. The branch was then restored to its 
 place in the tree, as nearly as could be done. The Butterfly at 
 once saw and recognised it, proceeded to the same leaf, and 
 deposited more eggs upon it. 
 
 The Small Toutoiseshell, or Common Tortoiseshell (Vor- 
 nessa urticce), is coloured much like the preceding insect, but 
 the hues are rather brighter, and the whole pattern of the 
 wings defined more clearly, and looking more compressed. It 
 is too familiar to need any detailed description. The cater- 
 pillar feeds on the common stinging-nettle, and may be found in 
 great numbers upon it, sometimes being so numerous as to 
 blacken it with the caterpillars clustering upon the leaves, 
 which are drawn together with the silken threads spun by the 
 larvce. The pupa is suspended by the tail, and is very angular. 
 Its colour is brown, mottled and spotted with black, and 
 having several patches of a brilliant gold, as if burnished gold 
 leaf had been laid upon it. This beautiful colouring has given 
 to the pupa the name of Chrysalis, this being a Grreek word, 
 signifying anything that is gilded. The golden hue is un- 
 fortunately very transient, and vanishes as soon as the Butterfly 
 has emerged from the pupal envelope. 
 
 . The splendid, and fortunately common, insect, the Eed 
 Admiral [Vaiussa atalanta), a figure of which is given on 
 Plate XIII. Fig. 2, comes next in order. This Butterfly can be 
 at once recognised by the broad scarlet band near the upper 
 wings and along the edge of the lower wings, a bold and con- 
 spicuous style of colouring possessed by no other British insect. 
 The ground-colour of the wings is velvet-black, diversified with 
 some large white spots on the tips of the upper pair of wings, 
 and an oval blue spot on the anal angle of the lower pair. It is 
 easy enough to describe the markings of the upper surface, but 
 those of the lower surface are almost beyond description. 
 Suffice it to say that the colour of the first pair is much like 
 that of the upper sirrface, only paler ; while the under surface 
 of the lower wings exhibits a most complicated mottling of 
 brown, grey, blue, green, ochre, and black, arranged in a 
 marvellously artistic manner, and forming a series of definite, 
 but complicated patterns. 
 
 If this beautiful Butterfly were only rare, it would be the 
 
400 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 admiration of all collectors. As it is plentiful, it is only 
 admired by those who value Nature for her own sake, and 
 not for the sake of mere rarity. Being one of the latter kind, I 
 have a most enthusiastic admiration for the Eed Admiral, and 
 am never tired of examining it in the cabinet, or watching it 
 as it flits at liberty in the open air, with the graceful flight 
 that has earned for the insect the name of Atalanta. 
 
 The larva of this Butterfly is a nettle-feeder, and is quite 
 common. It is not, however, so often seen as that of the 
 Tortoiseshell Butterfly, as it always feeds in concealment, 
 making a shelter by drawing together with silk the leaves of 
 the plant on which it feeds. 
 
 Even when it has ceased eating, and is about to pass into the 
 pupal state, it has the instinct of concealment strong upon it, 
 and ensures a convenient retreat by nibbling the stalk of the 
 nettle nearly asunder, some four or five inches from the top. 
 The severed portion, of com-se, falls over, and is spun up with 
 silk so as to leave a hollow cavity within which the caterpillar 
 can undergo its changes. The chrysalis, which may be found 
 at the end of summer, is suspended by its tail from the roof 
 of this habitation, and there hangs until the perfect insect 
 makes its escape. This chrysalis, like that of the preceding 
 insect, is adorned with brilliant golden patches on the sides, 
 and its general colour is warm grey, mottled with black. 
 
 Mr. Newman mentions that he has captured the Atalanta at 
 night, as it was feeding on the sugar which had been laid 
 out for the purpose of attracting moths. I am not aware that 
 any other Butterfly has been known to depart so greatly from 
 the usual day-flying habits of the group. As in the case with 
 other insects of the same genus, though the Butterflies are 
 developed in the autumn, the two sexes take no notice of each 
 other until the following year, but occupy themselves with 
 flitting about from flower to flower, and in sucking their 
 sweet juices. During the winter they hibernate, and at the 
 beginning of the following summer they seek their mates and 
 lay their eggs, from which the future brood is to proceed. 
 
 In consequence of this habit, those specimens which appear 
 at the beginning of summer are never in fine condition as to 
 their plumage, their wings being battered and faded during the 
 previous year. Those, however, which make their appearance 
 
THE PAINTED LADY. 401 
 
 in August, are in their full splendour, and, unless the collector 
 prefer rearing them from the caterpillar, he should select the 
 month of August as the time for the capture of specimens for 
 the cabinet. 
 
 Although it can fly rapidly when it chooses, it seldom 
 takes the trouble to do so, and appears, indeed, to be so en- 
 gaged in searching for and taking food that it may be 
 captured without the least difficulty. Eipe and fallen fruit is 
 always a great attraction for this Butterfly. One of the most 
 magnificent sights I ever saw was due to this predilection for 
 fruit. An egg-plum tree had been entirely neglected, and its 
 fruit permitted to ripen on the boughs and then fall to the 
 ground. A lot of insects took advantage of such an oppor- 
 tunity, and the tree and its vicinity swarmed with wasps, 
 ants, and other lovers of sweets. 
 
 But the most striking point was the host of Atalanta 
 Butterflies which surrounded the tree. They were approaching 
 in every direction ; the branches were crowded with them, 
 and the fallen fruit upon the ground was so covered with 
 them that neither fruit nor ground could be seen for the 
 Butterflies, as they waved their black and scarlet wings' gently 
 up and down. So completely occupied were they with their 
 rich banquet that they took no notice of me as I stood by 
 them, and even permitted me to pick them up with my fingers. 
 The sun was shining brightly on this wonderful assemblage, 
 and brought out the grandly contrasted colours until they 
 shone with tropical splendour. I never saw such a sight before, 
 and am not likely to see such a one again. 
 
 On Plate XIII. Fig. 3 is shown the pretty Butterfly called, 
 on account of the variegated colouring of the under surface, 
 the Painted Lady. Its scientific title is Vanessa cardui. 
 The shape and position of the markings can be seen by 
 reference to the illustration. The colour of tlie upper wings 
 is deep black. The five spots near the tip are pure white, 
 and the pale markings on the disc of the wings are warm 
 chestnut. There is a slight white scalloping along the edo-e of 
 the wing. The lower pair of wings are coloured in much the 
 same way, but the only white portion is the scalloped edging. 
 The bases of the wings are thickly covered with scales of a 
 
 D D 
 
402 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 golden lustre. I would here take the opportunity of advising 
 any of my readers who possess a microscope, to examine care- 
 fully the scales of every lepidopterous insect that they capture, 
 taking a few from both surfaces of the wings. If care be taken, 
 these lovely objects can be removed without damaging the 
 beauty of the wings. The under surface of the lower wings is 
 beautifully mottled with various shades of brown and yellow, 
 and near the edges are four rounded spots in a row, the two 
 exterior spots being twice as large as the others. Each of the 
 large spots is composed of a glittering green centre, surrounded 
 by warm brown. Eound the brown is a stripe of yellow, and 
 the whole is surrounded with a bold black line. The two 
 smaller spots have no black outline. 
 
 In its larval state, the Painted Lady feeds on the thistle 
 {Garduus arvensis), from which the insect derives its specific 
 name of Cardui. It prefers the young and tender leaves of 
 the plant, and draws their edges together, so as partially to 
 enclose itself in the leaf. When it changes into a pupa, it 
 suspends itself by the tail, and there remains until it emerges 
 in its perfect form, somewhere about August. 
 
 In its habits, the Painted Lady much resembles the pre- 
 ceding insects, becoming developed in the autumn of one year, 
 but not pairing until the spring of the next year. It is fond 
 of flitting about in search of honey-bearing flowers, and 
 especially frequents the teazle, on which flower the Red 
 Admiral, the Grreat Tortoiseshell, and the Peacock Butter- 
 fly often bear it company. I have taken all those insects 
 plentifully on teazles in Bagley Wood, near Oxford. 
 
 As in the case with other Butterflies, the Painted Lady is 
 wonderfully intermittent in its appearance, sometimes being 
 absent or extremely scarce for several years, and then appearing 
 in swarms for a year or two in succession. I well remember 
 the year in which I first saw this beautiful insect in any 
 number. I had in my cabinet one solitary, battered specimen, 
 the only one that I had ever seen since I had begun to collect. 
 One autumnal day 1 went to Bagley Wood, and near the road 
 saw a Painted Lady fly into a gravel-pit. I went after it at 
 best speed, jumped into the pit, and found it absolutely full of 
 Painted Ladies. The Butterflies had taken some strange fancy 
 to the place, and were flying through it almost in streams. 
 
THE PEACOCK AND PURPLE EMPEROR. 403 
 
 They were all in splendid condition, and in a very short time 
 I had captured a sufficient number to fill my box. 
 
 We must not complete our notice of this genus without a 
 brief mention of the beautiful Peacock Butterflt ( Vanessa 
 16), so conspicuous on account of the ' eyes ' or circular marks 
 on both pairs of wings. The under surface of the insect is 
 brown-black, mottled in a most curious but almost indescrib- 
 able manner. Whether the sombre colouring be intended for 
 defence I cannot say, but there is no doubt that the insect 
 often owes its life to the contrast between the upper and 
 under surface. When a Peacock Butterfly is chased, it has a 
 way of flying round a tree trunk, and settling on it, closing 
 its wings at the same time, and bringing them together over 
 its back. In this attitude it looks wonderfully like a dead 
 leaf, and the change from a large, active, beautifully-coloured 
 butterfly, to a thin, black, shrivelled leaf, is so great and so 
 rapid that scarcely any eye but that of an entomologist would 
 detect the insect. 
 
 The larva is one of the nettle-feeders, and is mostly very 
 common, in some places quite as plentiful as that of the Tor- 
 toiseshell, while in others it has to be searched for carefully 
 before it can be found. The general colour of the caterpillar 
 is black, and the body is covered with a great number of long- 
 spines, which may, perhaps, defend it from the poisonous spikes 
 of the plant on which it feeds. The chrysalis is green in 
 colour, brighter when the change is first made, and darker 
 when the future Butterfly is nearly developed. 
 
 On Woodcut XLII. Fig. 3, is shown one of our handsomest 
 Butterflies, the celebrated Purple Emperor, or Emperor of 
 Morocco {Ajpatura Iris). This genus differs from Vanessa in 
 having the club of the antennae long instead of knobbed, as is 
 shown at Fig. 6, and the club nearly straight. The eyes are 
 without hairs, the hind wings scalloped, and the first pair of 
 legs are not used for walking. At Fig. a is shown one of these 
 partially developed limbs. Those legs that are seen at Fig. 3 
 are the second pair, the first pair being tucked up under the 
 front of the thorax. Only one species inhabits England. 
 
 Tho?e of my readers who do not restrict their studies to 
 
 n D 2 
 
404 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 contemporary literature are doubtless familiar with 'Peter 
 Pindar's ' poem on Sir Joseph Banks and the ' Emperor of 
 Morocco,' certainly one of the best of his inimitable witticisms 
 at the expense of science. The present insect is the ' Emperor 
 of Morocco,' who led Sir Joseph such a chase, and left him at 
 last in the hands of an exasperated market-gardener. 
 
 XLII 
 
 1. Arge Galatltea. 2. Erebia blandina. 3. Apatnra Iris, 
 
 a. Apatnra, non-walking fore-leg. 6, Do., club of antenna. f. Do., larva. 
 
 Its popular name of Purple Emperor is a very appropriate 
 one, at least as far as regards the male insect. The ground 
 colour of the upper wings is brown-black in some lights, but in 
 others is a rich shining purple, this effect being produced by 
 the shape and arrangement of the scales, as can be seen by 
 examining a specimen under the microscope. The light- 
 coloured bands and spots are white, pure white in the male, 
 and yellowish-white in the female. Beneath, the general colour 
 is rust-red, blotched with black, grey, and here and there blue. 
 
CATCHING THE PUKPLE EMPEROR. 405 
 
 When I first began to collect the British Butterflies, the 
 Purple Emperor was considered one of the great prizes of 
 entomologists — hardly inferior, in fact, to the Great Copper, 
 which seems to have totally disappeared from the country. In 
 those days the Emperor was supposed to restrict himself to the 
 topmost branches of the oak-trees, and entomologists were 
 accustomed to supply themselves with nets furnished with long 
 handles made on the principle of the fishing-rod, the handle of 
 the net being at least thirty feet in length. It so happened 
 that I was engaged in getting together an illustrative series of 
 insects for the Anatomical Museum at Oxford, and happening 
 to possess a specimen of the Purple Emperor, I merged my 
 personal feelings in the public welfare, and presented to the 
 Museum my valued specimen. 
 
 There is a well-known saying to the effect that ' Virtue is 
 rewarded,' and so it turned out on this occasion. A very short 
 time after the personal sacrifice above-mentioned, a friend sent 
 me a couple of Purple Emperors, male and female, which he 
 had captured in Bagley Wood, while they were drinking in a 
 puddle. Since that time the habits of the insect have been 
 carefully studied, and the result has been that the Purple 
 Emperor has been rendered comparatively familiar. Beautiful 
 as it is, it has a strange liking for the most repulsive viands. 
 There is nothing it likes better than the juices of putrid 
 animal substances, and a dead dog or cat, which would drive 
 away any human being who possessed nostrils and was not an 
 entomologist, would attract the Purple Emperor to a rich 
 banquet. 
 
 Now-a-days entomologists who wish to catch the Purple 
 Emperor do not trouble themselves to procure nets with pre- 
 posterous handles — weapons with which I scarcely believe that 
 a successful stroke can be made. They now look out for a 
 secluded open space or glade in the wood, situated, if possible, 
 on wet soil, lay on the ground a piece of bullock's liver, a dead 
 rat or rabbit, or, in fact, any kind of animal substance, and go 
 away again. The best plan is to make a circle of half a mile 
 or so in diameter, and lay down the baits at distances of a few 
 hundred yards. 
 
 In two or three days, according to the weather, they come 
 back again, and steal quietly to the spot. Should the district 
 
406 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 be one that is favoured by this insect, very few of the baits will 
 be without a Purple Emperor either settling on it or being at 
 hand; and, like the Eed Admiral, when engaged in taking 
 food, the insect is so absorbed in its occupation that it can be 
 taken without the least difficulty. If the locality be well 
 selected, and the baits judiciously laid, it is very seldom that 
 the entomologist will complete his round without having the 
 opportunity of capturing this splendid Butterfly. So successful 
 is this method of capturing the Purple Emperor that one 
 entomologist succeeded in taking eighty specimens in nine 
 days. 
 
 The caterpillar or larva is a very odd-looking creature, and 
 is represented on Woodcut XLII. Fig. c. The most conspicuous 
 points in this curious larva are the two horns with which the 
 head is furnished. It feeds on the sallow, and, when partly 
 grown, assumes so nearly the colour of the leaf that a sharp eye 
 is needed to detect it. There are many markings and shades 
 of colour in the caterpillar which need no notice, the general 
 green hue and the horned head affording characteristics which 
 cannot be mistaken. The perfect insect appears somewhere in 
 July, the precise date depending much on .the weather. 
 
 Next comes the family of the Satyi'idse, in which the first 
 pair of legs are not used for walking, the club of the antenna 
 is bold and abrupt, and the wings are rounded. The larva has 
 no spines, and the pupa is nearly smooth. Our first example is the 
 ]\Iaiibled White [Arge Galathea), which is drawn on Woodcut 
 XLII. Fig. 1. The colours of this pretty insect are simply 
 black and yellowish white, the amount of yellow differing 
 according to the sex. The under surface is paler than the 
 upper. The first pair of wings have a small eye-like spot near 
 the tip, and on each of the second pair there are six similar 
 spots arranged in a row near the edge of the wing. The row is 
 not complete, there being a gap between the third and fourth 
 spots. The larva feeds on grass, and the pupa does not 
 suspend itself, nor indeed take any trouble in securing a 
 resting-place. The perfect insect appears in July, and is very 
 plentiful in many places, while in others it is scarcely ever 
 seen. The sea-coasts of Kent are favoured localities of this 
 Butterfly, especially the country near Dover, Folkestone, and 
 
THE 'BKOWN' butterflies. 407 
 
 Margate. Some years ago I took a great number of Marbled 
 Whites in a field near St. Margaret's Bay, and could have filled 
 a cabinet with them in a few hours. Sometimes this Butterfly 
 frequents a certain pasture field, which is a sure locality for it. 
 Then if the field be ploughed up, and devoted to corn or 
 clover, the Butterfly vanishes entirely from the neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 Another insect belonging to this family is given on Woodcut 
 XLII. Fig. 2. Its popular name is the Northern Brown 
 {Erebia blandina or Medea). The latter of these names is 
 the older in date, and although not so familiar as the former 
 name, has been restored by Mr. Newman on the score of 
 priority. 
 
 The colour of this Butterfly is deep blackish-brown, with an 
 indistinct broad band of rust-red running nearly parallel with 
 the hind margin of the wings. These bands are adorned with 
 black eye-like spots, with centres of pure white. The two first 
 spots of the upper wings are always united so as to form a 
 figure of 8. The under surface of this Butterfly is very pretty, 
 the colours being disposed in a very bold manner. The first 
 pair of wings are dark-brown, with a very broad yellowish band 
 in which are eye-like spots corresponding with those of the 
 iipper surface. The second jjair of wings are liable to much 
 variety, but may be generally described as grey with two broad 
 waved dark bands. Several little black spots with white centres 
 occupy the space between the bands. 
 
 This is not a common insect, inasmuch as it belongs more 
 especially to the northern portions of our island ; and, though it 
 is very plentiful in some parts of Scotland, is the rarest of the 
 rare in the southern counties. 
 
 There are several other well-known Butterflies belonging to 
 this family, but our space will not permit of description. Such, for 
 example, are the Speckled Wood Butterfly {Satyrus Egeria), 
 the Wall Butterfly {Satyrus Megcera\ the Gtratling {Satyrus 
 Semele), the Meadow-Brown {Satynis Janira), and the Einglet 
 {Satyrus Hyperanthus), the last-mentioned insect being re- 
 markable for the fact that the upper surface of the wings is 
 perfectly plain bro^vn, while the under surface is warm brown 
 adorned with sixteen spots, each spot having a white centre, 
 
408 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 then a broad black circle, and then an outer circle of white. 
 It is an extremely variable Butterfly, both in the size and 
 number of the spots ; but ninety-nine specimens out of a 
 hundred have the sixteen spots, three on each of the upper 
 wings and five on each of the lower wings, the latter being 
 arranged in two groups consisting of three and two spots. All 
 these Butterflies are plentiful, and can be caught without 
 difficulty in lanes or fields, their flight being sluggish, and 
 never rising much above the ground. 
 
 We now pass to the family of the Lycaenidse, in \Vhich are 
 included those small, but very lovely Butterflies which are 
 known by the popular name of Blues and Coppers, in allusion 
 to the prevalent tints of their wings. The latter insects are 
 seldom seen except by those who go to look for them, but the 
 former are prevalent everywhere, fluttering low over wide 
 downs, settling on wild flowers, or aiding in adorning our 
 gardens with their beautifully variegated wings. I well re- 
 collect that one of the chief pleasures of my childhood was to 
 watch for the appearance of the Blue Butterflies in our garden 
 at Oxford, a locality for which some of the species had a sj)ecial 
 predilection. 
 
 They might well frequent that garden, for I never killed but 
 one of them, and that was for the purpose of examining the 
 spots on the under surface by the aid of a small pocket 
 microscope — to which instrument I owe much of my attach- 
 ment to Natural History. Children have strange ideas in their 
 little heads, and in my own brain as a child was a deeply 
 rooted conviction of some affinity between the Blue Butterflies 
 and the flower of the sweet-pea. I have plenty of children of 
 my own now, but I can never see a Blue Butterfly without 
 thinking of a clump of sweet-peas, an old garden wall, a snow- 
 berry bush, and a lattice-sided summer-house, covered with 
 vine-leaves and grape-clusters. Neither wall, bush, summer- 
 house, nor vine has now an outward existence, but they are as 
 vividly present to my memory whenever I see a Blue Butterfly 
 as they were when I was a child of six years old. 
 
 On Woodcut XLIII. Figs. 1 and 2, is shown the rarest, 
 even if not the most beautiful, of these Butterflies, the 
 
THE GREAT COPPER BUTTERFLY. 
 
 409 
 
 celebrated Great Copper Butterfly (Polyommatus or Chry- 
 sophanus dispar). 
 
 The two sexes of this insect are very differently coloured. 
 The male is fiery copper above, with a little blackish spot and a 
 black hind margin to the upper wings. The lower wings are 
 also edged with black, and have a slight streak in the middle. 
 
 XLllE 
 
 c. Do., antenna. d. Do., palpus. 
 
 The female has the upper wings marked with a broad black 
 edoe and a number of black spots, as shown in the illustration. 
 He" under wings are brown, edged and spotted with black, and 
 have a copper band parallel with the hind margin. Beneath, 
 both sexes are alike, the upper wings being orange, diversified 
 with a number of deep black spots, most of which are sur- 
 rounded with a grey line. The under wings are grey, with an 
 
410 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 t 
 orange band corresponding with the copper band of the other 
 
 side, and a number of grey-edged black spots. 
 
 Fig. 1 represents the female, and Fig. 2 the male. 
 
 The larva is a sluggish and slug-like creature, feeding on the 
 great water dock {RuTnex hydrolapathuTn), which only grows 
 in wet places. It moves very slowly, and, as the colour almost 
 exactly resembles that of the leaf on which it feeds, it is not 
 easily seen. This caterpillar is shown at Fig. a, and the pupa 
 at Fig. b. Fig. c represents one of the antennae, Fig. d, the 
 palpus. 
 
 As far as England goes, this handsome Butterfly is now 
 extinct. In former years it was tolerably plentiful in the fens 
 of Cambridge and Huntingdon, but no specimens have been 
 seen for many years, and, in all probability, the last British 
 specimens were taken in 1848. 
 
 A GOOD example of the Blue Butterflies is given on Wood- 
 cut XLIII. Fig. 3. This is the Clifden Blue {Polyoramatus 
 Adonis'). 
 
 The colour of this pretty species is bright shining blue, 
 with a delicate white line on the costal margin of the fore- 
 wings, and a black line on the hind margin. The fringe of the 
 wing is pure white, with a black spot at the end of each 
 nervure. The female is brown on the upper surface, with a 
 slight gloss of blue, and on the fore-wings is an indistinct 
 blackish spot on the disc, and a number of small spots parallel 
 with the hind margin. Both sexes have the under-side of the 
 wings brownish, with a number of little spots. This Butterfly 
 is found on chalk downs and similar places, but seems to be 
 restricted to those spots where there is a substratum of 
 chalk. 
 
 Passing of necessity by the rest of the Blues and the little 
 Butterflies called by the name of Hair-streaks, we come to 
 the family of Hesperidse, popularly known by the name of 
 Skippers, probably on account of their quick, uncertain flight. 
 They are all small insects, coloured with brown, black, grey, 
 and white, and very thickly and clumsily made, so that many 
 persons unskilled in entomology take them for moths. They 
 have the fore-legs fitted for walking, and when at rest they 
 
THE SKIPPERS. 411 
 
 hold their wings only partially erect, and never pressed closely 
 together, as is the case with the previously-mentioned Butter- 
 flies. They are plentiful in country lanes, and are often 
 taken in the net when the stroke is made at other insects, 
 their vague and almost jerking flight carrying them into it. 
 
 The pupae of these insects resemble those of several moths 
 in the manner in which they are protected during their help- 
 less state of existence. When the larva is full-fed, it spins a 
 cocoon among the leaves of its food-plant, and in that silken 
 cell awaits its change into the perfect condition. 
 
 The species which is represented on Woodcut XLIII. Fig. 4, 
 is the Chequered Skipper {Eesperia paniscus). The colour 
 of its wings is dark brown, upon which are a number of yellow 
 spots, arranged as shown in the illustration. The antenna are 
 bright yellow beneath, and banded with black and yellow above. 
 It is rather a local species, and is found chiefly in the Midland 
 comities. It appears in the beginning of summer. 
 
 A MOKE common species, the Gtkizzled Skipper {Hesperia 
 malvce or alveolus) is shown on Woodcut XLIII. Fig 5. The 
 wings are nearly black, sprinkled with white spots, as shown in 
 the illustration. The antennse are white, ringed with black. 
 There are, however, several varieties of colouring, one of which 
 is so constant that the insects have been considered to form a 
 different species, under the name of Scarce Grrizzled Skipper. 
 
 The larva of this species feeds on the common bramble, and 
 draws together the edges of the leaves, so as to form a tem- 
 poraiy habitation. Its colour is brownish green, with a few 
 dark stripes, and the pupa is greyish white, spotted with black. 
 The perfect insect appears at the beginning of summer. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 BETEROCERA, OR MOTHS. 
 
 THE NOCTURNI, INCLUDING THE SPHINGES AND BOMBYCES OF LINN^US. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that there is no difficulty in 
 distinguishing English butterflies from English Moths. Simi- 
 larly, there is none in distinguishing English Moths from Eng- 
 lish butterflies. 
 
 In the first place, the antennae of these insects are not 
 knobbed at the end, but pointed. Some of them have the 
 ends of the antennae much enlarged, as may be seen by 
 reference to the Moths on Plate XIV. and Woodcut XLIV. In 
 all these, however, the club of the antenna is elongated, and 
 the end is pointed. Moreover, whereas in the butterfly the 
 shaft of the antenna is straight and simple, in many of the 
 Moths it is cui-ved, and in others is adorned with a feathering, 
 sometimes on one side and often on both. For this reason the 
 scientific name of Heterocera, or ' Varied horns,' has been 
 given to these insects, just as Ehopalocera, or ' Clubbed horns' 
 is given to the butterflies. 
 
 Then, the wings of a Moth at rest are not pressed to- 
 gether over the back, like those of the butterflies, but either 
 lie flat on the body or along its sides. The body, moreover, 
 has no waist like that of the butterfly. Keeping these few and 
 obvious distinctions in his mind, the young entomologist need 
 never hesitate to decide to which great group any lepidopterous 
 insect belongs. 
 
 The first family is that of the Sphingidae or Sphinx-Moths. 
 They derive their name, not from any peculiarity in the Moths 
 themselves, but in their larvae, some of which are thought to 
 bear in their attitude a fanciful resemblance to the well- 
 
death's head moth. 413 
 
 known Sphinx of Egypt. The Moths themselves are popularly 
 and appropriately called Hawk-Moths, on account of the great 
 swiftness of their flight, which very much resembles that of 
 the hawk tribe. Their whole structure, indeed, shows that 
 they are made for rapid flight, and, if we compare them with 
 the swift-flying birds, especially the swallows and the humming- 
 birds, we shall find that the outlines of Moths and birds are 
 wonderfully similar. Their bodies are of moderate length, 
 and pointed at the tail, and their wings are long, strong, stiff, 
 narrow, and pointed. In fact, if the shadow of a humming- 
 bird and of a Hawk Moth were thrown side by side on the 
 same surface^ it would not be easy to tell which was the 
 shadow of the bird and which of the insect. 
 
 With a very few exceptions, these Moths fly only at night or 
 in the dusk of the evening, so that to watch their flight is not 
 an easy matter. The best plan is, on some moonlight night, 
 to take a stand near some honey-bearing flowers, to remain 
 perfectly still, and watch quietly. Should there be Hawk- 
 Moths in the neighbom-hood, some of them are tolerably sure 
 to come to the flowers, and to feed in their own peculiar 
 manner, by poising themselves in mid-air on their rapidly 
 quivering wings, and thrusting their sucking-tubes or trunks 
 into the recesses of the flower. As these Moths will not fly by 
 day, and as the partial darkness prevents their movements from 
 being seen, it is better to look out for the well-known 
 Humming-bird Hawk-]\loth, which does fly by day, and is a 
 very bold insect, allowing itself to be approached quite closely. 
 
 Our first example of the Hawk-Moths is the magnificent 
 Death's Head ]MoTir (Acherontia Atropos), a figure of which is 
 given on Plate XIV. Fig. 1. 
 
 This splendid creature ranks among the very largest of our 
 insects, inasmuch as the spread of its wings is very consider- 
 able, and the body is thick and heavily made. The upper 
 surface of the fore wings is warm-brown, with bands and 
 mottlings of a darker hue, and a little white spot on the disc. 
 The hind wings are yellow, with two black bands. The 
 thorax is densely covered with a soft velvet-like down, feeling 
 to the touch very much like the fur of the mole. The colour 
 ifi a very deep black-brown, and in the middle is a yellow 
 
414 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 mark which bears the most startling resemblance to a skull 
 and the two collar bones. The hair is so long that the shape 
 of the skull can be altered by pressure. The body is yellow, 
 wi:h a longitudinal black stripe along the middle, and six 
 black transverse bands, each marking the edge of a segment. 
 Beneath, the body and wings are yellow, with an indistinct 
 dark band across the middle of each wing and a slightly 
 darkened edging. The antennae are very thick, covered with 
 down, and furnished at the tips with a sharp hook. 
 
 In fact, the chief characteristic of this insect is hair, with 
 which the body, thorax, head, antennae, and legs are thickly 
 covered, even the wings have a soft, downy aspect, which is 
 due to the structure of the scales. If some of these scales be 
 detached, and examined by means of a microscope, they will 
 be seen to be very large, and increasing in width from the base 
 to the tip, which is modified into four or five long points. 
 
 The larva of this Moth is of enormous size, as may be seen 
 by reference to Plate XIV. Fig. 2. in which the larva is drawn 
 of its natural size. It is a very handsome caterpillar, and 
 exceedingly variable in tint, the general colour varying 
 through different shades of yellow, green, and grey. The 
 whole surface is covered with very tiny black dots, and on 
 each side are seven diagonal blue or purple stripes, edged with 
 white. Near the end of the tail is a curious horn-like ap- 
 pendage, curved downwards and then slightly recurved upwards 
 near the point. The horn, contrary to the usual fashion of such 
 horns, is very rough and covered with tubercles. 
 
 It feeds on various plants, of which the jessamine and the 
 potato are the favourites, though it may be found in the 
 snowberry, the tea-tree, and the deadly nightshade, this plant 
 being allied to the potato. This caterpillar is invariably 
 called a locust by the country people. As both the caterpillar 
 and Moth are nocturnal feeders, although the country be 
 covered with potato-fields, and the insect be quite plentiful, it 
 will be seen as seldom as if it were one of the rarest of species. 
 In the neighbourhood of my house there are several large 
 potato-fields, and I often have these splendid Moths brought 
 to me, so that I have been enabled to supply my friends with 
 specimens, and to watch their ways when in confinement. 
 
 One of the most remarkable points in connection with this 
 
CRY OF THE DEATH'S HEAD MOTH. 415 
 
 insect is its capability of producing sounds — a capability which 
 is scarcely less striking than the skull depicted upon its 
 thorax. If seized, or alarmed in any way, it produces — for I 
 cannot say utters — a sharp squeaking sound, something like 
 the cry of a mouse. It was always easy to make my Death's 
 Head Moths squeak, nothing more being required than to 
 introduce a little stick under the glass shade which covered 
 them, and to press one of their feet. The aggrieved Moth 
 would then crouch as low as possible, and, with a sort of shiver 
 or tremble of the whole body, out came the squeak. 
 
 Although this sound is familiar to entomologists, no one has 
 yet discovered its source. Some have thought that it is caused 
 by the rubbing of the head against the thorax, some by the 
 attrition of the antennse and trimk, and some by the friction of 
 the thorax against the abdomen. These theories are, however, 
 neutralised by the fact that not only can the perfect insect 
 produce the squeak, but that the caterpillar can do so, which 
 possesses neither trunk nor antennse, and has no distinctive 
 head, thorax, or abdomen. 
 
 It is a remarkable point that agricultural labourers, who 
 have the very best opportunities of ascertaining the habits of 
 living beings, scarcely ever do so, and when they do are 
 invariably afraid of them. The ominous-looking mark on the 
 thorax has always caused the insect to be looked on with dread, 
 not only in this country but on the Continent generally, in the 
 southern parts of which it is very plentiful. The power of 
 producing a sound is another cause of fear, and I have else- 
 where narrated an amusing incident, where a whole circle of 
 village people were standing around a Death's Head Moth that 
 had by some mischance got into the churchyard. Not one of 
 them dared touch it, and at last it was killed by the village 
 blacksmith, who courageously took a long jump and came down 
 on the unfortunate Moth with his iron-shod boots. 
 
 In this country it certainly does no harm, but in Southern 
 Europe it is said to enter bee-hives and lick the honey from 
 the cells. 
 
 Owing to the vast quantity of hair with which the body is 
 covered it is of some consequence to secure specimens that are 
 not damaged by being rubbed, as is generally the case with 
 those that are captured by hand. The best mode of obtaining 
 
416 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 really perfect specimens is to rear them from the caterpillar. 
 Labourers are not mucli afraid of the caterpillar, though they 
 are of the perfect insect, and the easiest mode of obtaining 
 both the larva and the pupa is to go to a potato-field in which 
 the labourers are at work, and offer a small sum for uninjured 
 ' locusts ' and ' ground-grubs.' 
 
 It will be as well to take a pupa in order to show them the 
 exact object that is wanted. Drawings, however faithful, are, I 
 find, utterly useless, the uneducated eye being absolutely unable 
 to comprehend them. Some time ago, wanting a few living- 
 specimens of the Flour Beetle ( Tenebrio 7nolitor\ described on 
 page 146, 1 made some careful coloured drawings of the insect, 
 took them to different bakers, and asked them to procure some 
 specimens. I do not know whether baking is a business that 
 affects the human intellect or the human eye, but in every case 
 the bakers brought me a paper bag full of cockroaches. And 
 even when the different size, colour, and shape of the two 
 insects was pointed out, the bakers in question could not be 
 made to understand but that one insect ' would do ' as well as 
 another. 
 
 The caterpillars of the Death's Head Moth being obtained, 
 and a continual supply of fresh potato-leaves ensured, they 
 should be kept as much as possible in the dark. When they 
 are full-fed they should be placed on light soft earth, into 
 which they will burrow, and undergo their transformations 
 underground. It is as well to plant in the soil a few sticks up 
 which the Moth can climb when it emerges, and t<3 which it 
 can cling while it dries its wings. Care must be taken to keep 
 the earth moderately moist, placing damp but not wet moss 
 upon it. Unless this precaution be taken, the outer skin of 
 the pupa will become so hard that the insect will not be able 
 to make its way out when it is fully developed. I have lost 
 several Moths in this way, and have had one or two in a very 
 maimed and imperfect condition, their wings being quite 
 shrivelled, and scarcely one-sixth their proper size. 
 
 Against this evil the Moth-breeder can easily guard, but 
 there is one against which he is powerless, and that is the 
 presence of the ichneumon-fly, which has been described on 
 page 322. It is impossible to obviate or ameliorate this 
 danger, for. even if there were any indications of the parasite's 
 
SPUKGE HAWK-MOTH. 417 
 
 presence, it could not be extracted without killing the cater- 
 pillar. Supposing, however, that the Moth has successfully 
 made its exit from the pupal shell, and has shaken out its 
 wings to the fullest extent, it can be killed by placing it under 
 a glass, and introducing into the same some bruised young 
 laurel-leaves. I find that the most effectual mode of employing 
 the laurel is to take a dozen small leaves, wrap them in muslin, 
 roll them up tightly, and, with two or three blows of a mallet, 
 crush them. The folded muslin can then be slipped under the 
 glass, and in a very short time the JNIoth quietly expires, s\j 
 that an absolutely perfect and bright specimen is obtained. 
 
 "When the insect is quite dead the abdomen should be care- 
 fully severed from the body, and the whole of the contents 
 removed by enlarging the little opening which will then be left 
 at its base. The empty abdomen should then be stuffed with 
 cotton wool, care being taken to make it full large in order to 
 allow for shrinking, and when it is dry it may be joined to the 
 thorax without leaving the least trace of the junction. It will be 
 as well to pour a few drops of benzole into the abdomen and 
 also into the thorax, as this precaution will keep off the mites 
 and other creatures that work destruction among dried insects. 
 All large-bodied Moths should be thus treated, and some of 
 them can scarcely be preserved from the unsightly ' grease,' so 
 hated by entomologists, without this useful substance. 
 
 For the purpose of rearing the Moth from the larva, the 
 latter should be obtained about August, as it will then be 
 nearly full-fed, and save a vast amount of trouble in procuring 
 a supply of food. The pupae themselves may be found under 
 the soil somewhere about September. 
 
 On Woodcut XLIV. Fig. 3, may be seen a figure of the 
 pretty and rare Spurge Hawk-Moth {Deilephila euphorbice). 
 The colour of the upper wings of this insect is grey, with two 
 large olive-brown spots and a diagonal band of the same colour. 
 The lower wings are pink, with a large black patch near the 
 base, a black band nearly parallel with the margin, and a white 
 spot at the anal angle. 
 
 Specimens of these Moths have been bred from the cater- 
 pillar, but I believe that none have been captured with the 
 net, so that of the many specimens which are found in private 
 
 £ £ 
 
418 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 collections nearly all are impostors, having been brought from 
 the Continent, and then sold as genuine British specimens. 
 The professional collectors, who make a living by the sale of 
 insects, are terribly addicted to this trick, and although several 
 of them are good practical naturalists, and have done service to 
 science by discovering the haunts of sundry rare insects, the 
 generality have no more conscience than dog-dealers or pigeon- 
 
 ZLIV 
 
 1. Anthrocera filipendula;. 
 a. Eeilephila, larva. 
 
 2. Sesia apiformis. 
 b. Anthrocera, larva. 
 
 3. Deilephila euphorbias. 
 c. Do., cocoon. 
 
 fanciers, and will invent a history for any insect so that they 
 get a good price for it. 
 
 The larva of this Moth is shown at Fig. a of the same 
 Woodcut, and will serve as a good example of the usual form 
 among Hawk-Moth caterpillars, one of the most conspicuous 
 characteristics being the sharply pointed horn at the end of its 
 body. The use of this horn is exceedingly problematical. That 
 it must serve some purpose is evident, but what that purpose ' 
 
EYED HAWK-MOTH. 419 
 
 may be is still a question. There are many parts in many 
 animals which seem to serve no purpose, and are evidently the 
 rudiments of some organ which has not been developed. This 
 horn, however, is clearly not within this category, as it is far 
 too large and conspicuous not to be of real importance. At 
 first sight it looks as if it were a weapon, but in tlie first place, 
 a caterpillar needs no weapon, and in the second case, the horn 
 is incapable of being used as a weapon. Take any Hawk-Moth 
 caterpillar, and if roughly handled it will twist itself about in 
 its efforts to escape, but it will not even attempt to pierce the 
 hand with its horn. And, even if it did wish to do so, the 
 position of the horn is about tlie worst that could be selected 
 for the purpose. There is no doubt that the formidable-looking 
 horn does deter ignorant people from touching the caterpillar, 
 but I cannot believe that so conspicuous an appendage was 
 given to the larva for so limited a purpose. 
 
 All the caterpillars of the Hawk-Moths are prettily coloured, 
 while in some of them the hues may almost be termed brilliant. 
 In the present species the general colour is black, relieved by a 
 vast number of tiny white dots. The head is red, and a red 
 streak runs along the back from the head to the horn, the basal 
 part of which is red, the tip being black. The large spots' 
 which are seen on the larva are whitish-grey, and beneath them 
 are smaller spots of the same red as that of the head. 
 
 Owing to our limited space, we can but casually glance at 
 some other British Hawk -Moths. There is, for example, the 
 Eyed Hawk-Moth [Smerinthus ocellatus), so conspicuous by 
 the large eyelike spots in the middle of the lower wings, and 
 the beautiful pink-brown of the upper wings. The larva of 
 this Moth has a very rough skin, is pale-green in colour, 
 speckled with white, and has seven diagonal stripes on each 
 side of the body. The horn is blue. 
 
 Then there is the less conspicuous, but really beautiful. 
 Poplar Hawk-Moth {Smerinthus populi), so common in the 
 summer, clinging to the bark of trees, to rough posts, and 
 other objects which somewhat resemble it in general colour. 
 It may be known by the mottled brown of the upper wings, 
 with a white spot in the middle, and the warm chestnut at the 
 base of the lower wings. The caterpillar is rough, like that of 
 
420 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the last-mentioned species, and is green sprinkled with yellow, 
 and has seven diagonal yellow stripes on each side. The horn is 
 yellow above and orange beneath. This caterpillar is plentiful, 
 and can be beaten out of the boughs of the Lombardy poplar. 
 
 This, by the way, is a simple and very effective plan of 
 securing larvae, not to mention perfect insects. Nothing more 
 is wanted than an umbrella and a long stick. The umbrella is 
 opened, reversed, and held under the boughs. A smart tap 
 with the stick is sure to dislodge the caterpillars, and send 
 them tumbling into the umbrella, whence they can be transferred 
 to the collecting-box. If bough-beating is to be carried out 
 on a large scale, it is as well to have a sheet held under the 
 branches, and then to ascend the tree, and tap every bough 
 that can be reached. In fact, the poplar can scarcely be 
 treated in any other manner. The umbrella, however, is 
 sufficient for ordinary purposes. 
 
 As to the collecting-box which has just been mentioned, I 
 had one which I found extremely useful. It was oval, boldly 
 domed above, and from the middle of the lid projected a tube 
 an inch in height, and three-quarters of an inch in diameter. 
 This was closed with a cork, and through it the caterpillars 
 were introduced into the box. Unless some such plan be 
 adopted, the collector is horribly worried by the caterpillars. 
 There is no difficulty about the first two or three, but when a 
 dozen or more large caterpillars are in the box, it is no easy 
 matter to put in one without three or four pushing their way 
 out, so as to run the risk of being squeezed to death when the 
 lid is closed. By employing the tube and cork, however, no 
 such risk is run, and the box can be quite filled with cater- 
 pillars without one even attempting to escape. Some collectors 
 suspend the box over their shoulders, but I always kept it in a 
 pocket, merely fastening it by a string to a buttonhole of the 
 coat, so as to guard against its loss by falling out of the 
 pocket. A few small holes should be bored in the lid for the 
 admission of air. As far as regards size, they should not be 
 larger than pin-holes, and, as far as regards number, six or 
 eight are quite enough. 
 
 On lime and elm trees may be found the larva of the Lime 
 Hawk-Moth {Smerinthus tilun). This is easily known by the 
 
LIME AND PRIVET MOTHS. 421 
 
 very deep scalloping of the fore-wings and the prevalence of 
 olive-green in its colouring. There is some variation in the 
 arrangement of the markings, but the present species is the 
 only one in which the deep olive-green is the leading colour, 
 without any admixture of chestnut or pink. The attitude of 
 the Aloth at rest is a very curious one, the under wings being 
 completely concealed beneath the upper pair, the scalloped 
 edges of which, and their mottled surface, have the most 
 astonishing resemblance to a pair of withered leaves. 
 
 The larva is pale green, and covered with very small tubercles, 
 each being topped with yellow. Along the sides are seven 
 diagonal stripes of yellow, which are mostly edged with pink. 
 The horn is blue above and yellow beneath. In most parts of 
 England this is a very plentiful insect, and can be either bred or 
 captured without the least difficulty. In my collection, by far 
 the greater number were bred from the caterpillar, and most of 
 them from the full-fed larva, which was captured as it was de- 
 scending the trunks of trees in search of loose soil in which to 
 bury itself: I have bred considerable numbers of this insect, 
 and have found no difficulty in rearing them— less difficulty,' 
 in fact, than I have experienced with any Hawk-Moth, except,' ' 
 perhaps, the Privet Moth, respecting which a few words must 
 presently be said. 
 
 Passing by the Convolvulus Hawk-Moth {Sphinx convol- 
 vuh\ we may pause for a while upon the well-known Peivet 
 Moth {Sphinx ligustri), so called in honour of the plant on 
 which the larva feeds. 
 
 This fine Moth is really one of the commonest of British 
 msects, although seldom seen on account of its nocturnal habits 
 and the limited amount of the plant on which it mostly feeds 
 The Moth itself is a very handsome one, with a wide expanse of 
 wmgs, very prettily coloured. The upper wings are very warm 
 brown, mottled and clouded with dark brown ; and the lower 
 wmgs are pink, crossed by three nearly horizontal black bands 
 The body is pink, banded and striped with black. The caterpillar 
 is a peculiarly handsome one. It is smooth and green, and has 
 on each side seven diagonal stripes, the upper part of each stripe 
 being violet, merging rapidly into white towards the under side 
 These caterpillars feed on the common privet, and may 
 
422 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 almost always be found in profusion where that plant is 
 present. The best plan for ascertaining the presence or 
 absence of this larva, is to examine the ground beneath the 
 plant. If there be some tiny, oblong bundles of masticated 
 leaves, there is no doubt about the matter, and all that is 
 recjuired is a fair amount of perseverance. 
 
 In consequence of the large size of this larva, it has always 
 been rather a pet among entomologists, especially after New- 
 port's splendid dissections. The horn is rather in the way 
 when the caterpillar is laid on its back for dissection, but the 
 various organs are well defined, and give little trouble to the 
 dissector who undertakes the task of tracing the development 
 of each organ, from the larval to the perfect state. 
 
 Another of the Hawk-Moths which deserves a passing notice 
 is the Elephant Hawk-Moth (Chcerocampa Elpenor). This 
 species is smaller than those which have been described, and is 
 a very pretty insect. The upper wings are brown-green, shaded 
 diagonally with pink, and the lower wings are pink, with black 
 bases. The thorax and body are coloured like the upper 
 wings, their ground hue is brown with a green gloss, and there 
 are four longitudinal pink stripes upon the thorax, while the 
 sides of the abdomen are pink, and a stripe of the same colour 
 runs down the centre. 
 
 The name of Elephant Moth which is given to it is due, not 
 to the perfect insect, but to the larva, which possesses the 
 power of elongating or contracting the three first segments of 
 the body in a manner which is fancifully thought to resemble 
 the proboscis of the elephant. The generic title of Ghcero- 
 campa, or swine-caterpillar, is given to this and other Moths 
 on account of this structure of the larva. On either side of the 
 fourth and fifth segment is a large, black, eye-like mark, which 
 many persons really think to be the eyes of the caterpillar. 
 This larva feeds chiefly on the common willow-herb, and may 
 be found in August. The perfect insect makes its appearance 
 in June. 
 
 We now come to a very common and interesting insect, well 
 known by the popular and appropriate name of Humming-bird 
 Moth {Macroglossa stellataruTn), a figure of which is given on 
 Plate XIV. Fig. 3. 
 
PLATE XIV. 
 HAWK MOTHS. 
 
 1. Acherontia atropos. 
 
 2. Acherontia larva. 
 
 8. Macroglossa stellatarum. 
 4. Macroglossa fuciformis. 
 
 Plaux: — 
 Potato. 
 
THE HUMMING-BIRD HAWK-MOTH. 423 
 
 The colours of this insect are anything but brilliant or con- 
 spicuous, and yet it is a very pretty Moth. The upper wings 
 are brown, with a few slight black mottlings, and the lower • 
 wings are warm chrome yellow, with a narrow edging of black. 
 Beneath, it is coloured much like the lower wings, but the hue 
 is duller. The thorax and abdomen are of the same colour as 
 the upper wings, but the latter has some black and white spots 
 along the sides, which are covered with tufts of black and white 
 hair, which are spread during flight. There is a tuft of black 
 hair at the end of the abdomen. 
 
 The caterpillar feeds chiefly on the Bedstraw (Galium), and, 
 but for the characteristic horn at the end of the body, would 
 scarcely be taken for the larva of a Hawk-Moth. Its colour 
 is greenish brown, sometimes taking a pink tinge, and there 
 are two lines along the sides, one pink and white, which reaches 
 to the base of the horn, and the other dull brown, beneath the 
 lighter line. 
 
 In some places, the Humming-bird Hawk-Moth is exceed- 
 ingly plentiful, while in others it is quite rare. In Kent, it 
 absolutely swarms in some seasons, but in others only a few 
 are seen. This variability probably depends much on the 
 weather. Last year (1870), when we had a continuance of hot 
 weather in the summer, the Humming-.bird Moth appeared in 
 multitudes ; whereas, in the corresponding part of the present 
 year (1871) the Moths have been comparatively few and far 
 between. 
 
 Sombre as is the colouring of this insect, I really do not 
 know any Moth which is more interesting to the spectator. 
 Fortunately, it flies by day, and, like the lovely bird whose 
 flight it imitates, revels in the hottest sunshine. If, on a hot 
 summer day, the observer will take his stand by a jessamine or 
 other honey-bearing flower, and will quietly wait there, he will 
 assuredly see a Humming-bird Moth before long, should the 
 locality be one which is frequented by this insect. Suddenly, 
 as he is watching a flower, his eyes see a kind of shadowy 
 form flitting in front of the flowers, and his ears are greeted by 
 the hum which accompanies the flight of the Moth. Let him 
 but lift a hand, and the creature is gone — how, or where, it is 
 impossible to say, so amazingly swift is the darting flight. 
 
 Still, though it be gone, it will come back again if no move- 
 
424 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ment be made, and, in the same mysterious manner, the Moth 
 is again hovering in front of the flowers. Presently, it selects 
 one of them, and, poising itself within an inch or so of the 
 blossom, its body becomes visible, while its rapidly vibrating 
 wings look like two grey patches of mist on the sides of the 
 motionless body. Presently, a wonderfully long and slender 
 tongue is tlirust froba the head, plunged deeply into the re- 
 cesses of the flower, and, thus suspended in mid-air, the insect 
 takes its sweet repast. It is a very remarkable fact that the 
 Humming-birds themselves feed in precisely the same manner- 
 
 Indeed, the whole bearing of this insect, including the ecund 
 made by its wings, so closely resembles that of the bird, that 
 many persons who have lived in those parts of the world which 
 are favoured by the presence of the Humming-birds, have been 
 so completely deceived by the Moth that they have written 
 letters to newspapers and scientific journals, asserting that 
 humming-birds have at last made their way even to England. 
 There is no better proof of the wonderful resemblance between 
 the bird and the moth than that persons who have been long 
 familiar with the former should mistake the latter for it, and 
 should, moreover, be filled with indignation when practical 
 entomologists ventured to assert that the creature in question 
 was a moth, and not a bird. 
 
 The boldness of this JMoth is as remarkable as its wariness. 
 It really seems to place such confidence in its magnificent 
 powers of flight that it despises danger. Let a Humming-bird 
 Moth take a fancy to a particular flower, and it will be almost 
 impossible to keep it from that flower. Time after time it may 
 be driven away, for, as I have already mentioned, even the 
 lifting of a hand will startle it. But it continually returns to 
 the same flower, and, sooner or later, takes its fill of the sweet 
 juices. There is scarcely a year wherein this Moth does not 
 find a place in the newspapers under some title or other, some 
 of them not a little ludicrous. Eesidents in the East Indies 
 may well be pardoned for thinking the Moth to be a veritable 
 humming-bird, but it is not so easy to see why so many persons 
 should assert that it is the locust of Scripture, should mention 
 it under that name to the daily journals, and should answer 
 with contumelious epithets the letters of entomologists who 
 
THE BEE HAWK-MOTHS. 425 
 
 tell til em that locusts and moths are not exactly the same 
 insects. 
 
 The enormously long proboscis or tongue, with which it ex- 
 tracts the liquid sweets from the flowers,, has obtained for the 
 genxis to which this and a few other insects belong, the name 
 of Macroglossa^ or Long-tongue. 
 
 t 
 
 The next insect on our list is the Narrow-Bordered Bee 
 Hawk-Moth [Macroglossa hoinhyliformis). 
 
 According to Mr. Newman, this Moth belongs to the same 
 genus as the last, but some authors place it in a different 
 family. Personally, I agree with Mr. Newman, and so accept 
 his name. This is one of a number of Moths in which the 
 wings are almost wholly denuded of scales, so that they are 
 as transparent as those of the Hymenoptera, to some of which 
 they bear a curious, not to say startling, resemblance. 
 
 The present species is called the Bee Hawk-Moth, because, 
 with its translucent wings and hairy body, it bears a strangely 
 close resemblance to a humble-bee. Indeed, so precisely do 
 some of those insects resemble certain bees and wasps that, 
 even to a practised eye, there is some difficulty in distinguish- 
 ing them when on the wing. The colouring of this species is 
 very simple. The edge of the wings is brown, narrow on the 
 upper wings, and much narrower on the lower pair. The 
 thorax is brown with a very slight tinge of green. The abdomen 
 is dun-colour, crossed by three black bands ; one a very broad 
 one at the base of the abdomen, and the two others quite 
 narrow. There are some tufts of stiff black hair on the sides, 
 which it spreads when flying, after the manner of the 
 Humming-bird Moth. 
 
 There is another allied British Moth belonging to this 
 genus, namely the Broad-Bordered Bee Hawk-Moth {Macro- 
 glossa fucifovniis), which is drawn on Plate XIV. Fig. 4. In 
 this insect the transparent wings are edged with a broad, 
 chestnut border, the upper wings having a brown, diagonal 
 spot in the centre, and a large patch of the very deepest 
 black-green at the base. The thorax and base of the abdomen 
 are brown with a slight green tinge, as is the tip, the remainder 
 being warm chestnut brown. Like the preceding insect, it has 
 
426 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 along the sides some black tufts of hair, which it spreads 
 during flight. 
 
 This beautiful Moth appears about May; but, as it is a 
 creature of the sun, it is seldom seen, except by experienced 
 entomologists, who know where and when to look for it. 
 Sheltered glades and open spaces in woods are its favourite 
 haunts, but it never appears unless the air be both warm and 
 still. Should the day be cold and dull, and especially if the 
 wind should be in the north-east, the practised insect-hunter 
 knows that he need not trouble himself about this beautiful 
 and capricious insect. 
 
 The larva of this species feeds on several plants, among 
 which are mentioned the bedstraws, the common lychnis, and 
 the wood scabious. It is chiefly in consequence of this mode of 
 feeding that these insects have been separated from the next 
 group, which bear a great external resemblance to them, but 
 whose larvae burrow into wood. 
 
 The next family is that of the Sesiadse, the members of which 
 have a wonderful resemblance to certain bees, wasps, and flies, 
 their wings being translucent, and their bodies being elongated 
 and narrow, quite unlike those of the preceding naked-winged 
 insects. The antennae have no feathering, and are very often 
 tipped with a small tuft of hairs. The tongue is not nearly so 
 long as in the preceding genus, and in most cases the end of 
 the abdomen is tipped with a spreading brush of hair. , 
 
 Our first example of these remarkable Moths is the Poplar 
 Hornet Clear-wing {Sesia apiformis), which is represented on 
 Woodcut XLIV. Fig. 2. This remarkable insect affords one of 
 the best examples of imitation that I know. Only a few hours 
 before writing this account, I was looking over some rather 
 neglected drawers of insects, on the glass of which a slight 
 layer of dust had been allowed to accumulate. I knew that a 
 Hornet Clear-wing was among them, and yet the insect twice 
 escaped observation, so strongly does it resemble the hornet 
 beetle in colour and shape. 
 
 The upper wings of this insect are transparent, with a slight 
 yellowish tinge, and a narrow, dark border. The head is 
 yellow, and there is a yellow patch on either side of the brown 
 
THE CLEAH-WINGS. 427 
 
 thorax. The abdomen is yellow, with a broad dark-brown 
 band near the middle, and a very narrow band of a similar 
 colour nearer the base. The legs are orange-yellow. In fact, 
 the colouring of this Moth is almost identical with that of the 
 hornet, the peculiar rich, warm brown of the markings and the 
 yellow of the ground colour being almost exactly identical 
 in both insects. 
 
 The caterpillar of this Moth burrows into the wood of the 
 poplar and aspen, and in its tunnel undergoes all its changes. 
 "When the larva is full-fed, it spins for itself a rather tough 
 cocoon, made of small fragments of wood bound together with 
 silk, and the Moth emerges about midsummer. The larva of 
 this species passes two years in the tree before it changes to 
 the pupal state. 
 
 To this genus, which contains thirteen British species, belong 
 the lesser Clear-wing Moths, which derive their names from the 
 singular resemblance which they bear to various flies and 
 Hymenoptera. They all have slender bodies, tipped with a 
 spreading brush of hair, and their wings are transparent, with 
 a black edge, black nervures to the lower wings, and the upper 
 wings edged and mostly barred with black, brown, or orange. 
 
 The commonest of them is the Currant Clear-wing (Sesia 
 tipuliformis), which may be found in the summer-time resting 
 on the leaves of the currant. It bears a remarkable resem- 
 blance to a gnat, whence the name tipuliformis, i.e. formed 
 like a gnat. There are two longitudinal yellow streaks 6n the 
 thorax, and three bars of the same hue across the body. 
 
 The larva of this Moth lives inside the twigs and young 
 branches of the currant, from which it bores out the pith, and 
 often kills the branch. Indeed, whenever a bough of the 
 currant begins to wither away without any perceptible cause, a 
 larva of this Moth may generally be found within it. 
 
 One of these curious Moths takes its name from the ant, 
 another from the chrysis or fire-tail, another from the gall-fly, 
 and so on. None, however, afford such a perfect example of 
 imitation as does the Hornet Clear-wing of the poplar, which 
 would even deceive an entomologist unless examined closely. 
 
 The family of the Zeuzeridoe is remarkable for the fact that 
 the females are furnished with a long and hard ovipositor. 
 
428 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 by means of which they can introduce their eggs beneath 
 the bark of the trees on which the caterpillars feed. The 
 tongue and antennae are short, and the larva is naked, with the 
 exception of a few scattered hairs. There is a peculiarity in 
 the chrysalis, which will presently be described. 
 
 A very characteristic example of this family is given on 
 Woodcut XLV. Fig. 1, the insect being popularly and appro- 
 priately called Wood Leopard Moth {Zeuzera cesculi). This 
 is a very pretty moth, though the colours are simply white and 
 black. The white, however, is partially translucent, and the 
 black is in reality the very deepest blue-green. The figure 
 represents the female. The male is coloured in a similar 
 manner, but his antennse are boldly curved, and adorned for the 
 first half of their length with a deep double comb. 
 
 At Fig. a is represented the caterpillar of the Wood Leopard, 
 about half-grown. As may be seen by reference to the illustra- 
 tion, it very much resembles the perfect insect in markings, 
 the green colour being white and the spots shining black. 
 Behind the head is a large black plate. This caterpillar 
 burrows into the limbs of many trees, especially fruit trees, 
 but appears to do little, if any, harm to them. Indeed, 
 Mr. Newman states that fruit trees which are pierced by this 
 larva bear even more abundantly than those which are 
 untouched by it. 
 
 The perfect insect appears in the middle of summer, and is a 
 common insect, though it will seldom be found except by 
 persons who know where and when to look for it. The female 
 mostly remains near the tree in which she was bred, and may 
 be found at night clinging to the trunk, where she can be 
 detected by the aid of a lantern. The male is much bolder, 
 and flies abroad in search of his male. He is one of the many 
 Moths that fly towards a light, and can often be taken by the 
 simple process of putting a lamp near an open window. Many 
 entomologists have made quite valuable collections of insects by 
 this one plan. 
 
 With respect to this particular Moth, Mr. W. C. Hewitson 
 notices, in 'The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' for Sep- 
 tember 1869, a very curious appearance of this insect. ' A fort- 
 night ago, twelve Zeuzera sesculi came down my drawing-room 
 chimney. They were all males. What business they had. 
 
THE WOOD LEOPAED MOTH. 
 
 429 
 
 there I cannot say. I, looked in vain for a female.' There 
 is some little difference of opinion respecting the generic 
 name of this Moth. Professor Westwood states that the right 
 mode of spelling it is Zenzera, that being the original name 
 given to it by Latreille, and that Zeuzera is simply the error 
 of the printer, who had mistaken the letter u for the n, or, 
 perhaps, had turned the n upside down. Be this as it mav, 
 
 4 
 
 1. Zenzera fesculi. 2. Cossus ligniperda. a. Zeuzera, larva. 6, Cossns, larva. 
 
 the word Zeuzera is now so universally acknowledged among 
 entomologists that I have retained it, and simply mention 
 Mr. Westwood's correction. 
 
 There is a peculiarity in the structure of the chrysalis of 
 this and other Moths of the family. Each segment is fur- 
 nished on its edges with a row of little hooks by means of 
 which it can traverse its tunnel nearly as fast as it could 
 while in the caterpillar state. As the pupae of the Lepido- 
 
430 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ptera generally are quiescent, and few can do more than jerk 
 the tail from side to side when irritated, it is rather startling 
 to see a chrysalis wriggle itself up and down the burrow which 
 it has made while in the caterpillar state. 
 
 We now come to the Goat Moth {Cossus ligniperda), 
 so-called on account of the very strong odour which is given 
 out by the larva, and bears some resemblance to the powerful 
 scent of the he-goat. A figure of this insect is given on 
 Woodcut XLV. Fig. 2. 
 
 The colour of this Moth' is nothing more than brown of 
 different shades, arranged as shown in the illustration. As far 
 as the perfect insect goes, there is but little interest about it, 
 but in the larval condition it is peculiarly interesting, were it 
 only for the fact that everything which can do harm contains 
 within itself an element of interest. We will rapidly trace the 
 life of the Goat Moth, from the deposition of the egg to the 
 development of the perfect insect. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that the female Moths of this 
 family possess a long ovipositor. With this instrument the 
 female Goat Moth carefully lodges her eggs deeply in the crevices 
 of the bark of some tree, and there leaves them. In process of 
 time they are hatched, and, tiny as they are, soon are able to 
 bore their way into the tree. They spend four years in the 
 body of the tree, apparently never ceasing to eat, and boring 
 their tunnels through and through the solid wood. These 
 tunnels increase in size according to the development of the 
 caterpillar, and, as a great number of larvae generally inhabit 
 one tree, it is no wonder that so many trees are killed by 
 them. 
 
 The number of these destructive creatures that are found in 
 one tree may be imagined from an experiment made by Mr. 
 Douglas. He found an elm lying on the ground^ having been 
 blown down in consequence of the galleries of the Goat Moth 
 caterpillar weakening the trunk so much that it could not 
 endure the wind. He cut off a piece of the trunk two feet 
 long, and twenty-three inches in diameter at one end and 
 fifteen at the other. Wishing to place it in a vessel sixteen 
 inches in diameter, he was obliged to cut it to the required 
 size, and in so doing turned out no less than sixty-seven 
 
THE GOAT MOTH. 431 
 
 caterpillars, while the remainder of the block was equally well 
 stocked with these larvae. 
 
 One of these caterpillars, about one-fourth grown, is shown 
 at Fig. 6, and a curious-looking creature it is. The skin irt 
 very smooth and shining, and without hairs, except some stiff 
 bristles wliich project from jeach segment. These are not so 
 conspicuous in the larva as in the drawing. The colour is pale 
 mahogany, except the head and a hard plate on the second 
 segment, which are black. The body is rather flattened, the 
 head is wedge-shaped, and furnished with very powerful jaws. 
 When full-grown the caterpillar exceeds three inches in length, 
 and is as thick as a man's finger. The strength of a full-grown 
 larva is enormous, and its powers of forcing its way out of the 
 vessel in which it is confined must be seen to be appreciated. 
 I have kept many of these larvae, and never felt sure of them. 
 They were continually escaping. Putting them into a wooden 
 box was quite useless, as they ate their way through the side in 
 a very short time. Putting them in a tin box was equally 
 useless unless the cover were tied down, for they had a way of 
 pushing at the lid round the edges, and so gradually opening it 
 sufficiently to permit their escape. Even perforated zinc is not 
 safe from them, for I have known my caterpillars to find out a 
 place where the zinc has been cracked, fix their short and 
 powerful jaws in the holes, and fairly twist down a flap through 
 which they managed to force themselves. 
 
 The odour which these creatures give out is equally powerful 
 and enduring, and to many persons is peculiarly hateful. 
 Whether from use or not I cannot say, but I do not find it 
 nearly so offensive as the odour of many other insects, such as 
 the Dyticus beetle and the Lace-wing fly. The odou? per- 
 meates the whole of the tunnels, and for years after they have 
 been deserted the scent is sufficiently strong to denote the 
 inhabitant. 
 
 When the larva is full-fed it forms a cocoon made of 
 fragments of gnawed wood and silk. The cocoon is very tough, 
 and will withstand much rough handling. These cocoons are 
 oval, similar in shape at both ends, flexible, and yellow in 
 colour, and are very strongly scented with the odour of the 
 insect which made them. There is considerable variety in the 
 size of the cocoons, and some are barely half as large as others. 
 
432 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The small cocoons seem never to produce Moths, but are 
 infested by an ichneumon-fly, which, fortunately for us, preys 
 on the Goat Moth caterpillar. Not that the large cocoons are 
 free from this parasite, for, as every one knows who has bred 
 them, the large cocoons frequently disappoint the collector, and 
 produce ichneumons instead of Moths. It is a curious fact 
 that the ichneumon itself (^Lampronota setosa) possesses an 
 odour similar to that of the larva in which it lays its eggs. 
 
 In the 'Entomologist' for August 1868, Miss E. Newman 
 mentions that she possesses a Groat Moth cocoon whicli was 
 made with earth instead of wood-chips, and was discovered in 
 April, in the middle of an arable field. After being removed 
 from the cocoon and placed in a breeding-cage, the larva again 
 burrowed into the earth, and emerged at the end of June, 
 perfect in every respect, but rather smaller than the usual size. 
 
 After the larva has lain in its cocoon for some time, it 
 discharges from its mouth a fluid which is contained in two 
 large sacs within the body, and softens the silk so that it can 
 be easily broken. It then throws off the caterpillar skin and 
 becomes a chrysalis, which is at first white and soft, but 
 afterwards hard and brown. The edges of the segments are 
 furnished with little points directed backwards, and by alter- 
 nately stretching and contracting the abdomen, the pupa forces 
 itself along its larval tunnel until it comes to the end. Just 
 before the final transformation the pupa renews its efforts, and 
 fairly pushes itself through the thin shell of bark that has been 
 allowed to remain by the larva. 
 
 It still continues to push its way on until it has forced itself 
 through the opening, as far as the base of the abdomen. After 
 a while the pupal skin splits, and the Moth emerges slowly, 
 climbing up the bark of the tree, and there clinging while it 
 shakes out its wings. The empty pupa skin remains at the 
 entrance of the tunnel, and towards the middle or end of 
 summer, according to the season, plenty of these empty shells 
 may be found projecting from trees that are infested with the 
 Goat Moth larva. The Moth itself can generally be captured 
 upon the bark of the tree in which it has passed its pupal state. 
 
 The willow is the tree that is usually infested by this insect, 
 and vast damage is often done by it. On the Kentish raarslies 
 near my house are numbers of willow-trees, or rather the 
 
THE BURNET MOTHS. 433 
 
 remains of them, which have owed their death to the Groat 
 Moth larva, and from them I have procured larvae and cocoons 
 in plenty. Other trees, however, are attacked by this destruc- 
 tive insect, especially the elm, and Mr. Newman is of opinion 
 that those trees which are apparently killed by thfe Scolytus 
 (which has been described on page 186) have received their 
 death-blow from the Groat Moth, and have only been attacked 
 by the Scolytus when dying. 
 
 The Moth is a very troublesome one in a cabinet, as it is 
 very liable to the two chief pests of the cabinet, namely, ' grease ' 
 and mites. I have known one of these Moths to be completely 
 hollowed by the mites, and to show little signs of injury except 
 the brown powder scattered under the affected insect. As soon 
 as the Moth was taken up its body broke in two, and at least 
 two teaspoonfuls of powder and mites were discharged over the 
 other insects. Consequently it will be found advisable to stuff 
 this Moth, and to put a drop or two of benzole into the cavity. 
 
 For further information on this insect, and a full account of 
 its ravages, I refer to an admirable monograph by Mr. Newman 
 in the 'Entomologist' of November 1869. 
 
 On Woodcut XLIV. (page 418) and Fig. 1 is seen a common 
 and very pretty Moth belonging to the family Zyggenidse. 
 The insects belonging to this' family may be distinguished 
 by their very brilliant and boldly contrasted colours, their 
 habit of flyiflg by day, the stout and hairy caterpillar, and the 
 cocoon fastened in an upright position against the stems of 
 grasses. Only one genus inhabits England. The Moth which 
 is given in the illustration is called scientifically Zygcena or 
 Anthrocera fiUpendidce, and is popularly known as the Six- 
 spotted Burnet. There are four species of Burnet Moth, three 
 3f which are so much alike that none but a practised entomo- 
 ogist can distinguish them, especially as the spots, from the 
 Qumber of which they derive their popular name, are almost 
 precisely similar. This very beautiful insect has the upper 
 wings of the deepest possible green, so deep indeed as to 
 appear black unless the light be properly thrown upon it. 
 The lower wings are rich crimson, edged with black. The 
 pec Jiar form of the antennae is so well shown in the illustra- 
 tior as to need no description. 
 
 F F 
 
434 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The caterpillar, which is drawn at Fig. 6, feeds on tlio 
 Bird's-foot trefoil {Trifolium ornithopodioides) or the Common 
 Deep wort {Spircea filipendula), from the latter of which the 
 insect derives its specific name. The colour is yellow, with a 
 slight brownish tinge, and it is diversified by a double row of 
 black spots. When the larva is full-fed it climbs up a grass 
 stem, and there spins a very curious cocoon, shaped exactly like 
 a spindle, or, to speak more familiarly, like the wooden ' cats ' 
 that boys are apt to make in more profusion than is agreeable 
 to adult pedestrians. These cocoons are pale straw-colour, 
 rather tough, and very firmly fixed to the grass. The cocoon is 
 shown at Fig. c. The perfect insect makes its appearance at the 
 beginning of summer, and always flies in the hottest weather, 
 so that the sunbeams play gloriously upon its splendidly 
 coloured wings and body. Cold seems to paralyse the insect, 
 and though on a hot calm day the Moths may be flying in 
 hundreds over the field, a change of wind, bringing with it a 
 blast of cold air, will send them all under cover, so that, though 
 the field be actually studded with their cocoons, not a Moth 
 will be seen. 
 
 The insect does not appear to travel far, but, like many 
 others, to restrict itself to certain favoured localities. There 
 were one or two fields near Oxford, which absolutely swarmed 
 with these beautiful Moths, while at the distance of half a 
 mile not a Burnet Moth was in sight. Owing to the great 
 similarity of the different species, the entomologist who wishes 
 to make a good collection must catch pretty well every Burnet 
 Moth that he sees. With the exception of the Transparent 
 Burnet {Zygcena Minos) — which I believe is an Irish, and not 
 an English insect — it is absolutely impossible to distinguish 
 one species from the other on the wing, and much care is 
 required to separate them even when they are safely in thf* 
 collecting box. I well remember, when beginning my practical 
 researches into entomology, how puzzled I was with the dififerenr 
 species of Burnet Moth, and how difficult it was to believe that 
 they really were difi'erent species, and not merely varieties o-- 
 one species. 
 
 Passing of necessity over many Moths, we come to an insect 
 which is both pretty and interesting. This is the Cinnabar 
 
THE CINNABAR MOTH. 
 
 435 
 
 Moth (Callimorpha Jacobece\ which is represented on Woodcut 
 XLVI. Fig. 1. It is an example of the family Euchelidee, in 
 which the antennaa are slender and without any fringe. The 
 caterpillar spins a slight web, in which its hairs are scattered, 
 and the pupa is small. The name EuchelidiE is formed from 
 two Greek words, signifying Beautiful Caterpillar, and is given 
 to the genus because the larvae are all very beautifully coloured. 
 To me this is one of the most familiar British Moths, being 
 
 XLVI 
 
 .1. Callimorpha Jacobeae. 2. Deiopeia piilcheUa. 3. Gastropacha quercifolia 
 a. Cammorpha, larra. 6. Deiopeia, larra. c. Gastropacha, lan-a. 
 
 one of those that attracted me most as a child. At Oxford it is 
 one of the most plentiful of insects, flying about so abundantly 
 in the gardens that I always had— and still retain— a childish 
 notion that it was the blossom of a scarlet-runner gifted with 
 the power of flight. Common as it is in some places, it really is 
 scarce in others. For example, so practised an entomologist as 
 
 r r 2 
 
436 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the Eev. J. Greene states that he has only taken one specimen 
 of the Cinnabar Moth in England, though he did find the 
 pupa. This part of Kent seems to be objectionable to the 
 Cinnabar Moth, though the ragwort {Senecio Jacohea), on which 
 it feeds, grows profusely in the neighbourhood. In and near 
 Oxford there is scarcely a plant of ragwort on which the pretty 
 caterpillar, with its orange body and black rings, may not be 
 found, or which has not some of the shining brown pupse near its 
 roots. This larva is shown at Fig. a. It has a habit of coiling 
 itself into a ring when alarmed, and falling to the ground. 
 
 The colouring of the Cinnabar Moth is very bold, and is 
 easily described. The upper wings are very deep olive-brown, 
 looking almost black by the contrast with the brilliant crimson 
 stripe near the costal margin, and the two crimson spots near 
 the hind margin. The lower wings are wholly crimson, slightly 
 paler than that on the upper wings, and are edged with a 
 narrow border of olive-brown. It is remarkable that the upper 
 and under surfaces of this insect are exactly alike, except that 
 the under surface is slightly paler than the upper. The popular 
 name of Cinnabar Moth is given to the insect on account of the 
 cinnabar-crimson colour of its wings. 
 
 On Woodcut XLVI. Fig. 2 is drawn a very pretty and very 
 scarce Moth, called, from its colouring, the Ckimson Speckled 
 {Deiopeia pulchella). The upper wings of this moth are white, 
 and they are covered with a number of square spots, seeming 
 at first sight to be scattered promiscuously over the wings, but 
 having a tolerably regular arrangement. These spots are 
 scarlet and black, and are set in transverse rows, the black and 
 scarlet running alternately. The lower wings are white, with 
 a slight clouding of black towards the margin. The pretty 
 caterpillar is leaden blue, with a white streak along the back, 
 and a row of scarlet spots along each side. 
 
 This is one of the rarest of genuine British Moths, and, if any 
 of my readers should be requested to purchase a ' warranted 
 British Crimson Speckled,' they may be quite certain that the 
 vendor is a conscious impostor, inasmuch as so valuable a prize 
 would not be hawked about for sale. 
 
 Mr. Newman's quaint and true remarks respecting certain 
 butterflies will apply to this and other rare moths : — ' They are 
 to be purchased in abundance at Id., 2d., or 3d. each, neither . 
 
THE TIGER MOTHS. 437 
 
 Kpecies being uncommon on the Continent. Supposing th« 
 purchaser to be fastidious as to his collection being pureb 
 British, he may obtain a warranty with any individual speci 
 men he is selecting, by paying twenty or thirty shillings addi 
 tional. The specimen then becomes " British," just as a wealth) 
 tradesman becomes an esquire by paying for armorial bearingt 
 which some ingenious manufacturer professes to find iu Herald't 
 College. I prefer dispensing with warranty, as too expensive 
 a luxury.' 
 
 A really genuine British specimen is now before me. It 
 was caught by a young lady close to my house at Belvedere, 
 Kent, on Sept. 11, 1871, and brought to me while the wings 
 were still flexible. 
 
 There are only three British species of this beautiful family. 
 Two have been described, and the third is the handsomest of 
 them all. This is the Crimson Tiger {Gallimoiyha Dominula), 
 which, fortunately for entomologists, is not very scarce, though 
 it is decidedly local. The upper wings are dark olive-brown, 
 with a gloss of the richest and deepest green, and on them are 
 a number of bold white spots, variable in number and size, 
 but always tending to orange towards the middle of the wing. 
 The lower wings are crimson, with several black patches. 
 
 The caterpillar of this lovely Moth is blue-black, with a 
 rather bro^d yellow stripe down the middle of the back, and a 
 narrow stripe on either side. It feeds on the common Hound's- 
 tongue (Gynoglossum officinale), which grows among valleys 
 and on road-sides. Wherever this plant, with its downy, dark- 
 green leaves and crimson flower, grows in plenty, there is sure 
 to be a favourable locality for the caterpillar of the Crimson 
 Tiger,* if not for the Moth itself. 
 
 Another family now comes before us — the Chelonidee, 
 popularly known as Tiger-Moths. They have the antennse 
 more or less deeply fringed in the male, and the caterpillar is 
 very hairy, coiling itself into a ring when alarmed. Before 
 it changes into the pupal state, it spins a very loose web 
 mixed profusely with its hairs. 
 
 The best known of these insects is shown on Plate XV. 
 Fig. 1, and may be reckoned as the type of the family. It ig 
 the Common Tigeu-Motii {Chelonia or Arctia caja), so called 
 
438 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 on account of the bold cream and black markings of its upper 
 wings. The lower wings are red, with some large black spots 
 glossed with blue. The body is red, barred with black. This is a 
 most variable insect, the number, size, shape, and tint differing 
 in a most bewildering manner. But however variable it may 
 be, there is never any possibility of mistaking it. 
 
 It is one of the commonest of British insects, and towards 
 the end of summer the Moth is quite plentiful. It is wonder- 
 fully quick of foot, and, as it runs with closed wings among the 
 herbage, has a most curious resemblance to a small mouse. 
 
 The larva is covered with long, brown, stiff hairs, and is 
 popularly known by the name of the Woolly Bear. It feeds 
 principally on the common dead nettle, but is not in the least 
 particular as to its food, and, being very hardy, is an admirable 
 subject for experiments in Moth-breeding. Personally I have 
 a sort of respect for this larva, as being the first caterpillar that 
 I ever dissected, and consequently the first creature that let me 
 into the secrets of insect anatomy. When full-fed, the cater- 
 pillar spins a slight hammock, woven so loosely that the form 
 of the enclosed pupa can be seen through its meshes, and in 
 this hammock it remains until the perfect insect is developed. 
 
 Passing by one or two well-known insects for which we have 
 no space, such as the Ermines, the Brown-tail, the Gt)lden-tail, 
 the G-ipsy, we come to the Black Arches {Liparis monacha), the 
 female of which is shown on Woodcut XLVII. Fig. 2. In the 
 whole of this family white is the prevailing colour, if colour it 
 can be termed, though in several instances the female is nearly 
 white, while the male has some more pronounced hue. In the 
 preliminary stages of existence, not only the larvae but the 
 pupae are covered with hair. 
 
 The Black Arches Moth derives its popular name from the 
 peculiar colouring of the wings. The upper wings are white, 
 and covered with a vast number of black, arch-like marks, 
 rather variable in size. In some specimens, for example, the 
 markings are quite narrow, and look as if they had been drawn 
 with a very fine camel' s-h air brush on a satiny-white ground. 
 In others, the marks are so broad that black seems to be the 
 prevailing colour, and that the title of White Arches would be 
 really the most appropriate one. The male is much smaller 
 
THE VAPOURER MOTU. 
 
 439 
 
 than the female, and his colours, though brighter and more 
 compressed, are sufficiently similar to those of the female to 
 show that they both belong to one species. Moreover, his an- 
 tennoG are deeply and doubly feathered, and his body is pink, 
 with three rows of black spots on it over the middle, and one 
 on either side, 
 
 XLYR 
 
 1. Pygffira bncephala. 
 4. Orgjia antiqua, female. 
 
 2. Liparis or Psllura monacha. 3. Oa'j-ia antiqua, male. 
 
 a. Pygaera bucephala, larva. 6. Orgyia antiqua, larva. 
 
 The larva is one of the many oak-feeders, and the perfect 
 insect appears in the autumn. Those who wish for good speci- 
 mens of this pretty Moth ought to rear it from the caterpillar, 
 which can be obtained in full condition towards the end of 
 June, by beating the oak, the birch, and one or two other trees. 
 
 Next comes that interesting insect, the common Vapoueer 
 -Moth {Orgyia antiqua), the male of which is represented on 
 Woodcut XLVII. Fig. 3. 
 
440 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 This is rather a pretty Moth, though the colours are any- 
 thing but brilliant. The wings are warm chestnut, the upper 
 pair having some waved transverse marks, as shown in the illus- 
 tration, and a bold, nearly semilunar white spot at the anal 
 angle. 
 
 He is very common, and is one of the few Lepidoptera — except 
 perhaps the Clothes-Moth, which is more plentiful than desired 
 — that is very common in London, and may be found even in 
 the dingiest and smokiest portions, provided that trees or shrubs 
 grow in it. I should think that if even Leicester Square could 
 produce a tree, it would also produce the Yapourer Moth. He 
 is one of the day-flying moths, and seems to revel in the 
 blazing sunbeams, flitting about with rapid, and apparently 
 uncertain wing, upon the hottest days of summer. 
 
 There is, however, nothing uncertain about his flight, for he 
 has a very definite object, namely, to seek a mate. Consider- 
 ing the kind of creature she is, and her peculiar habits, one is 
 led to marvel, in the first place, how the active, prettily- 
 coloured male Vapourer can find anything attractive in the 
 female, who is about as plain — not to say, plebeian — an insect 
 as can well be imagined. A figure of the female is given 
 on Woodcut XLVII. Fig. 4, and the reader will see that a 
 less attractive and more commonplace creature can hardly be 
 seen. She has no wings to speak of, these organs being quite 
 undeveloped and simply rudimentary, so that she could not fly 
 one single inch. Her body is large, thick, soft, and covered 
 with grey down, slightly darker at the edge of each segment. 
 
 This curious creature never wanders from the spot where she 
 happens to have passed into the pupal state. Like the male, 
 she has, when a full-fed caterpillar, spun a silken web, within 
 which she has undergone her transformation. 
 
 The male has done the same, but when he has assumed the 
 perfect form, he shakes out his pretty wings, takes to the air, 
 and gaily sets out, like ' Cselebs,' in search of a wife. She, on 
 the other hand, never travels at all. Where she was reared, there 
 she lives, there she is mated, there she provides a fresh brood, 
 and there she dies, fulfilling the duties of her life within very 
 narrow bounds. Her eggs are laid upon the silken web which 
 she herself spun as a caterpillar, and from those eggs are hatched 
 a brood of tiny larvae, each of which is intended to follow ia 
 the track of its parents. 
 
THE OAK-EGGAR. 441 
 
 So plentiful are these egg-groups that, were it not for the 
 presence of sundry little birds, which find much of their 
 winter's nourishment in the eggs of various Lepidoptera, we 
 should be soon overrun with Vapourer Moths, and our trees and 
 hedges would suffer sadly. The female moths themselves, 
 being utterly unable to escape, and not seeming able even to 
 crawl beyond the limits of the pupal web, also fall victims to 
 the birds in no small number. 
 
 The caterpillar is shown at Fig. h of the same Woodcut, and 
 is a very pretty one. Its colours are exceedingly variable, but 
 it is always furnished with a brush-like tuft of yellow hairs on 
 the back of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth segments, 
 two long black tufts on the second segment, directed forwards, 
 and a single similar tuft on the last segment but one, directed 
 backwards. There is scarcely a tree or shrub on which this 
 strange-looking caterpillar will uot feed. 
 
 On Plate XV. Fig. 2 is seen the male Oak-eggar Moth 
 (Bombyx or Lasiocampa quercus). This well-known insect 
 belongs to another family, the Bombycidie, in which the cater- 
 pillars are mostly hairy, the pupa smooth, and the perfect in- 
 sect large and stout-bodied, and coloured with various shades 
 of browTi or grey. The smooth pupa at once distinguishes this 
 insect from the last. 
 
 Although the colours of this insect are not brilliant, the 
 Moth is a very handsome one, the simple colouring of its wings 
 being well contrasted. The male has the wings rich warm 
 chestnut, and across each of them is drawn a slightly waved 
 yellowish band. Eather towards the base of the disc there is a 
 white spot very clearly marked. His antennae are deeply and 
 doubly feathered. The female is much larger, but not nearly 
 so handsome, the colour being mostly yellow with the band pale 
 and undefined. 
 
 The chief interest of this moth lies in its preparatory stages. 
 The caterpillar is a very fine one, and remarkable for its change 
 in appearance when it bends its body. The ground colour of 
 this larva is deep velvety-black, very thickly covered with rich 
 brown hairs. "\Vhen the caterpillar is straight it appears to be 
 uniformly brown, but when it curves the body, the velvet-black 
 appears between the segments and gives a very bold and eflfec- 
 
442 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 tive appearance to the hitherto plain caterpillar. There are 
 other marks, but these velvet rings are amply sufficient for 
 identification. 
 
 It is very plentiful in some places, and though it is a very 
 general feeder, eating almost every non-poisonous herb or leaf 
 that may be given to it, the larva has fancies of its own and 
 prefers one place to another, though apparently both localities 
 are exactly alike in every respect. There was, for example, a 
 portion of a hedge, about half a mile in length, to which I 
 always resorted when in want of an Oak-eggar caterpillar. I 
 generally used the sweep-net for this purpose, passing it very 
 gently through the herbage, and was sure to be rewarded with 
 success. 
 
 This caterpillar, especially when nearly full-grown, is a 
 troublesome being in a collecting-box, and I do not know of 
 any which has a more unpleasant knack of pushing its way 
 out of the box whenever the lid is removed for the admission 
 of a new inmate. In fact, unless the collector should be pro- 
 vided with a box such as has been described on page 420, he 
 will find that the Oak-eggar caterpillars are greatly trying 
 to the temper, and may perchance get themselves crushed while 
 trying to make their escape. 
 
 When full-fed, the caterpillar spins a cocoon of wonderful 
 toughness and strength. It is shaped very much like an egg 
 (whence the popular name of Oak-eggar), and is brown and very 
 close in textm-e. About the end of summer or beginning of 
 autumn, the Moth breaks its way through the cocoon and ap- 
 pears in the perfect state. It mostly flies at night, but I have 
 seen it on the wing at mid-day. 
 
 On Woodcut XLVI. Fig. 3 is seen the well-known Lappet 
 Moth {Gastropacha or Lasiocampa quercifolid). This curious 
 insect derives its popular and scientific names from two totally 
 different attributes. The name quercifolia, or * oak-leaf,' is 
 given to it on account of the astonishing resemblance which 
 it bears, when its wings are closed, to a brown withered oak- 
 leaf. 
 
 On reference to the illustration, the reader will see that the 
 edges of the wings are deeply scalloped, just as are those of the 
 oak-leaf. The colour of the Moth is warm chestnut-brown, 
 
THE LAPPET MOTH. 443 
 
 ixnd on the upper wings are three dark bands, scalloped in con- 
 Ibrmity with the margins. There is also a black dot on the 
 middle of the wing. The lower wings are marked somewhat 
 ill the same manner, save that the dark bands are less defined. 
 There is no diiFerence in colour between the sexes, which can, 
 however, be at once distinguished by a glance at the antennae, 
 which are doubly feathered in the male and thread-like in the 
 female. For a short time after it escapes from the pupal en- 
 velope, the surface of the Moth is remarkable for a beautiful 
 blue or purple gloss, which has been well compared to the 
 bloom on a plum. It is quite as fragile as that bloom, and 
 even more fugitive, for it vanishes in a few hours, no matter 
 what care may be taken of the specimen. 
 
 Whether this union of colouring and outline be intended 
 for the purpose of concealment is at present an open question 
 and likely to continue so. Suffice it to say that it certainly does 
 serve that purpose very effectually. The reader must have ob- 
 served that the oak-tree, late to develope new leaves, is equally 
 late in parting with the old foliage, the old leaves clinging 
 tightly to the branches until actually pushed off by the new 
 generation. Now, if two oak-twigs were put side by side, on 
 one of which were two or three withered oak-leaves, and on 
 the other a leaf and a Lappet Moth, it would be almost im- 
 possible to distinguish the animal from the vegetable, except 
 by close examination. 
 
 So much for the name of quercifolia, and we come to the term 
 Lappet. This name is given to the insect on account of the 
 construction of the caterpillar, which grows to a considerable 
 size, and is easily recognisable. Along each side is a row of 
 fleshy appendages, or ' lappets,' those of the second, third, and 
 fourth segments being the largest. The colom* of the larva is 
 variable, but it may always be known by the peculiar lappets, 
 the hump on the twelfth segment, and the two stripes of deep 
 velvety-purple between the second and third, and third and 
 fourth segments. Willow and blackthorn are its favourite 
 food. 
 
 One of these larvae is shown on Woodcut XLVI. Fig. c, 
 as it appears when almost half-grown. 
 
 When full-fed it spins for itself a rather large cocoon, looser 
 in texture and darker in colour than the firm, egg-like habita- 
 
444 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 tion of the preceding insect. The pupa is blacker than that 
 of the Oak-eggar. The perfect insect appears about the be- 
 ginning of summer. Large and strong as this Moth appears 
 to be, the plumage is in reality exceedingly delicate, and sure 
 to be rubbed and damaged if the insect be caught in a net. 
 Eearing it from the caterpillar, or pupa — the latter plan gene- 
 rally producing the finest specimens — will generally ensure 
 perfect insects, one of which should be carefully set as it 
 appears when at rest. 
 
 Our last example of the Nocturni is the beautiful Emperor 
 Moth [Saturnia Carpini or pavonia-minor), the female of 
 which is represented on Plate XV. Fig. 3. The general ap- 
 pearance of both sexes is very similar, except that the colours 
 of the male are much more brilliant than those of the female. 
 As she is figured in the Plate, we will describe her first. The 
 colour and markings are so conspicuous that there is no neces- 
 sity for very minute detail. The wings are pearly-grey, mottled 
 and striped with brown, dark-grey, and chestnut. On each of 
 the wings there is an eye-like spot, black in the middle, and 
 surrounded with consecutive rings of warm buff and black, 
 variegated with dark-crimson and violet. 
 
 The male has the upper wings of deeper and richer hues 
 than those of his mate, and the under wings are warm ochreous 
 orange, mottled and striped as in the female. The eye-like 
 spots are similar in both sexes. The male is also distinguished 
 by the antennae, which are shorter than those of the female, 
 and have a beautiful double feathering, widest in the middle, 
 and decreasing towards the base and tip, so as to give the 
 whole organ an outline much resembling that of the laurel 
 leaf. 
 
 The caterpillar is quite as conspicuous as the perfect insect. 
 It is beautiful leafy-green in colour, and the segments are 
 marked so very distinctly that they look as if a number of 
 threads had been tied tightly round the insect at the junctures 
 of the segments. On each segment are a number of pink 
 tubercles, each tubercle bearing a small brush of black bristles, 
 and being surrounded with a ring of black. It feeds on a 
 variety of plants, but I have found it more frequently on 
 heath than on any other plant. 
 
PLATE XV. 
 NIGHT FLIERS. 
 
 1. Chelonia caja. 
 
 2. Lasiocampa quercus. 
 y. Sarurnia carpini. 
 
 4. Dicranura vinula. 
 
 Plaints: — 
 
 Oak and Willow. 
 
THE EMPEEOE MOTH. 445 
 
 When it is full-fed, the larva spins a light-brown cocoon 
 among its food, and the perfect insect appears in the middle of 
 spring. 
 
 This cocoon is one of the most remarkable and interesting 
 of insect habitations. Externally it is a simple brown, oval 
 structure, more pointed at one end than the other, and having 
 an outline much resembling that of a balloon. If it be care- 
 fully opened, and cut in two longitudinally, a most remarkable 
 structure is seen. The smaller and pointed end is double, and 
 within the outer case is a ring of short and stiff threads, look- 
 ing much like bristles, their free ends directed towards the 
 mouth of the cocoon, which is allowed to remain open. As 
 these bristle-like threads follow the curve of the wall of the 
 cocoon, it is evident that their ends must converge so as to 
 close the opening against the entry of any insect foe, while 
 they yield to the pressure of any creature within. 
 
 In consequence of this arrangement, the pupa remains 
 securely shut up in its habitation, and, when the time comes 
 for its assumption of the perfect state, the newly developed 
 Moth creeps easily out of the cocoon, the guardian threads of 
 which yield to its passage, and then close again, so that to all 
 appearance, the cocoon looks just as it did when it contained 
 the chrysalis. As the caterpillar is a tolerably hardy one, 
 there is no difficulty in obtaining the beautiful cocoons. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 GEOMETRJS. 
 
 The large and important group of Gteomete^, or Loopees, now 
 come before us. These appropriate terms are applied to the 
 Moths on account of the mode of progression adopted by the 
 larva. The caterpillars are so constructed that they cannot 
 walk after the usual fashion of such beings. The reader will 
 remember that the caterpillars hitherto mentioned have a 
 number of false legs, or claspers arranged on the under side of 
 the body, in addition to the six true legs which are situated 
 on that part of the body which will afterwards become the 
 thorax of the perfect insect. Most caterpillars have five pairs 
 of these claspers, but the Greometra larvae have only two pairs, 
 which are set closely together at the very end of the body. 
 The caterpillar is therefore obliged to adopt a peculiar mode 
 of progression. 
 
 When it wishes to move, it clings very firmly with its true 
 legs, loosens the grasp of its claspers, and draws them close to 
 the legs, so that its body is brought into an arch or loop. 
 The claspers then fix themselves tightly to the object on which 
 the caterpillar is moving, and the body is stretched out in 
 order to find a fresh foothold for the legs. Thus, the cater- 
 pillar proceeds by bringing its body into the loop-like form 
 and stretching it out for another hold. This may seem an 
 awkward mode of progression, but it is nothing of the kind. 
 There is even a sort of grace about the movement, and the 
 caterpillar gets along at a wonderful pace, forming its succes- 
 sive loops with a rapidity that seems almost incredible. 
 
 The muscular strength of these caterpillars is wonderful. 
 Most of us have seen acrobats fix their feet to an upright pole, 
 or grasp it with their hands, and stretch out their bodies 
 horizontally. This attitude requires great muscular powers 
 
THE SWALLOW-TAILED MOTH. 447 
 
 very carefully applied, as those readers well know who have 
 practically studied gymnastics. The leverage is so great that 
 the strongest and most accomplished gymnast cannot maintain 
 his position for any length of time, the attitude requiring the 
 strongest possible strain on the muscles. Yet this attitude is 
 not only easy to the Geometrse, but appears in some cases to 
 be the chosen attitude of rest. 
 
 Several of these larvae pass a large portion of their time 
 stretched out at full length from the twig on which they are 
 clinging. In this attitude they so exactly resemble twigs, that 
 the sharpest eye can scarcely detect them, and even the most 
 experienced entomologists are often deceived, taking veritable 
 twigs for caterpillars, and caterpillars for twigs. None of the 
 caterpillars are hairy, and their smooth bodies, often furnished 
 with blunt spikes or humps, bear the most curious resemblance 
 to the smooth-barked, bud-bearing twigs of the trees on which 
 they live. Such caterpillars can be at once recognised as 
 belonging to the Greometrse, and every entomologist knows that 
 if he should find a looping caterpillar, and rear if, the result 
 will certainly be a Greometra Moth of some kind. 
 
 In the perfect state it is not so easy to distinguish the 
 Geometrop, though there is a certain and almost indescribable 
 aspect about them that a practised entomologist rarely fails to 
 detect, even though the species be new to him. We will now 
 proceed to examine some of the most characteristic of these 
 Moths in detail. 
 
 The first family of the Geometrae is called Urapterydge, or 
 "Wing-tail Moths, because in them the hinder wings are drawn 
 out into long projections, popularly called ' tails.' In England 
 we have but one insect belonging to this family, the beautiful, 
 though pale-coloured. Swallow-tailed Moth ( Urapteryx sam- 
 hucata). The • generic name is spelt in various ways, some 
 writers wishing exactly to represent the Greek letters of which 
 it is composed, and others following the conventional form 
 which is generally in use. If the precisians are to be followed, 
 the word ought to be spelled Ourapteryx. 
 
 There is no difficulty in recognising this Moth, the colour 
 and shape being so decided. Both pairs of wings are delicate 
 yellow, and the upper pair are crossed by two narrow brown 
 
448 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 stripes, which run from the upper to the lower margin. ' These 
 stripes are very clear and well-defined, but besides there are a 
 vast number of very tiny streaks of a similar colour, which 
 look as if they had been drawn in water-colours with the very 
 finest of brushes, and then damped so as to blur their edges. 
 The hind wings have only one streak, which runs obliquely 
 towards the anal angle, and, when the wings are spread, looks 
 as if it were a continuation of the first stripe on the upper 
 wings. The shape of the Moth almost exactly resembles that 
 of the Brimstone Butterfly, described on page 393. 
 
 The larva affords an admirable example of the twig-resem- 
 bling caterpillars. It is exceedingly variable in colour, but is 
 always some shade of brown. It has seven bud-like humps, 
 and a few pale stripes along the sides. It is a very general 
 feeder, and may be found on a considerable number of trees 
 and plants. It is quite common, and but for its curious 
 form would certainly be found much more frequently than is' 
 the case. The perfect insect appears about July, and can be 
 beaten out of bushes and hedges. Though the wings are large, 
 they are thin and not very powerful, so that there is no diffi- 
 culty in capturing the insect. 
 
 Next comes the family of the Ennomidse, popularly called 
 the Thorns, containing nearly thirty species, two of which we 
 will select for examination. In this family the hind wings 
 are not ta,iled. Our first example is the Brimstone Moth 
 {Rumia cratcegata), which is shown on Woodcut XL VIII. 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 This very plentiful Moth is of a bright sulphur yellow, with 
 a few irregular streaks, and several ruddy chestnut spots on the 
 edge of the upper wings. 
 
 The caterpillar has three humps, and possesses four pairs of 
 claspers instead of two. The first and second pairs are, how- 
 ever, not used for progression. This larva is shown at Fig. 6, 
 and gives a good idea of the general aspect of a Greometra 
 larva when the body is, stretched out at full length. It feeds 
 both on the blackthorn and whitethorn, and when full-fed 
 spins a thick cocoon close to the ground, and sometimes on it. 
 The Moth may be found throughout the summer, as may the 
 caterpillar. 
 
THE OAK BEAUTY. 
 
 449 
 
 Our next example is the Oak Beauty {Amphydasis pro- 
 dromaria), which is sliown on Woodcut XLIX. Fig. 1. 
 
 Although the colours of this insect are nothing but various 
 shades of black, grey, and white, it is a very pretty Moth. 
 The ground colour of the wings is greyish-white, and across 
 the upper pair are drawn two irregular broad bands of a rich 
 brown colour, edged with black. The dots and speckles which 
 
 XLVIII 
 
 1. Gonepteryx libatrix. 2. Catocala nupta. 3. Hamia cratfegata. 
 
 a. Gonepteryx, larva. b. Rumia cratsegata, larva. 
 
 are so profusely scattered over the wings are also black. The 
 back of the thorax is brown, the sides grey, and the head 
 white. The antennae of the female are thread-like, and those 
 of the male are feathered. The caterpillar feeds on the oak 
 and birch, and the Moth is developed in the spring. This 
 caterpillar is shown on the same Woodcut, Fig. a, as it appears 
 when full-fed. Its colour is brown, mottled with white, and 
 the little projections on the back are reddish. 
 
 G G 
 
4.50 INSECTS AT HOME, 
 
 On Plate XVI. Fig. 4, is shown one of the prettiest of the 
 Geometrse, the Large Emerald {Geometra papilionaria), be- 
 longing to the family of the Greometridse. 
 
 There is little need to describe the colouring of this beauti- 
 ful Moth, further than to say that the wings are rather pale 
 leaf-green, and the scalloped markings and dots are white. 
 The head and thorax are green, and the body is greyish-white. 
 The sexes can be distinguished by the antennae, those of the 
 male being feathered, and those of the female, as shown in the 
 illustration, simple and thread-like. Both the antennae and 
 the fore legs are whitish. The name papilionaria is given to 
 it because it has a sort of butterfly appearance about it. 
 This is a tolerably common Moth, and is mostly found in woods 
 and copses, where it can be taken by beating the bushes. The 
 caterpillar is green, like the perfect insect, and has many 
 humps. It feeds chiefly on the hazel, but may be found on 
 other trees. 
 
 Passing, of necessity, over many of the Geometras, we come 
 to -that very familiar insect, the Currant Moth {Abraxas 
 grossulariata), which is shown on Plate XVI, Fig. 5. In con- 
 sequence of its boldly contrasted markings, it is sometimes 
 called the Magpie Moth. 
 
 This is invariably one of the first Moths of the young 
 collector's cabinet, and its larva is perhaps the best known of 
 the Geometrse. 
 
 The colour of the wings is white, with a yellow patch at the 
 base of the upper wings, and a rather curved band of a similar 
 colour rather beyond the middle. Upon both wings are a 
 number of deep black spots and blotches, varying greatly in 
 different specimens. Sometimes the black spots are so large 
 that they unite with each other, and make the Moth look as if 
 it were black and yellow. Sometimes the reverse takes place, 
 and the insect is almost entirely white and yellow, with a 
 few pale and uncerta'in markings of a darker colour, while in 
 many specimens there is a decided preponderance either of the 
 light or the dark portions of the wings. The antennae of the 
 female are thread-like, and those of the male very slightly, 
 but decidedly, feathered. . 
 
 This Moth is one of the partial day-fliers, and may be cap- 
 tured in any numbers in gardens where the gooseberry or black- 
 
THE MAGPIE MOTH. 
 
 451 
 
 currant is grown. The insect is a very bold one, and while it 
 is engaged in depositing its eggs, may be picked up with the 
 fingers without much difficulty. 
 
 The larva, which is represented on Plate XVI. Fig. 6, is 
 coloured very mucii like tlie perfect insect. Being so common, 
 I have been accustomed to watch it from childhood, and have 
 much to say on the subject. But Mr. Newman has so com- 
 
 XLIX 
 
 1. Amph3-dasis prodromaria. 
 a. Biston, larva. 
 
 2. Scofliona bclgiaria. 3. Hibemia defoliaria. 
 
 6. Hibernia, female. c. Hibemia, larva. 
 
 pletely made it his own that I can do no better than give his 
 own spirited words : — 
 
 ' I have seen the females of this species busily engaged in 
 oviposition, not only in the evening, but in the middle of a 
 warm summer's-day, depositing a single egg on a leaf of goose- 
 berry or black-currant, and then flying off to another. I once 
 watched ten females simultaneously occupied in this manner 
 along a garden wall less than eighty yards in length. 
 
 * Like the eggs of most diurnal Lepidoptera, they remain but 
 
 G o 2 
 
452 INSECTS AT HOlVtE. 
 
 a short time before hatching. The young caterpillar feeds for 
 two, three, or four weeks, rarely longer, and then spins to- 
 gether the edges of a gooseberry leaf, having first taken the 
 precaution of making the leaf fast to its twig by numerous 
 silken cables, which prevent the possibility of its falling when 
 dehiscence takes place in the autumn. In the little cradle 
 thus fabricated the infant caterpillar sleeps as securely as the 
 sailor in his hammock. Snow-storms and wintry winds are 
 matters of indifference to him, but no sooner have the goose- 
 berry bushes begun to assume their livery of green in the 
 spring, than instinct informs him that food is preparing to 
 satisfy his appetite, so he cuts an opening in his pensile 
 cradle, emerges, and begins to eat. 
 
 ' The full-fed caterpillar commonly rests in a straight pos- 
 ture, lying parallel with the branch ; but when annoyed, he 
 elevates his back, and tucks in his head until it is brought 
 into contact with the abdominal claspers. If the annoyance 
 be continued, he drops from his food, hanging by a thread, and 
 rarely falling to the ground ; but when this is the case, he is 
 bent double, and remains a long time in that posture.' 
 
 In spite of the very conspicuous colouring of this caterpillar, 
 it is not eaten by birds, seeming to be distasteful to them. It 
 is also distasteful to toads. If one of these larvae be placed 
 before a toad, it will be snapped up as soon as it moves, but 
 will at once be rejected, the toad moving off as if disgusted 
 with a creature on which it hoped to feed. The coloiu' of this 
 larva is creamy white, spotted and striped with orange, and 
 having a number of bold black spots and stripes, as seen in the 
 illustration. 
 
 The pupa is smooth and black, with a slight tinge of red, 
 banded with yellow, so that the caterpillar, the pupa, and the 
 perfect insect have all the same colouring. The Moth appears 
 in the middle of summer. 
 
 The family of the Hybernidse is represented by the Mottled 
 Umber Moth {Hibernia defoliaria), the male of which is shown 
 on Woodcut XLIX. Fig. 3. 
 
 The colour of the upper wings is very pale brown, across which 
 are drawn two bold brown bands, as seen in the illustration. The 
 under wings are paler brown than the upper, and are sprinkled 
 
PLATE XVI. 
 GEOMETERS AND NOCTU/E. 
 
 1. Agrotis segetum. 
 
 2. Agrotis larva. 
 
 3. Xanthia flavago. 
 
 4. Geometra papilionaria. 
 6. Abraxas grossulariata. 
 
 6. Abraxas grossulariata, larva. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Currant and Strawberry. 
 
SILK SPINNING, 453 
 
 with very tiny black dots. It is an exceedingly variable 
 insect, and there is one variety which now and then occurs in 
 which the brown bands are absent and the whole of the wings 
 is covered with the little black dots. There is no difficulty 
 in distinguishing the female from the male, as may be seen 
 by referring to Fig. b in the same Woodcut. The wings 
 are reduced to the merest rudiments, and are not only useless 
 for flight, but absolutely useless for any purpose whatever. 
 Like those of the ostrich and emeu, they are inefficient as 
 wings. But the two birds which have been mentioned are 
 exceedingly swift of foot, and the wings, though they are 
 not used for flight, do at least assist them in running. But 
 the female Mottled Umber is by no means swift of foot, and 
 indeed a distance of six inches is quite a journey to her. The 
 body of the female is warm brown in colour, and on each seg- 
 ment are two conspicuous black spots. This larva is shown at 
 Fig. c in the same Woodcut. 
 
 The larva is one of those which are furnished with a spinning 
 apparatus, and use it for defensive purposes. 
 
 I may here remark that, in all silk-spinning caterpillars, the 
 machinery is the same, though the length, quantity, and 
 quality of the silk differ greatly. Along each side of the body, 
 and closely pressed against the digestive organs, grows the 
 silk-vessel. This is a tube of greater or less capacity according 
 to the needs of the insect, in which is secreted the peculiar 
 substance which is known as silk. Each of these tubes ends in 
 a very slender outlet, scarcely as thick as a human hair, and 
 the two outlets unite in an instrument which very much 
 resembles the barrels of a double-barrelled pistol. Through 
 these tubes or barrels the gummy secretion is forced, and 
 hardens as soon as it comes in contact with the atmosphere. 
 
 Those larvae in which the supply of this secretion is small 
 are very chary of it, and only use it for the purpose of spin- 
 ning the cocoon or hammock in which the caterpillar changes to 
 the pupal and perfect states. Those, however, in which the 
 supply is niore abundant employ it in various ways, and are 
 often indebted to it for their escape from many foes. What- 
 ever they may be doing, or wherever they may move, they 
 always draw with them their silken thread, one end of which is 
 attached to the leaf or branch on which they are walking, so 
 
454 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 that, like Goldsmith's Traveller, they ' drag at each remove a 
 lengthening chain.' If they be alarmed in any way, they at 
 once drop towards the ground, supported by their thread. 
 Grenerally, they drop only a few inches ; but if the alarm 
 continue, they drop more and more, until they reach the 
 ground, where they lie until they are assured of safety. They 
 climb up again rather slowly, but steadily, using their legs for 
 the purpose, and packing up the line into a series of loops as 
 they proceed. 
 
 On "Woodcut XLIX. Fig. 2, is drawn the Moth which is pro- 
 perly called the Gtret Scalloped Bar (^Scodiona belgiaria), 
 which is an example of the family Fidonidae. 
 
 In this insect there is a very marked distinction between the 
 sexes. In the male, the upper wings are greyish-white, and 
 covered with a number of black marks, whose shape and 
 number can be seen by reference to the illustration. The 
 female is blackish-grey instead of white, but the black mark- 
 ings are nearly the same. In the male the antennae are 
 feathered, and in the female they are simple and thread-like. 
 
 The larva of this Moth feeds on the common ling {Colluna 
 vulgaris), which is so much used for thatching, for rude but 
 strong ropes, for broom making, and for a good yellow dye. 
 Like many other larvae, if alarmed, it falls at once to the 
 ground, coils itself in a ring, and will lie motionless for hours 
 together. Its colour is dull-brown, with a few grey mottlings, 
 and one or two small streaks of white. It is full-fed at the 
 beginning of May, and the perfect insect appears at the end of 
 the same month. 
 
 Quiet and simple-looking as is the Winter Moth {Cheima- 
 tobia brumata), which is represented on Woodcut L. Fig. 1, 
 there are few of our British insects which do more harm to the 
 trees, especially the fruit-trees. 
 
 The colour of the upper wings is greyish-brown, more or less 
 tinged with yellow, and marked with a few waved transverse 
 bars of a darker tint. The lower wings are much the same 
 colour, but almost without markings. Owing to its peculiar 
 habits, this is one of our most famiUar Moths. It appears in 
 the cold months of November and December, and on a sunshiny 
 
THE WINTER MOTH. 
 
 455 
 
 day may be seen flitting along the hedges in perfect content, 
 even though the ground be thickly covered with snow. 
 
 The female, though really the more important of the two, is 
 seldom noticed. Her wings are mere rudiments, and she is 
 unable to fly. She only appears at night, when she crawls up 
 the stems of trees for the purpose of depositing her eggs upon 
 them. AVhen the little caterpillars are hatched, they make 
 their way to the unopened buds, and bui'row into them, thus 
 
 1. Cheimatobia brumata. 2. Oporabia dilatata. 3. Melanippe hastata. 
 
 4. Melanippe montana. 5. Melanthia albicillata. 
 
 at the same time concealing themselves from sight, and doing 
 all the harm of which so tiny a creature is capable. It is in 
 search of these caterpillars that the small birds, more* espe 
 cially the bullfinch and chaffinch, pick off and devour the 
 buds of fruit-trees. It is true that they do not restrict them- 
 selves to those buds which contain caterpillars, but that they 
 act rather at random, picking oflf a bud first, and afterwards 
 
456 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 looking to see whether or not it contains a caterpillar. Still, 
 the good that they do very much counterbalances the harm, 
 and the little birds should be allowed to have their own way 
 with the fruit-trees. The late Mr. Waterton would never allow 
 a single little bird ever to be scared from his trees, much less 
 killed, and I never saw anywhere better prospects of heavy 
 crops. 
 
 Various plans have been tried to exterminate these mis- 
 chievous caterpillars. Being silk-spinners, they lower them- 
 selves by their threads when alarmed, and, by taking advan- 
 tage of this habit, the gardener can kill great numbers of the 
 larvae by simply tapping the boughs so as to frighten the 
 caterpillars from their food. But ' prevention is better than 
 cure,' and, on account of the structure and habits of the 
 female, she can generally be prevented from depositing her 
 eggs. Had she wings, nothing could be done ; but as she is 
 wingless, and is forced to climb up the trunks of trees before 
 she can lay her eggs, it is mostly possible to prevent her from 
 doing so. If the trunks of the trees be kept smeared with a 
 sticky compound, renewed as soon as it begins to harden, vast 
 numbers of the female can be interrupted in their march up 
 the tree, and detained until they are slaughtered by the 
 gardener. 
 
 Then, at night, the gardener should examine the trunks of 
 all trees by the aid of a lantern, and he will be sure to find a 
 number of female Winter Moths, each desirous of depositing 
 her stock of two hundred eggs. I should fancy that birdlime 
 might be useful. A mixture of Stockholm tar and cart-grease 
 has been recommended; but if I had any standard fruit- 
 trees, especially plums, greengages, or filberts, I should try the 
 efficacy of bird-lime. In this part of the country, where 
 cherry orchards abound, the fruit-growers paint the trunks of 
 the trees with whitewash mixed with weak size. This process 
 may or may not be efficacious, but there is no doubt that it is 
 very unsightly, making the otherwise beautiful cherry-orchard 
 an absolute eyesore. 
 
 When the caterpillar has become too large to be contained 
 within the bud, it turns its attention to the young leaves, 
 fixing its silken threads to their edges, and drawing two or 
 three together, so as to form a sort of tent, in which it lives. 
 
THE ARGENT AND SABLE MOTH. 457 
 
 It is not at all particular as to the tree on which it feeds, 
 and, although it certainly prefers fruit-trees, may be found on 
 almost every tree which is grown in England. The caterpillar 
 is full-fed about May, and then descends to the ground, in 
 which it burrows to a very little depth, and there changes to a 
 pupa. 
 
 Closely allied to the Winter Moth is the November Moth 
 (Oporabia dilatata), which is shown on Woodcut L. Fig. 2. 
 
 It is a prettier insect than the preceding, and exceedingly 
 variable in its markings, so that different names have been 
 given to the most common variations, no less than seven such 
 names having all been referred to this single species. The 
 ground colour of the wings is mostly blackish-grey, and the 
 waved lines which cross them are blackish-brown, the lower 
 wings being paler than the upper pair. This Moth is very 
 common, and may be found in the month from which it takes 
 its popular name. The caterpillar, like that of the Winter 
 Moth, is a general feeder, and can be found on almost any tree. 
 It is full-fed somewhere about midsummer. Its general colour 
 is velvety green with a white stripe behind the spiracles, and 
 it is often marked with purple, especially towards the end of 
 the body. 
 
 On Woodcut L. Fig. 5, is shown the Beautiful Carpet 
 (Melanthia albicillata). 
 
 This is a singularly beautiful insect, the colours, though not 
 brilliant, being arranged and contrasted in a most charming 
 manner. The upper wings are cream-white, and on each of 
 them are two rich brown patches, one at the base and another 
 on the costal margin near the tip. The hind margin is dusky, 
 and upon it are drawn two delicate waved grey streaks. 
 
 The caterpillar is nearly as pretty as the perfect insect. It 
 is deep velvet-like green, and in the middle of the body is a 
 row of orange-brown spots. It feeds on the bramble, and is 
 full-grown at the end of summer. 
 
 Next comes that very striking insect called appropriately 
 the Argent and Sable {Melanippe hastata), which is shown 
 on Woodcut L. Fig. 3. As may be inferred from the name, 
 
458 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 the colours of this Moth are entirely black and white, mostly 
 arranged as seen in the illustration, though there is some varia- 
 tion in different specimens. Even the body is black and white, 
 and the very antennae are black, with white rings. 
 
 The larva is rather variable, but is generally very dark brown, 
 with a series of small black dots along each side, and another 
 row of crescent-shaped white marks below the spiracles, each 
 of which is surrounded with a white ring. It feeds on several 
 trees and plants, such as the birch, and always lives in conceal- 
 ment, drawing together with silk the leaves of the plant on 
 which it feeds, and living within this shelter. It is full-fed 
 towards the middle of the autumn, and the perfect insect appears 
 at the beginning of the following summer. 
 
 Another species of this beautiful genus is shown on the same 
 Woodcut, Fig. 4. This is the Silver Ground Carpet {Mela- 
 nippe niontand). 
 
 The upper wings of this Moth are cream-white, and across 
 them is drawn an irregular stripe of dark ochre-grey, which 
 mostly has a whitish patch upon it near the costal margin of 
 the wing. There is a small triangular patch of similar colour 
 at the base of the wing. There is a smoky grey edging to 
 the wing, through which is drawn a waved whitish line. These 
 markings look rather too black in the figure. The larva feeds 
 on the common primrose, and is pale brown, covered with a 
 variety of markings, the most conspicuous of which are three 
 large black spots shaped something like the letter V, upon the 
 seventh, eighth, and ninth segments. The caterpillar is full- 
 fed about the end of March or beginning of April. All the 
 Moths represented in this Woodcut belong to the family of the 
 Larentidse. 
 
 On Woodcut LI. Fig. 1, is shown the Eoyal Mantle {An- 
 ticlea sinuata\ a name which was given to the little Moth on 
 account of the beauty of its colouring. The markings of this 
 pretty insect are so many and so complicated that they cannot 
 fully be described, but are generally as follows. The ground 
 colour of the upper wings may be considered as creamy grey, 
 and at the base is a large triangular patch, divided by several 
 bars of a lighter colour. Towards the tip of the wing is a 
 
THE ROYAL MANTLE. 
 
 459 
 
 blackish patch, and the rest of the wing is taken up with zig- 
 zagged and scalloped lines drawn as seen in the illustration. 
 There is a great resemblance between the various members of 
 this genus, and one or two, such as the Flame Moth {Anticlea 
 ruhldata) and the Shoulder Stripe {^Anticlea badlata), are so 
 much alike that a sharp eye is required to distinguish the one 
 from the other. 
 
 The larva of this Moth feeds on the Lady's Bedstraw {Galium 
 vemm), and the colour is green with two black stripes along 
 
 LI 
 
 1. Anticlea sinnata. 2. Scotosia certata, 3. Cidaria sagittata. 
 
 4. Chesias spartiata. 6. Tanagra chcerophyllata. 
 
 the back. There are numbers of little black hairs scattered 
 over the whole body. About the middle of autumn it is full- 
 fed, and then spins for itself a web among the leaves of its 
 food-plant. It passes the winter in the pupal state, and appears 
 as a Moth in the summer of the following year. 
 
460 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 A VERT pretty insect belonging to this large family is the 
 ^ ScABCE Tissue {Scotosia certatd) which is represented on Wood- 
 'cut LI. Fig. 2. 
 
 This is a larger Moth than the others. The hind margin of 
 both pairs of wings is scalloped, that of the upper pair very 
 slightly, and that of the under pair more boldly cut. The 
 specific name of sinuata, or waved, is given to the insect in 
 consequence of these scallopings of the wings, "the colour of 
 the wings is pale grey brown, and across them are drawn a 
 number of irregular bars, as shown in the illustration. Just 
 inside the hind margin of both pairs of wings runs a narrow 
 black line, following the outline of the scalloping. 
 
 The larva feeds on the barberry, and regarding it Mr. New- 
 man makes the following* remarks : ' When young they spin 
 together two leaves of the barberry, adjusting the edges with 
 so much care that the two leaves look like one. The back of 
 the upper leaf I always find applied to the face of the lower, 
 and between these leaves the enclosed caterpillar rests in a 
 curved posture, the head brought round to touch the side of the 
 tenth segment, but the caterpillar always resting on its ven- 
 tral surface, and not ring-fashion. In this retreat it eats the 
 cuticle and parenchyma of the upper leaf, its operations always 
 betraying its whereabouts by the appearance of a large brown 
 blotch on the surface.' 
 
 This caterpillar is blue-brown above, with a black stripe 
 on each side, and a row of orange spots beneath them. It is 
 full-fed about midsummer, and the perfect insect appears at the 
 end of the spring of the succeeding year. 
 
 Our last example of this large family is the Marsh Carpet 
 {Gidaria sagittata), one of our most local insects. 
 
 The upper wings of this pretty Moth are delicate fawn colour, 
 on which are two bold patches of very dark olive-brown edged 
 with white, one occupying the base and the other the middle 
 of the wing. The latter runs out into a sharp angle towards 
 the hind margin, and assumes a shape which has been fancifully 
 thought to resemble an arrow-head. The specific name of 
 saglttaria has been given to the insect in consequence of this 
 supposed resemblance. The lower wings are comparatively 
 Dale and without much marking. 
 
THE CARPET MOTHS. 461 
 
 The larva feeds upon the meadow-rne {Thalictrum flavuin\ 
 a plant which grows only in places which are constantly wet, 
 such as the ditches of water-meadows and fen districts. For 
 this reason the Moth has received its popular name of Marsh 
 Carpet. The fen district of Cambridge is the only locality 
 in which this Moth has been known to occur in England. 
 
 The caterpillar feeds mostly on the seeds of the meadow- 
 rue, but will at a pinch eat the leaves or panicles of other 
 plants belonging to the same genus. It is a singularly pretty 
 caterpillar and very curiously shaped. Each of the segments, 
 from the fifth to the tenth inclusive, is developed above into a 
 sort of hump, and at the side into a lobe or flap, which contains 
 the spiracle. The top of each hump is deep velvety olive-green, 
 and the spaces between them are in some specimens bright leaf- 
 green, and in others rose-coloured, a velvet-black edge throw- 
 ing out these colours in a most beautiful manner. 
 
 This lovely caterpillar finishes its feeding towards the middle 
 of autumn, and generally spins a web among the flowers of the 
 food-plant, in which it undergoes its changes. Sometimes, 
 however, it descends to the ground, and there takes the pupal 
 form. The perfect in'sect appears in summer, but can only be 
 found by those who know where to look for it, as it has hitherto 
 been only found in one county of England. 
 
 There are many of the Moths which are popularly termed 
 ' Carpets.' This name is given to them because the beautiful 
 patterns of their wings are thought to have some resemblance 
 to those of carpets. I only wish that the patterns of carpets 
 resembled those of the wings. 
 
 The family of the Eubolidse is represented in this work by the 
 Moth which is appropriately termed the Streak {Chesias s^ar- 
 tiata), and is drawn on Woodcut LI. Fig. 4. 
 
 The insect is easily recognised by the peculiarity from which 
 it derives its name, viz. the white streak which runs nearly 
 from base to tip of the light brown wings. There is a slight 
 white line that runs just inside the hind margin, and three 
 rather indistinct darker oval marks, one above the streak and 
 the other two below it. A sort of silky or satiny sheen glosses 
 the surface of the upper wings. The lower wings are much 
 paler than the upper, and the whole body is dark greyish 
 
462 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 brown with a silky gloss. The larva feeds on the common 
 Broom (Spartium scoparia) whence its specific title of spar- 
 tiata. The Moth appears in September. 
 
 The last of the Greometrse scarcely looks as if it belonged to 
 that group. This is the common Chimney-Sweeper {Tana- 
 gra chosrophyllata), which is represented on Woodcut LI. 
 Fig. 5. 
 
 As may be inferred from its popular name, the colour of this 
 Moth is sooty-black. The fringe is grey, except at the tip 
 of the upper wings, where it is snowy-white. The larva is 
 rather a pretty one, being dark green with a few lines of olive- 
 green and light green. The spiracles are red. It feeds on the 
 common earth-nut, or pig-nut {Bunium fleomosum) and is full- 
 fed at the beginning of June, when it descends into the earth 
 and changes to the pupal state. At the end of that month it 
 assumes its perfect form, and in many localities appears in 
 great nimibers. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 PSEUDO-BOMBYCES, DREPANUL^, AND NOCTUJE. 
 
 ' The two first of these groups are gathered by Mr. Newman 
 into one group, which are termed Cuspidates, because the 
 tail of the larva mostly ends in a cusp or point. Some of 
 the strangest caterpillars in the world belong to this group, 
 and we have in sober England a number of Cuspidate larvES 
 which may rival the most wonderful productions of the tropics 
 for beauty of colour and strangeness of form, the latter being 
 in many cases actually grotesque. 
 
 The Pseudo-Bombyces are so called because the Moths look 
 at first sight as if they belonged to the true Bombyces. The 
 structure and habits of the caterpillar, however, show that 
 these Moths are very rightly placed in a separate group. 
 
 The first family is the Dicranuridae, so called on account of 
 the structure of the larva. The name is formed from two 
 G-reek words, signifying Double-tailed, and is given to these 
 insects because the tail of the larva is very deeply cleft, so as, 
 in fact, to resemble two distinct tails. 
 
 The first of these insects is the common Puss Moth (Dicra- 
 nura vinula), which is represented on Plate XV. Fig. 4. 
 
 This insect affords another example of the effect which can be 
 got out of simple black and white. The upper wings are soft 
 greyish-white and rounded at the tips, and have a peculiar 
 softness in their general aspect. Most of the larger nervures 
 are without scales, and show themselves conspicuously, but 
 at the branches they are thickly covered with black scales. The 
 wings are covered with bold markings in black and dark grey, 
 as seen in the illustration. The lower wings are white at thp 
 base, deepening to blackish grey towards the margin, and have 
 a few dark spots on the fringe. The large thorax is covered 
 with long, soft down of a snowy-white colour, diversified with 
 
464 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 eight very black spots, so that it strongly reminds the observer 
 of minever. The head is also white, and is held so much 
 under the thorax that, when the creature is at rest, the head is 
 quite invisible, and nothing can be seen but the ends of the 
 antennae, which are laid along either side of the thorax. 
 
 The caterpillar of this pretty Moth affords a singular example 
 of grotesque form and beautiful colouring. The head is flat, 
 and, when the creature is at rest, is drawn back into the second 
 segment. The fourth segment is produced into a large and 
 pointed hump, and from the ninth segment the body tapers to 
 the end. Here are developed two rough horn-like projections, 
 from each of which can be protruded a horny pink filament, 
 which seems to be employed as a weapon. It has been 
 suggested that these appendages are used for the purpose of 
 driving away ichneumon-flies when they settle on the body in 
 the hope of depositing their eggs. Whether this theory be 
 correct or not is undetermined, but the caterpillar certainly 
 does protrude them when irritated. The larva has another 
 weapon, if it may be so called. Below the head there is a 
 transverse slit about the sixth of an inch in length. When 
 the creature is alarmed or angered, from this aperture is 
 ejected a fluid of an acrid character, which may probably have 
 some injurious or deterrent effect upon the enemies of the 
 Puss Moth larva. 
 
 The colour of this caterpillar is singularly beautifvd — leaf- 
 green on the sides and whitish above, with some stripes of 
 purple-brown. Between these two colours a white stripe 
 runs from the side of the head to the tip of the hump, and 
 then passes to the base of the double tail. The stripes are so 
 arranged that when the larva is viewed from above, they appear 
 something like the capital letter X. In some specimens, 
 though not in all, there is a large purple patch on the eighth 
 segment. 
 
 This larva feeds both on the willow and poplar, and, being- 
 very hardy, is easily reared throughout its changes. When 
 full-fed, which takes place about the end of May, it leaves its 
 food, crawls down the trunk of the tree, and creeps into some 
 convenient crevice of the bark. In this refuge it forms a 
 cocoon made of small chips of the bark fastened together with 
 silk, and of wonderful strength. The cocoon, indeed, is mostly 
 
COCOON OF THE PUSS MOTH. 465 
 
 constructed of silk, the bark chips being merely added to it in 
 order to make it agree in appearance with the trunk of the 
 tree. Moisture does not soften this silken secretion, though 
 air hardens it, and the consequence is that after exposure to 
 the atmosphere, the cocoon becomes as hard as if made of 
 horn, so that the inmate is safe from nearly all enemies ; while 
 the exact similitude between the surface of the cocoon and the 
 bark of the tree renders it almost incapable of discovery. 
 
 A very good specimen of this cocoon in my collection was 
 discovered by me quite accidentally, and so precisely did it 
 resemble the bark of the tree that I was obliged to keep my 
 finger on the spot while I opened my knife, fearing that if I 
 once lost the exact place I should never find it again. If the 
 larva be kept in captivity, and deprived of material from 
 which the wood-chips of the cocoon are formed, it is obliged to 
 form its habitation entirely of silk, and thus enables the 
 observer to see the construction of this remarkable cocoon. 
 Though formed of silk, it is not made like that of the silkworm 
 Moth, of a thread which is wound into an oval shape. No thread 
 is visible, but the whole cocoon looks (and feels) as if it were 
 made from very thin horn, so translucent that the form of the 
 inmate can easily be seen through it. I imagine that, although 
 the cocoon is spun like that of the silkworm and other Moths, 
 the silk does not harden immediately it comes in contact with 
 the atmosphere, so that the whole mass becomes fused together, 
 and the individuality of the thread is thereby lost. I have 
 reared many of these larvae, and found that, although they 
 would always use portions of their food-plant iu the construc- 
 tion of the cocoon, they were really quite independent of it, 
 and did not suffer in any way by being obliged to form their 
 dwelling entirely of silk. 
 
 It is always easy to force a Puss Moth larva to form such a 
 cocoon. When it is full-fed it loses the brilliancy of its 
 colours, a brownish hue comes over its body, and it looks as if 
 it were about to die. It should then be removed from its food - 
 plant, and placed in the glass vessel in which the cocoon is to be 
 preserved for the collection. After the cocoon is fully formed, 
 the vessel should be subjected to the vapour of bruised laurel 
 leaves long enough to kill the pupa, and the dead insect 
 
 H H 
 
466 
 
 INSECTS AT HOIVIE. 
 
 should then be carefully dried in an oven, and the case 
 rendered air-tight. 
 
 The caterpillar is full-fed about midsummer, and, passing 
 the winter in its chrysalis state, is developed into the Moth in 
 the following June. 
 
 LII 
 
 1. Cerara fiircula. 2. Stauropus fagi. 3. Notodenta dromedarius. 
 
 a. Stauropus, larva. b. Notodonta, larva. 
 
 Next in order comes the Moth which, as the larva feeds on 
 sallow and the insect belongs to the same genus as the Puss 
 Moth, but is much smaller, is popularly termed the Sallow 
 Kitten Moth (Dicranura or Cerura furcula). This insect is 
 represented on Woodcut LII. Fig. 1. The specific name of 
 furcula signifies a little fork, and is given to the insect in 
 consequence of the shape of the larva, which is terminated by 
 two diverging horns, continuous in their outline with that of 
 the body, and not projecting from it like the horn of a Hawk 
 Moth larva. '. . 
 
LOBSTER MOTH. 467 
 
 Though not so strikingly handsome an insect as its larger 
 relative, the Sallow Kitten is really a pretty Moth. The 
 upper wings are greyish white, traversed by a number of 
 black-grey streaks arranged as seen in the illustration, one or 
 two of them being accompanied by a line of yellow. The 
 lower wings of the male are pure white, clouded with grey and 
 having a few blackish spots, while those of the female are 
 mostly dusky. The thorax is coloured like the upper wings, 
 and is crossed transversely by three bars of black and yellow. 
 
 The larva is shaped and coloured very much like that of the 
 Puss Moth, but may be recognised by the shape of the body 
 with its deeply forked end. When the larva is full-fed, it 
 spins a cocoon much like that of the Puss Moth, and the 
 perfect insect appears in June. 
 
 On Woodcut LII. Fig. 2, is drawn a Moth which in the 
 perfect state does not attract much attention, but which, as a 
 larva, is one of the most extraordinary beings that England 
 possesses. In fact, supposing that the creature were not known, 
 no artist would dare to figure so bizarre an object ; for if he did 
 so, all the entomologists would be in arms against him, and 
 say that such a creature could not possibly exist. 
 
 The shape and markings of the insect can be seen by refer- 
 ence to the illustration, and as the wings are merely grey- 
 brown marked with a darker tint, they need not be described 
 in detail. The figure represents a male. The female is 
 similarly coloured, but is larger, and her antennae are thread- 
 like and without the feathering-. 
 
 Now we come to the larva, which is shown at Fig. a of the 
 same illustration. The three remarkable characteristics of this 
 larva are the enormously long legs, so unlike the short, feeble 
 legs of most caterpillars ; the high and pointed humps of the 
 middle segments, and the enormously developed thirteenth, or 
 last segment, with its double, club-shaped horns. 
 
 The attitude in which it is represented is that which it 
 assumes when at rest. The colour is reddish-brown, profusely 
 spotted with minute dots of a paler hue, and there are two 
 slight blackish stripes along the back, and a grey stripe 
 between them. There are also a few black marks on the sides 
 of the body. This extraordinary caterpillar feeds on oak and 
 
 B H 2 
 
468 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 beech, and, when it is full-fed, which occurs about the end of 
 September, it spins together several leaves, and within them 
 makes its cocoon. At the beginning of winter the leaves fall, 
 but the habitation which the caterpillar has made is so formed 
 that it protects the inmate from the shock of the fall, which, 
 however is but slight, as the dry, withered leaves and enclosed 
 cocoon are very light, and only come fluttering gently to the 
 ground. The perfect insect appears in June. It is not a common 
 Moth, and is never found in the northern parts of England. 
 
 The scientific name of this insect is Stauropus fagi, and its 
 popular title, the Lobster Moth. Both names refer to the 
 caterpillars. The word Staurojpus, or stake-footed, refers 
 to the great length of the legs, which almost look as if they 
 were slender sticks projecting from the larva ; and the name of 
 Lobster Moth is given to it because the larva is thought to 
 resemble a lobster rather than an ordinary caterpillar, the 
 uplifted and enlarged last segment doing duty for the claw. 
 
 The very common and really handsome Moth, the Buff-tip 
 {Pygcera bucephala) is drawn on Woodcut XLVII. Fig. 1, 
 page 439. The figure represents a male with its wings spread. 
 
 The upper wings of this Moth are beautifully coloured with 
 various shades of grey, crossed with bars and bands of different 
 browns, mixed here and there with ochreous yellow, and 
 taking a slight purplish gloss along the costal margin. At the 
 tip of each wing is a large buff blotch, marked off from the 
 rest of the wing by two dark-brown lines enclosing a grey line, 
 between them. The buff blotch has on it a few markings of 
 deeper hue. The hind wings are paler greyish ochre, and the 
 whole of the under surface is of the same colour, with the 
 exception of a dark bar crossing the lower wings diagonally, 
 and a dark hind margin to the upper wings. The thorax is 
 large, covered with dense, gold-coloured down, and nearly 
 conceals the head. 
 
 When at rest, this Moth presents a very curious aspect. 
 The wings are pressed against the body which they cover, the 
 two yellow spots at their tips exactly balancing at one end the 
 yellow thorax at the other. The large thorax itself looks very 
 much like a head, and on that account the specific name of 
 bucephala, or ' bull-headed,' has been given to the insect. In 
 
THE BUFF-TIP MOTH. 469 
 
 consequence of the peculiar aspect of the quiescent attitude, 
 the Bufif-tip Moth often escapes observation, as most persons 
 would mistake it for a piece of dried stick. 
 
 The caterpillar feeds upon the lime, the elm, the hazel, and 
 one or two other trees, and often does considerable damage. It 
 is semi-social in its habits, and, though plentiful, is not often 
 seen until full-fed, in consequence of its peculiar idiosyncrasies. 
 The eggs are laid in batches, sometimes as many as sixty in 
 number, on the upper part of a leaf, and when hatched, the 
 little caterpillars belonging to each brood remain together, and 
 feed on the upper surface of the leaf. After their first change 
 of skin, they break up into six or seven small companies, and 
 each company remains together until the change into the 
 pupal state is at hand. As they become larger they make 
 their way to the topmost branches, where they work great 
 havoc amongi the leaves, often leaving bough after bough 
 completely denuded of foliage. 
 
 When full-fed they separate, and each caterpillar makes its 
 way down the tree, and starts off on its travels in search of a 
 resting-place in which it can pass its pupal state of existence. 
 Being very numerous and very conspicuous, these caterpillars 
 are familiar to most residents in the country. They go reso- 
 lutely in their search, making their way over everything in 
 their path, utterly careless of observation. In some places 
 they are so numerous that they become a positive nuisance, 
 and, indeed, I do not know any creature which has a greater 
 talent for getting in the way. 
 
 Towards the beginning of August these caterpillars begin to 
 show themselves, and anyone who wishes to rear the Moth from 
 the caterpillar may procure as many as he likes. Last year 
 (1870) they grievously offended tidy housekeepers by their 
 intrusion. It was hardly possible to set foot outside the door 
 without crushing one or two of them on the white door-step, 
 and, not content with infesting the steps and paths, they 
 crawled into the houses, and travelled over ciujjets and oil- 
 cloths as determinately as if they had been traversing the 
 fields. When at last they have suited themselves with a spot 
 which seems to them a favourable one, they throw off the last 
 caterpillar skin, and change into smooth brown pupae. These 
 pupae are wonderfully hardy, enduring the frost of winter 
 
470 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ■svithout the least protection, and emerging in the perfect state 
 in the early summer of the following year. Pupge so exposed 
 are naturally liable to destruction. Uncounted thousands are 
 eaten by birds, and, indeed, were it not for the destruction that 
 awaits the larger proportion of the larvae as they travel in 
 search of resting-places, and the havoc that is made among 
 them in the pupal state, their armies would be so enormous 
 that scarcely a forest tree would survive their ravages. 
 
 The colour of the caterpillar is yellow, covered with a 
 number of short longitudinal black bars arranged in nine rows, 
 as seen at Woodcut XL VII. Fig. a. The pupa is remarkable 
 for the doubly forked apparatus at the end of the tail. 
 
 Next comes a family of Moths called Notodontidse, or Tooth- 
 backs, because the backs or inner margins of the upper wings 
 are toothed, or have elevated portions along the inner margins, 
 from which they derive the popular name of Prominents. As 
 an example of these Moths we will take the Iron Prominent 
 {Notodenta dromedarius), the male of which is shown on 
 Woodcut LII. Fig. 3. 
 
 The colouring- of this insect is very simple. The ground hue 
 is brown, with a slight purplish tinge, upon which is a broad 
 rust-red streak and two small pale bars, arranged as seen in the 
 illustration. The outlines of all the markings are vague and 
 indistinct, and there is considerable variation in different 
 individuals. The lower wings are greyish brown, with a dark 
 spot on the disc, and two pale and ill-defined bars. 
 
 The caterpillar, although not so bizarre in appearance as that 
 of the Lobster Moth, is yet a very quaint and odd-looking 
 creature. A portrait of this larva is given at Fig. b on the same 
 Woodcut. As may be seen by reference to the figiu:e, the head 
 is comparatively large, and the second and third segments are 
 so small as to form a sort of neck. From the fifth to the ninth 
 segments the back is humped. The colour is rather pretty, 
 being green more or less tinged with yellow, and liiarked with 
 a very deep purple-brown. There are other markings, but the 
 shape of the larva is so peculiar that minute detail is not 
 needed for its identification. 
 
 This caterpillar may be found on the birch, where it remains 
 until full-fed, an event which takes place somewhere about the 
 
THE NOCTUJi:. 471 
 
 end of September. It then descends the tree, and beneath it 
 spins for itself a slight cocoon, which is generally screened from 
 observation by having a fallen leaf fastened to its upper 
 surface. In this exposed situation it changes into a pupa, and 
 there lies until the following June, when it assumes the perfect 
 form. The insect is, and yet is not, a common one. Those 
 entomologists who have not yet learned to look behind the 
 scenes of Nature's theatre reckon the Iron Prominent to be 
 quite a rarity ; while those who have been long accustomed to 
 the practical study of insects and their ways, experience no 
 great diflficulty in obtaining either the moth, the pupa, or the 
 caterpillar, and in consequence consider the Iron Prominent as 
 rather a plentiful insect. 
 
 We now come to one of the largest groups of British Moths, 
 the NocTU^, so called because, as a rule, they are exclusively 
 night-fliers, and never, except by accident, appear in the day- 
 time. In tliese Moths the body is almost always stout and 
 tliick, as is the thorax, the hairs of which often rise nearly 
 erect, so as to form a sort of crest. Generally these Moths hide 
 themselves by day, taking advantage of crevices in walls, the 
 bark of trees, old posts, palings, and invariably selecting those 
 which best harmonise with the colour of their closed wings. 
 So close is often the resemblance between the colour of the 
 insect and that of the object on which it rests, that even the 
 most experienced and keenest entomologists often find them- 
 selves deceived, and have only detected the well-disguised 
 insect when, by an accidental touch, they have forced it to take 
 flight. Even those species which have their under wings 
 adorned with beautiful colours, have almost invariably their 
 upper wings plainly mottled with brown, grey, black, and dun, 
 so that when they are at rest the splendid under wings are 
 concealed, and their glories veiled by the sombrely tinted 
 upper pair. Many, in fact, most of them, have both pairs of 
 wings coloured in the simplest and least imposing manner, not 
 even having any bold black, white, or brown markings on 
 either pair of wings. Consequently, when a number of Noctuse, 
 which are of about the same size, are collected, it is a very 
 difficult matter to refer them to their proper positions, and 
 
'/ 
 
 472 INSECTS AT HOIVIE. 
 
 even the most skilful of entomologists is forced to refer to his 
 books before he can, with any confidence, assign to some sixty 
 or a hundred Noctuse their exact names. 
 
 As they mostly fly by night, and are always attracted by 
 light, these Moths form the greater number of those which are 
 captured by the familiar and most efficacious process of 
 ' sugaring.' This process may be briefly explained. The 
 intending sugarer mixes together the roughest and coarsest of 
 sugar — ' foots ' as it is called — with water or beer, and boils 
 them together. I believe that water is quite as efficacious as 
 beer. He may then cork it up tightly in bottles, and keep it 
 until he wants to use it. 
 
 On some dark, calm evening — the latter attribute being 
 absolutely necessary — the entomologist pours a sufficiency of 
 the mixture into a basin, adds a few spoonfuls of new rum, and 
 steeps in it ten to sixteen pieces of old rag. When the rags 
 are thoroughly soaked, he removes them, allows the super- 
 fluous moisture to drip from them, puts the saturated rags into a 
 tightly closed vessel, and pours the rest of the sweet liquid 
 into the bottle, in readiness for the next occasion. 
 
 Provided with a number of pill-boxes, the ordinary net, 
 pins, forceps, and other entomological paraphernalia, the col- 
 lector further adds a dark lantern — not a ' bull's-eye ' — a box 
 of matches, and a small bottle of chloroform, or, in default 
 thereof, a ' laurel-bottle,' in which the pounded laurel leaves 
 are made up into little packets about as wide as a sixpence and 
 as thick as a penny. Arrived at a spot where there are plenty 
 of trees, the collector lights his lantern, takes the saturated 
 rags from the box, and pins them upon the trunks of trees, 
 taking care to arrange them as nearly as possible in a circle, so 
 as to concentrate the odour of the sugar and rum. When he 
 has pinned up the last piece of rag, he sees that his apparatus is 
 all in good order, and slowly goes round his former track, 
 always taking care to throw the light of the lantern on the rags. 
 
 Should the night be favourable, an extraordinary sight 
 presents itself. Hundreds of Moths are converging upon the 
 spot from all directions, and as many others are gathered 
 round the sweet mixture, while every now and then the two 
 round eyes of some large Moth glow amid the darkness like 
 two balls of fire. Some of the commoner kinds are often in 
 
PEACH-BLOSSOM MOTH. 473 
 
 such profusion as to be absolutely annoying, crowding to the 
 sugar in multitudes, and quite distracting the eye of the col- 
 lector from the Moths which he wishes to take. With a little 
 practice, however, the task of selection becomes a tolerably easy 
 one, and there are few nights when valuable additions may not 
 be made to the cabinet. When the collector has made the 
 round of his sugar rags often enough, he unpins them, and 
 puts them back into the tin box ready to serve for another 
 occasion. This plan is far less cumbrous than the old method 
 of carrying a jar of sugar and beer and a brush wherewith to 
 spread the compound on the trees. 
 
 Most of the pupae of the Noctuas undergo their changes 
 beneath the surface of the ground, and the chrysalids that are 
 found by the collector when ' digging for pupge ' generally 
 belong to this group of insects. 
 
 Our first example of the Noctuas is the pretty Peach- 
 Blossom Moth {Thyatira batis), which is represented on 
 Woodcut LIU. Fig. 3. 
 
 This very pretty Moth has received its popular name in 
 consequence of the colouring of the wings. The upper pair 
 are olive-brown, decorated with four large and conspicuous 
 spots, the largest being at the base of the wing, and one 
 smaller spot on the inner margin. These spots are lovely 
 pink in the middle, surrounded with white, and each of them 
 really does bear some resemblance to the petal of a peach- 
 blossom. A few bars of rose-colom' cross the brown thorax. The 
 body is brown, and has a small crest on the back of the second, 
 third, and fourth segments. The beautiful pink colour of the 
 spots is very liable to fade, unless the insect be very carefully 
 kept in the dark. Several of my specimens have almost lost 
 their lovely pink in consequence of being kept in a badly 
 constructed cabinet. The Moth is tolerably common. 
 
 The larva of this insect is a very odd-looking creature, 
 as may be seen by reference to Fig. a on the same Woodcut. 
 Its colour is warm chestnut-brown mottled with grey, and the 
 surface has a velvety aspect. One peculiarity in this cater- 
 pillar is that it seems to make no use either of its true legs or 
 of the claspers at the end of its body, but clings to its food 
 plant by means of the claspers of the middle of the body. 
 
474 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The largest hump is that of the third segment, and it is 
 furnished at the top with a cleft projection. This curious 
 lar\a can be found on the common bramble, and is in best 
 condition about the end of August, or beginning of September, 
 when it is full-fed, and about to ' spin up.' When it finally 
 ceases to feed it spins a slight cocoon, which it fastens among 
 the leaves, changes into the pupal state, and makes its appear- 
 
 Lin 
 
 f 
 
 1. Platepteryx falcula. 
 
 2. Psyche opacella. 
 a. Thyatira, larva. 
 
 3. Thyatira batis. 
 b. Psyche, larva. 
 
 4. Diphthera Orion. 
 
 ance as a Moth in the ensuing summer. This pretty Moth 
 used to be very plentiful about Oxford when I was collecting 
 there. It belongs to the family Trifidse. 
 
 Next comes an example of the Bombycoidse — a Moth quite as 
 beautiful as- the preceding insect, but with a different style of 
 beauty. Its scientific name is Diphthera Orion, and its popular 
 title the Scaece Merveil du Jour. See Woodcut LIII. Fig. 4. 
 
 The colour of the upper wings is very remarkable. The 
 
THE DOUBLE-LINE. 475 
 
 ground hue is bright green, across which four pure white 
 stripes are drawn longitudinally, and three black jagged bars 
 transversely. The two middle white stripes are the widest, the 
 two others being quite narrow, one running close to the costal 
 margin of the wing, and the other equally close to the hind 
 margin. The hind margin is edged with a row of spots having 
 the centre white and the exterior black. The head is green, 
 like the upper wings, and the thorax is green in the middle, 
 black in front, and black and pale green behind. The lower 
 wings are smoky-grey, and with a dark spot on the disc, and a 
 few white lines at the anal angle. 
 
 The caterpillar is a very pretty larva, blue-black on the back, 
 and adorned with orange and pale yellow on the sides. It has 
 been known to feed both on birch and oak, and Mr. Crewe, who 
 reared some of these insects from the egg, thinks that the 
 caterpillar feeds alternately on oa'k and birch, passing from one 
 to the other at will. I scarcely see how this can be the case, 
 as oak and birch trees are not always in proximity to each 
 other, and, unless their branches actually touched, it is difficult 
 to see how the larva could pass from one tree to another. The 
 pupa forms for itself a cocoon of gnawed wood, and the perfect 
 insect appears in June. It is a rare species, but has been 
 found in Kent, the New Forest, near Ipswich, and one or two 
 other localities. 
 
 The Moth which is represented on Woodcut LIV. Fig. 1, is an 
 instance of an insect, which was once plentiful, becoming rare. 
 Its popular name is the Double-line, and its scientific title is 
 Leucania turca. It is an example of the group Grenuinse, and 
 the family Leucanidae. 
 
 The colour of this Moth is simple. The ground hue of the 
 upper wings is brick-red, very much like that of red blotting- 
 paper, but rather duller and browner, and across them are 
 drawn two dark brown bars, which have gained for the insect 
 its popular name. In the middle of the wing is a small, 
 curved, white spot. The lower wings are pale brown, becoming 
 reddish on the margins. 
 
 The larva feeds on wood grasses, and is mostly to be found in 
 the southern parts of England, especially those which are near 
 the coast. The Moth appears in June. 
 
476 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 On the same Woodcut, at Fig. 3, is shown the too common 
 Cabbage Moth {Mamestra brassicce). 
 
 That this Moth subserves some good purpose is evident from 
 the fact of its existence, but what that purpose may be is not 
 easy to discover. It may, perhaps, be useful in keeping down 
 the too abundant vegetation in wild and uncultivated countries, 
 and so may have done good service when this land was one vast 
 
 1. Leucania turca. 2. Agrotis segetiim. 3. Mamestra brassicae. 4. Tryphsena janthina. 
 a. TryphaBna, larva. 
 
 hunting-ground, and our predecessors used flint instead of steel, 
 and a wash of woad by way of dress. At all events, it is very 
 much out of place so far as regards civilised society, and we 
 could well spare it if it had been improved off the face of 
 creation, in company with the wolf, the bear, and the beaver. 
 
 The caterpillar of this Moth is one of the most voracious 
 herb-feeders in this country. It can eat almost any herb, but 
 prefers those which belong to the cabbage tribe. As for those 
 
THE TUKNIP MOTH. 477 
 
 wbich are cultivated with solid masses of vegetation, such as 
 the summer-cabbage and the broccoli, this larva .is terribly 
 destructive, burrowing through and through the very heart of 
 the vegetable, and leaving behind it a track or gallery, filled 
 with the watery juices of the plant and the ejecta of the 
 caterpillars. For my part, I have seen so much of these 
 abominable beings that I have not for many years ventured to 
 touch a ' summer-cabbage.' I am not particularly fastidious, 
 but have not yet brought myself to appi*eciate boiled cater- 
 pillars, and rather fancy that I never shall accept them as an 
 article of food. 
 
 It is quite impossible for the cook to extirpate them from 
 the cabbage, no matter how conscientiously she may steep it in 
 strong salt and water. Those caterpillars which are merely 
 Im'king- between the leaves are dislodged easily enough, and 
 often come tumbling out in such numbers that the cook is 
 persuaded that she has completely ejected them. But, deep 
 within the heart of the cabbage, sorely grieved indeed by the 
 salt, but too deeply buried to make their escape, are sundry of 
 the largest and best-fed caterpillars, which are eventually 
 boiled with the cabbage, and mostly eaten ignorantly by those 
 who partake of the vegetable. During life they are darker 
 than the bright green of the leaf, but the boiling water reduces 
 leaf and caterpillar to a very similar hue, and it is not easy to 
 distinguish the one from the other. 
 
 The colour of the upper wings of this Moth is dark greyish- 
 brown, mottled variously with darker brown and grey. The 
 lower wings are paler brown, with a smoky or blackish tint. 
 The caterpillar is exceedingly variable in its colours, but is 
 generally olive- brown above and yellow below, and on the back 
 of each segment is a blackish triangular mark in which are two 
 white dots. Sometimes the body is pale dusky-green above 
 and below. When full-fed it descends to the earth, makes a 
 shallow burrow in it, and changes to a smooth brown chrysalis. 
 Both the Moth and caterpillar are plentiful through the 
 summer, and during the autumn the ground may be nearly 
 cleared of pupae by judicious digging and hand-picking. 
 
 The family of the Noctuidse will be represented by three 
 examples, the first of which is the Turnip Moth {Agrotis 
 segetum), which is drawn on Woodcut LIV. Fig. 2. 
 
478 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 This is a small and inconspicuous Moth, but it does far 
 more damage than many Moths of much larger size and more 
 conspicuous colouring. The larva of this insect is to turnips 
 what that of the last-mentioned insect is to the cabtage, and 
 with this difference, that whereas the Cabbage caterpillar 
 works above ground and may be detected by the eye, the 
 Turnip caterpillar works for the most part below the surface 
 of the earth, and the only evidence of its presence is the 
 drooping state of the plant. When very young, it feeds upon 
 the leaves of the turnip and many other plants, such, for 
 example, as the carrot, or some flower, and in that stage may 
 be removed by hand-picking ; but, when it grows larger, it 
 descends towards the earth, fixes upon the upper portion of 
 the root, just where it joins the stem, and there gnaws a 
 groove completely round the stem, the entire plant often 
 dying from the injury. It grows with great rapidity, and, 
 when about three-quarters grown, burrows into the earth and 
 attacks the root itself, beginning near the bottom, burrowing 
 deeply into it, and gnawing large hollows in it. 
 
 These caterpillars are only too familiar to agricultmists. 
 They are nearly smooth, grey-striped more or less, and covered 
 with little shining, round spots, from each of which proceeds a 
 short bristle. As a rule, the gardener cannot mistake in 
 killing every brown-looking caterpillar that he finds beneath 
 the ground, for it is sm-e to be one of those beings that 
 make havoc among the crops, and the greater because their 
 ravages are carried on_ out of sight. It is principally in 
 search of these destructive caterpillars that the rooks frequent 
 turnip-fields. When the birds are seen busily digging with 
 their powerful beaks, they are engaged in the search after 
 the turnip caterpillar, and not trying to eat the turnip 
 itself. 
 
 The whole history of this Moth is a very interesting one, 
 but our space is diminishing so rapidly that we must pass on 
 to other insects. 
 
 The pretty insect which is shown on Woodcut LIV. Fig. 4, 
 is popularly called the Lesser Bkoad Boeder {Tryphwna 
 janthina). It forms one of a group called the Yellow Under- 
 wings, because the ground hue of their lower wings is bright 
 
THE UNDEEWING MOTHS. 479 
 
 ochreous yellow. The upper wings of this Moth are shining 
 brown, with a slight purplish gloss when viewed in a side 
 light. The purple shows best by placing the insect with the 
 tip of the wing towards the light, and then looking at it from 
 base to tip. On the wing are drawn a number of waved and 
 indistinct bands of chestnut, and there is a decided patch 
 of that colour on the costal margin, near the tip. The under 
 wings are bright orange above, with a brown patch at the 
 base, and a broad, waved black band nearly parallel with the 
 hind margin. This black band is more perceptible on the 
 under surface of the wing. 
 
 The caterpillar feeds on several garden-flowers, and, like 
 many of its kin, hides itself by day, and only comes from its 
 place of concealment at night. It has a particular fancy for 
 the crown or top of the root, but will also eat the leaves. It 
 is dull, greyish-yellow in colour, with some pale streaks on the 
 side and eight bold black spots on the back. An outline 
 of this larva is given at Fig. a. It is full-fed at the end of 
 spring, when it burrows into the ground, and there changes 
 into a brown, smooth chrysalis, merging into the Moth state 
 towards the end of summer. 
 
 This is a wonderfully pretty little creature, the mottlings 
 of the upper wings being peculiarly rich, and forming an 
 admirable foil to the bold black and orange of the under 
 wings. It is moderately common throughout the greater part 
 of England. My own specimens were taken in Oxfordshire, 
 Wiltshire, and Kent. 
 
 The Laegek Yellow Underwing {Tryphcena pronuba), 
 which is figured on Woodcut LV. Fig. 1, is, as its name 
 implies, considerably larger than the preceding insect. 
 
 Its upper wings are exceedingly variable in colouring, but 
 are always of some shade of brown. There are several pale, 
 narrow, waving bands drawn across the wing, and on the 
 upper part of the disc a large kidney-shaped black spot with 
 a pale centre and a chestnut outline ; there is also a small 
 black spot near the tip. The under wings are orange-yellow, 
 but not so richly coloured as in the preceding insect, and 
 parallel with their hind margin is a bold black stripe, broad 
 above and narrowing below to a point. There is a very slio-ht 
 
480 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 golden streak on its costal margin. Beneath, it is remarkable 
 for a shining golden stripe that runs along the lower edge of 
 the upper pair of wings, the gold changing in some lights to 
 prismatic effects of green and blue. 
 
 The caterpillar is another of the nocturnal larvae. It feeds 
 upon the crown, stem, and heart of various garden plants, 
 especially favouring lettuces when they are tied up to blanch. 
 The colour of the larva is as variable as that of the perfect 
 
 1. Tiyphaena pronuba. 2. Phlogophora meticulosa. 3. Plusia ciirysitis. 
 
 a. Trypheena, larva. 6. Phlogophora, larva. 
 
 insect, but is generally some shade between olive green and 
 brown, and on the body are a variety of brown and black 
 streaks, as may be seen by its portrait at Fig. a. It is a very 
 general feeder, and there are very few garden plants or vege- 
 tables which escape its jaws. When full-fed, it forms a kind 
 of rude oval cell, and therein undergoes its transformation 
 into the Moth. Both the caterpillar and Moth are exceedingly 
 common, and may be captured in any numbers. 
 
THE ANGLE-SHADES MOTH. 481 
 
 On Plate XVI. Fig. 3, is seen the Moth which goes by the 
 popular name of the Pink-barked Yellow {Xanthia silago). 
 This insect belongs to the large family of the Orthosidse. 
 
 This is of a brighter hue than the last-mentioned insect, 
 the ground colour of the upper wings being yellow.- It is for 
 this reason that the generic name of Xanthia, or Yellow, 
 is given to this and other Moths of the same genus. The 
 markings on the wings are purplish brown, and the hind wings 
 are pale brown, taking a yellowish hue towards the hind 
 margin. There is a good deal of colour about the body, the 
 head and the front of the thorax being dark rust-red with a 
 purple gloss, the rest of the thorax yellow, and the body grey 
 with a yellowish tinge. 
 
 The larva of this pretty Moth feeds on the sallow, and the 
 perfect insect appears in the middle of autumn. It seems to 
 be widely spread, though not very plentiful. 
 
 Passing over a considerable number of species, we come 
 to an example of the Hadenidse, the familiar Angle-Shades 
 {Phlogophora meticulosa), which is shown on Woodcut LV. 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 I have always felt a great predilection for this insect, - 
 because it is one of the first Moths that I ever reared. I had 
 found a number of pupae in the summer, and put them into 
 a small box, which I covered with stout wire gauze, having in 
 those days some hazy idea that a Moth could get through 
 muslin or linen. I had also made up my mind that no Moths 
 could emerge until the following year ; and my astonishment 
 was extreme on finding one morning a fine Angle-Shades 
 Moth clinging to the wire gauze, and shaking out its newly- 
 developed wings. Insignificant as is such an incident in itself, 
 it often forms a stand-point in life ; and such was the case with 
 this Moth, the development of which under my own eye 
 inspired an interest in this branch of natviral history that has 
 never been and never will be forgotten. 
 
 The name of Angle-shades is given to this Moth on 
 account of the manner in which the wings are colom-ed. The 
 upper wings are pale grey, tinged either with ochreous yellow 
 or olive green. In the middle is a bold marking, shaped much 
 like the letter V, and formed of several shades of brown. The 
 
 I I 
 
482 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 other marks of the wing are also of brown, but not quite so 
 dark. Tlie edges of the hind margins of the upper wings are 
 deejDly scalloped. The lower wings are slightly scalloped, and 
 are of a pale yellowish grey and crossed by two very slight 
 waved bands of reddish brown. Towards the hind margins 
 they are suffused with a slight pinkish tint. The thorax is 
 covered with long hair, which in front stands out like the 
 double ruff of Elizabeth's time. Then comes a wedge-shaped 
 ridge in the middle of the thorax, and then two rather large 
 tufts at the back. The colour of these tufts is soft umber 
 brown, tipped with a darker and warmer brown. 
 
 The caterpillar of the Angle-shades is represented at Fig. b 
 of the same Woodcut. Its colour varies from bright green 
 to dark olive green or olive brown, profusely sprinkled with 
 whitish dots not very well defined. There are three greyish 
 lines along the body, and the sf)iracles are white, surrounded 
 with a black line. It feeds on various herbs and flowers, espe- 
 cially groundsel and primrose, and is full-fed about May, when 
 it seeks the ground, and there spins a very slight cocoon. 
 There are two broods of this pretty Moth — one towards the 
 end of May, and the other at the end of autumn. 
 
 The specific name meticulosa signifies fearful or timorous, 
 but I never could find out the reason for giving such a name 
 to the insect. The Angle-shades is not a whit more timorous 
 than Moths in general, and though it has no distinctive 
 boldness, it certainly has no distinctive timidity. 
 
 On Woodcut LV. Fig. 3, is represented the Moth which is 
 appropriately called the Buenished Brass {Plusia chi-^'sitis), 
 in consequence of the metallic colouring of the wings. The 
 specific name of chrysitis, or gilded, is given to it for the 
 same reason. This insect belongs to another family of the 
 Noctuas, namely, the Quadrifidse or Plusidge. 
 
 The colom- of the upper wings is bright golden green, which 
 must be seen in a side light before its beauty can be properly 
 distinguished. There is a large and nearly triangular blotch 
 of brown on the middle of the wing, the base of the triangle 
 resting on the costal margin, another patch of the same colour 
 at the base, and a third on the inner margin, just below the 
 large triangular patch. These two often coalesce, as is the 
 
' GREASE.' 483 
 
 case with the specimen now before me. The hind wir]f>-s are 
 greyish brown, and so is the body. 
 
 The caterpillar is green, with a row of white dots under the 
 spiracles, a white streak above them, and six white- marks on 
 the back of each segment. It assumes a curious attitude when 
 at rest, the front of the body being bent upwards,' so that the 
 caterpillar only holds to its food-plant by its claspers. There 
 
 are two broods of the Burnished Brass Moth in the year one 
 
 in the early summer, and the other in the middle of autumn. 
 It feeds on several plants, such as the common white dead- 
 nettle, and even the stinging-nettle. 
 
 The Moth, when preserved, is very liable to ' grease,' which 
 will sometimes affect it to such a degree that a whole row 
 of Moths will be deprived of their beautiful metallic lustre, 
 the wings becoming almost uniformly brown, with a sort of 
 rusty red hue, in the place of the gold-green which formerly 
 adorned them. In such a case, the only plan is to saturate the 
 insect with benzole, by dropping it on the thorax, and, when it 
 is completely steeped, even to the tips of the wings, in that 
 useful but mal-odorous liquid, to let it dry in a strong 
 draught. The most effective mode of doing this is to open a 
 window about an inch and a half, pin the insect under the 
 window, and then leave the door open. In the winter time, 
 the tire will cause sufficient draught. The Moth should be 
 fixed with its head pointing to the interior of the room, so 
 tliat the in-rushing air may blow up the downy plumage of the 
 body and prevent it from being plastered down, as often is the 
 case if this precaution be not taken. 
 
 To the same pretty genus belong several other well-known 
 Moths, such as the Silver Y {Plusia gamma), so easily recog- 
 nised by the bright silver mark in the middle of the upper 
 wings, closely resembling the English letter Y or the Greek 
 letter gamma (7). Then there is the Beautiful Golden Y 
 {Plusia pulchrina), the upper wings of which have a Y-Hke 
 mark of burnished golden scales, and below it a round spot of the 
 same colour. Another of these Moths is the Gold. Spangle 
 {Plusia bractea), in which the upper wings have on the disc a 
 moderately large and nearly square spot, which looks as if a 
 patch of gold-leaf had been placed on the wing, and brilliantly 
 burnished. 
 
 I i2 
 
484 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 If the reader will refer to Woodcut XL VIII. on page 449, 
 and Fig. 1, he will see a portrait of the well-known Herald 
 Moth {Gonopteryx libatrix), our only British representative of 
 the family Gonopteridse. 
 
 Even were not the colour of this insect so conspicuous, it 
 could at once be identified by the shape of its upper wings, 
 the hinder margins of which are deeply cut and scalloped, very 
 much like those of the Comma Butterfly, which has been de- 
 scribed on page 397. The colour of the upper wings is soft 
 brown-grey, with a downy surface, and slightly powdered with 
 rust-red. On the middle of the wing is a broad dash of bright 
 rust-red reaching as far as the base, and having a tiny, but 
 conspicuous spot of pure white in its middle. Parallel with 
 the hind margin a whitish-grey line runs across the wing and 
 has a narrow, pale brown streak accompanying it. The front 
 of the thorax is furnished with a ruff of long, soft down, of 
 the same rust-red as that of the wing. The rest of the body 
 and the lower wings are greyish-brown. The caterpillar, which 
 is shown at Fig. a, is green, with a narrow grey streak along 
 the sides. It feeds on the Sallow, and when full-fed spins a 
 cocoon within two or three of the leaves, which it draws together 
 with silk. 
 
 The popular name of Herald is given to this Moth because 
 it appears at the end of autumn, and is supposed to be the 
 herald of the coming ■winter. Though feeding in the open air, 
 it has a singular predilection for the habitations of man, and 
 contrives to make its way into stables, outhouses, and even into 
 houses that are inhabited. It is one of the commonest of the 
 many window Moths, and often causes great consternation 
 among thrifty but ignorant housewives, who think that it has 
 come for the purpose of eating their woollen clothes, their furs, 
 and their feathers, and that, as it is so much larger than the 
 common Clothes Moth, it wiir eat so much the more. The 
 name of Gronoptera, or Angle-winged, refers to the bold 
 scalloping of the upper wings. 
 
 Mr. Newman remarks that these Moths often make up their 
 minds to hibernate almost immediately after they have passed 
 from the pupal shell, and that in that case, when they have 
 settled in a house, they remain in the same spot until the fol- 
 lowing spring, passing the whole of the time in a state of 
 torpidity. 
 
THE EED UNDERWINGS. 485 
 
 Just as one group of Moths is popularly termed the Yellow 
 Underwings, so is another termed the Red Underwings, the 
 ground colour of their lower wings being brilliant red. 
 
 The first of these* splendid insects is the Red Underwing 
 {Gatocala nupta), which is represented on Woodcut XL VIII. 
 Fig. 2. This is one of the largest and handsomest of the group, 
 though its colours are not quite so brilliant as that of another 
 species whicli will be presently mentioned. 
 
 The upper wings are grey with a slight yellowish tint, and 
 profusely covered with waved bars and other marks of black, 
 nearly every such mark being accompanied by a grey bar of 
 similar sliape. The under wings are red, diversified with two 
 black bars, one, a very broad one, parallel to the hind margin, 
 and another, a comparatively narrow and much curved bar, 
 running across the middle of the wing. Beneath, the upper 
 wings are white, crossed by three broad black bars, and the lower 
 wings are similarly coloured, but warming into light red towards 
 the inner margin, and having two bars across them. 
 
 The caterpillar is grey in colour, not unlike the hue of the 
 upper wings of the perfect insect, and sometimes has two black 
 waved stripes on the back. I never saw this caterpillar, but 
 Mr. Newman's account of its habits is so admirable that I 
 transfer it to these pages : — 
 
 ' It feeds on the Crack Willow {Salix fragllis), and, when 
 closely adherent to the bark, is almost impossible to detect. I 
 have sometimes found it by passing my hand gently over the 
 surface of the bark about a foot below the branches of a pollard 
 willow, when its cold, soft feel at once betrayed it. It spins a 
 network cocoon among the leaves, or in a crevice of the bark 
 about Midsummer, and changes to a smooth chrysalis covered 
 with a purple bloom.' 
 
 The perfect insect appears about August ; and, though it 
 may be common, it is not often seen, owing to its mode of 
 concealment. It carries into its perfect state one of its cater- 
 pillar habits, and has a way of settling on the trunks of willow 
 trees and closing its wings. In this position the splendid red 
 under wings are completely hidden by the sombrely tinted 
 upper pair, which so exactly resemble the colour of the bark 
 that, even when the Moth is pointed out, very few can dis- 
 tinguish it. I well remember the first time of discovering one 
 
486 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 of these beautiful Moths. I was going to bathe in the river 
 Cherwell, near Oxford, a river which is bordered with willows. 
 I happened to place my hand on the trunk of one of the wil- 
 lows, when out bounced a grand Eed Underwing, startling me 
 as much as a novice in shooting is startled by his first pheasant. 
 I afterwards found that the Moths were tolerably plentiful upon 
 these trees. 
 
 The generic name Catocala is formed from the Greek, and 
 signifies something which is beautiful beneath. The name has 
 been given to these insects because their chief beauty lies in 
 the under wings, which are hidden beneath the upper pair when 
 the Moth is at rest. 
 
 On the Frontispiece may be seen a portrait of a smaller but 
 more richly coloured species, called the Light Ckimson Under- 
 wing {Catocala promissa). 
 
 In this fine Moth, the upper wings are coloured much like 
 those of the preceding species, but the marblings are much 
 richer and more clearly defined, and on the middle of the wing 
 there is a decided ochreous tinge. There is censiderable 
 variation in the aforesaid markings. Tlie ground colour of 
 the lower wings is crimson, with a very broad black band 
 following the hind margin, and a narrow band crossing the 
 middle, and almost angular in its form. 
 
 The caterpillar feeds on the oak, and is greenish-grey in colour, 
 and covered with tubercles of a warmer hue. ' It is full-fed in 
 Junej and spins a web among the leaves, appearing as a perfect 
 insect in a month or so. This is not nearly so common an 
 insect as the Eed Underwing, but has been found in most of 
 the southern counties of England, the New Forest being noted 
 as its best locality. 
 
 To the same genus belongs that magnificent insect which is so 
 very common in France and so very rare in England, the Clifden 
 Nonpareil {Catocala fraxini). This Moth can at once be 
 recognised by its superior size and the colour of its under wings, 
 which are black, with a broad band of bluish grey drawn through 
 their centre. It is believed by many practical entomologists 
 that this insect does not rightly belong to England, but that 
 those few specimens which have been taken within the limits 
 of our island have been blown across the Channel from their 
 legitimate home in France. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 DELTOIDES, PYRALIDES, AND CRAMBITES. 
 
 I VERT much regret that there should be no simpler words 
 which can be substituted for those which head this chapter. 
 There are, however, none whatever, so we must be content to 
 use the terms which are adopted by the best entomologists of 
 the time. Indeed, the only group of which it is even possible 
 to form a simple English word which fully expresses the cha- 
 racter of the insects, is the first, which literally signifies 
 Delta-like, and may be freely translated as Delta-Moths, be- 
 cause when the insects are at rest, their wings assimie a shape 
 ■which bears some resemblance to the Greek letter Delta (A). 
 All the above-mentioned insects are small, but the number 
 of species is enormous, for they reckon among their ranks 
 more species than all the groups which have heretofore been 
 described. As is the case with the Noctuse, the Moths of 
 each group bear a great resemblance to each other, and 
 much afflict the mind of the collector by their prevailing 
 similitude. At first, the collector finds himself utterly be- 
 wildered, when brought in contact with a number of these 
 Moths, and a feeling of despair seizes upon him. He feels much 
 as if a flock of sheep were brought before him, and he were 
 required to distinguish and name every animal. However, re- 
 membering that a good shepherd actually does know by sight 
 every sheep in his flock, and that his eye can seize upon little 
 points of difference which are absolutely invisible to the un- 
 initiated, he sets determinately to work, and after a little while 
 feels that he is beginning to make his way. 
 
 First, after long and careful examination, he picks out one 
 individual, and succeeds in finding the points in which it differs 
 from its fellows. Having done this, he is able to refer it to its 
 proper place in the list, and then finds but little difficulty in 
 
488 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 picking out any other specimens that belong to the same species. 
 Half his task is now over, and he is able in a comparatively 
 short time to detect in the other Moths those distinctions which 
 his predecessors have already noticed, and by means of which 
 their species is ascertained. In fact, just as the above-men- 
 tioned shepherd learns to know by sight, and even by name, 
 every member of a large flock of sheep, which to the eye of a 
 stranger are exactly alike, so does the entomologist gain the 
 power of seeing at once the differences that exist in insects 
 which to an unaccustomed eye seem to have no marks of dis- 
 tinction at all. 
 
 One example of the Deltoides will be sufficient for our present 
 purpose, and we will select the Banded Si^OTiT^Hypena rostralis), 
 which is represented in the central figure of Woodcut LVI. 
 
 This is one of the Moths which have received the popular 
 nam.e of Snouts on account of the extremely elongated palpi, 
 which project in front of the head so as to look very much like 
 a proboscis. The antennae of these insects are simple in the 
 females and tufted in the males ; their bodies are slender and 
 furnished with a tuft on the first segment. 
 
 The present species has the upper wings of a yellowish-brown, 
 crossed with a dark, grey-edged band. It is a common Moth, 
 and one of the earliest to appear in spring. The caterpillar is 
 long and slender, hairy, and when full-fed spins a silken web 
 among leaves and then changes into a long and slender pupa, 
 having the head portion much elongated in order to contain 
 the ' snout ' or elongated palpi. There are three species be^ 
 longing to this genus, one of which, called par excellence The 
 Snotjt {Hypena proboscidalis), has the upper wings boldly 
 hooked at the tips ; and another, called, by a remarkable 
 collocation of words, the Beautiful Snout {Hypena crassalis), 
 has the upper wings dark brown, with a patch of creamy white 
 at the base, and a rather paler border, in which are a number of 
 little black spots, each surrounded by a ring of cream-white. 
 
 The largest and the finest species, named The Snout, is drawn 
 on Plate XVII. Fig. 1. It may at once be recognised by the 
 peculiarity which has already been mentioned, namely, the 
 bold, hooked tips of the upper wings. Their colour is yellow- 
 ish-brown, and the markings are dark-brown. The lower wings 
 
MEAL-MOTHS AND PEARL-MOTHS. 
 
 489 
 
 are simply pale-brown. The elongated and odd-looking larva 
 of tliis species is sho\vn at Fig. 2 of the same Plate. Its 
 proper food is the common stinging-nettle. 
 
 Next come the Pyralides, which some authors class with 
 the preceding insects. They include, among other insects, the 
 
 1. Hypena rostralis. 
 4. Ennychia octomaculalis. 
 
 » rr - ^ 
 
 2. Pyrilis farinalis. 3. Aglossa pingninali ■. 
 
 a. Larva of Hsdrocampa stagnalis. 6. Do. in its leaf-case. 
 
 Meal-Moths, and the beautiful group of Pearl-Moths, so called 
 because the surface of their wings has a peculiar sheen, much 
 resembling that of mother-of-pearl. 
 
 We will begin with the small group scientifically called 
 Pulverulentse, and popularly Meal-Moths, because their larvae 
 feed on meal, flour, and similar food. I have often wondered 
 what such larvae fed upon before men discovered the cultivation 
 of corn, and the process of grinding it* into flour. They must 
 
490 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 have fed upon something, and yet it is not easy to conjecture 
 what that something was, for there is nothing in nature analo- 
 gous to flour or meah 
 
 On Woodcut LVI. Fig. 2, is shown one of those cuiious 
 insects, the common Meal-JMoth (Pyralis farinalis). In these 
 Moths the wings have a gloss on the surface, are rather long 
 and narrow, and, when the insect is at rest, fall into a trian- 
 gular form. The antennae of the males are hairy beneath, 
 while those of the females are plain. 
 
 This very pretty little Moth has the upper wings dark brown, 
 variegated with yellowish bars, as shown in the illustration. 
 The figure is rather magnified, in order to bring out its mark- 
 ings more distinctly, and the same is the case with most, 
 though not all, of the remaining Moths. 
 
 Only three British species of the genus are known, the most 
 familiar of which is the Double-Bak Meal Moth [Pyralis 
 glaucinalis). It is less than the preceding species, and is 
 scarcely so pretty. The colour of the wings is brown, across 
 which are drawn two bands of a paler hue. 
 
 On the same Woodcut, at Fig. 3, is drawn the too familiar 
 Tabby Moth {Aglossa pinguinalis). 
 
 The Moth is rather a pretty one. Its upper wings are yel- 
 lowish-brown, with a very dark and nearly black patch at the 
 base of each wing, and a broad stripe of the same colour run- 
 ning parallel with the hind margin, and much wider above 
 than below. A narrow white streak divides the dark from the 
 lighter portions of the wing. The lower wings are of the 
 same pale dun as the upper pair, but they are without the 
 dark markings, and have only two jagged narrow streaks of 
 white near them. When the wings are expanded, these marks 
 look as if they were continuations of the corresponding marks 
 of the upper wings. 
 
 This may almost take rank as one of the Clothes Moths, as 
 in the larval state it feeds on old and greasy clothing. Grease, 
 indeed, seems to be a necessity with this insect, which delights 
 especially in old horse-rugs that are neglected by careless 
 grooms. The specific name of pinguinalis signifies fatty or 
 greasy, and is given to the species on account of the substances 
 on which the larva feeds. 
 
THE WHITE-SPOT MOTH. 491 
 
 The caterpillar, which does the mischief, is a brown creature 
 with a hard and horny skin, and having a head darker than the 
 rest of the body. Like the ordinary Clothes Moths, it does not 
 meddle with articles that are either in common use or that are 
 carefully aired and looked after. But, should a groom throw a 
 horse-rug into a corner, and let it lie- there for several days, 
 the larvte of the Tabby Moth find their opportunity, and make 
 sad havoc with the cloth. When full-fed the larva makes a 
 slight cocoon, and therein undergoes its transformations. 
 
 This genus of Moths receives the name of Aglossa, or tongue- 
 less, from the fact that the maxillae, which when united form 
 the proboscis or tongue, are almost entirely absent. The an- 
 tennse of the male are doubly feathered. Like the Meal- 
 Moths, these insects are found abundantly in and about out- 
 houses. There is only one other British species of this genus, 
 namely, the Small Tabby {Aglossa cuprecdis). As its name 
 implies, this is a smaller species. The wings are of a light- 
 brown colour, and across them are drawn some indistinct bands 
 of coppery-brown. It is as common as its larger relative, and 
 the larva possesses similar habits. 
 
 Next comes an example of another family, the Luridas or 
 Ennychidse. This is the rare and conspicuous White-Spot 
 {Ennychia octomaculalis), a figure of which is given on 
 Woodcut LVI. Fig. 4. In this genus the antennae are slender, 
 and long in proportion to the insect, and the palpi, which 
 are not quite so long as the head, are . united, so as to form a 
 sort of beak. 
 
 This is one of the few Pyralides which it is impossible to 
 mistake. Both pairs of wings are deep-black, and on each 
 wing are two whitish-yellow spots with boldly defined outlines. 
 The hind margins of the wings have a delicate white fringe, 
 which on the inner margin of the lower wings becomes 
 very long and has an exceedingly pretty effect, as it contrasts 
 with the deep-black of the wing which it edges. The body is 
 black, and the abdomen has each segment marked by a very 
 narrow, but very distinct white line, scarcely wider than if 
 scratched with a needle-point. There is scarcely any differ- 
 ence in the colouring of either surface, except that on the 
 lower wings the two white spots coalesce. 
 
492 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 This singularly pretty little Moth has been found in most 
 parts of England, but in none does it appear to be common. 
 The specimen from which the above description is taken is 
 from my Oxford collection, the*insect having been captured in 
 Bagley Wood. I had at one time four or five of the White- 
 Spot Moth, all taken in the same locality. 
 
 Now we come to a very extraordinary creatiu'e. 
 
 There is one family of Moths, comprising only four species, 
 the larvce of which are dwellers in the water, thus trespassing 
 on the domains of other orders of insects. There is a group 
 of Moths popularly called China Marks, because the general 
 character of the surface of the wing and its markings has very 
 much of a porcelain character about it. The typical species 
 is Hydrocartvpa sto^gnaUs. In all these Moths, the female is 
 considerably larger than the male, and is rather variable in her 
 colouring, so that the older entomologists have in several cases 
 considered the sexes as forming distinct species. The male 
 has' no feathering to the antennae, and the palpi are short, 
 close together, and directed upwards. 
 
 The Moths are pretty little creatures, but the chief interest 
 of the insect lies in the larva, which has a mode of existence 
 that seems quite opposed to the whole character of the Lepi- 
 doptera. The caterpillars feed upon aquatic plants, and in 
 some species are absolutely sub-aquatic themselves. It is 
 evident that the respiratory apparatus of such larvae cannot be 
 formed like that of ordinary caterpillars, which breathe atmo- 
 spheric air through spiracles and breathing tubes. Accord- 
 ingly, these larvEe, like those of the caddis, the May-flies, and 
 one or two beetles, such as the whirliwig, all of which have 
 been described in the course of this work, are furnished with 
 gill-like filam.ents along their sides, by means of which they 
 extract the oxygen from the water just as fishes do. 
 
 This is a most wonderful fact, and almost without a parallel 
 in entomology. There is one species of Ichneumon-fly, called 
 Agriotypus armatus, which is so far aquatic in its character 
 that it crawls down the sides of stones and water-plants to a 
 considerable depth, evidently for the purpose of laying its 
 eggs in some aquatic larva. It really seems to be fond of 
 diving for its own sake, and if kept in an aquarium will sub- 
 
THE BEAUTIFUL CHINA MARK. 493 
 
 merge itself for a considerable time, the appearance of a hymen- 
 opterous insect beneath the surface of the water being most 
 extraordinary, and always exciting the admiration and surprise 
 of those who have any practical knowledge of insects. But, 
 that a caterpillar should actually pass its life under the water 
 is still more contrary to all preconceived opinions, and the idea 
 of a water-caterpillar is not one whit more abnormal than that 
 of a water-butterfly. The name Hydrocampa is formed from 
 two Greek words, literally signifying water-caterpillar, and 
 is given to this genus of Moths in consequence of the aquatic 
 life of the larva. 
 
 On Woodcut LVI. Fig. a, is drawn one of these larvge, being 
 the preliminary stage of a Moth called scientifically Hijdro- 
 campa stagnalis. This larva feeds upon the common duck- 
 weed {Lemna). It does not crawl freely upon this vegetable, 
 but remains submerged, and protects itself after the manner of 
 the caddis, which it so closely resembles in many of its habits, 
 by means of a case constructed from the epidermis of the pond- 
 weed {Potamogeton). From the under surface of the broad, 
 floating leaves of this plant, the larva strips off a sufficiency 
 to form a kind of tent, in which it resides, very much as do 
 the caterpillars of several British Moths with the leaves of the 
 oak and other trees. At Fig. 6, is seen this caterpillar, with 
 the head and legs just protruding from its case, which, being 
 of the same colour as the aquatic plants, serves for conceal- 
 ment as well as for protection. 
 
 The Moths themselves are very common, and can be taken 
 in plenty on the banks of ponds and any wet places where 
 duck-weed, pond-weed, and water-lilies grow. The perfect 
 insect is shown on Woodcut LVII. Fig. 1. It is popularly 
 known as the Beautiful China Mark, and well deserves "its 
 name. The ground colour of the wings is pearly-white, and 
 on these are traced a number of soft brown lines, the most 
 conspicuous of which is a mark near the tip of the upper 
 wings, somewhat resembling the letter Y with the angle 
 rounded. 
 
 We next come to the Pearl- Moths, which have already been 
 casually mentioned, and which are placed in the genus Botys. 
 A much more appropriate and withal intelligible name was 
 
494 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 suggested by Mr. Stephens, namely Margaritia, from the Greek 
 word Margarites, which signifies a pearl. By the way, it is 
 evident that brunettes should never be named Margaret, the 
 name being as inappropriate as Blanche or Lily. 
 
 The name, however, has been reluctantly rejected by ento- 
 mologists, because the name of Botys, given to these Moths by 
 Latreille, has the priority, and entomologists are obliged to be 
 
 JuYK 
 
 ^<'J^ ^ 
 
 1. Hydrocampa stagnalis. 
 
 4, Stenopteryx bybridalis. 
 
 2. Botys nrticalis. 
 . Botys, larva. 
 
 3. Spilodes cinctalis. 
 6. Spilodes, larva. 
 
 as jealous of priority as are officers of seniority. It does not 
 matter who invents a name, or how appropriate — or the con- 
 trary — it may be. That name which is first published has the 
 priority, and that name will be accepted ever afterwards. 
 There is only one chance of deposing an old and inappropriate 
 name in favour of a newer and better, namely, to prove that 
 the old name has clearly been anticipated in some branch of. 
 zoology. If such anticipation -can be shown beyond contra- 
 
THE MOTHER OF PEARL. 495 
 
 diction, the older name is by common consent abandoned, and 
 the next in seniority takes its place. There are, of course, 
 some disadvantages in this system, but they are enormously over- 
 borne by its advantages, for, without some such system, there 
 would be no fixed nomenclature of insects, and every one who 
 thought that he could improve upon a name would do so, and 
 the result would be an inextricable confusion, which every 
 year would augment. 
 
 In the genus Botys, the body is larger than the wings, and 
 both pairs are marked in a similar manner. 
 
 The colour of this pretty little Moth is pearly-white, on 
 which are a number of dark markings arranged as shown in the 
 illustration on Woodcut LVII. Fig. 2. The popular name of 
 this insect is the Mother of Pearl, and its scientific name is 
 Botys urticalis. 
 
 Although the general character of these marks is the same 
 in all species, there is some variation in different specimens, 
 both in their arrangement and depth of tint. In colour they 
 are nearly black, but if viewed by a side light, a purplish 
 metallic gloss is seen upon them, being best defined along the 
 costal margin of the upper wings. Both surfaces are coloured 
 in much the same manner, but on the under surface the marks 
 are not so dark, and the purple gloss is more conspicuous, 
 especially on the lower wings. When closed, the wings assume 
 a heart-like shape, and usually look very round, as if a flat 
 plate of thin mother of pearl had been cut into the shape of a 
 heart, and carefully painted with dark spots. The thorax is 
 bright golden-yellow, the abdomen is black, each segment being 
 edged with yellow, and there is a tuft of yellow hairs at the end 
 of the tail. 
 
 The caterpillar is one of the numerous nettle-feeders. It is 
 thicker in the middle than at the ends, and so thin-skinned 
 that it has a semi-transparent appearance when viewed against 
 the light. Its colour is whitish-grey on the back, relieved by 
 a central black line, and the sides are green. This larva is 
 shown at Fig. a on Woodcut LVII. It draws together the 
 leaves of the nettle with silken threads, and so feeds in conceal- 
 ment. There are ten species of this pretty genus. 
 
 On Woodcut LVII. Fig. 3, is seen the Moth which is po- 
 pularly called the Lesser Pearl {Spilodes cinctalis). 
 
496 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 By the older entomological writers this insect was comprised 
 in the same genus with the preceding insect. It has now, 
 however, been placed in a different genus, and that for two 
 reasons. The first lies in the shape of the wings, which are 
 much deeper in proportion than those of the insects belonging 
 to the genus Botys ; and the second is the appearance of the 
 wings, which do not possess the delicate, pearly translucency 
 which is so characteristic of these Moths, but are quite 
 opaque, their opacity being due to a very dense layer of white 
 scales on the under surface. 
 
 The general character of the markings can be seen by refer- 
 ence to the illustration. The darker portions are, however, of 
 various degrees of depth, and the light portions are glossy 
 cream-white, sometimes taking a yellow tinge. The generic 
 name Spilodes is taken from the Grreek, and signifies anything 
 that is spotted. The specific name, cinctalis, or banded, 
 alludes to the manner in which the spots are arranged, so as to 
 form almost continuous bands. 
 
 The caterpillar of this insect is seen at Fig. b. 
 
 Another pretty insect, belonging to the same genus, is the 
 Diamond Spot {Spilodes sticticalis). 
 
 This little Moth is brown, the upper wings being much 
 darker than the lower, and having a conspicuous spot of pure 
 white near the tip. It is a rare Moth, but has been taken in 
 many parts of England, always appearing about September. The 
 caterpillar is shaped like that of the preceding species, and is 
 green, having along its back a dark line edged with yellow, 
 and some streaks of the. same colour at the sides. It feeds on 
 the field-southernwood {Artemisia caTnpestHs) or the mugwort 
 (Artemisia vulgaris). 
 
 We now come to the last group of the Pyralides. These 
 insects have been termed Plicatae, or folded, because when 
 the insect is at rest the wings are folded closely against the 
 body. 
 
 One example of this group will serve our purpose, namely, 
 the EusT Veneer {Stenopteryx hybridalis). There is only 
 one British genus of these insects, and the name of Stenopteryx 
 or ' Shortwing ' has been given to it, not so much because the 
 wings are exceptionally short, as because the abdomen is ex- 
 
THE PEARL-STKEAK VENEEE. 497 
 
 ceptionally long, makiDg the wiugs look short in proiDortion. 
 This insect is drawn, on Wocdcut LVII. Fig. 4. 
 
 The upper wings of this species are rather narrow, and their 
 colour is brown, with some rather large spots of a deeper 
 brown. The lower wings are plain grey-brown. When ^he 
 insect is in repose, the upper wings overlap each other, the 
 end of the abdomen just appearing beyond them. The male 
 is distinguished by having his antennae feathered, while those 
 of the female are plain and thread-like. Although this is a 
 very common IMoth, I can find no mention of the larva, and do 
 not myself know it. 
 
 The next group of Moths which comes before us is called 
 Crambites, this name being apparently derived from a Grreek 
 word signifying a kind of caterpillar. Whether or not this is 
 the case I cannot say, but the word has long been accepted by 
 entomologists. The reader will notice that all Moths which 
 belong to this group have their specific names ending in 
 'ellus' or 'ella,' according to the gender of the 'generic name. 
 
 We will begin with an example of the typical genus, namely, 
 the Peael-streak Veneer {Gramhus hamellus). It is drawn 
 on Woodcut LVIII. Fig. 2. In all the insects belonging to 
 this genus, the labial palpi are very long, and at first sight 
 look very much like a beak, or short proboscis. The upper 
 wings are long, narrow, and convoluted in repose, and the 
 antenna are thread-like. 
 
 This beautiful little Moth is rather gaily coloured. The 
 ground hue of its upper wings is rich dark brown, and 
 parallel with the costal margin and just below it is drawn a 
 narrow streak of pearly white, from which its popular name is 
 derived. The hind margins of the wings are yellow, that 
 colour being separated from the brown by a dark, wavy bar. 
 The lower wings are much lighter in colour than the ujDper 
 pair, and not nearly so handsome, their colour being pale 
 grey-brown, with an edging of yellow like that of the upper 
 pair. 
 
 It is not a very common Moth, but can be taken in open 
 places in woods by beating the bushes. It makes its appear- 
 ance in the very midst of summer. 
 
 K K 
 
498 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 On Woodcut LVIII. Fig. 3, is shown an example of the 
 family Chilidse — a word which by rights ought to be spelt 
 as Cheilidse. It is derived from a Grreek word signifying a beak 
 or snout, and is given to these insects because the labial palpi 
 are very long, as long in fact as the head and thorax together, 
 and project from the head like a beak. This great development 
 of the palpi is well shown in the illustration, those organs 
 being so long as almost to look like a second pair of antennse. 
 The upper wings of these Moths are lancet-shaped, long, and 
 comparatively narrow. 
 
 The present species is called the Wainscot Veneer {Chilo 
 phragmitellus), and is one of the largest, if not the very 
 largest of the family. Its colour is nearly uniform pale yellow 
 dun, with a slight streak or dash of a darker hue just below 
 the costal margin of the upper wings. Both pairs of wings are 
 nearly of the same colour. The male may be known from the 
 female by having the antennse slightly feathered and the wings 
 longer, narrower, and more sharply pointed. 
 
 The caterpillar is coloured much like the perfect insect, but 
 has not so much of the yellow about it, except on the head 
 and following segment, which are orange brown. It feeds on the 
 common reed (^Arundo phragmites) — whence its specific name 
 of phragmitellus — and only in places where that plant grows, 
 and where in consequence the coot and the reed-bunting 
 abound, can either the caterpillar or the perfect insect be 
 taken. Although the reed is plentiful in its own chosen 
 localities, it is very particular as to the place of its growth. 
 Mostly it grows on marshy lands, or in waters which are very 
 shallow and occasionally exposed to the air in hot and dry 
 summers. Whittlesea Mere is one of the places where the 
 Wainscot Veneer can be taken ; and I should fancy that the 
 great reservoir at Swindon would be a likely place for it, as 
 the reed grows there in large patches, forming semi-islands in 
 the water. 
 
 At a little distance these islands look very easy of approach, 
 and the coots' nests in them appear as if anyone could just 
 step in and take them ; but to penetrate the stronghold of 
 the coot is not always so easy as it looks, for the tall, sturdy 
 reed-stems form a natural stockade, strong enough to prevent a 
 human being from forcing his way through them, but not strong 
 
THE GIGANTIC VENEER. 
 
 499 
 
 enoiigli to bear his weight. Even if a boat be rowed hard at 
 one of these semi-islands, it often fails to penetrate it, the 
 reeds partly yielding to the impetus, and then recoiling and 
 driving the boat back with no small violence. Such places as 
 this are the localities loved by the Wainscot Veneer, and any 
 one who washes to obtain it should visit them in June and 
 July for the perfect insect, and in May for the full-fed cater- 
 pillar. 
 
 LVIII 
 
 *• 
 
 1. Galleria cerella. 2. Crambns hamellns. 3. Chilo phragmitellus. 4. Tortrlx 
 
 costana. 5. Tortrix sorbiana. a. Galleria, larva. b. Do., palpus of female, 
 
 c Do., palpns of male. 
 
 There are a tolerable number of Moths called by the popular 
 name of Veneers, the largest of which is the Gigantic Veneer 
 (^Schoenobius gigantellus). An exceptionally fine specimen of 
 this insect will measure almost two inches across the spread 
 wings. In colour this insect very much resembles the Wainscot 
 Veneer, but there is a decided difference in the colour of the 
 sexes. The male has both pairs of wings bright yellow-brown, 
 and the upper pair slightly spotted ; whereas those of the 
 
 K K 2 
 
500 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 female are pale brown without the spots, and the under wings 
 are nearly white. 
 
 Like the preceding insect, this Moth is rare except in places 
 where the reed abounds. The somewhat odd-looking name 
 Schoenobius alludes to this fact, and is derived from two Grreek 
 words signifying something that lives among reeds. Several 
 other of the Veneers belong to the genus Crambus, which has 
 already been mentioned. 
 
 The last of the Crambites which we can examine is an 
 insect with which all bee-keepers would very gladly dispense, 
 as it plays much the same part with the bee-comb that the 
 Clothes Moth does with wool, fur, or feathers. This is the little 
 insignificant-looking Honey-comb Moth {Galleria cerella), a 
 figure of which is given on "Woodcut LVIII. Fig. 1. The 
 specific name of cerella (from the Latin word cera, wax) has 
 been given to this insect in consequence of the wax-eating 
 propensities of the larva. Linngeus, being deceived by the 
 structure of the palpi, gave to the male the specific name of 
 cereana, and to the female that of melonella (from the Latin, 
 7)iel, honey). So, in order to avoid confusion, both these 
 names have been rejected, and the present specific name 
 accepted in their stead. 
 
 The colour of this Moth is simply brown, thie lower wings 
 grey-brown, the upper pair having a tinge of chestnut. 
 They are rather boldly scooped at the tips, in which respect 
 they differ from those of one or two other Moths, which will 
 presently be mentioned. 
 
 Personally, I have a very strong objection to this Moth, and 
 cannot easily forgive it for the destruction of a valuable collec- 
 tion of bee-combs. I well remember my dismay at discovering 
 the havoc which this insect had made in a very short time. The 
 cases containing the combs had been put away for some months, 
 until I had to refer to them. On opening the cases, I was 
 dismayed to find that the combs had almost entirely disap- 
 peared, and in their place was a complicated mass of long 
 silken tubes, running in all directions, and swarming both with 
 the caterpillar and perfect insect of the Honey-comb Moth. 
 The rapidity with which they form their galleries is really 
 wonderful, and the caterpillars appear even to extend them 
 
THE HONEY MOTH. 501 
 
 where they are not required. I could very easily understand 
 why they should drive their silken tunnels through the combs, 
 or even on their surface, but I never could see any object in 
 the extraordinary excursions in which they continually indulged. 
 The silken tubes ran all over the box, extending to spots far 
 distant from the comb. One of these tubes had actually been 
 made between the lid and the edge of the box, and ran for 
 nearly the whole distance, so that when the box was opened, 
 the tube was torn asunder for nearly the whole of its length, 
 and its inmate was discovered, much to its discomfiture. 
 
 The object of the tubes is evident. The body of the cater- 
 pillar is quite soft, and the only parts that are at all hard are 
 the head and thorax. The aggrieved bees would be sure to 
 destroy the invader of their hives if they could only get at it, 
 but the horny skin defends the one end oi' the caterpillar, 
 while the other is sheltered in the tube, and the consequence is, 
 that the bees are powerless and often are driven out of their 
 hives by this little Moth. I have often wondered that the 
 bees never seem to think of tearing up the silken tubes and 
 turning the caterpillars out of them. The tubes may resist 
 the sting of the bee, but, although they are tough, they are not 
 so strong that the strong jaws of the bee could not pull them 
 to pieces. 
 
 The caterpillar proceeds in its tube-making in a very sys- 
 tematic way. It thrusts its head out of the end of the tube, 
 and eats the cells and their contents until it cannot protrude 
 itself further without exposing the soft part of its frame. So 
 it sets to work and adds to the tube until it has brought it 
 close to its food, and thus proceeds until it is full-fed, and the 
 tinae arrives for it to undergo its transformation. The cater- 
 pillar is marvellously active when within its tube, and can 
 run backwards as fast as it can forwards. On the least move- 
 ment near it, the caterpillar takes alarm, and jerks itself 
 backwards into the protecting tube with a movement exactly 
 resembling that of a frightened tortoise drawing its head into 
 its shell. 
 
 A figure of the caterpillar is shown at Fig. a of the Wood- 
 cut LVIII. in the act of forcing its way through the honey- 
 comb. The reader must remember that the silken gallery is 
 of necessity omitted, as otherwise the caterpillar could not be 
 
502 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 shown. I have watched these larvae carefully, and never yet 
 saw one of them protrude itself further from the mouth of the 
 tunnel than it could be protected by the hard covering of the 
 head and the next three segments. 
 
 With regard to my own specimens of devoured combs, there 
 was good reason for the vast number of caterpillars. They 
 came from a hive nearly all the inhabitants of which had died 
 in the winter, so that the Honey-comb Moths found no difl&culty 
 in getting among the combs, and depositing their eggs when 
 and where they liked. 
 
 In this insect the sexes may be at once distinguished by the 
 very different structure of the palpi. Fig. c shows the palpus 
 of the male, and Fig. b that of the female. 
 
 This is not the only species of Moth that feeds on the honey- 
 comb. There is, for example, the Gtkeen-Shaded Honet- 
 CoMB Moth (^Melia sociella), which is rather more gaily 
 coloured than the preceding insect, and has on the disc of its 
 upper wings a yellowish streak spotted with black dots ; and 
 the Honey Moth (Achroia grisella), a much smaller species, 
 having brown wings covered with tiny black dots. All the 
 caterpillars of the comb-eating Moths possess similar habits. 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 TOBTBICES, TINE^, AND PTEROFHORL 
 
 The Tortrices or Twisters are so called because many, though 
 not all of them, are in the habit of twisting or rolling up 
 leaves while in the larval state. Of these insects, a vast number 
 of species are already known, and new species are continually 
 being brought forward for investigation. There is, however, 
 so great a resemblance between the different species, and each 
 species is so apt to run into varieties, that all systematic ento- 
 mologists look with suspicion on any newly announced species 
 of this group, and the discoverer is sure to be sharply chal- 
 lenged as to his proofs of its novelty. So extremely variable 
 are some of these Moths, that in one case no less than thirty- 
 seven alleged species have been reduced to one, and shown to 
 be merely varieties ; while in another species twenty-three 
 varieties have been detected, and in another, fourteen. 
 
 There is little difficulty in knowing whether a Moth belongs 
 to this group. In these, the body is comparatively short and 
 slender, and the wings have a peculiar wave on their costal 
 margin, so that when the insect is at rest with closed wings, 
 the outline is curiously like that of a bell. We will take a 
 few of the most conspicuous of these Moths. 
 
 At their head come some Moths which scarcely seem to 
 belong to the Tortrices. They are popularly called by the name 
 of Silver Lines, because their green wings are crossed with 
 some narrow lines of silvery-whiteness. As a rule, the Tor- 
 trices are all little Moths, but some of the Silver-Lines are 
 exceptions to this rule, and are, indeed, the very giants of their 
 race. 
 
 There are but three of these insects, which form the family 
 of the Cymbidae, a name which will be presently explained. 
 
504 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The commonest of them is the Geeen Silver Lines {Halias 
 fraxinand). The upper wings of this Moth are beautiful leaf- 
 green, across which are drawn three diagonal silvery lines, 
 taking a pinkish hue near the inner margin. The head and 
 thorax are of the same green hue as the wings. The lower 
 wings and abdomen are pale yellow. The larva of this insect 
 feeds on the oak, the ash, and one or two other trees, and the 
 perfect insect appears in May. The middle of July is a good 
 time for taking the larva, as it is then nearly full-fed. The 
 colour of the caterpillar very much resembles that of the 
 Moth's wings. This Moth measures about an inch and a half 
 in the spread of its wings. 
 
 The largest of all these Moths is the Scarce Silviir Lines 
 {Halias quercana), which measures about two inches in ex- 
 panse of wing. The upper wings of this species are leaf-green, 
 and are crossed by two diagonal silvery lines, nearly but not 
 quite parallel with the hind margin. The caterpillar of this 
 insect should be sought for in May, the perfect insect appear- 
 ing towards the end of summer. 
 
 When the caterpillar is full-fed, it changes into a chrysalis, 
 which is fastened to a leaf. The form of the chrysalis is most 
 peculiar, and has been compared to that of a boat with the 
 keel uppermost. The name of Cymbidse, which has been given 
 to this family, is taken from a Greek word signifying a boat, 
 and alludes to this form of the pupa. 
 
 We now proceed to the typical family, the Tortricidae. of 
 which we shall take a few examples, the first of which is the 
 Hazel Moth {Tortrix sorhiana)^ a figure of which is given 
 on Woodcut LVIII. Fig. 5. 
 
 This is the largest of its family, and is rather a conspicuous 
 insect, its colours being boldly contrasted. The general 
 character of these markings is shown in the illustration, but 
 they vary so much in direction, shade, and dimensions that 
 scarcely any two specimens are exactly alike. The colour of 
 .the upper wings is light warm brown, upon which are some 
 bold marks of dark bro^vn. These are mostly three in number, 
 namely, a rather jagged band across the middle of the wing, 
 another near the base, and a triangular spot near the tip, the 
 base resting on the costal margin. The male may be known 
 
PLATE XVII. 
 DELTOIDES, TORTRICES, TINE>E, AND PTEROPHORI. 
 
 1. Hypasna proboscidalis. 
 
 2. Hypsena proboscidalis, larva. 
 
 3. Tortrix pomonana. 
 
 4. Tortrix pomonana, larva. 
 6. Pterophorus pentadactylus 
 
 6. Pterophorus pterodactylus. 
 
 7. Nepticula aurella. 
 
 8. Leaves mined by Nepticula. 
 
 Plants :— 
 
 Apple and Bramble. 
 
THE PEA-GREEN MOTH. 505 
 
 by the formation of his upper wings, which have a narrow fold 
 that reaches nearly ta the middle. 
 
 As its popular name imports, the caterpillar of this Moth 
 feeds mostly on the hazel, though it is found on other trees. 
 It is not one of the actual leaf-rollers, but draws the leaves 
 together with silk, and feeds snugly between them. The 
 caterpillar is full-fed about the end of April or beginning of 
 May, according to the weather, and the perfect insect appears 
 in June. 
 
 The very pretty, but very destructive Pea-Green Moth or 
 Oak-Moth, as it is indifferently termed, requires a short notice. 
 The scientific name of this insect is ToHrix viridana. The 
 appearance of this little Moth is very prepossessing, the upper 
 wings being leaf-green, and the lower pair greyish-brown. 
 "When the wings are closed, the green is the only portion of 
 the insect that is visible, so that the Moths may be thickly 
 spread over a branch, and yet not one be distinguishable from 
 the leaves. This insect is in some years very destructive among 
 the oak trees. It may be found in abundance at the beginning 
 of summer, in any place where oaks are numerous. 
 
 Next comes the Straw Oblique Bar {Tortrix costana), 
 which is seen on Woodcut LVIII. Fig. 4. 
 
 This pretty Moth derives its popular name from the colour- 
 ing of the wings. The upper pair are a very glossy straw- 
 colour, sometimes taking rather a pale tint. Upon them are 
 some markings of rather dark warm brown, arranged as shown 
 in the illustration. There is some variation in different in- 
 dividuals, but the central bar, which runs obliquely, is most 
 distinct at the costa. The other markings are not so distinct. 
 This is a common insect in nearly all marshy places, as the 
 larva feeds upon almost any plants that grow in such situa- 
 tions. The colour of the caterpillar is dull brown, and its 
 head is black. 
 
 Passing by a number of species, we come to the Button 
 Tortrix {Peronea cristana), which is shown on Woodcut LIX. 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 This is the insect of which so many varieties have been 
 recorded. So variable an insect cannot be described in detail, 
 
506 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 but there are one or two points about it whicli are the same in 
 all the varieties. The upper wings are always brown of some 
 shade, and much darker than the lower pair. Each of the 
 upper wings has in the middle a little button-like tuft of 
 greyish-white scales, from which the popular name of Button 
 Moth is derived ; and along the lower edge of the wings there 
 is a streak or dash of the same hue. 
 
 LIX 
 
 
 .\ 
 
 S 4 
 
 1. Ephippiptiora fenella. 2. Ephippiphora scutulana. 3. Peronea cristana. 
 
 4. Cnephasia octotnacnlana. 5. Xanthosetia zoegana. 
 
 This Moth is not rare, though it is rather local, occurring in 
 some profusion in those spots wherein it takes up its residence. 
 Woods and forests are the localities which it generally pre- 
 fers, and it appears from the end of summer throughout the 
 autumn. 
 
 The very conspi'^uous Notchwing (Teras caudana) deserves 
 a short description, on account of the peculiarity of the upper 
 
THE BERGMANNIAN TORTRIX. o07 
 
 wings. If one of these wings be taken by itself, it looks exactly 
 as if the insect had met with an accident, and had a large 
 piece torn out of the upper edge. This notch, from which the 
 insect takes its name, occupies fully one-third of the length of 
 the wing, and is rather deeper towards the base than the tip. 
 It is rather a variable insect, but the deep and long notch is 
 sufficient for identification. Generally, the ground colour of 
 the upper wings is soft grey-brown with a satiny gloss. About 
 the centre of the wing the colour warms into chestnut, and 
 a narrow edging of the same colour surrounds the wing. The 
 edge of the scallops is white, and a dark grey band is drawn 
 beneath them, and taking the same outline. 
 
 The caterpillar of this little Moth feeds on the sallow, and 
 is green, with a yellow head. The Notchwing prefers the 
 north of England to the south. 
 
 On the rose-tree is often seen a little white caterpillar with 
 a black head. If approached quietly, it can be detected while 
 feeding on the leaves, but if the branch be jarred, the cater- 
 pillar drops for some distance, letting itself down by a silken 
 line. This is the larva of a very destructive little Moth, called 
 the Bergmannian Tortrix {Dictyojpteryx Bergmanniana). 
 
 The upper wings of this insect are rather long, and their 
 upper edge is decidedly arched in front. The colour of these 
 wings is grey with a dash of ochreous yellow, pencilled indis- 
 tinctly with brown, and across them are drawn two diagonal 
 whitish marks having a silvery lustre. On the hind margin 
 there is a brown band, variegated with minute white spots. The 
 best way of getting rid of the insect is to tap the stem of the 
 rose gently, when the larvae will let themselves drop, and can 
 easily be taken as they hang suspended by their silken life- 
 lines. 
 
 About the exact position of the little Moth which comes next 
 on our list there has been considerable uncertainty, some ento- 
 mologists placing it in the genus Lozotsenia. As, however, we 
 accept in this work Mr. Doubleday's well-known catalogue, we 
 place it in the position which he gives it. The popular name of 
 this Moth is the Afternoon Tortrix, and its scientific title 
 Cnephasia Tnusculana. Both these names refer to its colour, 
 the former word being taken from the Greek, and signifies 
 
508 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 dusky, or anything which comes out in the dusk ; while the 
 latter name is Latin, and signifies a little mouse, in allusion to 
 the nocturnal habits of the mouse. 
 
 The upper wings of this insect are dull grey. At the base is 
 a patch rather darker than the ground colom* of the wing, and 
 very indistinct. The central band is dark-brown with a greyish 
 tint, the other marks are light-grey brown. The larva of this 
 Moth feeds on the common bramble, drawing two leaves together 
 with silk, and remaining hidden between them. The Moth is 
 tolerably plentiful. 
 
 Another species of this genus is the Eight-Spot Moth {Gne- 
 phasia octomacudana), a figure of which is given on Woodcut 
 LIX. Fig. 4. 
 
 Although its colours are simple, they are very pleasing and 
 prettily arranged. The ground colour of the upper wings is 
 white, minutely speckled with grey, and each wing has four 
 dark greyish-black marks, from which the insect derives its 
 name of octomaculana, or eight-blotched. There is some 
 variation in the size and form of the marks, but as a rule they 
 are found as they appear in the illustration. The under wings 
 are simply grey. 
 
 The larva of this insect feeds on the thistle, and is more 
 common in Scotland and the northern parts of England than 
 in the southern counties. 
 
 It is with much regret that I find myself obliged to omit 
 many insects which are well deserving of notice. Our space, 
 however, is so rapidly diminishing that we must content our- 
 selves with only a very few out of the many pretty little Moths 
 which form this large group. 
 
 Another of the rose-feeding pests is the caterpillar of the 
 Moth which goes by the popular name of the Beown Cloak 
 {Spilonota rohorana). 
 
 In the insects belonging to this genus the upper wings are 
 very narrow, being twice as long as they are broad. The hind 
 wings, however, are so wide that they carry off the narrowness 
 of the upper wings, which none but a practised eye would 
 notice. The palpi are broad and flattened, and the male is 
 known from the female by his tufted abdomen. 
 
 This is a pretty Moth, though the colours are very simple 
 
THE CODLIN MOTH. 509 
 
 The upper wings are creamy white, with a large triangular 
 patch of dark-brown at the base, and a blotch of lighter brown 
 at the tip. The space between these dark patches is mottled 
 with blackish-grey, and there are one or two black spots scat- 
 tered about it. The imder wings are pale greyisli-brown. The 
 larva of this Moth can be found about the end of April or May, 
 and the perfect insect appears in June. 
 
 Closely allied to this is another rose-eater, the Cream Shokt- 
 CLOAK (Spilonota ocellana) which derives its popular name 
 from the creamy white of the upper wings, and the bold brown 
 spots upon them. It is a very pretty little insect. The upper 
 wings are, as above-mentioned, of a creamy-white, and upon 
 them is a large, dark-brown patch at the base, occupying more 
 than a quarter of the wing. A bold spot of the same colour is 
 placed at the tip of the wing, and another at the middle of the 
 inner margin, a similarly shaped spot, but of dark-grey, occu- 
 pying the middle of the costal margin. The spots are, how- 
 ever, exceedingly variable, both in number, form, and position. 
 The lower wings are plain dark-brown. 
 
 Next on our list comes the lovely, but destructive Codlin 
 Moth {TortHx or Caiyocapsa pomonaiia), which is drawn on 
 Plate XVII. Fig. 3. 
 
 This is a most exquisitely colom-ed insect, but a magnifying 
 glass and a good light are required in order to bring out all 
 its beauties. The upper wings are rich brown, banded at the 
 base and tip with a darker and warmer biown. In the dark 
 band at the tip of the wing is an oval mark of brilliant gold- 
 coloured scales, having a very dark centre. In certain lights 
 this dark centre takes a reddish hue, while a golden gloss per- 
 vades the whole of the wing. Even the outer wings, when 
 viewed in a side light, shine as if made of the richest satin. 
 By a proper adjustment of the light, a rather curious effect can 
 be produced, the wings of one side glittering and shining in 
 full splendour, while the corresponding wings of the other side 
 are nothing but dull grey, brown, and black. 
 
 So excellent a description of the ravages of this little Moth 
 is given by Mr. E. Newman in his ' Letters of Eusticus ' that 
 I cannot do better than allow so excellent an observer and so 
 amusing a writer to speak for himself: — 
 
510 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ' It is the most beautiful of the beautiful tribe to whicli 
 it belongs ; yet from its habits not being- known, it is sel- 
 dom seen in the Moth state, and the apple-grower knows 
 no more than the man in the moon to what cause he is in- 
 debted for his basketfuls of worna-eaten windfalls in the stillest 
 weather. 
 
 ' To find the Moth in the daytime, the trunks of the apple- 
 trees should be carefully looked over ; or if your orchard be 
 surrounded by a wooden fence, the Moth may often be found 
 sitting against it, with its pretty wings 'neatly folded round its 
 body. Towards evening — in fact, at sunset — it begins to move, 
 and may then be seen hovering about the little apples, which by 
 the time the Moth leaves the chrysalis — the middle of June — 
 are well knit, and consequently fit for the reception of the eggs, 
 whichi it lays in the eyes, one only in each, by introducing its 
 long ovipositor between the leaves of the calyx, which form a 
 tent above it, that effectually shields it from the inclemency of 
 the weather, or any other casualty. 
 
 ' As soon as the egg hatches, the little grub gnaws a hole in 
 the crown of the apple, and soon buries itself in its substance ; 
 and it is worthy of remark that the rind of the apple, as if to 
 afford every facility to the destroyer, is thinner here than in 
 any other part, and consequently more easily pierced. The 
 apple most commonly attacked is the cod! in, a large, early sort, 
 which ripens in July and August. 
 
 ' The grub, controlled by an unvarying instinct, eats into the 
 apple obliquely downwards, and, by thus avoiding the cove and 
 pips, in no way hinders its growth. At first it makes but slow 
 progress, being little bigger than a thread, but after a fortnight 
 its size and ojDerations have much increased ; it has now eaten 
 half way down the apple, and the position of the hole at the 
 top, if the apple continue upright, or nearly so, is inconvenient 
 for a purpose it has up to this time been used for, that is, as a 
 pass to get rid of its little pellets of excrement, which are 
 something like fine sawdust or coarse sand. Another communi- 
 cation with the outer air is therefore required, and it must be 
 so constructed as to allow the power of gravity to assist in 
 keeping it clear ; it is accordingly made directly downwards 
 towards that part of the apple which is lowest, and thus the 
 trouble of thrusting the pellets upwards through the eye of the 
 
THE CODLIN MOTH. 511 
 
 apple is saved, and a constant admission given to a supply of 
 air without any labour. 
 
 ' The hole now made is not, however, sufficiently open for 
 an observer to gain by its means any knowledge of what is 
 going on within ; this is only to be obtained by cutting open a 
 number of the apples as they gradually advance towards ripe- 
 ness ; the hole is, however, very easily seen, from its always 
 havmg adhering to it on the outside an accumulation of little 
 grains which have been thi-ust through. 
 
 'Having completed this work the grub returns towards the 
 centre of the apple, where he feeds at his ease. When within a 
 few days of being full-fed, he, for the first time, enters the 
 core through a round hole gnawed in the hard, horny substance 
 which always separates the pips from the pulp of the fruit, and 
 the destroyer now finds himself in that spacious chamber which 
 codlins in particular always have in their centre. From this 
 time he eats only the pips, never again tasting the more com- 
 mon pulp which hitherto had satisfied his unsophisticated 
 palate; now nothing less than the highly-flavoured, aromatic 
 kernels will suit his tooth, and on these for a few days he feasts 
 in luxury. 
 
 ' Somehow or other, the pips of an apple are connected with 
 Its growth, as the heart of an animal with its life : injure the 
 heart, an animal dies ; injure the pips, an apple falls. Whether 
 the fall of his house gives the tenant warning to quit, I cannot 
 say, but quit he does, and that almost immediately; he leaves 
 the core, crawls along his breathing and clearing-out gallery 
 the mouth of which, before nearly closed, he now g-naws into a 
 smooth, round hole, which will permit him free passage with- 
 out hurting his fat, soft, round body ; then out he comes, and 
 for the first time in his life finds himself in the open air He 
 now wanders about on the ground till he finds the stem of a 
 tree; up this he climbs, and hides himself in some nice little 
 crack in the bark. 
 
 ' I should remark, that the fall of the apple, the exit of the 
 grub, and his wandering to this place of security, usually take 
 place m the night-time. In this situation he remains without 
 stirring for a day or two, as if to rest himself after the uncom- 
 mon fatigue of a two yards' march; he then gnaws away the 
 bark a little, in order to get further in out of the way of 
 
512 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 observation ; and having made a smooth chamber big enough for 
 his wants, he spins a beautiful little milk-white silken case, in 
 which, after a few weeks, he becomes a chrysalis, and in this 
 state remains throughout the winter and until the following Jime, 
 unless some unlucky, black-headed tit, running up the trunk, 
 peeping into every cranny, and whistling out his merry see-saw, 
 happen to spy him, in which case he is plucked without cere- 
 mony from his retreat, and his last moments are spent in the 
 bird's crop ; but, supposing no such ill-fortune betide him, by 
 the middle of June he is again on the wing, and hovering round 
 the young apples on a midsummer evening as before. 
 
 ' By burning weeds in your garden at this time of year, you 
 will effectually drive away this little Moth. If you have trees 
 the crops of which you value, make a smoking (mind ! not a 
 blazing) fire under each ; it will put you to some inconvenience 
 if your garden be near your house, but the apples will repay 
 you for that.' 
 
 Despite these destructive habits of this insect — perhaps in 
 consequence of them — I have always cherished a kindly remini- 
 scence of this Moth. When I was a child there was a re- 
 markably fine codlin apple-tree in the garden, the fruit of 
 which ripened early and was particularly juicy. As children, 
 we were not allowed to gatlier the fruit at our discretion, but 
 were permitted to take that which fell without any unfair 
 means being used, such as beating or shaking the branches. 
 Thanks to the Codlin Moth, a considerable number of apples 
 always did fall annually, having ripened much before their time, 
 as is the manner of fruit which will never come to perfection. 
 Like most larvse which never see the light until they are full- 
 fed, the caterpillar of this insect is nearly colourless, with the 
 exception of the head, which is brown-black, hard, and shining. 
 
 On Woodcut LIX. Fig. 2, is seen a magnified representation 
 of a Moth known by tlie popular name of the Single Blotch 
 (Ephippiphora scutuland). 
 
 It derives its name from the rather peculiar colouiing of 
 the wings, the upper pair of which are brown, variously 
 mottled, and each having on the inner margin a single square 
 blotch of white. It is a plentiful insect in all parts of Eng- 
 land. 
 
THE ZOEGIAN TORTEIX. 513 
 
 An allied species, Ephippiphora famella, is shown at Fig. 1. 
 It is a very pretty little creature, the upper wings being dark 
 brown, each having a pretty white spot, as seen in the illustra- 
 tion. The under wings are nearly as dark as the upper pair. 
 
 While we are engaged on this subject of Tortrices tliat are 
 destructive to fruit, we must mention the W.eberian Tortrix 
 {Semasia TrtK6e?'anrt), which affects the various stone-frua just 
 as the Caddis Moth attacks the apples. 
 
 I scarcely know a more lovely Moth than this little being, its 
 beauties, however, being so minute that they can scarcely be even 
 suspected until the magnifying glass is brought to bear upon 
 them. When viewed with a moderately powerful lens and a 
 good light, the upper wings start into sudden and unexpected 
 beauty. Their rich, satiny warm brown surface is seen to be 
 covered with innumerable tiny and delicate pencillings, scarcely 
 wider than a hair, but ea9h traced with perfect decision, and 
 glittering as if it were formed of highly burnished gold. 
 
 Although belonging to the Tortrices, it is not a leaf-roller, 
 nor even a fruit-eater, but restricts itself to the inner bark, on 
 which it seems to feed exclusively. Although thus hidden 
 from human sight, it can easily be detected, because, Kke the 
 Codlin Moth, it ejects from the mouth of the burrow the 
 digested remains of its food, which may be seen in the form of 
 fine yellow powder. Brushing oil into the holes has been 
 strongly recommended as a mode of killing these mischievous 
 caterpillars. I should think that to force a drop of oil sharply 
 into the burrow by means of a fine syringe would be much 
 more effectual. Oil is instantaneously fatal to insects, because 
 it chokes up the spiracles and prevents them from breathing. 
 But, it must first reach the spiracles, and I rather doubt 
 whether the mere brushing oil over the mouths of the burrows 
 would have that effect, whereas, forcing it into the tunnels 
 with a smart push of the syringe-piston could scarcely fail 
 of that effect. 
 
 The last of the Tortrices which we can mention in this work 
 is the ZoEGiAN Tortrix {ToHrix zoegana). 
 
 The colouring of this insect is very bold. The ground colour 
 of the upper wings is yellow, and the upper part of their 
 
 L L 
 
514 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 bases is tinged with rusty red. An irregular spot of the same 
 colour is on the middle of the wing, just below the longitudinal 
 fold, and the end of the wing is rust-red, with the exception of 
 a rather large oval spot of the same yellow as the ground colour 
 of the wing. The caterpillar of this Moth feeds on the root of 
 the scabious. The perfect insect, though it seems to be widely 
 distributed, is not very common anywhere. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TINE^ AND PTEROPEORI. 
 
 We now come to a vast group of Moths, some of which are 
 moderately large, while some are so very minute that they 
 scarcely seem to be ranked among the Lepidoptera. 
 
 The name Tinete is taken from a Latin word signifying a 
 Clothes Moth, and has nothing to do with our word ' tiny,' 
 however appropriate that may be in many cases. The number 
 of these Moths is really unknown, for there is scarcely a year 
 in which some new species of the Tinese is not discovered and 
 placed on the list. Indeed, so numerous are they that they 
 have collectively been ranked under a separate name, viz. 
 Micro-lepidoptera, and their study has become quite a distinct 
 branch of entomology. Their average dimensions may be seen 
 by reference to Fig. 7 on Plate XVII., in which the beautiful 
 little Moth called the Grolden Pigmy is represented of its 
 natural size. 
 
 We will now proceed to examine a few examples of this 
 group of Moths, and begin with the insect which is figured 
 on Woodcut LX. Fig. 1. Its scientific title is Depressaria 
 nervosella. No popular name has yet been given to it, so, in 
 allusion to the peculiar colour of its upper wings, I will call 
 it the Brown Plush. 
 
 Without a magnifying glass, it is impossible to make out 
 correctly the colours of this little Moth. The upper wings are 
 brown, with a slight reddish gloss, and on close examination are 
 seen to be covered with a great number of tiny longitudinal 
 streaks of a yellowish dun. Altogether, the general effect of the 
 upper surface of the wing is exactly like that of a piece of brown 
 plush. The base of the upper wings is dark brown, and so is a 
 small spot near the inner margin, and two dusk-dun spots on 
 the disc. The fringe of tlie wings is greyish-dun. The lower 
 
 L L 2 
 
516 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 wings and the abdomen are grey, as is the under surface of the 
 wings. 
 
 The larva of this insect is bluish-black, with an orange stripe 
 on each side, and is really a handsome little creature. It feeds 
 on the Hemlock Water Dropwort {(E nanthe crocata). A mag- 
 nified figure of this caterpillar is given at Fig. a of the same 
 Woodcut, and Fig. b shows the caterpillar of its natural 
 
 LX 
 
 1. Depressarla riervosella. 2. Coleophora ibipennella. 3. Ti=cbevia complanella. 
 
 a and 6. Depressaria, larva. c. Coleophora, larva. d. Tischeiia, larva. 
 
 size, feeding on the flowers of the dropwort which it has drawn 
 too-ether with silken threads. 
 
 I CANNOT pass unnoticed the very beautiful and very mis- 
 chievous insect called by the popular name of the Little Ermine 
 ( Hyponomeuta padella). With respect to the first of these 
 names, I must mention that some writers on entomology omit 
 
THE LITTLE ERMINE. 517 
 
 the H and spell the word Yponomeuta. This practice, although 
 it is largely indulged in by various writers, is utterly wrong, as 
 it omits the aspirate in the Greek, the English representative 
 of which is the letter H. 
 
 Following exactly the spelling as well as the arrangement of 
 certain authors, I have more than once accepted this omission 
 of the aspirate, but I can do so no longer, and hereby offer my 
 protest against any such barbarism. The scientific names of 
 insects are quite crabbed enough as it is, and there is no need 
 to add to the difficulty of remembering them by false spelling. 
 
 It would be thought extremely absurd to write of burning 
 ydrogen gas, of killing an yena, of using yperbola, of singing 
 an ymn, of planting an yacinth, of inserting an yphen between 
 two words, of unmasking an ypocrite or supporting an ypothesis ; 
 and yet, such words are not one whit more ridiculous than 
 Yponomeuta for Hyponomeuta. I rather think they have been 
 so spelt by persons more conversant with entomology than 
 philology, and who have learnt enough Greek to know the 
 alphabet, but not enough to know the aspirate. 
 
 In the next place the reader will remark that the specific 
 names of the insects belonging to the ■ Tinese are made to end 
 in ' ella.' The specific name of the insect just described, used 
 to be given as nei^osa, but has been altered to nervosella for 
 the sake of uniformity. 
 
 It is impossible to mistake the little Ermine, whose long, 
 narrow, satiny white upper wings, sprinkled with black dots, 
 render it exceedingly conspicuous. The destruction wrought 
 by this little insect is almost incredible, whole trees be- 
 ing stripped of their foliage, and, instead of bearing leaves, 
 covered with the white webs and strong threads of the cater- 
 pillars. Even in the midst of London, in the densest, smok- 
 iest, dingiest part of Bermondsey, I have seen this Moth in 
 full force. It was simply master of the situation. The little 
 square yard which did duty for a garden was overrun with the 
 caterpillars, which stretched their tough silken cables across 
 the yard, across the windows, across the doorways, across the 
 path, and, in fact, seemed to have calculated how they could 
 most annoy the legitimate proprietors of the place. 
 
 Not content with taking possession of the tiny garden, they 
 invaded the houses around, and every window that was opened 
 
518 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 was at once stormed by the caterpillars, which entered the 
 rooms, crawled over the furniture, trailed their silken lines 
 over everything in the room, and really made the inhabitants 
 of the houses quite afraid to admit the little air that ever stirs 
 in such localities. Yet, in the midst of all the smoke, the 
 dust, the ' blacks,' and the other adjuncts of the Neighbourhood, 
 the little Moths fluttered about with wings as purely white as 
 if they had never come within twenty miles of a chimney. 
 
 We must not pass over without notice the lovely Long-horn 
 Moths, of which we have several examples in England. These 
 Moths are remarkable for the extreme length and delicacy of 
 their antennae, these appendages being very much longer in the 
 males than in the females. The best known of these is the De 
 GrEEREAN {Adela de Geerella). This is a truly magnificent 
 insect. Even to the naked eye its upper wings are singularly 
 beautiful, but when it is examined by the microscope its 
 splendour absolutely baffles description. Suffice it to say that 
 the wings then appear to be covered with scale armour of 
 burnished gold, every scale taking a rich purple hue in certain 
 lights. As the insect is turned under the microscope the edges 
 are deeply purple, this hue being strongest and most con- 
 spicuous towards the tips. The fringe of the wings has also a 
 tendency to purple. 
 
 The antennae of this Moth are of enormous length. Just at 
 the base they are rather thick, and have a very slight feathering. 
 They then suddenly diminish, and are so long and so delicate 
 that they almost look like the threads of a spider's web that 
 have been casually attached to the creature's head. Indeed, I 
 have often taken the Moth by watching for the flash of light 
 reflected from the antennae as they wave about in the air like 
 threads of gossamer, while the insect is sitting quietly on a 
 leaf. 
 
 The caterpillar of this Longhorn Moth feeds on the Wood 
 Anemone, and is pale yellow with a black head. The structure 
 of the chrysalis is very remarkable, on account of the manner 
 in which the antennae are disposed. In the pupa of ordinary 
 Lepidoptera the antennae lie straight down the front of the 
 body, but such a provision would be quite insufficient for the 
 Long-horn, whose antennae are many times as long as the body. 
 
THE CONFLUENT BARRED MOTH. 519 
 
 On examining- one of the pupae, it will be found that the 
 antennae are led down the body as usual, but are then rolled 
 spirally round the end of the tail, so as to make quite a bold 
 knob, thus disposing of their enormous length in a very small 
 compass. 
 
 There is another common and most beautiful species, the 
 GrREEN LoNGHORN, in which the upper wings are glittering 
 golden-green, instead of gold-brown and pui-ple. The colour of 
 the wings much resembles that of the young oak-leaf, on which 
 the Moth loves to sit, and, were it not for the gleam of the 
 waving antennae, it might readily escape observation. Both 
 these species are common in oak copses, and are often taken in 
 the sweep net when the collector is searching for beetles. Six 
 species of Long-horn Moths are known to inhabit England, the 
 two which have been mentioned being the most conspicuous. 
 
 As an example of the leaf-rolling Tineae, we will take that 
 very well-known species which infests the lilac, and is known 
 by the popular name of the Confluent Barred Moth {Graeil- 
 laria syringella). It is a pretty little insect, the upper wings 
 being ochreous and mottled profusely with dark brown, while 
 near the tip of the wing there is an eye-like mark with a black 
 centre. The lower wings are greyish-brown. In consequence 
 of its food it is sometimes called the Lilac Moth. 
 
 The caterpillar of this insect undergoes two distinct stages of 
 larval life, and is at one time a burrower and at another a 
 leaf-roller. Almost as soon as the egg is hatched, the Little 
 caterpillar, which is then scarcely recognisable without a mag- 
 nifjdng-glass, eats its way into the interior of a leaf, and there 
 remains for some time, feeding on the parenchyma, or soft 
 substance between the upper and under sides of the leaf. 
 Before very long it grows too large for this habitation, and 
 then makes its way into the open air, where it immediately 
 sets about preparing a more suitable home. The mode in 
 which it does so is very curious. 
 
 Selecting a rather young and tender leaf, the tiny caterpillar 
 attaches a number of silken threads to the edges and tip, and 
 fastens the other ends of the threads to the middle of the leaf, 
 fixing them in a row, so that they look something like the warp 
 threads in a loom. These threads, slight as they may be, are 
 
520 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 botth strong and elastic, and by their elasticity the tip of the 
 leaf is partially curled over. The caterpillar then pulls at the 
 threads, tightens those that are in the least loose, and so 
 proceeds until the leaf will bend no more. It then goes back 
 to the tip, which is now bent over, fastens another row of 
 threads about the eighth of an inch beyond the first set, and 
 fixes them in the same manner as before. The leaf being now 
 much more bent, the first threads hang loosely, and are again 
 shortened, tightened, and fastened down. In this way the 
 caterpillar proceeds until it makes the leaf into a hollow roll, 
 in which it may live. When one of these leaf-rolls is newly 
 finished, the extreme elasticity of the threads can easily be 
 tested, for the roll can be partly opened, when the threads will 
 allow themselves to be considerably stretched, and as soon as 
 the force is removed will spring back again to their foi-mer 
 length. Row after row of these threads may be seen, all set in 
 regular order, and looking almost like strips of the finest white 
 silk. 
 
 On Woodcut LX. Fig. 2 is shown a magnified portrait of 
 a most beautiful little Moth named Coleojohora ibipennella. 
 This insect, though apparently larger than those on Plate XVII. 
 Fig. 7, is really much about the same size, the long fringes of 
 the wings making them look larger than they really are. As 
 the reader may see by reference to the illustration, the actual 
 wings are very small, very narrow, and very pointed, their 
 apparent width being entirely due to the fringe. The colour 
 of the upper wings is satiny- white, the few nervui-es are slightly 
 yellow, and there is a tendency to brown towards the tips. 
 The under surface of these wings is grey, with a tinge of 
 reddish-brown. The under wings are dark grey. The head 
 and thorax are white, and the abdomen is grey with a white 
 tuft at the end of the tail. 
 
 The scientific name of this little Moth has already .been 
 given. Hitherto it has not been recognised by any popular 
 name, so I will call it the Flakelet, in allusion to its resem- 
 blance to a little snow-flake. 
 
 The caterpillar is a pretty little creature. Its body is a sort 
 of dull amber-yellow, and its head is black. The second 
 segment has a large double black mark on the back, the third 
 
THE COLEOPHOEA PALLIATELLA. 521 
 
 sef^ent has four black spots, and the last segment has one 
 similar spot. A figure of the caterpillar is given ou Woodcut 
 LX. Fig. c. Like many of the Tinese larvae, it does not live in 
 the open air, but makes for itself a kind of case, shaped very 
 much like a pistol. This case is very dark brown, sometimes 
 black, and stands on its end, the muzzle on the leaf and the 
 but in the air. The caterpillar only protrudes its head from the 
 case, and when alarmed it shrinks entirely within its home, and 
 draws the opening closely against the surface of the leaf. It 
 feeds mostly on the birch, and is quite common in most parts of 
 England. The generic name Coleophora is formed from two 
 Greek words, signifying Sheath-bearer, and alludes to the habit 
 of living within a portable case or sheath. 
 
 There is, for example, the Coleophora palliateUa, a Moth 
 much resembling the preceding species, but larger, its spread of 
 wings being nearly half an inch. 
 
 This larva makes a case very much resembling a paper bag 
 tied so as to form a sort of narrow neck and a large irresfular 
 bulb. I have bred many of these Moths, and have been 
 extremely interested in the structure of their movable 
 dwelling. To the unassisted eye, it looks merely like a rather 
 irregular piece of blackish membrane, but when the magnifying 
 glass is brought to bear ou it, a very remarkable structure is 
 disclosed. If it be examined by means of an ordinary lens, 
 it looks as if made of a vast number of small black scallop 
 shells fastened together at their edges. 
 
 If a portion of this case be removed, and placed under a 
 tolerably powerful microscope, the real formation of the case is 
 revealed. It is made entirely of silk, each scallop being 
 formed separately, and joined to its neighbours. In some 
 cases the junctions have given way, and the scallops have 
 become partially separated. I have seen a knitted counter- 
 pane formed on exactly the same principle technically called the 
 ' shell-pattern,' the scallops having been knitted separately, and 
 then sewn together at their edges. It is quite easy to trace the 
 dates of these little scallops, for those of oldest date are dark 
 and discoloured, while those that are last made are pure white. 
 
 On opening this case with a pair of very fine scissors, a 
 second case is found within it, firmly attached to the outer 
 
522 INSECTS AT HOJVIE. 
 
 case by its base, the mouths of the two cases coinciding with 
 each other, and consequently being very thick and strong. 
 This inner case is not the least like the outer one, being nearly 
 cylindrical, and hardly wider than the neck, except at the 
 base, where it slightly widens. Owing to the residence of the 
 caterpillar within it, the colour of the inner case is much 
 darker than that of the outer. It is formed in the same 
 manner, being constructed of a great number of silken scallops. 
 
 When the larva is full-fed, it draws the mouth of this double 
 case tightly against the surface of the leaf, and fastens it down 
 with a great number of silken bands, always attaching it 
 to some nervure, generally the middle nervure, of the leaf. 
 "Within this double fortress the larva changes to a pupa, and 
 not until it assumes the jDcrfect shajae does it leave the silken 
 case in which it passed its larval existence. 
 
 Such is a brief description of this very remarkable habita- 
 tion. I have always found them on the oak, fixed to the 
 upper surface of the leaf, and have taken as many as I wanted 
 in a small path running over Shooter's Hill, in Kent, where 
 the quantity of oak underwood brings all oak-loving insects 
 easily to hand. 
 
 As to the other members of this genus, they all make cases 
 more or less curious, but all constructed of the same materials 
 and for the same purpose. That of Goleopliora therinella is 
 very long and slender, quite straight, and of a pale-brown. 
 That of Coleophora cvbrrucipennella is shaped something like 
 a round-headed Fiji club, the neck being very narrow, and the 
 base very large and covered with all sorts of irregular projec- 
 tions. The popular name of this Moth is the Little Waggoner, 
 and its colouring is very much like that of the preceding species, 
 except that the nervures are yellow towards the base and 
 become brown towards the tips of the wings. The larva is 
 rather a general feeder, and has been found upon the leaves of 
 the oak, the sallow, the hornbeam, and other trees. The larva- 
 case of Coleophora conspicuella well deserves the name, for it is 
 extraordinarily black, and looks very much like a black pea- 
 pod in miniature, stuck by one end to a leaf. 
 
 On Woodcut LX. Fig. 3 is shown the Red Feather (Tische- 
 via complanella), so called from its colour and the feathery 
 
THE BROWN DOLLY. 523 
 
 character of its wings, the upper pair being warm orange with 
 a longitudinal black bar, as seen in the illustration. This is 
 another of the oak-feeders, and the perfect insect is common 
 everywhere during the earlier part of the summer. The 
 name Red Feather is almost a literal translation of Stephen's 
 name of rufipennella, which he gave to it, but which could 
 not be retained because the name complanella was of earlier 
 date. The larva of this insect is shown at Fig. d. 
 
 The next group of Tinese are all leaf-miners in the larval 
 state. The name of this group is the Lithocolletidae. The 
 object of this name I really cannot determine. It is derived 
 from two Greek words, the former signifying a stone, and the 
 latter to glue or cement. Taken collectively, the words may 
 either signify a stone-cementer, or something that is inlaid or 
 cemented with stone. Perhaps the colouring of the wings 
 may have given some notion of a mosaic wall, which is made of 
 small cubes of stone cemented together. 
 
 A FIGURE of one of the prettiest of these very pretty insects 
 is given on Woodcut LXI. Fig. 1, very much magnified. The 
 scientific name of this insect is Lithocolletes coi-ylella. No 
 popular name has been given to it, so I shall call it the 
 Brown Dolly, because the brown markings on the white wings 
 bear, when viewed from base to tip, a certain resemblance to a 
 rude wooden doll. It is really a very pretty insect. Viewed 
 with the naked eye, it is so small that the shape of the 
 markings is wholly invisible, and all that can be seen is a 
 white surface profusely sprinkled with brown, or a brown 
 surface spotted with white. But, when the magnifying glass 
 is brought to bear upon it, the markings are seen to be very 
 clearly defined. I have examined a considerable number of 
 these beautiful little Moths, and in none of them was there 
 any noticeable variation. 
 
 Although but few colours are employed in the decoration of 
 the little Moth's plumage, it is a most beautiful insect, the 
 rich brown and pure creamy white being contrasted in a 
 wonderfully bold manner. There is a slight difference in the 
 colour of the sexes, the upper wings of the male being soft 
 creamy-white, while those of the female are cold grey-white. 
 
524 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Upon their surface are drawn the rich brown markings shown in 
 the illustration. The fringe is whitish-grey. The under wings 
 are grey, fringed with a much lighter hue, and darkening a,t 
 the base. The sides of the head are yellow, and the face 
 snowy-white ; the thorax is of the same colour as the upper 
 wings, and the abdomen is grey, ended with a tuft of very pale 
 yellow. 
 
 LXf. 
 
 1. Lithocolletes corylolla. 
 a. Lithocolletes, larva. 
 
 2. Nepticiila aurella. 
 d. Nepticula, larva. 
 
 The larva is represented at Fig. a, very much magnified. 
 When living it is about as long as the capital letter I, and 
 indeed, could not be much larger in consequence of the 
 character of its home. Its colour is pale yellow, with a 
 blackish-brown head, and a patch of deep orange upon the 
 ninth segment. It burrows into the leaves of the hazel 
 {Corylus avellana), from which it obtains its specific name 
 corylella. 
 
THE GOLDEN PIGMY. 525 
 
 This little creature is common upon its food-plant, and can 
 easily be obtained by rearing it from the larval state. I find 
 that nearly all leaf-miners are easily reared. They require 
 very little trouble, and the collector is free from, the ever- 
 constant labour of procuring food, which is a serious tax on 
 anyone who cannot pay a substitute to do it for him. But, 
 with leaf-miners, there is scarcely any trouble at all, and the 
 following directions will be found amply sufficient. Cut off 
 the twig on which grows the mined leaf, and bring it home. 
 In order to ascertain whether the larva is still inside the leaf, 
 hold it up to the light, when a short, opaque line will at once 
 detect its presence. Tie a piece of fine gauze loosely over the 
 leaves, put the stem in water and all is done. These little 
 creatures go through their transformations very quickly, and in 
 a comparatively short time the beautiful little Moths may be 
 seen fluttering within their gauzy prison. 
 
 The gauze bag, with its living burden, is then slipped into 
 the laurel-bottle, and the Moths can then be set. 
 
 It is very easy to say that such Moths must be set, but to 
 set them is a very different business. They are so very small 
 that to get even the slenderest of pins through the thorax is 
 quite out of the question, and they must therefore be mounted 
 on card. It is best done by taking some very white card-board, 
 moistening the surface with transjDarent cement, laying the 
 Moths upon it, and drawing their wings into position with a 
 very fine needle-point. . As soon as the cement is dry, the 
 card-board can be cut up into strips, so as to have the Moth at 
 one end of the strip and the pin at the other^ just as is done 
 with small beetles. I have seen a number of these Micro- 
 lepidoptera thus displayed on a piece no larger than a lady's 
 visiting card, the effect of their glittering wings being abso- 
 lutely gorgeous when a bright light was reflected upon them. 
 
 The last of the Tinese which we can mention in this work is 
 the Golden Pigmy {Nepticula aurella), which is shown on 
 Woodcut LXI. Fig. 2. T^is is a very much magnified figure, as 
 can be seen by comparing it with Plate XVII. Fig. 7, where 
 it is represented of its natural size. 
 
 This very common insect affords an admirable example of 
 the Tinese, its small size and glittering hues being two of the 
 
526 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 leading characteristics of the group. The upper wings are 
 rich brown with a golden gloss and a tendency to purple 
 beyond the middle. Across the middle runs a broad diagonal 
 band of shining gold, which, under the microscope, is abso- 
 lutely painful to the eyes from its splendoiir. 
 
 Indeed, were this minute insect only as large as our common 
 peacock butterfly, it would be acknowledged to be the most 
 magnificent insect in the world, and even the most gorgeous 
 inhabitants of the tropics would pale before its splendour. 
 Fortunately, the entomologist is independent of such con- 
 siderations as mere size, for the microscope enables him to 
 enlarge the smallest insect to any dimensions that he wishes, 
 so that he can give to the smallest of insects all the pictorial 
 effects which they would have if they were many thousand 
 times their real size. 
 
 The larva of the Grolden Pigmy is shown at Fig. b. This 
 caterpillar burrows in the leaf of the common bramble, and in 
 many cases is the cause of the devious tracks which are seen 
 in its leaves. The particular path taken by these larvce seems 
 to be very much a matter of choice. When very young, they 
 seem to be deterred by the presence of a nervure, and to 
 change the direction of their track when they come across it, 
 whereas, when they become older and stronger, they mine 
 their way through the nervures with perfect indifference. 
 Sometimes a Pigmy caterpillar happens to make its way, 
 when very young, to the extreme edge of the leaf. When it 
 does so, it seems never to be able to extricate itself from 
 the margin, but follows with the utmost fidelity the notched 
 edges of the leaf, sometimes nearly travelling round the leaf 
 before it ceases to feed. When it is full-fed, it makes a very 
 little cocoon at the end of its devious tunnel, and in a short 
 time emerges in the perfect state. 
 
 There is scarcely a plant the leaf of which is not mined by 
 some species of this lovely genus, so that to obtain a tolerably 
 good series of the Nepticulae, or Pigmies, as they are popularly 
 termed, is not a difficult matter. This, indeed, is almost the 
 only mode of obtaining these Lilliputian Moths — the humming- 
 birds of the Lepidoptera — in any number, for, in spite of their 
 extremely brilliant colours, it is very difficult to detect them 
 when at liberty. They have a habit of settling on the rough 
 
PLUME MOTHS. 527 
 
 trunks of trees, old palings, and similar localities, and placing 
 themselves so that the brown hue of their wings corresponds 
 with that of the object on which they have settled, while the 
 light does, not reflect the glittering metallic hues with which 
 nearly all the species are decorated. Eearing them, however, 
 is, as has already been mentioned, extremely easy, and the only 
 difficulty is to set them neatly without damaging their gorgeous 
 plumage. 
 
 One of these Pigmies, Nepticula plagicolella, is supposed to be 
 the very smallest of British Lepidoptera. It is a most lovely 
 little being, the wings being deep brown with a violet gloss, 
 across which is drawn a glittering band of burnished silver. 
 Another, Kepticida argentipedella, has the upper wings of a 
 velvet black shot with violet, and a central band of pure 
 white. Then, Nepticula acetosella, has the upper wings dark 
 shining bronze, crossed with a band of rich violet edged with a 
 line of pure white. Much has been done with these lovely 
 little insects of later years, but much more remains to be done, 
 and if any of my readers will take up this one subject of the 
 leaf-miners, they will find themselves amply rewarded for their 
 trouble. 
 
 "SVe are now among some very curious and withal beautiful 
 insects, though none of them possess the magnificent colour- 
 ing which distinguishes the lovely little Moths which have 
 just been described. They are scientifically known by the 
 name of Pterophori, or Feather-Bearers, and bear the popular 
 name of Plume Moths, on account of the structure of the 
 wdngs. In those Lepidoptera which we have hitherto examined, 
 the wings are formed of a thin membrane stretched between 
 certain strengthening nervures, or wing-rays, the principal of 
 ■which radiate from the base of the wing. But in the Plume 
 ISIoths there is no membrane, each nervure being furnished 
 with long, hair-like plumes by which the insect is sustained in 
 the air. In the under wings, the nervures are separate nearly 
 from the base to the tip, but the upper wings are only divided 
 from the middle. 
 
 There are, however, exceptions to most rules, and such is the 
 case with the Plume Moths, for there is one Plume Moth 
 
528 INSECTS AT HOJEE. 
 
 called Adactyla, or Agdistes Bennetii, which has scarcely the 
 least appearance of belonging to this group of Moths, the 
 wings not being divided at all. The popular name of this 
 Moth is the Plumeless Plume. It is found on our coasts, 
 the caterpillar feeding upon sea-loving plants, such as the 
 Lavender Thrift {Statice liTnoniuTn). Both pairs of wings of 
 thi^ insect are very long, slender, and sharply pointed. The 
 upper pair are yellowish-brown with a few small black spots, 
 and the under pair simply ^ale brown. 
 
 The commonest and one of the prettiest of the Plume 
 Moths is shown on Plate XVII. Fig. 5. It is popularly known 
 as the Lakge White Plume, tlie Skeleton, or the Phantom, all 
 names being perfectly appropriate. Its scientific name is 
 Pterophoi^s pentadactylus. 
 
 This very beautiful though simply coloured insect has the 
 wings pui-e snowy-white, and divided into separate plumes, as 
 shown in the illustration. In all cases the feathering of the 
 plumes is much wider on the inner than the outer side of the 
 nervure, very much like the structure of an ordinary bird's 
 feather. If the wings be examined with the microscope, it 
 will be seen that the long fringes which form the feathering- 
 are composed of the ordinary scales which cover the wings of 
 the Lepidoptera, such scale being drawn out to a great length. 
 Indeed, length of scale is one of the leading characteristics of 
 these Moths, and the scales which clothe the base of the wings 
 are also remarkable for their length. When viewed by a 
 side light, these plumes have a satiny lustre, which quite dis- 
 appears when they are viewed through a magnifying-glass, so 
 as to render each of the delicate filaments visible. 
 
 The Moth conceals itself during the day, making its appear- 
 ance at dusk, when it flutters about like a snow-flake driven at 
 random by the wind. It never makes a long flight, but if 
 distvirbed in one spot, just flits a yard or two and again settles 
 on some leaf, where its white, outstretched, though not outspread 
 wings render it very conspicuous when at rest. It never folds 
 its wings to its body as do so many JNIoths, but remains with 
 them stretched on either side to their very fullest extent, as if 
 actually courting observation. 
 
THE MANY-PLUME MOTH. 529 
 
 There are nearly thirty species of this genus known to 
 inhabit England, the handsomest of which is certainly the 
 EosE Plume {Pterophorus rhododactylus). This is really a 
 very lovely insect. It is only partially plumed, the upper 
 wings being without any divisions, and only the lower pair 
 feathered. The whole of both wings is rosy pink, except the 
 basal half of the upper wings, which are golden yellow, white, 
 and the darkest possi;ble chestnut brown. 
 
 The plainest and simplest of all these Moths is probably the 
 Stone Plume {Pterophorus pterodactylus), which is drawn on 
 Plate XVII. Fig. 6. This insect is simply brown, and the 
 darkest of all the species. The upper wings are without 
 plumes. The habits of all the species are very similar. 
 
 The last of the Plume Moths, and indeed, the last Moth in 
 om- list of British Lepidoptera, is the beautiful little insect 
 which is called various names, only one of which is in any way 
 correct. In some places it is known by the name of the 
 Thousand Plume, in others by that of the Twenty Plume, and 
 in others the Many-Cleft Plume, sometimes abbreviated into 
 Many Plume. This last name is the only one which is correct in 
 any way, and, after all, its correctness is only owing to its vague- 
 ness, which is almost a literal translation of its scientific name, 
 Alucita polydadyla, or the Many-fingered Moth. In real 
 fact the Moth has twenty-four plumes, which radiate from the 
 body, so that, when the insect is at rest, its outline is almost 
 semicircular. 
 
 It is but a little insect, the largest specimen measui'ing 
 barely half an inch across the outspread wings. In its habits 
 it is quite different to the Plume Moths. They are always to 
 be found in the open air, whereas the Many-Plume Moth in 
 almost invariably taken in outhouses or similar buildings. I have 
 frequently found it on the windows of my own rooms, its peculiar 
 shape immediately betraying it. It can easily be taken by the 
 plan called ' pill-boxing,' i.e. putting an empty pill-box over 
 the Moth, slipping a piece of card or paper under it, and then 
 putting on the lid of the box as the card is withdrawn. The 
 box can then be put into the laurel bottle, or into a vessel in 
 which a few drops of chloroform have been placed, and in a few 
 minutes a perfect specimen will be at the collector's disposal. 
 
 M M 
 
530 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The colour of this little Moth is very pale brown, speckled with 
 grey and dark brown, and taking an ochreous tint towards the 
 base of the wings. 
 
 The larva of this Moth feeds on the buds of the honeysuckle, 
 and is very common. About the end of July or the beginning 
 of August the caterpillar is fall-fed, and then spins for itself a 
 cocoon, in which it undergoes its changes. This, I believe, is 
 the only Plume Moth that makes a cocoon. In three or four 
 weeks from the time of its change into the pupal state it is 
 fully developed, and then makes its way to the nearest place of 
 concealment, in which it may remain dormant throughout the 
 winter. 
 
 In those places where the honeysuckle grows wild, and man 
 has no habitation within a reasonable distance, the Many- 
 Plume Moth is obliged to put up with hollow tree-trunks and 
 similar localities. But barns, sheds, and outhouses generally 
 are much more convenient places of refuge, and in them the 
 Many-Plume remains, never moving, unless disturbed, from the 
 spot in which it settled. It is quite curious* to see the same 
 spot occupied for months together by the same insect. This 
 little creature must have a wonderful power of resisting cold, 
 for I have seen it flattened against the wall in an old shed 
 throughout the severest winter, and even though the tempera- 
 ture must several times have been but little above zero, the 
 Moth seemed nothing the worse for it, but came out in the 
 following spring, the warmth having completely restored it to 
 animation. 
 
HOMOPTEEA. 
 
 M M 2 
 
HOMOPTEEA. 
 
 We have now arrived at a new order of insects, the Hojioptera. 
 This order includes a number of insects that are apparently 
 dissimilar, but which can, on careful examination, be recognised 
 as belonging- to the same group. Our first business is to under- 
 stand the name of Homoptera. 
 
 This name is formed from two Greek words, signifying 
 Same-winged, and is given to the insect because both the upper 
 and under pairs are of a similar character. Both pairs are 
 membranous, the upper pair are longer than the lower, and 
 they do not lap over each other in repose. The body is always 
 convex, which partly accounts for the disposition of the wings, 
 the antennae are usually short, and the feet have not more than 
 three joints. The mouth is set rather back on the under 
 surface of the head, and is furnished with a proboscis formed 
 from the mandibles and maxillce, which are very slender and 
 elongated, and enclosed in the labium, which is formed into a 
 sort of canal. The pupa is active, and bears some resemblance 
 to the perfect insect. 
 
 In this order are comprised several well-known insects, such 
 as the ' cuckoo-spit,' the aphis or green blight, and the scale 
 insects, besides the comparatively rare Cicada. All these insects 
 are very unlike each other, but they agree in the character of 
 the wings, the form and position of the proboscis, and the mode 
 of transformation. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that the Homoptera never 
 have more than three joints in their feet. Mr. Westwood 
 considers the number of joints in the tarsi as a matter of such 
 importance that he bases his arrangement upon it, and divides 
 the Homoptera into three groups, those which have three joints 
 
534 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 in the tarsi, those which have two joints, and those which only 
 have one joint. We will begin with the first of these groups, 
 the Trimera, as they are called. All these insects liave very 
 small antennge, at the end of which is a slight bristle. The 
 females possess a complicated and beautiful ovipositor, with 
 which they bore into the stems of the plants in which they 
 deposit their eggs. The structure of these borers should be 
 compared with that of the boring Hymenoptera, which have 
 already been described. Three families are contained in this 
 group, only two of which find representatives in England. 
 
 The first of these families is called the Cicadidas, of which 
 only a single British species is known to exist. This insect is 
 too rare to have any popular name, and is called Cicada 
 anglica. A coloured representation of this interesting insect 
 is given on the frontispiece, being shown in the act of flying. 
 The colouring and appearance of tliis insect are so well given 
 in the illustration that there is no need for further description 
 on that head. In all the Cicadidas the head is short, broad, 
 and transverse, with three ocelli set in a triangle on the back 
 of the head, and two very large and prominent compound eyes. 
 The beak is three-jointed. 
 
 This is a rare insect, but is occasionally found in various 
 parts of the kingdom, never, I believe, extending its journeys 
 towards the northern counties. The New Forest is one of the 
 localities where it is most frequently found. In ' The Entomo- 
 logist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. i. page 171, is an account by 
 Mr. C. G. Barrett of the capture of a female Cicada in Surrey. 
 The insect was ' flying in the sunshine down a grassy side, and 
 pitched rather suddenly among some rushes and long grass 
 which were growing in a wide open space at a bend of the path, 
 where I managed to secure it. Its strong membranous wings 
 made a rustling sound similar to that produced by dragon-flies, 
 but, being' a female, it of course made no other noise whatever. 
 I am pretty certain that I saw another specimen a few days 
 afterwards, flying by the same spot (one of the warmest and 
 most sheltered nooks in the neighbourhood), but its flight was 
 so rapid that there was no chance of capturing it.' 
 
 The males are usually taken by being beaten out of the 
 white thorn, while the females haunt the common bracken fern. 
 
THE CICADA. 535 
 
 on the roots of which it is supposed that the larva feeds. The 
 peculiar sound of its wings has already been noticed, and an 
 allusion made to sounds produced in some other manner. In 
 most of the CicadfB, the males are able to produce a very loud, 
 shrill, and monotonous sound, which in some species js so loud 
 that it can be heard at the distance of a mile. This sound is 
 produced by means of a remarkable internal apparatus, con- 
 sisting of a pair of tightly stretched membranes or 'drums,' 
 which are acted upon by powerful muscles. This apparatus is 
 guarded from harm by two large plates formed from the sides 
 of tlie metasternvim. If these plates be lifted up, the drums 
 can be plainly seen below tliem, the space between the drums 
 and the plates being so large as to form a cavity, which evi- 
 dently serves as a sounding-board. 
 
 Whether ovir British species sings or not appears to be a 
 still mooted question which could easily be settled. It is true 
 that a male kept in captivity for two or three days made no 
 sound, and on the strength of this very negative evidence, the 
 English Cicada was set down as dumb. Now, I have at this 
 moment a male of the Great Grreen Grasshopper under a glass 
 shade. He was perfectly silent for some time after he was 
 placed in confinement, but is now so musical that he becomes 
 almost a nuisance, his loud, shrill cry being plainly heard 
 fi-om the room below that in which I am sitting. His musical 
 propensities are the more remarkable as he kicked oflf one of 
 his hind legs while being transferred from a little tumbler to 
 the large glass shade. Had this insect been as rare as the 
 Cicada, and had it lived for some two days in captivity and 
 then died, it might have been pronounced to be dumb with 
 quite as good reason. 
 
 The females — fortunately for the ears of mankind — do not 
 possess the shrilling apparatus, but they are provided with an 
 instrument which is in its way quite as wonderful. This is the 
 boring instrument or ovipositor. The principle of these borers 
 is something like that of the corresponding instrument in the 
 saw-fly ; but, instead of being composed of two flat saws, the 
 borer of the Cicada is formed of a double spear-headed in- 
 strument, the edges of the spear-head being strongly toothed. 
 With this instrument the female Cicada bores holes in the 
 material in which the future larva is to be produced, and lays 
 
536 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 therein lier eggs. The larva is shaped very much like the 
 perfect insect, except that it has no wings, and the fore-legs 
 are enormously developed, so as to fit them for digging. "With 
 these excavating limbs they sink deep burrows into the earth, 
 some species of Cicada reaching a depth of three feet, and 
 feeding on the roots of plants. 
 
 The pupa is almost exactly like the larva, except that the 
 rudimentary wings appear in the form of four thick and pointed 
 projections on the sides. When the time for the first trans- 
 formation approaches, the pupa leaves the earth, crawls up 
 some convenient plant, and there undergoes much the same 
 process as has been related of the dragon flies under similar 
 circumstances. The pupal skin splits completely along the 
 middle of the thorax and across the head, and through this 
 T-shaped aperture the perfect Cicada makes its exit from the 
 pupal shell. 
 
 The empty pupal skin is then left clinging as it stood, and, 
 as the natural elasticity of the skin causes the aperture to 
 close, the empty skin is apparently unchanged in external 
 appearance, its translucency alone betraying that there is 
 nothing but air inside it. Even the very covering of the eyes 
 is thrown off, and I find that although the hexagonal facets 
 of the compound eye are plain enough when viewed through 
 an ordinary pocket-magnifier, no trace of them is to be seen 
 upon the cast pupal skin. Indeed, in this shed skin the 
 horny covering of the eyes looks wonderfully like the similar part 
 of the cast skin of a serpent. The great Cicadas of Surinam, 
 which can be obtained for a few pence at any naturalist's shop, 
 are admirable assistants to the student, as their great size 
 enables him to handle them easily, and there is a wonderful 
 difference between the dissection of an insect a quarter of an 
 inch in length and one that measures from two to three inches. 
 
 Passing by the Fulgoridse, or Lantern-flies, of which we 
 have no British examples, we come to the third family, the 
 O Cercopidse, which are plentifully represented in this country, and, 
 indeed, are much too plentifully represented according to the 
 ideas of gardeners. In this family the antennas have only three 
 joints, the last joint being elongated into a slender, bristle- 
 like filament. There are only two ocelli, which are set either 
 
THE FROG-HOPPEES. 
 
 53V 
 
 on the forehead or the face, and the legs are fitted for leaping. 
 The males do not possess any sound-producing apparatus. ' 
 They are familiarly kno^vn in their perfect state by the 
 .popular name of Hoppers, and in their larval state by that of 
 Cuckoo-spit, or Frog-spit. 
 
 The name Cercopis is Grreek, and was used by the ancient 
 wi-iters on natural history to denote some kind of Cicada. 
 
 LXll 
 
 1. Ptyelus bifasciatus. 2. Centrotus comutus. 3. Aphis tilise, female. 
 
 4. Aphis tiliae, male. a. Aphis, leg. b. Do., labium. c. Do., head. 
 
 Our first example of this family is the Eared Hopper 
 {Centrotus comutus), which is shown at Fig. 2 on Wood- 
 cut LXII. 
 
 This creature is remarkable, not for the brilliancy of its 
 colouring, nor for the boldness of its marking ; for it is simply 
 dark-brown dotted with a very slight yellowish-dun, and has 
 no markings whatever. 
 
538 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 But the ' pronotum,' or first portion of the upper part of the 
 thorax, is developed in the most extraordinary manner into a 
 horn-like projection at each side, while the centre bears a long-, 
 sword-like appendage, which reaches over the whole of the 
 body and very nearly reaches to the tip of the abdomen. The 
 whole of the upper part of the thorax, the two appendages at 
 the side, and the sword-shaped horn, are covered with tubercles, 
 which give the surface a glittering aspect when the light 
 shines on it. A magnifying-glass is necessary in order to detect 
 these tubercles. The only colour in the upper wings is 
 restricted to the base, where there is a little patch of circular, 
 eye-like spots, each having a solid black centre, then a white 
 ring and then a narrow black ring or outline. There is also a 
 slight clouding of chestnut brown. 
 
 This curious insect has the upper wings shining and rather 
 yellowish, and the under wings transparent and iridiscent, with 
 brown nervures. The thighs are rusty red, and the rest of the 
 leg pitchy black. It is tolerably common in woods and gardens, 
 and can be taken in the sweep-net by passing it over laurels, 
 thistles, and the herbage of the hedge-side. It appears in May 
 and June. The first specimen of this insect that I ever 
 possessed was given to me in 1850 by the late Eev. F. W. 
 Hope, w;ith whose magnificent collection all entomologists are 
 familiar. 
 
 On Plate XVIII. Fig. 1 is represented an insect which is 
 called by the name ofOLedra aurita. I do not know that it 
 has any popular name. Like the last-mentioned insect, it has 
 some curious projections from the thorax, which in this case 
 take the form of two flat projections from each side, looking 
 somewhat like ears, whence the specific nam6/a'M■r^^a, or eared. 
 The edges of these ' ears ' are notched or waved. It is not a 
 handsome insect in point of colour, its principal hue being dull 
 olive-green, which is apt to change after death to yellowish- 
 brown. The head is covered with a number of small reddish 
 tubercles. As to the rest of the insect, it cannot be seen 
 properly until the wings are spread. The upper pair are olive- 
 green, becoming transparent towards the tip, and the nervures 
 are brown. The under wings are pale grey-brown with dark 
 nervures. The abdomen is very wide, flat, and covered with a 
 
PLATE XVIII. 
 TERRESTRIAL HOMOPTERA AND HETEROPTERA. 
 
 ^(i 1. Ledra aurita. 
 \Jt) 2. Ledra aurita, larva. 
 
 3. Triepphora sanguinolenta. 
 
 4. Pentatoma dissimile. 
 
 5. Stenocephalus agilis. 
 
 PLAIf TS : — 
 
 Great Ragwort (Senecio Jacohed). Atove. 
 White Dead Nettle {Lmnium alburn). Below* 
 
THE SCAELET HOPPER. 539 
 
 rather homy skin. The perfect insect jumps when alarmed, 
 but can only leap a very short distance. 
 
 The larva of this insect is shown at Fig. 2 of the same Plate. 
 It is coloured much like the adult insect, but has no Avings nor 
 the least signs of the conspicuous ' ears ' which decorate it 
 when adidt. Even when it assumes the pupal state these 
 projections are not visible, their places being merely indicated 
 by two raised knobs. It is not a common insect, and has been 
 mostly taken in the New Forest by beating it out of oak. The 
 larva feeds upon oak, and does not surround itself with the 
 frothy secretion so familiar to us as Cuckoo-spit. One of them 
 was discovered by the Eev. T. A. Marshall, while digging at 
 the roots of an oak in January ; this discovery proving that 
 the insect hibernates while still in the larval state. It has 
 been found in Purfleet in Kent. 
 
 On the same Plate, Fig. 3, is shown a very beautiful insect, 
 which in point of colour is by far the handsomest of our British 
 Homoptera. This is the Scarlet Hopper {Trieppkora — or 
 Cercopis — sanguinolenta). It is impossible to give in the' 
 simple black and white of printer's-ink an idea of the beautiful 
 and bold colouring of this insect. 
 
 That part which appears as white is rich scarlet, and the rest 
 deep black, both having a velvety appearance. When one of 
 these beautiful wings is placed under the microscope, the cause 
 of the rich velvety Ipok is at once shown. The siu-face of the 
 wing, instead of being smooth, as it appears to the unaided eye, 
 is covered with a vast number of minute rounded projections, 
 very much like those on the upper surface of a geranium petal. 
 An irregular network of fine black lines traverses the whole of 
 the wing, and at each of the intersections there is a round 
 black spot with a translucent centre, the whole of these markings 
 having the effect of softening and enriching the colour in a 
 very effective manner. Both the black and the red portions of 
 the wing are thus adorned. 
 
 This handsome insect is very local, and in many parts of the 
 country is never seen. It used to be very plentiful in Bagiey 
 "Wood, near Oxford, and all the specimens in my collection 
 were taken there by myself in 1847. It was always found on 
 the fern, and was mostly captured by using the sweep-net at 
 
540 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 random. It could often be seen sitting on the fern-leaves, but 
 it is so active and wary that as soon as the intending captor 
 approaches, it jumps off the leaf, falls to the ground, and is lost. 
 Sometimes it flies to a little distance, but as a rule it does 
 not trouble itself to use its wings, but merely leaps to the 
 ground. 
 
 Next come those insects which are popularly known as 
 Cuckoo-spits, because it used to be the general opinion that 
 they were formed either from the spittle of the cuckoo or that 
 of the frog, and in consequence they have also received the 
 name of Frog-hoppers. This very absurd notion is by no 
 means confined to this country, neither is it modern ; for in the 
 days of Aristotle the insects were said to be generated from the 
 spittle of the cuckoo, while the French popular name of 
 Crachat de Grrenouilles shows that the notion of the frog-spit 
 prevails on the Continent as well as in England. 
 
 One of these insects, scientifically termed Ptyelus bifasciatus, 
 is shown on Woodcut LXII. Fig. 1. 
 
 This is a most accommodating creature as far as regards 
 colour, for it takes almost any hue or mixture of hues between 
 grey and black. Some specimens are almost wholly black, and 
 some are entirely grey. Many have the upper wings black, and 
 the thorax spotted with yellow. Grenerally, however, the insect 
 is crossed with two bands of a lighter hue than its ground 
 colour, whence the specific name of bifasciatus, or two-banded. 
 
 The larva of this and allied insects has a very cui'ious mode of 
 life. It fixes its residence on the young and tender twigs, and 
 drives its proboscis into the bark, whence it draws the sap 
 which constitutes its nutriment. Just as the larvae of several 
 insects cover their bodies with the remains of their solid food, 
 so are the larvae of the Frog-hopper protected by the remains 
 of their liquid food. They eject a quantity of liquid, which is 
 formed into bubbles, and takes the form of a frothy substance, 
 in which the body of the larva is entirely concealed. As every 
 one knows, bubbles have a proverbially short existence, and 
 these bubbles break in succession, allowing a drop of clear 
 transparent fluid to collect at the bottom of the froth-mass. 
 When this drop becomes too large to be upheld it falls to the 
 
WING OF THE FROG-HOPPER. 541 
 
 ground, and another takes its place. If the froth be put aside 
 the larva will be discovered in its midst — a little, soft, white 
 creature, with tiny black eyes that form a curious contrast to 
 the general white hue of the body. 
 
 In the perfect state all these insects jump with great agility, 
 and in this movement their hind legs are almost exclusively 
 employed. The commonest of all the species, Aphrophora 
 spumaHa, or the Common FKoa-HOPPER, can jump to a won- 
 derful distance, even unaided by its wings. Indeed, the ordinary 
 leap of the Frog-hopper is about equal to that of a man who 
 could jump four hundred yards without even taking a run. In 
 making this astonishing leap, the insect is aided by some sharp 
 spikes or spines upon the ends of the tibiae, which enable the 
 limb to take a firm hold of the ground. 
 
 Perhaps the actual damage done by the Frog-hopper is not 
 so great as is imagined. A tree contains a vast amount of sap, 
 and none of our British Homoptera possess the wonderful 
 distilling power of a Madagascar species (Aphrophora Goudotii), 
 which has been found capable of pouring out a considerable 
 amount of clear and apparently pure water in the very middle 
 of the day, the sap appearing simply to run through the insect 
 as through a tube. The generic name, Aphrophora, which has 
 been given to this and many allied insects, is formed from two 
 Greek words, literally sig-nifying ' foam-bearing.' 
 
 To the unassisted eye, the common Frog-hopper is about 
 as inconspicuous and commonplace an insect as can be found 
 anywhere. The magnifying-glass, however, alters the whole 
 aspect of the creature, and an ordinary pocket-lens will show 
 that the upper wings are covered with tiny projections, givino- 
 them an appearance very much like that of shagreen. 
 
 If, however, one of these upper wings, or elytra, if they may 
 be so called, be detached from the insect, and viewed throuo-h a 
 moderately powerful microscope— an ordinary half-inch object- 
 glass being employed — the simple, uninteresting object starts 
 into sudden beauty. The groundwork of the wing is seen to be 
 composed of a membranous network, much like that of the 
 wings of the dragon-fly, and upon it are innumerable round 
 eye-like spots, arranged in irregular transverse rows. These 
 spots are of uniform size, and consist of a dark centre sur- 
 rounded by a white transparent line, each spot being separated 
 
542 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 from its neiglibour by a space about equalling its own diameter. 
 These spots are, in fact, the little tubercles whose existence is 
 described as being detected by the pocket-lens. 
 
 Many species of Frog-hopper inhabit England, but the two 
 which have been selected will serve as excellent' examples. 
 
 The next group of this remarkable order is that which is 
 named Dimera, or two-jointed, because the tarsus has only two 
 joints. The antennae are always slender and longer than the 
 head, and the winged individuals possess four wings, both pairs 
 being of much the same texture. We will pass at once to the 
 important family of Aphidse, or Plant-lice," sometimes known 
 under the popular name of Grreen Blight. 
 
 One of the commonest of these most remarkable insects, the 
 Lime-Blight {Aphis tilice), is shown on Woodcut LXII. Figs. 3 
 and 4, the upper figure representing the female, and the lower 
 the male. 
 
 The colour of the male is dull yellow, with a double row of 
 black dots down the back. In the wings the stigma, or spot, is 
 yellow, and all the nervures are yellowish-brown at the tips. 
 The female is simply yellow. Fig. b represents its rostrum, or 
 beak, and Fig. c the front of the head, all these figures being 
 much magnified. The insect can be taken with the sweep-net 
 in long grass, which the male loves to frequent, while the 
 female is found on the lime-tree. 
 
 Insignificant as may be a single Aphis, these insects are' most 
 formidable from their numbers, as all gardeners know to their 
 cost. Eoses are often so thickly covered with these pestilential 
 insects that the leaves and buds are completely hidden, the 
 latter never being permitted to develope themselves into flowers. 
 Indeed, there is scarcely a plant that has not its Aphis, and 
 these extraordinary beings not only haunt the leaves and the 
 twigs of plants, but the roots and the fruit. Mr. Newman 
 remarks in his ' Letters of Eusticus ' : ' Plant-lice are every- 
 where. I have to-day (August 15, 1835) cut open codlin after 
 codlin, and found the pips garrisoned with them ; not one lone 
 Aphis, but a whole troop of all sizes. When I let in the day- 
 light there was a considerable sprawling and waving of legs, 
 and no small alarm in the hive, but by degrees they got used to 
 light and fresh air, and were quite still. I tried to tickle them 
 
INCREASE OF THE APHIS. 543 
 
 with a straw in order again to watch their movements, when, 
 lo and behold, they were all dead — gathered to their fathers — 
 gone to the tomb of all the Capulets 1 Some had heaved 
 anchor, and dropped from the pip ; others, fixed more firmly, 
 had died at their posts, and, tucking their legs together under 
 them, hung by their beaks. 
 
 ' In no apple was there any road in or out. There was no 
 chance of their passing to the exterior air, or of their having 
 come from it ; indeed, their speedy death showed that change 
 of air did not agree with them. I was particularly careful in 
 my search for a via, but there was none. I have often seen the 
 same thing in a bloated poplar-leaf ; but here is a possibility 
 of the egg being laid between the cuticles of the leaf; thus, 
 the sap-suction commencing, the bloat may be caused, but this 
 is impossible in a huge apple with an inch and a half of pulp 
 in every direction. I am unable to explain the mystery ; and, 
 like many other wiseacres, content myself witH wondering 
 how, in the name of fortune, the Aphides got there.' 
 
 These insects are prolific almost beyond belief. As a general 
 rule, insects lay eggs which are hatched, pass through the state 
 of larva and pupa, and then become perfect insects. But the 
 Plant-lice go on a very different plan. Sometimes, as if to 
 show that they are amenable to law, they do lay eggs ; but 
 this is the exception and not the rule, , which is somewhat 
 as follows, though varied every now and then by these most 
 eccentric of insects. 
 
 A female Aphis takes her place on a branch — say of the 
 rose — plunges her beak into the tender bark and begins to 
 suck the sap. After a short time she begins to produce young 
 Aphides, at an average rate of fourteen per diem. These 
 young creatures are just like their mother, only less, and 
 immediately follow her example by first sucking the sap of 
 the plant and then producing fresh young. As to the opposite 
 sex, it is no business of theirs, and I have often wondered 
 that the Shakers have not adduced the Aphides in support 
 of their peculiar tenets. The extent to which this peculiar 
 mode of increase can be carried may be imagined from the 
 fact that a single female Aphis, isolated from the other sex, 
 began to produce prolific females, which in their turn pro- 
 duced others, and so on for four years ; during the whole of 
 
544 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 which time not a male Aphis had been suffered even to ap- 
 proach them. 
 
 It is in consequence of this remarkable mode of production 
 that the twigs and buds become so rapidly covered with 
 Aphides, the quickly-succeeding generations crawling over the 
 backs of their predecessors, so as to arrive at an unoccupied spot 
 of bark in which they can drive their beaks. Thus, at the be- 
 ginning of a week, say on Monday, a rose-tree may be apparently 
 free from Aphides, or have at the most six or seven of the 
 ' blight ' upon it. But, by Thursday, the whole plant will be 
 so thickly covered with Aphides that scarcely a particle of the 
 bark can be seen, the whole being crowded with the green 
 bodies of the insect, each with its beak dug deeply into the 
 plant, and draining it of its juices. It is difficult to prescribe 
 any mode of getting rid of these garden pests. The double-brush 
 answers as well as anything I know that can be applied by the 
 hand of man ; but there is nothing so effective as the natural 
 foes of the Aphides, namely the Lady-birds, whose mode of feed- 
 ing has already been described, and the Syrphi or Hawk-flies. 
 
 If the reader will refer to the illustration on Woodcut 
 LXII., he will see that from the back of the Aphis and to- 
 wards the tail there are two slender projections. These are 
 tubes, from which exudes a sweet liquid ; which, with the aid 
 of the microscope, can be seen starting in minute drops from 
 the end of each tube. When the Aphides are in great pro- 
 fusion upon a tree, this liquid falls from them, and covers the 
 leaves with the sweet, sticky substance which is so familiar to 
 us under the name of ' honey-dew.' Trees thus distinguished are 
 always overrun by swarms of ants, which lick the sweet drop- 
 pings from the leaves and hold high revels on this substance, 
 whose origin was once so mysterious. 
 
 The ants even go farther than this. Not content with 
 taking the honey-dew that has fallen from the Aphides, they 
 anticipate its fall, and eagerly lap up the sweet secretion as it 
 exudes from the insects. In fact, they make much the same 
 use of Aphides as we do of cows, and even carry off the ant- 
 cows, as they may be called, to their own nests, and there keep 
 them. That the ants do this has long been known, but the 
 notion of keeping milch-cows seemed so far beyond the capaci- 
 ties of an insect that many persons refused to give credence 
 
ANTS AND THEIR MILCH-COWS. 545 h. *": 
 
 0< 
 
 to so romantic a story. It is, however, perfectly true, as ^ (_^ 
 may be seen by the following extract from the 'Letters of hi f~" 
 Rusticus ' : — ih IjJ 
 
 ' Another odd station for Aphides is on the roots of plants. (L 3^ 
 I have found them by hundreds on a thistle-root, closely P 
 packed together, and almost as white as snow. The other day^ fl 
 I pulled up a large thistle that grew on an ant-hill, and thus I 
 brought to light a whole colony of these white Aphides. I ^' 
 had long known of the great value which ants set on these 
 little beasts ; so I shook down some dozen of them from the 
 thistle-root, among the ants, which were all a-swarm at the 
 damage I had done to their dwelling. 
 
 'No sooner were the ants aware of the presence of the 
 Aphides, than they began to fondle them with their legs, 
 sometimes positively taking them round the neck, to tap them 
 on the back with their antennae, and to lick them with their 
 tongues ; they then took hold of them with their jaws and 
 lifted them, from the ground, and carried them with the 
 greatest care, one by one, into the recesses of the nest. I 
 walked by the same way about three hours afterwards, and 
 found the nest all quiet and orderly, and not an Aphis was to 
 be seen. So I went to work with my knife and scraped down 
 the side of the hill. I soon came to the Aphides. They were 
 clustered together on little bits of thistle-root, which had 
 been broken off in the ground, and were attended by numbers 
 of ants. When the ants found their cattle were again in 
 jeopardy, they drew them gently from the root and carried 
 them still farther into the nest. 
 
 ' I am qmte convinced that honey-dew is a secretion from 
 the Aphides, and that ants devour this honey-dew, and a 
 sweet, clear, liquid honey it is. I have often watched an ant 
 go from one Aphis to another, stand behind each, and gently 
 squeeze the body with its fore-legs ; perhaps one Aphis in ten, 
 not more, will give out a small drop of honey as clear as 
 crystal, which the ants instantly swallow. The ants take 
 much more care of the Aphides than the Aphides do of them- 
 selves ; they are sad, dull, stupid creatures. It is very pretty 
 to see the licking and washing and cleaning and caressing which 
 the ants constantly bestow on them. When the Aphides cast 
 
 N N 
 
546 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 their skin, the ants instantly carry it away, nor will they let 
 any dirt or rubbish remain among them or on them. 
 
 ' But the most amusing care of the ant is guarding the 
 Aphides from the attacks of that little parasitic fly, whose 
 operations Mr. Haliday has so well described. You must have 
 seen a sheep-dog run over the backs of a whole flock of sheep, 
 when closely crowded together, in order to bring back some 
 sinner that has gone astray; so will the ants, in the hot 
 sunshine, run about over an establishment of Aphides, driving 
 away the rascally parasite that is for ever hovering over to 
 destroy them.' 
 
 The reader will doubtless have noticed that some Aphides 
 have wings and that others have none. In fact, by far the 
 greater number of these insects are without wings, like the 
 central figure on Woodcut LXII. In the early part of the 
 year they are all without wings, those organs being added 
 about the end of summer. 
 
 The efiect which these insects have upon vegetation is 
 extraordinary. As to the hop-plant, it is in a great measure 
 dependent for its success upon the presence or absence of the 
 Aphis, which in hop-growing districts is called The Fly, no 
 other winged insect being deserving of such a name. All 
 hop-growers watch their crops with the utmost assiduity, and 
 the presence of the Aphis, though only upon a few plants, 
 causes consternation in the hearts of the growers. Owing to 
 the astonishing fecundity of the insect, and the rapid manner 
 in which plants which were perfectly free from the Aphis become 
 absolutely covered with its green armies, an idea is prevalent 
 that the insects are brought by certain winds ; and no sooner 
 does a chill, depressing, north or .north-western wind blow for 
 any length of time, than all the gardeners' heads are shak- 
 ing ominously, and all their tongues are muttering fears of 
 blight. 
 
 Now, absurd as are many of their notions, such an idea as 
 this could not have gained so universal a liold without having 
 some element of truth in it, which element I take to be this. 
 The Aphides form the food of very many insects. The larvae 
 of the Ladybii'ds feed entirely upon them, and so do those of 
 the Lacewing-flies, both of which insects have already been 
 described. They are also eaten by the larvae of the swift and 
 
TKE APHIS AND THE ICHNEUMON-PLY. 547 
 
 active Syrphida, which will presently be mentioned. Several 
 Hyiuenoptera provision their nests with them, and others of 
 th(? parasitic kind, such as Chalcidicae, Proctotrupidse, Cyni- 
 pidae, and Ichneumonidse. 
 
 As to these last insects, the mode in which they operate on 
 the Aphis is very remarkable. As may be inferred from the 
 size of the Aphides, on which they are parasitic, they are of 
 very small dimensions, and one of these tiny creatures when 
 standing on the back of an Aphis which it is about to wound, 
 looks much like a rook perched on a sheep's back. 
 
 When the fatal egg has been introduced under the skin of 
 the Aphis, the wounded insect, like the stricken liart, separates 
 itself from its fellows and passes to the under side of a leaf, 
 and there fixes itself. Its body soon begins to swell, and at 
 last becomes quite globular and horny, the change being 
 caused by the death of the Aphis and the rapid growth of the 
 parasite within it. The ichneumon passes rapidly through its 
 changes, and in a short time assumes the perfect form, always 
 with its head next the tail of its victim, pushes off the last two 
 or three segments of the dead Aphis and makes its escape into 
 the world. The dead and empty skins of such hapless Aphides 
 may be found plentifully towards the end of summer, sticking 
 firmly to the leaf, and showing the round aperture through 
 which the destroying parasite has crept. 
 
 Sometimes there is a sort of contest between the Aphis 
 and the ichneumon-fly, the former, however, having no more 
 chance against its tiny foe than has a rabbit against a weasel. 
 If the Aphis have its beak deeply plunged into the bark, the 
 ichneumon-fly has an easy task, for the Aphis can do nothing 
 but kick and struggle while anchored to the spot by its pro- 
 boscis, and all that the ichneumon-fly has to do is to make its 
 deadly lunge. But, if the Aphis be wandering about the 
 plant, the ichneumon-fly has to walk about with it, and try 
 first one side and then the other, until she can find an 
 opportunity of depositing her egg. 
 
 We now come to a very remarkable group of Aphides which 
 have been gathered together under the generic name of 
 Eriosoma, or Wool-bodied, because their bodies are covered 
 with a substance like very fine cotton wool. These insects 
 
 N N 2 
 
548 INSECTS AT HOME, 
 
 do not possess the honey-dew distilling apparatus, and the 
 antennae are shorter than in the generality of the Aphidse. The 
 peculiarity, however, which principally distinguishes them is 
 the envelopment with woolly fibre, which almost entirely covers 
 the body, and renders it so light in comparison with its size 
 that it can be blown through the air like a small tuft of swan's 
 down, and in this way it passes from one locality to another. 
 The best known of these insects is that which is popularly 
 called American Blight {Eriosoma aphis, or Lachnus lani- 
 gera), which sometimes overruns our orchards in a marvellously 
 rapid manner, and sometimes destroys hundreds of apple-trees 
 by its vast numbers. 
 
 The following graphic and amusing description of this insect, 
 and the best mode of getting rid of it, is given in the ' Letters 
 of Eusticus,' to which reference has already been made : — 
 
 ' I don't know why our brethren on the other side the 
 Atlantic are charged with sending us the greatest pests of our 
 orchards, but so it is. We call an insect the American Blight, 
 which, for aught I could ever make out, may have come from 
 China or Botany Bay. However, a name once in vogue will 
 have its day ; and one might as well attempt to turn a pig in 
 an entry as argue against an established belief, so American 
 Blight it shall be. In very hot weather you may now and 
 then see this Blight on the wing ; it has just the look of a bit 
 of cotton, or a downy seed, floating in the air, and is driven by 
 every breath of wind quite as readily. 
 
 ' If you catch and examine it, you will find it to be just like 
 the plant-louse which infests our rose-trees, &c. ; but, unlike 
 all other plant-lice, it is clothed and muffled up with cotton- 
 wool in such quantities, that you would at first have no more 
 idea that the lump contained an insect than that the mass of 
 clothes on a stage-coach box in winter contained a man. Some 
 folks wonder what can be the use of so much clothing ; I am 
 not much of a theorist, but I should guess that the vermin 
 came from the torrid zone, and nature kindly furnishes this 
 garment to protect them from the cold of our climate. 
 
 ' These Blights wander wherever the wind pleases to carry 
 them ; and if bad luck should drive one of them against the 
 branch of an apple-tree, there it will stick, creep into a crack 
 in the bark, bring forth its young, and found a colony. The 
 
THE AMERICAN BLIGHT. 549 
 
 white cotton soon appears in large bunches ; branch after 
 branch becomes infected ; the tree grows cankery, pines, and 
 dies. How this is effected no one knows, though 'the plague 
 and its doings are too evident to escape the notice of the 
 commonest clown. 
 
 ' In large orchards it is in vain to hope for a cure, but not so 
 in gardens. Directly you see the least morsel of cotton, make 
 up your minds to a little trouble, and you will get rid of it. In 
 the first place, get a plasterer's whitewashing brush, then get 
 a large pot of double size, make your man heat it till it is 
 quite a liquid, then go with him into the garden and see that 
 he paints over every patch of white, though not bigger than a 
 sixpence ; the next morning have the size-pot heated again, 
 and have another hunt, and keep on doing so every morning 
 for a fortnight. Your man will tell you it's no use ; tell him 
 that's your business, not his : your neighbours will laugh at you 
 for your pains ; do it before they are up. I have tried it and 
 known it to be effectual. Spirit of tar has been used with 
 partial effect, so also has resin ; whitewashing has been often 
 tried, and, as it contains some size, is not entirely useless, and 
 some horticulturists think it ornamental ; I do not.' 
 
 Even in the winter time the task of extermination can be 
 carried on. When the weather becomes cold, the Aphides crawl 
 down the trunks of the trees and hide themselves among the 
 roots below the surface of the soil. As they cannot endure the 
 cold, the best way of getting rid of them is to expose them to 
 it. So, in the depth of winter, when the thermometer is at its 
 lowest, an inch or two of soil should be scratched up around 
 the trunks of the trees, so as to expose the roots and let the 
 cold air upon the Aphides that are in hiding. The ground 
 should be freshly turned up every day while the frost lasts, 
 and, when the thaw comes, the ground should be well saturated 
 with a solution of ammonia before the earth is replaced. The 
 ammonia-water from the gas-works is amply sufficient for this 
 purpose, is very cheap and easily obtained. 
 
 We now come to the last great group of the Homoptera, 
 namely, the Monomera, or those which have but one joint in 
 the tarsus. These are all included in the genus Coccus, popu- 
 larly known as Scale Insects, on account of the singular form 
 
550 INSECTS AT HOME, 
 
 of the female, and Mealy-Bugs, on account of the white sub- 
 stance which envelopes the young Cocci. Mr. Westwood re- 
 marks that- these form ' one of the most anomalous tribes of 
 insects with which we are acquainted, and which already prove 
 that annulose animals may exist, which become more and more 
 imperfect as they approach the winged state, and which in 
 that state lose all trace of articulation in the body as well ^s 
 of articulated limbs (as in the female Cocci), leaving, in fact, 
 inert and fixed masses of animal matter, motionless and ap- 
 parently senseless, and which resemble nothing more nearly 
 than the vegetable excrescences called galls.' The same 
 eminent entomologist also points out the remarkable analogy 
 which exists between the Coccidae among the insects, and the 
 Cirrhipeda, or Barnacles, among the crustacea. 
 
 It is rather difficult to find a starting-point for the history 
 of this remarkable insect, but we will begin at the early larval 
 condition. In this state both sexes are alike, very small, and 
 nearly as large as the dot over the letter i ; six-footed, active, 
 and having two long and slender bristles at the end of the 
 body. When they are large enough to shift for themselves, 
 they proceed along the branches and fix their beaks into the 
 bark of the twig, or the spider-veins of the leaf, and remain 
 from that time motionless, growing rapidly in size, but losing 
 the tail-bristles. Thus they remain throughout the winter, 
 and not until the following spring do the sexes develope them- 
 selves ; the males assuming their wings and taking to flight, 
 and the females remaining where they were. The subsequent 
 career of the insect has been traced by Alphonse Karr, in his 
 'Voyage autom* de mon Jardin,' a translation of which was 
 published by Messrs. Eoutledge and Co. in 1854 : — 
 
 ' The journey once completed, it will repose after it for the 
 rest of its life. It will fasten itself to a young branch, and 
 not only will it never leave it again, but, still fm-ther, it will 
 never quit the point of the branch upon which it has established 
 itself. It grows — that is its mission, that is its duty. When it 
 become as large as a pea, there comes a most singular little 
 fly, of a deep red, with two wings twice as long as its body. 
 These wings are of an opaque white, ornamented on the out- 
 ward side by a rich carmine band. These little flies are the 
 males of the animated tubercles. 
 
THE SCALE INSECT. 551 
 
 ' Among these insects may be seen that which the Eomans 
 required of woman carried to the highest degree — 
 
 Lanam fecit, domum servavit. 
 She spun her wool and kept her house. 
 
 While the male — small, rakish, nobly clothed in purple — flies 
 about at hazard, the female, scarcely living, taken for a 
 gall of the tree, for the swelling of a leaf or branch, remains 
 motionless and waits for her husband. The male, who is 
 singularly small in comparison, walks over her, surveys her 
 all over, for she is for him a sufiSciently large tract. He ex- 
 amines her from north to south and from east to west, and it 
 is not until he is fatigued with running about over his beloved 
 object that he risks the avowal of his flame ; after which, 
 flying once or twice round his beloved, he departs. 
 
 ' The wife from that moment thinks of nothing but the 
 numerous family she has to bring into the world — about two 
 thousand children. She begins to lay, and her eggs all come 
 enveloped in a sort of cotton. Lanam fecit. 
 
 ' Then the Scale Insect changes its form — its beljy flattens 
 and becomes so thin that it joins the back ; which i"orms a 
 hollow space under it in which are its eggs. Its back hardens, 
 the belly and the back are quite confounded ; the Scale Insect 
 withers, dies, and becomes a dwelling-place for its young ones. 
 This is better than the domum servavit ; she does not remain 
 in the house, she becomes the house itself.' 
 
 In England the Scale Insects are aij unmitigated nuisance, 
 especially in greenhouses and hothouses, where they flourish 
 in great abundance, sticking upon the leaves of various 
 plants and sadly vexing the heart of the gardener. Yet some 
 of the Cocci are directly beneficial to man, though those 
 species which reside in our country have never yet been put 
 to any use. It is to an Asiatic species of Coccus (^Coccus 
 lacca, or Lac Iksect) that we are indebted for our sealing- 
 wax and the basis of many varnishes. The female insect 
 produces the well-known material called ' lac,' and without her 
 aid we should be deprived of a most useful as well as orna- 
 mental substance. 
 
 Another of these insects. Coccus ceriferus, produces in 
 abundance a kind of wax, in which the body of the female is 
 
552 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 entirely enveloped. But the most valuable of these creature;; 
 is perhaps the Cochineal Insect {Coccus cacti) of South 
 America, from which is obtained the most brilliant of crimson 
 dyes. Other species of Coccus produce a fine scarlet colour, 
 but none of them can be compared with the Mexican insect 
 for the wonderful abundance and rich colom* of the dye. 
 The valuable colour called carmine is made from the Cochineal 
 insect. 
 
HETEEOPTEEA. 
 
HETEKOPTEfeA. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 AUROCORISA, OR AIR-BUGS. 
 
 The reader may remember that the insects of the last order are 
 called Homoptera because their wings are of similar character. 
 In the new order which now comes before us, the ^vings are 
 formed after a manner which has earned for them the name of 
 Heteroptera, or Dififerent-wings. They include a large number 
 of familiar insects, many of them aquatic, among which may be 
 mentioned the Water-fleas, the Water-scorpions, the Water- 
 boatmen, and the too familiar Bed-bug. 
 
 In some of these insects the wings are not developed, but in 
 those that are furnished with wings the upper pairs are larger 
 than the lower, and lap over them when the insect is at rest, 
 and the basal part of them is hard and leathery, while the 
 remainder is membranous and translucent. The body is always 
 flattened, and the mouth furnished with a beak, or proboscis, 
 which starts from the under sui'face of the head, but from the 
 front and not tlie back. The pupa is active, and resembles the 
 perfect insect in appearance, save that it does not possess wings. 
 
 These insects are broadly divided into two great sections, 
 the one called Hydrocorisa, or Water-bugs, and the other, 
 Greocorisa, or Land-bugs. 
 
 We will begin with the latter of these two sections. INIr. 
 Westwood prefers to give to the insects the name of Aurocorisa, 
 or Air-bugs, because many of the species do not affect the land, 
 but pass the greater part of their time on the water, though 
 they do not dive beneath its surface. 
 
 The first of these insects is the rather rare one which is 
 represented in the accompanying illustration. Having already 
 
556 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 been practised in the anatomy of other orders, the reader will 
 not find mucli difficulty in mastering the details of a Hetero- 
 pterous insect. The chief point lies in the beak, proboscis, or 
 promuscis, as it is called by some writers. This instrument 
 is either three or four-jointed, the latter being the case 
 with the. insect which is drawn in the illustration. This 
 
 LXIir 
 
 1. Seliirus dublus. 2. Head, front view ; a. Central lobe of face ; 6, Crown. 3. Head, 
 
 under side ; a. Rostral channel, with the rostrum or beak in position. 4. Head, upper side ; 
 
 a, Ocellus. 5. Head, profile ; a, Rostrum. 6. Rostrum. 7. Antenna. 8. Leg; 
 
 a. Fulcrum ; 6, Femur or thigh ; c, Tibia ; d. Tarsus. 9. Elytra and wing ; a, Clavus ; 
 
 h, Corium ; c, Elytron ; d, Membrane ; e, Wing. 
 
 does not, however, constitute the whole of the apparatus, as it 
 is only a sheath for the real piercing instrument, and is, like 
 the mask of the dragon-fly larva, a development of the labium. 
 If this sheath be opened under a microscope it will be found to 
 contain four delicate sharply-pointed bristles, which, when 
 examined by the aid of the microscope, are seen to be the jaws 
 and maxillae of the insect modified into this singular form. In 
 
THE bishop's mitee. 557 
 
 some of the predaceous species the end of the mandible is 
 spear-shaped, and the outer side of each spear-head is armed 
 with a row of extremely sharp teeth, not at all unlike those 
 of a shark. Indeed, I have in my ethnological collection a 
 Kingsmill Island spear, which is armed along the side with 
 shark's teeth, and bears a singular resemblance to the mandible 
 of a Water-boatman, an insect whicli will be presently described. 
 
 Unfortunately, very few of the Heteroptera possess popular 
 names, so that I am compelled to use the scientific titles. 
 The name of the insect which is shown on Woodcut LXIII. is 
 Sehirus, or Cydnus dubius, and it belongs to the family 
 Cydnidse. It is a rather small, but decidedly handsome insect. 
 The general hue is deep violet-blue, so deep that it seems black 
 in a faint light, and the surface is finely punctured and 
 shining. The edges of the thorax and the elytra are marked 
 with a narrow line of yellow, from which circumstance it has 
 been named albo-marginatus, or white-edged, by some ento- 
 mologists. If the insect be turned up, the under side of the 
 abdomen vnll be seen to be extremely convex. 
 
 It is not a common insect, and seems to be local. It has 
 been taken at Portland and Pangbourne. 
 
 Next comes the insect which is represented on Woodcut 
 LXIV. Fig. 1, an example of another family, the Asopidse. 
 Its name is Asopus luridits. 
 
 Although not so brilliant as the insect which has just been 
 described, it is a pretty creature. Its colour is yellowish, 
 thickly punctured with black and rather shining. On the head 
 and sides of the thorax there is a deep blue gloss, which 
 occasionally changes to bronze. Below, it is yellowish, with 
 two distinct longitudinal rows of black spots. The female has 
 also a large black spot on the sixth segment of the abdomen. 
 
 This species is not very common, but is wider spread than 
 the preceding insect, and may be found on trees. 
 
 The whole group of insects to which this species belongs is 
 popularly known under the name of Bishops, or sometimes 
 Bishop's Mitres, on account of their form. They are much 
 and justly dreaded by fruit-growers, and this for two reasons. 
 In the first place, they greatly damage the fruit as soon as i-t 
 ripens, by sucking the juice ; and in the second place, many of 
 
558 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 them possess a most abominable odour, which communicates 
 itself to any fruit over which a Mitre insect has walked. The 
 cherry orchards are sadly infested by these insects, but no way 
 of destroying or even checking them has yet been foimd. 
 
 This odour is due to a fluid which passes out of two little 
 pores between the hind feet, and the insect is able to eject or 
 retain it at will. It has been observed that if a Mitre insect 
 
 LKIV 
 
 1. As'ipns luridns. 2. Verlusia rhombea. 3. Coreus hirticornis. 4. Pyrrhocoris 
 
 apterus. a. Do., fore-leg. h. Do., side view of bead, showing antenna and tongue. 
 
 be suddenly seized, plunged into water, and held there, the two 
 pores give out a number of tiny bubbles, which rise rapidly to 
 the surface, burst, and tht n give out the disagreeable odour. 
 Fruit is often rendered quite uneatable by being tainted with 
 this evil-smelling substance. I believe that the insect uses 
 the fluid as a means of defence, as is the case with many other 
 insects and animals, and that it does not eject any of it upon a 
 fruit except when alarmed. There are some few of these 
 
THE COKEID.E. 559 
 
 insects in which the scent is rataer agreeable than otherwise 
 but as a general rule the odour is simply disgusting, as anyone 
 knows who has captured and set many specimens. 
 
 On Woodcut LXIV. are seen two examples of the family 
 Coreidffi. This is a large family, and contains within it many 
 of the largest and most conspicuous members of the Heteroptera. 
 They are known by the form of the antennae, which consist of 
 four joints, and have the last joint either thickened or elon- 
 gated. The beak is usually long. Fig. 2 represents the insect 
 called Veiiusia rhombea. 
 
 This species is not brilliantly coloured, the general hue 
 being a dull yellowish-brown. The upper surface is covered 
 with exceedingly minute punctures. The head is darker than 
 the rest of the body, and the sides of the thorax are ochreous- 
 yellow. It is much paler below than above, and the legs are 
 yellow. It is common on the leaves of trees in the autumn. 
 The specific name of Rhombea is given to this insect in 
 consequence of the singular shape of the abdomen, which is 
 flattened and widened into a rhomb-like shape, as seen in the 
 illustration. 
 
 In common with the rest of its family, the species can both 
 run and fly well, choosing the hottest part of the day for their 
 flight. As is the case with the Water-boatmen, they make a 
 loud humming sound with their wings, sometimes as loud and 
 deejj as that of the humble-bee. 
 
 At Fig. 3 on the same Woodcut is shown an insect belong-ing 
 to the typical genus called Coretis hirticornis. 
 
 The colour of this insect is dull chocolate-brown above, and 
 the upper surface is thickly covered with minute wrinkles, 
 which even extend over the legs and thighs. Beneath, it is 
 ochreous-yellow, mottled with a rather darker hue. The sides 
 of the thorax have a narrow edge of white. The antennae are 
 remarkable for their hairy covering, which extends throughout 
 their whole length, and has gained for the insect the specific 
 name of hirticornis, or hairy-horn. The insect is common on 
 thistles. 
 
 The larvae and pupae of insects belonging to this family 
 are like the perfect insect in general form. The larvae, how- 
 
560 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 ever, possess no wings, and the pupae only have them in an 
 undeveloped state. Mr. Westwood mentions that he possesses 
 some larvse and pupse, which also differ from the perfect insect 
 in being without ocelli, and having only two joints in the 
 tarsus. 
 
 On Plate XVIII. Fig. 5, is shown another example of this 
 family. This insect is called Stenooephalus agilis. 
 
 The colour of the insect is pale brown, with a tiny red spot 
 on each shoulder. The legs and antennae are yellow, except 
 that each joint has a black tip. The generic name is formed 
 from two Greek words, signifying 'short-headed,' and its 
 specific name of agilis is given to it because it is remarkably 
 active, both on foot and on the wing, and is fond of running 
 about in the hottest sunshine. 
 
 The curious insect which is represented on Woodcut LXIV. 
 Fig. 4, is one of a group which contains many brilliantly- 
 coloured insects. 
 
 The present species is called Pyrrhocoris apterus, and it? 
 colours are black and scarlet. The ground colour of the 
 insect is scarlet and shining. On the top of the convex thorax 
 is a broad black spot, square, with slightly rounded angles, and 
 the abdomen is black also. On account of the preponderance 
 of scarlet, the generic name of Pyrrhocoris, or Scarlet Bug, has 
 been given to it. 
 
 The life history of this insect is a remarkable one. Some- 
 l^imes, as in the illustration, it has fully-developed wing-covers, 
 but generally the elytra are small and undeveloped, without; 
 possessing the usual membranous portion at the tip, whence 
 the name of apterus, or wingless. Such creatures as these 
 are termed ' imperfect perfect insects.' They were at one time 
 thoiight to be pupae, but it is now ascertained that they are 
 really perfect with the exception of the full development ot 
 the flying apparatus. In some of the Heteroptera, such as the 
 well-known Water Gnats, the imperfect perfect insects are as 
 destitute of wings as they were when in the larval condition. 
 
 This is not a common species, though it has appeared in vas^ 
 quantities in certain localities. Some years ago, the insect 
 appeared in great profusion at Torquay, on some little islands; 
 
INSECT CANNIB.\LS. 561 
 
 and Mr. Curtis mentions, in his work on British insects, that, 
 off Teignmouth, a rock in the sea was quite reddened with 
 them. In fact they were as numerous as the ladybirds are in 
 some seasons. They seem to be social insects, loving to collect 
 together in groups rather than disperse tliemselves. Mr. 
 Westwood states that in the neighbourhood of Berlin, especially 
 in the gardens of the palace of Charlottenburg, the place 
 swarmed with them, and that they were employed in sucking 
 various fallen berries and seeds under the trees. 
 
 They also exhibited cannibalistic tastes. Owing to their 
 great numbers, many of them had been trodden under foot, 
 and these unfortunates were eagerly drained of their juices by 
 their surviving comrades. It has been also noticed that, 
 although these creatures will thus feed on dead insects, they do 
 not meddle with living ones. This insect does not emit a 
 disagreeable odour, fortunately for those whom it visits in such 
 numbers. 
 
 It has been noticed that, in this group of insects, there are 
 some that are brightly coloured, and some that are compara- 
 tively dull and sombre. Those species that are brilliantly 
 decorated are mostly found on plants and flowers, as if anxious 
 to exhibit their beauties, while their duller companions, as if 
 ashamed of themselves and anxious not to bring themselves 
 in contrast with their gorgeously clothed relatives, restrict 
 themselves to the roots and lower parts of the stems. 
 
 The Pyrrhocoris belongs to a group termed Csecigenina. 
 This name, which signifies blindness, is given to the insects 
 because they possess no ocelli. The second joint of the 
 antennae is the longest. As the word apterus signifies wing- 
 less, some entomologists have considered that it is not appro- 
 priate to this insect, on the ground that many specimens have 
 fully-developed wings, while in others the wings are partly 
 developed, and in none absolutely wanting. They have, there- 
 fore, suggested the specific name of calmariensis, by which it 
 is known in several lists. 
 
 According to Mr. Curtis' theory, climate has some influence 
 in the development of the wings, a hot climate forwarding it 
 and a cold one retarding it. He stated that he had never 
 found specimens in this country with the wings fully developed, 
 though he had done so in the South of France. As, however, 
 
 
 
562 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 a perfectly-winged specimen was taken by Linnreus in a lati- 
 tude more northerly than that of England, the theory cannot 
 be universally true, though it may be partially so. 
 
 On Woodcut LXV. Fig. 1 is a curious-looking insect called 
 Neides depressus, belonging to the family Berytidse. 
 
 The members of this genus are remarkable for the length 
 and slenderness of their bodies and legs, which very much 
 resemble those of the water-gnats. This is not a handsome 
 species in point of colour, yellowish-brown being the chief hue. 
 The antennge are rather light-yellow, and the edges of the 
 front part of the thorax whitish-grey. The abdomen is black 
 above, and the elytra are so transparent that they permit the 
 colour of the abdomen to be seen through them. 
 
 It is a local insect, living on plants that prefer the seaside. 
 At Deal it has been found about the roots and stems of the 
 hemlock stork's-bill {Erodium cicutarium), and in the Isle of 
 Wight it has been captured under the common restharrow, or 
 cammock (Ononis arvensis). Mr. West wood states that he 
 has found the Neides in all its stages under the last-named 
 plant in a spot at the back of the Isle of Wight. The insect 
 was very slow in its movements, and did not attempt to use 
 its wings. As both larvae and pupse were found in the 
 same situations, he thinks that there is no doubt that the 
 Neides derives its nourishment from the plant under which he 
 found it. 
 
 The chief point in this genus is the extreme length of the 
 antennae, which are as long as the abdomen and thorax 
 together. The basal joint is extremely long, and when the 
 insect is alive the antennae are slightly elbowed at this joint. 
 
 Next in order comes the insect which is shown on Wood- 
 cut LXV. Fig. 2. Its name is Rkyjparochromus dilatatus, 
 and it belongs to the family of Khyparochromidae. The insects 
 belonging to this genus are known by the two ocelli and the 
 flattened and widened thighs of the fore-legs. In the present 
 species this peculiarity is very strongly marked, and from that 
 circumstance the specific name of dilatatus, or widened, has 
 been given to the insect. The same joint is also remarkable 
 for the very bold toothing of its inner edge, as may be seen by 
 
THE HENESTARID^. 
 
 563 
 
 reference to Yig. a on the same Woodcut. At Fig. b, a side 
 view of the head is given, showing one of the antenase, with 
 its short first joint and long fourth joint, and the curiously 
 formed hair-covered beak. 
 
 The generic name Rhyparochromus is formed from two 
 Greek words, and signifies dirt-coloured, but I have not the 
 least idea in what way it can be considered appropriate. The 
 
 LXV 
 
 1. Neides depressus. 2. Rhypavochromns dilatatus. 3. Henestaris laticeps. 
 
 4. Phy tocoris tilia;. a. Rhyparochromus dilatatus, leg. 6. Do., head, autenna, and tongue. 
 
 colour of this species is as follows : — The general hue is glossy 
 black, thickly clothed above and beneath with fine yellow 
 down. The junctions of the joints of the antennse and tarsus 
 are yellowish. It is not a rare insect, and can be taken under 
 moss. 
 
 Anotheii family, the Henestaridse, is represented by Hene- 
 staris laticeps, which is shown on Woodcut LXV. Fig. 3. 
 
 o o 2 
 
564 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 This is rather a rare insect, but has been found in the Isle of 
 Wight in the month of August. 
 
 Its general colour is ochreous-yellow, clouded more or less 
 with brown, and sprinkled with very fine yellow down. The 
 ocelli are red. The -.upper part of the thorax is deeply 
 punctured in front, and just behind the anterior margin are 
 two black pits or depressions, which are well shown in the illus- 
 tration. The thighs are thickly covered with black spots, 
 which in many places coalesce and form blotches of black. 
 The abdomen is black above and brown below, with a dash of 
 ochreous-yellow. The specific name, laticeps or wide-headed, 
 refers to the remarkable form of the head, which, including 
 the eyes, is wider than the widest part of the body. This 
 peculiarity is well shown in the illustration. 
 
 On the same Woodcut, Fig. 4, is shown a much more 
 striking insect, called Phytocoris tilice, as an example of the 
 Phytocoridse. 
 
 In these insects the antennce are very long and slender, the 
 first joint being as long as the head and thorax together. The 
 hind legs are also very long, and the head is broader than it is 
 long. The name Phytocoris is Greek, and literally signifies 
 Plant-bug. 
 
 The colour of this insect is pale green, sometimes being so 
 very pale as to appear grey with a slight greenish tinge, and 
 being edged with a line of a darker hue. The insect is thickly 
 clothed with patches of grey down, the grey hue being produced 
 by the mixture of black and white hairs. It is rather a variable 
 species, but mostly has the sides of the thorax black, and the 
 tip of the elytra of the same hue. Sometimes the elytra are 
 rather differently coloured, having two large black spots in tlie 
 middle, and two smaller spots on the tip. The leathery part 
 of the elytra is spotted with black. The second joint of the 
 antennae and the tibise are banded with black, and the re- 
 maining joints of the legs are pale yellow with black blotches. 
 
 As its shape imports, this is an active insect, and can both 
 run and fly with agility. It is fond of fruit, and especially 
 frequents raspberries, the juices of which it sucks througli its 
 beak. No great harm would be done by this small robbery if 
 tlie Phytocoris wovdd only content itself with abstract in_L'; juices. 
 Unfortunately, vrhile it sucks the liouids of the raspberry, it 
 
ODOUE OF THE PLANT-BUG. 565 
 
 deposits some of its own — that highly scented fluid which has 
 already been mentioned, and, in consequence, so nauseous a 
 flavour is imparted to the fruit that no one can eat it. The 
 very odour is so powerful that it generally suffices as a warning 
 to intending consumers. But, if by ill-chance one of them 
 should be taken into the mouth, the flavour and odour are so 
 utterly detestable that no one who has ever experienced them 
 will allow himself to be again deluded. I can speak rather 
 feelingly on this subject, having been victimised by this insect, 
 and having therefore learned to test every raspberry before I 
 venture to eat it. 
 
 We now come to some very curious beings. On Woodcut 
 LXVI. Figs. 1 and 2, is shown a remarkable insect, called 
 Systellonotus triguttatus. 
 
 According to the older entomologists, this insect was placed 
 in the same family with that species which has just been 
 described. The modern entomologists, however, have broken 
 up the old family, with many others, and have placed this 
 insect in the family Idolocoridse. The insects of this genus 
 are remarkable for the shape of the abdomen, which is very 
 much narrowed or contracted at the base, where it joins the 
 thorax. The generic name Systellonotus is composed of two 
 Greek words signifying narrowed-baek, and is therefore a very 
 appropriate one. The shape of the abdomen can be best seen 
 by reference to Fig. 2, which represents the wingless female. 
 
 The general colour of the male is reddish-brown, and over 
 the body is spread a thin coating of yellowish down, which 
 stands particularly upright. On each of tlie elytra are three 
 white diagonal bars, one of a silvery character and the others 
 greyish-white. It is from these three bars that the name of 
 triguttatus, or three-streaked, has been given to the species. 
 
 The word guttatus is taken from the Latin gutta, or drop, 
 and is applied to marks that are made as if by a drop of 
 colour which had been allowed to run over the surface and then 
 become dry. A good idea of the true shape of the gutta may 
 be obtained by taking a white piece of paper, letting a drop of 
 ink fall on it, and then holding it diagonally, so that the ink 
 may trickle a little way down the paper. 
 
 The female, as may be seen by reference to Fig. 2, is almost 
 
566 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 wholly without wings or wing-cases, these organs being merely 
 indicated by some very small rudimentary appendages to the 
 thorax. In colour they are yellowish-brown, and have none of 
 the distinguishing characteristics of the Heteropteran wing. 
 The insect is extremely swift of foot, and bears some resem- 
 blance to the wood-ant. Both sexes are rare, but the female 
 is even scarcer than the male, and is a great prize to any 
 entomologist who finds her. 
 
 LXVI 
 
 1. Systellonotus trignttatns, male. 2. Ditto, female. 3. Orthoceplialus hirtus. 
 
 a. Do., head, antenna, and rostrum, J. Do., tarsus. e. Do. labrum. d. Do., elytron. 
 e. Do., wing. 
 
 An examplQ of the restricted family Capsidge is given on 
 "Woodcut LXVI. Fig. 3. This is called Orthoceplialus hirtus. 
 
 Even to the imaided eye this is a remarkable insect, but is 
 shown to be still more curious when examined with the aid of 
 a microscope. The general colour of this insect is black, with 
 a slight dash of yellow. If it be placed under the microscope, 
 it will be seen that the ground hue is black, covered first with 
 
THE BED-BUG. 567 
 
 golden-yellow scales, and then with rather long, erect black 
 hairs which project between the scales. The elytra of the male 
 are blackish-brown. In the male the upper part of the front 
 part of the thorax or pronotum is bent down towards the 
 head, whereas in the female it is straight. The thighs are 
 long and black, and the tibiae reddish-yellow, often tipped with 
 black, as shown in the illustration. 
 
 At Fig. a is given a profile view of the head, so as to show 
 the very long second joint of the hair-clad antenna), and the 
 way in which the long, four-jointed beak is bent under the 
 breast. The rather peculiar tarsus is shown at 6, and the 
 labrum at c. The word Orthocephalus is formed from two 
 Greek words, signifying straight-headed, and the Latin specific 
 name hirtus, or hairy, is given to the insect in allusion to the 
 long black hair with which its body is covered. The shape of 
 the elytron, or wdng-cover, of the male is shown at Fig. cZ, and 
 that of the true or flying wing at Fig. e of the same illustration. 
 
 The family of the Acanthiidae is represented by the common 
 Bed-Bug {Acanthia lectularla or Cimex lectularius), which 
 is represented on Woodcut LXVII. Fig. 1. In this genus the 
 abdomen is nearly circular, and both sexes are almost without 
 wings, their position being only indicated by a pair of little 
 scale-like projections. Some entomologists assert that specimens 
 have been found possessing perfect wings, but there is no 
 satisfactory proof of any such development among the numbers 
 that are annually killed. 
 
 "SVhen and how this singularly unpleasant insect was intro- 
 duced into this country is not known ; but there is no doubt 
 that it is not indigenous, and that it was unknown some three 
 hundred years ago. It is true that there are several allusions 
 to the Bug in Shakespeare, as well as in older writers ; but in 
 every case the word does not allude to the noxious insect, but 
 is taken in its original sense, namely, something that can 
 terrify or annoy, and originally signifies some terrible spectre 
 that walks by night. Thus in Ps. xci. 5, the word which is 
 now rendered as ' terror ' by night, was in the older editions of 
 the Bible translated as Bugge, the allusion being evidently to 
 spectral apparitions. It is still used in this sense in the word 
 Bug-bear. We can easily see how an insect, newly introduced 
 
568 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 into England, ar.d spreading with a rapidity to which the cus- 
 toms of our ancestors gave every assistance, would be distin- 
 guished by a name which signified a nightly terror. 
 
 Being very flat and short-legged, and always walking with 
 the legs in nearly the same plane as the body, the Bug can 
 creep into very narrow crevices, and hundreds can hide them- 
 selves where there seems scarcely to be room for half a dozen. 
 In the chinks of old furniture, and especially behind the 
 wooden panels of old walls, they pack themselves so closely 
 
 LZVII 
 
 1. Acanthia lectularia. 
 lectularia, fore-leg. 
 d. Do., rostrum. 
 
 2. Coranns subapterus. 3. Reduvius personatus. a. Acanthia 
 6. Do., Antenna. c. Do., head, showing position of rostrum. 
 
 and in such numbers that they form thick layers of living 
 insects, and the language of the carpenter in ' Punch ' is hardly 
 exaggerated when he said that if he were to take away a 
 panel, they would get up on their hind legs, and bark like dogs. 
 The eggs of this insect are very small, and can be inserted 
 
LIFE-HISTORY OF THE BED-BUG. . 569 
 
 by the parent at the very bottom of the crevices in which she 
 has made her home. There are four broods in the year, and 
 each female lays, on an average, fifty eggs each time. When 
 newly laid, the eggs are covered with a sort of varnish, which 
 rapidly hardens when exposed to the air, and forms a cement 
 by which the eggs are securely fixed to the object on which 
 they are laid. 
 
 In some three weeks from the time that they are laid, the 
 young Bugs are hatched. They are then so small as almost to 
 be invisible, and, in fact,, unless they have tasted blood, can 
 hardly be seen except with a magnifying-glass. When, how- 
 ever, they have succeeded in attacking some human being, the 
 extreme transparency of their skins causes the sucked blood to 
 be seen through their tissues, and they look like tiny moving 
 specks of scarlet. They attain their full growth in about three 
 months. 
 
 As is the case with other blood-sucking insects, the Bug is 
 rather capricious iu its attacks. There are many persons whom 
 it never touches, or at least, as I rather fancy, to whom it 
 causes no annoyance if it does attack them ; while there are 
 others — myself among the number — who seem to be the centre 
 of attack of every blood-sucking insect in the neighbourhood, 
 and who suffer little less than torture from their venomous 
 beaks. In attaining its prey, the Bug often displays much in- 
 genuity. If it cannot otherwise get at a person who is lying 
 on a bed, it will ascend the wall, crawl along the ceiling, and 
 then fall on the bed, to the great discomfiture of its inmate. 
 
 I have remarked that in most cases those who are most 
 obnoxious to the attacks of the Bug are most sensitive to its 
 odour, and vice versa. There were some rooms in Paris in 
 which.these abominable insects swarmed. They even came out 
 in the daytime, and I have seen the little scarlet young- 
 perambulating the walls in the early morning. My olfactory 
 nerves, however, were amply sufficient, without the sense of 
 sight, to betray the presence of the insects, and yet the inmates 
 of the room were absolutely insensible both in nostrils and skin 
 to the presence of these abominable insects. 
 
 A still stronger case occurs to my memory. Some years ago 
 at Oxford, I was visiting a working shoe-maker. The room 
 was clean, and the walls neatly, though rather quaintly, deco- 
 
570 . INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 rated with ijed wafers, like the spots on a toy-house. The 
 odour of the room was, however, almost asphyxiating, and the 
 air was so foul that some pure water which I had brought with 
 me was covered with scum in a few minutes. On examining 
 the walls a little more closely, I found that the imagined red 
 wafers were nothing but Bugs, each of which had been smashed 
 by a blow from the broad-headed shoemaker's hammer. Not 
 one of the family, however, was in the least aware that the 
 atmosphere within the room was more offensive than that 
 without it, and none of them suffered any discomfort from the 
 insects with .which their ho'use swarmed. 
 
 It is probable that the Bug does not absolutely require human 
 blood, which is but a luxury to it. In its original condition it 
 is said to live upon the juices of various trees, and to be able to 
 procure nourishment from them even when the timber has 
 been dried and made into furniture. Many entomologists 
 believe that the first Bugs which were introduced into this 
 country came over with the large cargoes of American timber 
 that were used in rebuilding those parts of London which had 
 been destroyed by the great fire of 1666. Some timbers, how- 
 ever, such as walnut, mahogany, oak, or cedar, are said not to 
 afford them any nourishment. 
 
 The question of extirpating these insects is really an im- 
 portant one. Cleanliness and the increasing use of metal bed- 
 steads have done much in lessening their numbers, but, despite 
 all precautions, no house and no room is really safe from them. 
 A single female may be brought to the house in the laundress' 
 basket, find her way to some crevice, lay her eggs, and so 
 found a large colony before their presence is fairly discovered. 
 Various means of ridding the place of them have been tried, 
 such as taking the furniture to pieces and painting all the 
 joints with turpentine. Such means are effectual enough as 
 far as the turpentine can reach, but no farther ; and when the 
 insects have taken up their residence in chinks of the wall, 
 they cannot be subjected to turpentine or any other liquid. 
 
 It is evident that, in such a case, the insects can only be 
 touched by vapour, and the question arises what vapour to 
 employ. That of sulphur has been used with success, as has 
 that of one or two other suffocating substances. But in any of 
 these cases, the vapour must be so thick that no human being 
 
EXTIRPATION OF THE BED-BUG. 571 
 
 can breathe it and live, so that there is an element of danger, 
 and the after effects of sulphur vapour are anything but agree- 
 able. I once had a room which was suddenly and grievously 
 afflicted with these insects, and managed to clear it entirely 
 from them without doing any damage to the house or furniture, 
 or running the least risk of injuring any human being. There 
 is a very valuable insect-powder, sold by I\lr. H. Easter, of 
 Cloudesley Square, Islington, which has the property of killing 
 all insects, while it is quite harmless with regard to vertebrate 
 animals, so that it can be sprinkled over birds, cats, dogs, and 
 other animals without the least danger. My pet cat was once 
 greatly tormented with parasites. I put a large teaspoonful of 
 the powder into a bag, introduced pussy into it, much against 
 his will, tied up the mouth, and left the bag on the floor. Of 
 course, the cat tumbled about inside the bag, and rolled about 
 the floor so as to introduce the powder thoroughly into the fur. 
 In about twenty minutes I let out the cat, and found that 
 every flea that had tormented him lay either dead or dying in 
 the bag. 
 
 Finding this process so effectual I bethought me of trying 
 the vapour upon aphides, moth-eaten fur, &c. &c., and, as the 
 vapour was quite as destructive as the powder itself, I deter- 
 mined on trying it on a large scale. So I made a number of 
 brown-paper cylinders, just like squib-cases, and filled them 
 with the insect-powder, taking care to ram it down hard. I then 
 pasted paper over every crevice that could let the smoke out of 
 the room, or the air into it, lighted the squibs at the open end, 
 blowing them into a bright red glow, disposed them about the 
 room, and then closed the door, pasting paper from the outside 
 across the junction of the door with the doorway. 
 
 After an hour or so, I took from the keyhole the cotton-wool 
 which I had placed in it, looked into the room, and found that 
 it was thick with smoke-wreaths. The smoke began to settle 
 down in some three or four hours, and when it had nearly sub- 
 sided, I entered the room and opened the window. The sight 
 was an astonishing one. In every direction lay dead or dying- 
 Bugs, from the full-grown veteran to the tiniest larva. In 
 some places where the smoke had not been very thick, the in- 
 sects were still on their feet, but so stupified that they could 
 only just put one leg before another. I am almost afraid to 
 
572 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 say how many were captured, but it is suflficient to mention 
 that they were counted, not by individuals, but by measure. 
 
 About a month afterwards, the process was repeated, for the 
 purpose of killing those which had escaped on the first occasion, 
 and the young larvae which might have been hatched since the 
 fumigation. Scarcely any survivors were discovered, and ever 
 afterwards the room was quite free from them. It appeared 
 that they had been introduced in a bedstead which had been 
 warranted free from all insects. 
 
 It is said that spiders are great enemies to Bugs, and that 
 they will destroy numbers of them if allowed to remain in the 
 infested rooms. 
 
 Some years ago, I was very much perplexed, not to say 
 annoyed, by the occasional presence of these insects in my 
 dining-room, as well as in a bed-room immediately above it. 
 I found at last that they came from some nests of the common 
 house martin that were fixed just above the window. I got a 
 long ladder foy the purpose of examining the nests, and found 
 their clay walls absolutely swarming with these insects. I tried 
 a few experiments on a small lump of clay which was tenanted 
 by them, and found that although they disliked the odour of 
 turpentine, and crawled out of their refuge when placed in a 
 tin box together with a piece of cotton-wool soaked in spirits of 
 turpentine, they were not killed by it after an imprisonment of 
 thirty-six hours, and rapidly recovered themselves when re- 
 stored to the fresh air. 
 
 I was extremely sorry to disturb the martins, for I used much 
 to enjoy watching the pretty birds so close to my window. 
 But their parasites were so annoying that there was no alterna- 
 tive but to remove the nests and brush oil over the wall, so 
 that the clay would not adhere when the birds tried to erect new 
 nests in the same spot. Some entomologists think that these 
 insects are not the same species as the Acanthia lectularia. 
 Whether this be the case or not, they have the same unpleasant 
 habit of attacking human beings and the same abominable 
 odour, and must be extirpated ruthlessly. They will travel for 
 considerable distances from the nests in which they are hatched. 
 I have seen four or five of them creeping along a wall and 
 making their way to a window which was not only much below 
 the nestj but quite on the opposite side of the house. 
 
THE FLY-BUG. 573 
 
 A few of the details of this insect's structure are given on 
 Woodcut liXVII. At Fig. a is shown one of its fore-legs, at 
 Fig. b the antenna, with its slender terminal joint. Fig cZ is 
 a greatly magnified representation of the beak, and Fig. o 
 shows a profile view of the head together with the beak. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that the spider will destroy 
 the Bed-Bug. There is one of its own relations, however, which 
 performs this operation much more effectually. It is popularly 
 called the Fly-Bug, and its scientific name is Reduvius per- 
 sonatus. A rather enlarged portrait of this curious insect is 
 given on Woodcut LXVII. Fig. 3. This insect is an example 
 of the Reduviidre. 
 
 The colour of the Fly-Bug is brown, sometimes blackish, 
 and sometimes with a yellowish tint. The tibise are yellow at 
 their bases, and the abdomen has a shining surface, black below, 
 but with a yellow patch in the middle above. 
 
 The insect is sometimes found within houses, but is generally 
 taken on account of its habit of flying towards light, and so 
 entering at night windows of lighted rooms. Mr. E. A. Smith 
 tells me that at Deal he found several Fly-Bugs lying dead 
 irader a window-sill. Both in its perfect and preliminary 
 stages, the Fly-Bug feeds on other insects, and has such a 
 liking for the Bed-Bug that a room has been cleared of these 
 obnoxious insects by the introduction of a few Fly-Bugs. 
 
 In its larval and pupal states, this insect has a habit of en- 
 veloping itself in a thick coating of dust and other refuse, and 
 is so addicted to this practice that, after it has shed its skin 
 and come out all bright and clean, it has been seen deliberately 
 to take the dust coating from its shed skin and place it on its 
 new coat. The specific name of personatus, or disguised, has 
 been given to the insect in consequence of this habit. The 
 Eeduvius is a much more formidable enemy to the Bed-Bug 
 than the spider, for the latter has to wait for the chance of its 
 prey coming to its net, whereas the former is a hunter and 
 seeks prey for itself. An entomologist in my neighbourhood, 
 who kept a larva of the Reduvius, found that it would eat 
 three or four Bugs daily, so that a few of these insects, if at 
 liberty, must cause great havoc among our ' Norfolk Howards.' 
 
 Apart from the service which it renders, this Reduvius is not 
 
574 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 a very pleasant insect. Its odom- is scarcely less disgusting 
 than that of its wingless relative, and, if captured, it has a very 
 unpleasant way of driving its beak into the fingers of its captor. 
 Under such conditions, it also emits a rather sharp creaking 
 sound, which is said to be produced by the friction of the elytra. 
 
 Anothek example of the Reduviidse is given on Woodcut 
 LXVII. Fig. 2. It is called Coranus subapterus. 
 
 In all the Eeduviidae the beak is comparatively short, thick, 
 and more or less curved. The head is so narrowed behind as 
 to form a neck. There are two ocelli, the eyes are very pro- 
 minent, and the terminal joints of the antennae are slender. 
 The legs are long and active. Many of these insects have the 
 wings only slightly developed, so that they come under the 
 category of ' imperfect perfedt insects.' Such is the case with 
 the present species, which has derived its name of subapterus 
 (a most barbarous compound, by the way) from the structure 
 of the wings, which only reach as far as the third segment 
 of the abdomen. 
 
 I really do not like to translate such a word as subapterus, 
 which is a repulsive hybrid between Latin and Greek, and — 
 with all respect to the eminent entomologist who first manu- 
 factured it — ought not to be accepted in its present form. 
 What, for example, should we think of such words as eight- 
 agon, twelvehedron, dreiangle, petitscope, telesseer, insectology, 
 etoilonomy, erdology, and so forth ? Yet there is not one of 
 these words which is one whit more ridiculous than subapterus. 
 Should we be allowed to talk, much less write, of a hemiglobe, 
 an eggpositor, a chaudmeter, a baromeasurer, a virful deed, or a 
 megananimous sentiment ? But, if we are to retain the one word, 
 there can be no reason why we should not employ the others. 
 
 However, the name being given and accepted, let us see 
 what it means. The preposition ' sub,' when prefixed to adjec- 
 tives, gives them a partial sense. Thus, subiratus means 
 rather angry ; subdoctus, moderately learned ; subcandidus, 
 whitish ; and so forth. But, in all these cases, both parts of 
 the word belong to the same language. Had the offending 
 entomologist used the word subalatus, or partly winged, no 
 one could have objected to it, as both words are Latin. Apart 
 from other reasons, it is a prettier-looking word than subapterus 
 
THE WATER GNATS. 575 
 
 and much easier to say. But when he employs the word sub, 
 which is Latin, as a prefix to the Greek pteron, I do not see 
 that we should be called upon to excoriate our own ears and 
 those of future generations with such an atrocious compound. 
 
 I believe that brown sugar and oysters are considered incom- 
 patible, as is salt with strawberry cream. There is, perhaps, 
 not one in ten thousand who would not feel direfully aggrieved 
 by having any such mixtures forced on him as part of his 
 daily diet. And there is really no more reason for offending 
 our eyes, ears, and mental taste by subapterus, than our mere <<(j 
 
 palates by the above-mentioned mixtures. 
 
 The general colour of this insect is dusky black, relieved by a 
 clothing of short, yellow hairs. Beneath it is yellowish -brown. 
 The ocelli are red and the antennae pale brown. The mem- 
 branous portion of the short wing is rather contracted, and the 
 nervures are black. It is found in dry, sandy places, hiding 
 under heath, furze, and other plants. When handled, it gives 
 out an odour which, unlike those of most of its kind, is of a 
 pleasant nature, and bears some resemblance to that of a ripe 
 pear. Although in most cases the wings of this insect are in 
 the imperfect state which has just been described, they are 
 sometimes, but very rarely, fully developed. 
 
 We now come to that group of Heteroptera which has 
 been mentioned as passing most of their time on, thovigh not 
 in, the water. They are scientifically called Hydrometridse, or 
 Water-measurers, because they seem to measure the sui*face of 
 the water with their long and slender legs ; and they are 
 popularly known by the name of Water-gnats, because the 
 smaller specimens have some resemblance to gnats without 
 their wings. Two specimens of this group are given on 
 Woodcut LXVIII., in order to show the aspect of the insect 
 in different attitudes. 
 
 In all these insects the body is long, narrow, and is mostly 
 covered on the under-surface with a fine coating of velvet-like 
 hairs, which are capable of resisting the action of the water. 
 The beak is rather long, curved under the breast, and the last 
 joint but one is considerably longer than the others. Some of 
 them run over the surface of the water with great speed, their 
 middle pair of legs acting as propellers, their hind legs as 
 
576 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 rudders whereby they direct their course, and their fore-legs 
 stretched out in front for the purpose of seizing their prey. 
 When the insect is at rest, these legs are folded under the 
 body in the attitude which they assume when the prey is held 
 against the breast, so that the long, curved, sharply-pointed 
 beak may be driven into it. One of these prehensile legs is 
 shown at Fig. a, and a profile view of the head, so as to show 
 the form of the beak, with its long penultimate joint, is given 
 at Fig. 6. 
 
 LXVIIC 
 
 1. Hydrometra gibbifera. 
 4. Halticocoris luteicoUis. 
 anteiini and tougue. 
 
 2. Hydrometra argentata. 
 a. Hydrometra argentata, fore-leg. 
 
 3. Corixa Geoffroyi. 
 b. Do., head, with 
 
 These insects afford many examples of the imperfect-perfect 
 state, which has been the trouble of most entomologists until 
 its true nature was cleared up. In this condition, the Hydro- 
 metridse so exactly resemble pupae, that when they were seen 
 exercising all the functions of the ^perfect insect, the observers 
 were naturally perplexed. 
 
THE WATEK-GNATS. 577 
 
 Those specimens in which the wings are fully developed can 
 use them well. I have noticed that, when alighting in the 
 water after flight, they always use their legs for the purpose of 
 tucking the wings under the elytra, just as the earwig uses its for- 
 ceps and the rove-beetle the end of its flexible tail. With these 
 legs they wash themselves frequently, appearing to be singularly 
 fastidious respecting cleanliness. I have often seen these in- 
 sects standing on the three legs of one side, while employing 
 those of the other side in brushing the body, every portion 
 of which was carefully passed under the feet. The attitude is 
 most singular, and I have never seen it adopted by any other 
 insect. 
 
 They are all predacious, seizing their prey with their fore-legs. 
 I have seen one of these creatures, having caught an insect, 
 hold it out in front of its body with its fore-feet, while making 
 its way to some place where it could in safety suck the life- 
 juices of its prey. Predacious as they are, they also fall victims 
 to larger inhabitants of the water — the well-known Water- 
 boatman making great havoc among them, and taking on the 
 average five or six minutes in sucking dry the body of its prey. 
 
 The name of the species shown at Fig. 1 is Hydrometra 
 gibbifera. Its colour is blackish-brown above, and beneath it 
 is black, with a silvery or brassy lustre when seen in a side- 
 light. The specific name of gibbifera, or bunch -bearing, is 
 given to it on account of a rounded tubercle or bunch upon 
 the anterior angles of the thorax. The male has also a large 
 orange-coloured tubercle on the back of the thorax, near its 
 junction with the abdomen. ■ There is a short, thick, yellow 
 line drawn longitudinally on the middle of the front part of 
 the thorax. The elytra are blackish-brown, with a slight blue 
 gloss in certain lights, and the nervures are clothed with 
 golden hairs and scales. The middle pair of legs is the 
 longest. This species is very common on the surface of water, 
 whether it be stagnant or running. 
 
 On Woodcut XLVIII. Fig. 2, is shown another species, 
 Hydrometra argentata. 
 
 This insect is remarkable as being the smallest of the family. 
 Its colour is blackish -brown above, with a decided silvery gloss 
 below. The antennae are black. The colour of the elytra is 
 
 p P 
 
578 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 brown in some lights and bluish-grey in others. The abdomen 
 of the male has the last two segments marked with a narrow 
 yellow line, and that of the female has the last four segments 
 similarly marked. It is much rarer than the preceding insect. 
 
 The last of the Aurocorisa which will be mentioned in this 
 work is the insect which is represented on Woodcut LXVIII. 
 Fig. 4. Its name is Halticocoris luteicollis, and it belongs to 
 the family of Halticocoridse, or Jumping-Bugs, because they 
 have the capability of leaping, very much like the Halticse, or 
 Turnip-fleas, which have already been described on page 211. 
 The structure of the hind legs, with their greatly developed 
 thighs, is sufficient to show that the insect is gifted with the 
 power of leaping. 
 
 The general colour of this insect is shining black, over 
 which are spread a number of fine yellow hairs, very short, 
 and bent downwards. In this species the elytra are fully 
 developed, but in the only other British species of this genus, 
 Halticocoris pallidicornis, they are undeveloped. The head 
 and antennae are ochreous yellow, and so are the legs except 
 the thighs of the second and third pairs, which are black. 
 The upper part of the thorax is very finely wrinkled in front, 
 and has a very fine and delicate furrow running along its 
 centre. 
 
 The insect is not a scarce one, but requires to be looked 
 after, as it takes up its residence in clover fields, and upon 
 several species of Bed-straw (Galium). The sweep-net will 
 generally bring it within the reach of the entomologist. 
 
 On Plate XVIII. Fig. 4, is shown a figure of an insect called 
 Pentatoma dissimile. The insects of this genus have the 
 scutellum very large, the tarsi ^^ith three joints, and the eyes 
 rather prominent. In some of the family to which this insect 
 belongs, the scutellum is of enormous size, from which the 
 family has derived the name of Scutellaridae. The generic 
 name Pentatoma signifies 'five-pieces' or joints, and is given 
 to the insects because their antennae have five joints. Like 
 others of the same order, they exhale a very unpleasant odour, 
 and sometimes render uneatable any fruit over which they 
 crawl. They are mostly vegetable feeders, but sometimes take 
 
STRUCTURE OF THE PROBOSCIS. 579 
 
 to animal food, a number of them having been observed 
 gathered round the body of a caterpillar, with their beaks 
 sunk deeply into it. The well-known naturalist, De Greer, 
 states that some species of this family watch over their eggs 
 until they are hatched, and then take care of their young, just 
 as is said of the earwig. He remarked that the mother 
 reminded him of the hen and her chickens, leading them from 
 spot to spot, and evidently keeping guard over them until 
 they were strong enough to shift for themselves. 
 
 The same naturalist further observed that these insects can 
 disengage the piercing portion of the proboscis from the sheath, 
 and replace it at will. His description is as follows. I have 
 not his work by me, but follow the translation given in 
 Griffith's edition of Cuvier's ' Animal Kingdom.' i 
 
 ' It has happened to me,' says De Greer, ' to observe on one 
 of these young bugs, placed under the microscope, that its 
 proboscis was entirely disengaged out of the furrow of the 
 sheath. It hung then at the end of the tongue, like a very 
 long thread. I saw, again, that at the end of the thread the 
 three pieces of which it was composed were separated one from 
 the other. The following day I observed on the same bug 
 that everything was restored to its proper place — that the 
 proboscis was placed, as before, in the furrow of the sheath. 
 It appears, then, that the bug can withdraw its proboscis out 
 of its sheath and put it back when it thinks proper. It drew 
 the proboscis out of its sheath once again ; I then saw how the 
 intermediate part of the proboscis and of the point played — 
 how the bug elongated and shortened it alternately. I saw 
 some drops of fluid come out of and re-enter the proboscis. 
 The two semi-sheaths which accompanied it played also 
 alternately in front and rear. 
 
 ' I was attentive to observe how the bug caused its proboscis 
 to re-enter into the furrow of the sheath, and at last I achieved 
 this, after having observed it without interruption for more 
 than a quarter of an hour. It first of all puts its proboscis in 
 a parallel line with the sheath, or at least it holds it extended 
 the entire length of the sheath ; afterwards it gives an inflexion 
 to the sheath, about the middle of its extent. It folds it like 
 a knee. It then applies this knee against the middle of its 
 
 p p 2 
 
580 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 proboscis, or against that part of the proboscis which is oppo- 
 site to the knee. The anterior feet then come to its assistance. 
 The bug presses its proboscis -with its feet against the sheath, 
 so that this portion of its proboscis is then stopped in the 
 groove or furrow. Finally, it presses the rest of its proboscis 
 against the sheath with the same feet, and thus causes it to 
 slide into the groove. As soon as the proboscis has once re- 
 entered, it stays there.' 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 EYDEOCOBISA, OB WATER-BUQS. 
 
 We now come to the second group of Heteroptera — the Hydro- 
 corisa, or Water-Bugs. There are many species, differing 
 greatly in external appearance ; but they all have very short 
 antennae concealed in cavities beneath the eyes, and their fore- 
 legs are rather short, and can be folded close to the body, so as 
 to look like claws. With these limbs the insects seize their 
 prey, which consists of various inhabitants of the water that do 
 not appear to be so strong as themselves. 
 
 The first family is that of the Notonectidae, which embraces 
 the various insects known by the popular name of Water- 
 boatmen. The scientific name sigTiifies Back-swimmer, and 
 both titles are equally appropriate. The Notonectidae have a 
 habit of lying on their backs in the water, and their body 
 then assumes a shape very much like that of a boat. The two 
 hind legs are exceedingly long, and as they are stretched out 
 at right angles with the body, look exactly like oars, and in- 
 deed are used as if they were oars. The ends of these legs are 
 furnished with hairy fringes, which act like the blade of the oar, 
 and enable the insect to drive itself along with very great speed. 
 
 All who have handled an oar know of the difiiculties which 
 beset them in the proper mode of feathering, i.e. turning the 
 oar as it is brought out of the water, so that the edge of the 
 blade is turned to the air as the oar is swept backwards for the 
 next stroke. In the oar-like legs of the Water-boatman we 
 find a provision for a similar feathering, the bristles standing 
 out boldly as the leg is forced against the water to make the 
 next stroke, and collapsing as the limb is drawn through the 
 water in readiness for the next stroke. The insect never lifts 
 its oar-legs out of the water, and, unless some provision of the 
 sort were made, it would travel nearly as fast backwards as 
 
582 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 forwards. In fact, the movement of the Water-boatman's leg 
 very much resembles that of the North American Indian's 
 paddle. He never takes the paddle out of the water, but first 
 makes his stroke with the flat of the blade, and then turns the 
 paddle so that its edge is presented to the water as it is 
 brought forward in readiness for the next stroke. 
 
 One of these insects, Notonecta glauca, is shown on Plato 
 XIX. Fig. 2. 
 
 The manners and customs of the Water-boatmen are well 
 worthy of study, and I have passed many pleasant hours in 
 watching their habits, both at liberty and in captivity. As a 
 rftle, they lie on their backs in the water, but they do not 
 always maintain this position. On fine, hot, summer days, 
 they turn over and sit almost on the surface of the water, with 
 the wing-cases half open and the wings partly protruding from 
 them. In this cm-ious attitude they will sit for an hour at 
 a time, and even more unless disturbed, as long as the sun 
 shines on them. It is remarkable how mere attitude will 
 alter the aspect of an insect. The Water-boatman, as it 
 appears when darting through the water, and when sitting 
 sunning itself on the surface, is so totally different in aspect, 
 that no one who was not acquainted with the insect could 
 suspect its identity. 
 
 As is the case with aquatic insects in general, the Waijer- 
 boatman breathes atmospheric air, respiration being conducted 
 much like that of the Water Beetles, which have already been 
 described. In the case of the Water-boatman, however, the 
 comparative transparency of the elytra enables the mode of 
 respiration to be seen better than can be done with the 
 beetles. I have often watched the breathing of the Notonecta, 
 which is conducted as follows. The insect lies on its back, 
 with its legs spread, the tip of its tail just above the surface 
 of the water, and its head just below it. Air is taken into the 
 space between the elytra and the body, and is passed onwards 
 towards the shoulders, being alternately taken in and ejected 
 through the spiracles, and its course being traceable by the 
 quicksilvery look which it gives to the elytra. Having com- 
 pleted its course through the respiratory system, the air is 
 sqeezed out at the junction of the elytra with the under part 
 
HABITS OF THE WATEE-BOATMAN. 583 
 
 of the thorax, and ascends in bubbles to the surface. There is 
 always a small bubble of air at that point, which continually 
 increases in size until it is detached from the insect, rises to 
 the surface, and gives way to another. 
 
 The wings of these insects are large and powerful, and can 
 carry their owner at a considerable speed. The insect is even 
 able to take to flight directly from the surface of the water, 
 an accomplishment which startled me in no small degree when 
 I first saw it. When it wishes to fly, it dives to some little 
 distance below the surface, so as to bring itself into a per- 
 pendicular position, with its head upwards. It then darts 
 upwards, giving a smart stroke with both its swimming legs 
 as it reaches the surface. By this stroke, or leap, it is jerked 
 several inches out of the water, when it spreads its wings 
 suddenly, and with a loud, dull humming sound, much like 
 that of a wasp on the wing, flies away. 
 
 In common with the rest of its kin, this is a predacious 
 insect, feeding almost entirely upon other aquatic insects. It 
 does not eat them, but seizes them with its fore-legs, clasps 
 tliem tightly to its body, drives its beak deeply into them, and 
 sucks out their juices, leaving their bodies scarcely altered 
 in form. I have often watched the Notonecta seize other 
 inhabitants of the water, and thus kill them. When it has 
 once clasped an insect in its fatal hold, it can scarcely be 
 induced to release it until it has finished its meal, but swims 
 about, holding its victim firmly pressed against its body until 
 all its juices are sucked out. 
 
 It pays a great regard to its personal cleanliness, and is 
 fond of washing itself much after the fashion of the house- 
 fly, using its fore-legs for this purpose, and passing them over 
 every part of its body, the head being moved and twisted 
 from side to side exactly like that of the blue-bottle under 
 similar circumstances. 
 
 The larva and pupa of the Water-boatman resemble the 
 perfect insect in habits as well as in form, excepting that the 
 former has not even a vestige of wings, and the latter only 
 exhibits them in their rudimentary form ; consequently they 
 are unable to fly, and their whole life is passed in the water. 
 
 The proboscis or beak, which is employed by the Water- 
 boatman in draining its victims of their juices, is very strong 
 
584 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 and sharp, and can be used as an instrument of defence at the 
 will of the insect. If the Notonecta be seized carelessly, it 
 will drive its beak into the hand, causing a sharp, smarting 
 pain, which at the moment so closely resembles the sting of a 
 wasp, that few persons can resist the instinctive action of 
 dropping the insect. No real harm, however, can be done, 
 and the pain goes ofif almost as rapidly as it was caused. 
 
 There are many species of Water-boatman, the insects be- 
 ing arranged in several genera ; but, as the form and habits 
 of them all are very similar, there is no need for further 
 description. 
 
 An allied group of insects is known by the generic name of 
 Corixa. A magnified view of the commonest of these Water- 
 boatmen is shown on Woodcut LXVIII. Its scientific name 
 is Corixa Geoffroyi. In these insects the scutellum is not 
 visible, because the thorax is prolonged over it. The fore-legs, 
 although they are used for prehensile purposes, are not so 
 entirely raptorial as those of the Notonectse, and the tarsus is 
 composed of a single long pointed joint, fringed on the inner 
 edge with stiff bristles. The middle legs are slender, as are 
 their claws, and the long hind legs have the two tarsal joints 
 fringed, and are used for swimming. The body is much 
 flattened above, and this peculiarity alone is sufficient to dis- 
 tinguish it from the Notonectse, with their boat-like backs. 
 The beak is short but sharp, and can inflict a smart prick on 
 the fingers if incautiously seized. 
 
 Mr. Westwood remarks that in the winter time he has seen 
 great numbers of CorixEe huddled together under the ice, most 
 of them grasping each other with their legs. They appeared 
 to be stupified with the cold, and to have no idea of devoming 
 each other. 
 
 The present species is blackish-brown, with a slight yellowish 
 tinge. Upon the upper part of the thorax are a number of 
 small yellowish spots, arranged in transverse rows, and some- 
 times running into each other, so as to produce the effect of 
 delicate, irregular stripes. The head is yellow, and the eyes 
 and beak are black. If the elytra be examined with a tolerably 
 powerful magnifying glass, they will be seen to be covered 
 with very fine hairs of a pale yellow tint. 
 
PLATE XIX. 
 AQUATIC HETEROPTERA. 
 
 1. Ranatra linearis. 
 
 2. Notonecta glauca 
 
 3. Nepa cinerea. 
 
 Plants : — 
 
 Duckweed (Zemna). On surface of water. 
 Various-leaved Pondweed (Potamogetm heterophyllus). 
 Starwort (^Aster tripohum). 
 
THE WATER-SCCKnON. 585 
 
 The insect is common in some places, and can be taken in 
 company with the Notonecta as it darts through the water. 
 I have taken great numbers of them in the Swindon Reservoir, 
 and, as far as I know, all my specimens were taken in that spot. 
 
 The next family is that of the Nepidae, popularly known as 
 Water-Scorpions, of which we have but three British examples. 
 The best known of these insects is the common Water- 
 Scorpion, which is shown on Plate XIX. Fig. 3. Its scientific 
 name is Nepa cinerea. The Nepidse may be easily known by 
 the flat and leaf-like body and the shape of the first pair of 
 legs, which are formed for seizing prey, their joints doubling 
 upon each other as the blade of a clasp-knife is doubled into 
 its handle. The other two pairs of legs are formed for walking. 
 
 In some of the species, the end of the tail is furnished 
 with two long, slender, bristle-like filaments, which look very 
 much like an apparatus of offence. They are, however, adjuncts 
 to the respiratory system, and serve to conduct the air to the 
 spiracles while the body is submerged. In these insects the 
 spiracles are placed quite at the end of the body, those of the 
 sides being only indicated by rudimentary marks. In the 
 larval state these filaments are represented by a single sharp 
 point. 
 
 Unlike the quick, dashing, and wary Water-boatman, it is a 
 slow, crawling, inactive insect, and, if seen creeping among 
 the plants near the water side, can be picked up with the 
 fingers ; indeed, it is so very sluggish in its movements that, 
 as it is predacious in its habits, and depends for its food on 
 the capture of other inhabitants of the water, it seems hardly 
 capable of gaining a subsistence. There is, however, but little 
 difficulty in this respect. The Water-scorpion lies quietly 
 among the aquatic plants until some luckless insect comes by, 
 when, with a rapid clutch of its fore-legs, the victim is 
 captured, and held tightly until its juices have been extracted. 
 When in the water, the insect looks so exactly like a small 
 dead leaf, that the quickest eye might fail to discern it as long 
 as it did not move. It is probably on account of this re- 
 semblance to a leaf that the Water-scorpion is able to secure 
 its prey, which consists mostly of the larvae of aquatic insects, 
 such as the Mayfly and Whirlwig beetle. 
 
586 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The eggs of this insect are of a most singular shape, the base 
 of each being furnished with seven horn-like projections, ar- 
 ranged in a circle. Before the eggs are laid, the horns of one egg 
 act as a cup, into which the end of the next egg is received ; 
 but when they are deposited, the horns bend backwards, so 
 as to form a circle of hooks around the upper end of the egg. 
 
 As is the case with all the British Nepidae, the colour of the 
 Water-scorpion is dull brown. "When, however, the elytra are 
 opened, the upper part of the body is seen to be of a brick-red, 
 which also tinges strongly the base of the wings. 
 
 Theee is a closely allied insect, called scientifically Ranatra 
 linearis, which resembles the Water-scorpion in many par- 
 ticulars. This insect is shown on Plate XIX. Fig. 1. 
 
 This is more active than the preceding insect, and uses 
 its fore-legs in a most wonderfully skilful manner. With these 
 legs it seizes its prey, which consists mostly of aquatic insects ; 
 but the Eanatra is not very particular, and will attack any- 
 thing, so that it be alive. The larvae of the Mayfly are its 
 favourite food, but I have seen it eat various other creatures, 
 especially the freshwater Crustacea. It is really a fierce being, 
 and, if attacked, has no idea of flight, but boldly assumes the 
 offensive. I have seen one of these insects fight a piece of 
 stick in a most determined manner, striking at it fiercely with 
 its long fore-legs. When so acting, it has a most formidable 
 aspect, as may be seen by reference to the illustration. 
 
 The wings of the Eanatra are packed away very neatly, but 
 are quite large enough to bear their owner through the air. 
 Mr. Westwood mentions that he has seen the Eanatra alight 
 in a pond, and have great difficulty in forcing itself beneath 
 the surface of the water, on account of the dryness of the two 
 bristle-like appendages of the tail. 
 
 The last British species of this family is called Naucoris 
 dmicoides, and is easily distinguished by possessing no fila- 
 ments at the end of the tail. The body is not so flat as that of 
 the Water Scorpion, and the hind legs are formed for swimming. 
 It is very much more active than either of the preceding 
 insects, and in the water looks so like the Water-boatman that 
 it might easily be mistaken for that insect. The fore-legs are 
 
THE NAUCOEIS. 587 
 
 raptorial,. and the thighs are extremely large and powerful. 
 I have taken great numbers of this insect in the Swindon 
 Reservoir, and been made practically acquainted with the 
 power of the beak and its capability of piercing the human 
 hand. The beak, though it be short, is very strong and very 
 sharply pointed ; and when the insect is at rest, the end of the 
 beak exactly reaches to the base of the fore-legs. 
 
APHANIPTEEA. 
 
APHANIPTEEA. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 PULICIDJE, OR FLEAS. 
 
 The rather long word with which this chapter is headed is 
 formed from the Grreek, and signifies ' Non-appearing Wings.' 
 This name is given to the insect because the wings are not 
 visible to ordinary observation, being merely represented by 
 four very minute scales on the thorax, the upper two of which 
 are the rudiments of the first pair of wings, and the lower 
 of the second pair. Popularly, they are known as Fleas, 
 and are rather more familiar to us than agreeable. 
 
 When placed under the microscope, the Flea really be- 
 comes an interesting insect, with some share of beauty about 
 it. The jbody is rather narrowed, or ' compressed,' as is the 
 correct term; it is covered with a very hard, shining, horny 
 skin, on which are rows of short and sharp bristles, having 
 their points directed backwards. It is owing to these bristles 
 and the projecting edges of the horny segments, that to hold a 
 Flea in the fingers is so difficult a task. By means of its 
 powerful limbs, the insect forces itself through the fingers a 
 very little at a time ; but, however short may be the progress at 
 each struggle, it is still a step towards freedom, for the bristly 
 rings very effectually prevent it from being forced back into 
 the position from which it had escaped. 
 
 The hind legs are formed for leaping, and it is by their means 
 that the insect takes such prodigious jumps. It can crawl as 
 well as leap, and indeed, does crawl by preference, only 
 jumping when it thinks itself in danger. 
 
 The beak, or rostrum (called a rostrulum by Kirby and 
 
592 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Spence), is exceedingly complicated, but is formed of modifica- 
 tions of parts of the mouth which already existed, and not of 
 entirely new organs. Indeed, like the beak of the suctorial 
 Heteroptera, the beak is formed of the lips and jaws, which are 
 modified so as to suit the wants of the insect. These organs, 
 though similar in character, vary much in form in the different 
 
 1 . Pulex taTpae. 2. Pulex irritans. 3. Culex pipiens, male. . a. Pulex talp», mentum 
 
 and palpi. 6. Do., side view of head. c. Do., palpus. rf. Do., tarsus. f. Pulex irritans, 
 pupa. /. Do., mentum and palpi. g. Culex pipiens, male, palpus. h. Do., antenna. 
 
 species, as may be seen by reference to Woodcut LXIX. Figs, a 
 and /, of which the former represents the mouth of the male 
 Flea, and the latter that of the common Flea. 
 
 The transformations of this insect are worthy of some notice. 
 The female Flea lays a very few eggs, seldom more than twelve 
 in number, and deposits them in any convenient spot. Hearth- 
 rugs are favourite resting-places for these eggs, and so are the 
 little crevices in the floor or walls in which the adult insects 
 
HABITS OF THE FLEA. 593 
 
 hide themselves during the day-time. In due course of time 
 these eggs are hatched, and produce larvfB in the shape of 
 tiny white grubs. These larvae are entirely without feet, but 
 push themselves along by means of the hairs which are attached 
 to the segments of the body. The last segment has two little 
 hooks, the use of which is rather obscure. Perhaps they may 
 be used in order to afford a fulcrum by which the body can be 
 retracted, just as the stiff hairs afford points by which the 
 creature can be urged forward. 
 
 Be this as it may, the larvae are very active little beings, 
 twisting about with great agility, something like those of the 
 gnat. The food of this larva is said to consist of the fleshy 
 part of the feathers and the blood of animals, but I very much 
 doubt this statement. I do not venture to deny that the larva 
 will feed on these substances, when it can get them ; but, 
 seeing that at least ninety-nine per cent, of Flea-larvae now 
 living must have been without access to mammalian blood, or 
 fresh feathers, this kind of food cannot be universal. Indeed, 
 I have often wondered how Fleas support life, and, unless they 
 feed on each other, I can scarcely understand their mode of 
 supporting existence. 
 
 When I was at school, I had the misfortune to suffer a 
 simultaneous dislocation and fracture of the ankle, and was 
 conveyed to the infirmary, a large room at the top of the house. 
 Now, this room had been without tenants ever since I re- 
 membered it, and I believe that for at least seven years no 
 human being had entered the room, except to open the win- 
 dows in the morning and shut them at night. The room was. 
 kept most scrupulously clean, and no one even imagined that 
 a Flea was in it. 
 
 That the room was tenanted by these insects I found to my 
 own proper cost. No sooner was the candle put out than a 
 simultaneous attack was made on me in all directions. From 
 every part of the room Fleas came in battalions. There was a 
 nurse in the room, who was one of those persons that are either 
 impervious or objectionable to Fleas, and she escaped them 
 entirely, while they concentrated all their energies on me. 
 
 Now, a damage such as I had suffered is not conducive to 
 rest, even with all appliances. The limb swells, until the skin 
 feels almost unable to resist the tension, and the burning heat 
 
 Q Q 
 
594 INSECTS AT HOJIE. 
 
 is as if melted lead were being continually poured over the joint. 
 Fever rages through the frame, and the first endeavoiir of the 
 surgeon is to subdue it as much as possible. Under such 
 circumstances, it may well be imagined that the ceaseless 
 attacks of the Flea armies were not calculated to produce 
 quietude, and, indeed, had the occupier of the bed been in 
 perfect health and strength, one such night would have sufficed 
 to drive him into a fever. The only portion of the skin that 
 escaped was that which was covered by the bandages, and even 
 there the dreadful little insects had found out the junctions of 
 the bandages, forced themselves under the edges, and driven 
 their beaks into the skin, so that when the bandage was 
 removed in the morning, its course could be traced by the 
 rows of fleabites. 
 
 The insects had never enjoyed such a chance of a banquet in 
 their lives, and naturally made the most of it. But, I cannot 
 but wonder on what food they had subsisted before any 
 wretched human being was delivered over to them. Genera- 
 tion after generation must have been hatched, lived, and died, 
 and never even seen a particle of blood. No animals of any 
 kind ever remained in the room, which was entirely disused, 
 and, as I have mentioned, only entered for a minute or two 
 daily, and that at a time when all the Fleas were safe in their 
 hiding-places. 
 
 The larvae are hq.tched about the beginning of autumn, pass 
 the winter in the larval condition, and change to pupge in the 
 spring of the following year. One of these pupse is shown on 
 Woodcut LXIX. Fig. 2. When it first escapes from the larval 
 skin it is white, but it rapidly assumes the well-known 
 reddish-brown hue of the perfect insect. In this state it is 
 perfectly quiescent, the legs being enclosed in separate cases, 
 and so remains for about a fortnight, when it throws off the 
 pupal skin and emerges as a perfect Flea, ready to exercise its 
 wonderful apparatus of laceration and suction, if it should only 
 be fortunate enough to find a subject. 
 
 The Flea is possessed of an amount of muscular power which 
 is really enormous in comparison with the size of the insect. 
 How great is this strength is shown by the performances of the 
 Industrious Fleas, of which we have all heard, and which some of 
 us have seen. One of these insects will draw behind it a weight 
 
THE MOLE-FLEA. 595 
 
 which is as much disproportioned to the size of its body as 
 would be one of Pickford's lari>est and heaviest-laden wao-oons 
 to a human being. With the leaping powers of the Flea we 
 are likewise familiar, though perhaps we have not reflected 
 that the average jump of a Flea is about thirty times its own 
 height, and that, supposing a man of six feet in stature were to 
 perform the same leap, he would jump as high as the gallery of 
 the Monument. 
 
 There are many species of Flea known to entomologists. 
 Mr. Westwood states that the largest specimen that he has seen 
 was captured on that curious animal, the Echidna, or Porcupine 
 Ant-eater, of Australia. This insect measured no less than 
 one-sixth of an inch in length, which is to most Fleas what a 
 man of twelve feet in height would be to ordinary human beings. 
 One of the largest Fleas that inhabit this country is that which 
 is parasitic on the mole, and is therefore called Fulex ialpce. 
 A portrait of this odd-looking insect is given on Woodcut LXIX. 
 Fig. 1. At Fig. a is shown the mentum or chin of the Mole 
 Flea, with its palpus at either side, and its apparatus of 
 lancets in the middle. The profile view of the head is 
 given at Fig. 6, so as to show these organs in a different posi- 
 tion. One of the palpi is shown at Fig. c, as it appears when 
 severed from the head, and the foot is drawn at Fig. d. 
 
 The Common Flea {Pulex irritans) is shown at Fig. 2 of 
 the same illustration, and the reader can easily see how 
 different are these two species, even in external appearance. 
 The mentum, palpi, and lancets are shown at Fig. /. 
 
 Besides these, almost every animal has its own species of 
 Flea, each of which has some characteristic points in which it 
 differs from its congeners, and can be recognised with the aid 
 of the microscope. Fortunately, in this country we have no 
 Flea which can inflict any real damage on us. It can annoy 
 us terribly, but there its power ceases. In the West Indies, 
 however, there is a Flea, popularly called the Jiggee, or 
 Chigoe {Pulex 'penetrans), which makes its way under the 
 skin, especially of the toes, lays its eggs there, and, if it be 
 suffered to proceed in its task unmolested, fearful ulcers come, 
 
 Q Q 2 
 
596 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 and the damage has been known to be so great that amputa- 
 tion has been necessary in order to preserve the life of the 
 patient. The Chigoe, not being a British insect, must not be 
 described in these pages ; but no history of the Flea, however 
 short, would be complete without a reference to this small but 
 danoerous insect. 
 
DIPTEEA. 
 
DIPTEEA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The last Order of Insects is the Diptera, i.e. those insects which 
 have only two transparent wings, incapable of being folded. 
 In strict accuracy, these insects really have four wings, but one 
 pair is undeveloped, and only represented by two little projec- 
 tions called halteres, or balancers. These will be described 
 presently. The wings have generally at their bases a pair of 
 little winglets, or ' alulets,' which are not separate wings, but 
 merely appendages of the true wings. The tarsi have five 
 joints. There are other distinctions, but these are amply suffi- 
 cient for our purposes. 
 
 Now, let us give a short time to the examination of the 
 halteres. If the reader will take any Dipterous insect — the 
 common Daddy-long-legs is as good an example as can be 
 found — and look at the thorax with a magnifying glass, he will 
 see that the development of that part of the body is very 
 curiously managed. 
 
 The front division, or the ' prothorax,' is very small, so small 
 indeed that it is scarcely more than a collar, just large enough 
 to afford support to the first pair of legs. The middle division, 
 or ' mesothorax,' is enormously large, the reason being that it' 
 has to carry not only the middle pair of legs, but the upper 
 pair of wings, and must therefore afford space for the muscles 
 which move those organs. And, as in the generality of the 
 Diptera, the wings are moved with singular rapidity, it is 
 evident that their muscles must be proportionately large. The 
 last division, or ' metathorax,' is larger than the prothorax, and 
 much smaller that the mesothorax. It carries the hind pair of 
 
600 INSECTS AT HOIME. 
 
 legs below, and the balancers above. These organs, which are 
 the rudiments of the under wings, are generally shaped like 
 tiny bristles tipped with a round knob, and they are furnished 
 with muscles by which they can be kept in a state of rapid 
 vibration. So important are these organs that, even in those 
 Diptera in which the upper wings are wanting, the halteres ^re 
 present. 
 
 Their small size renders them useless for the purposes of 
 flight, but it has been proved that they serve in sonae mode to 
 guide the flight — how, it is not easy to say. The ordinary 
 shape of these balancers can be seen by reference to the insect 
 which is represented on Woodcut LXX. The word ' halteres ' is 
 Greek, and signifies an adjunct to gymnastics, which has long- 
 been abandoned. Those athletes who competed for the wide 
 jump, used to take in their hands the halteres ; i.e. a pair of 
 iron and leaden weights, and, as they made the spring, they 
 swung the arms forward, so that the impetus of the weights 
 should add to the force of their leap. They were also employed 
 of a larger size, for the purpose of exercising the arms, much as 
 we use dumb-bells. 
 
 Other peculiarities of this Order of Insects will be mentioned 
 in the course of the following pages. 
 
 With regard to the arrangement of these insects, there has 
 been much controversy between systematic entomologists, and 
 much yet has to be done in this respect. As, however, this is 
 not a purely systematic work, but deals more with the actions 
 than the comparative anatomy of insects, we will accept the 
 system of Professor Westwood, a system which he has elaborated 
 with great labour and skill. He divides them first into two 
 great Sections, the first of which he calls Cephalota, because 
 the head is quite distinct from the thorax, and not sunk into 
 it. The larva undergoes its transformation without the body of 
 the parent, and the claws of the tarsi are not toothed. The 
 first of these definitions, however, is quite sufficient to enable 
 the observer to know in which section he ought to place any fly 
 that may come before him. 
 
 This section he again separates into two Divisions, the first 
 of which is the Nemocera, or Thread-horned Diptera, in which 
 the antennae have more than six joints, and the palpi have 
 
PKOBOSCIS OF THE GNAT. 601 
 
 either four or five joints. The second is the Erachocera, or 
 Short-horned Diptera, in which the antennae have not more 
 than three distinct joints, and the palpi not more than two 
 joints, and often only one. 
 
 The first Division embraces those insects which are popularly 
 known as Grnats and Daddy-long-legs, and scientifically as 
 Culicidse and Tipulidae. We will begin with the former, and 
 take as an example the Common Gnat {Culex pipiens), the 
 male of which is represented on Woodcut LXIX. Fig. 3. 
 
 In this family, the parts of the mouth are developed into a 
 long beak, rather thickened at the end, and being generally 
 about half as long as the head and body of its owner. The 
 beak is better studied from a female than a male specimen, as 
 only in the former is the complicated structure fully developed. 
 The beak consists altogether of seven pieces, some being used 
 as lancets, which the insect can drive into the substances on 
 which it feeds, and the others act as sheaths or strengthening 
 pieces. Owing to the very small size of the Grnat the dissection 
 of the beak is a very difficult process. Mr. Westwood, how- 
 ever, has succeeded in accomplishing it, and his account is 
 briefly as follows. ' All the parts of the mouth of a mandibu- 
 lated insect are here observable. There is a broad and hollow 
 lancet-like piece, representing the upper lip (which is the 
 most robust part of the mouth, except the labium) ; a pair of 
 slender, needle-like pieces, as the mandibles, which are serrated 
 on the outside at the tip ; a second pair of similar, but much 
 more slender organs, dilated at the base, representing the 
 maxillce, to the bases of which the palpi are attached ; a veiy 
 slender, needle-like instrument, representing the tongue, and 
 the outer tubular canal, in which the others lodge when at rest, 
 representing the lower lip.' 
 
 I have slightly abridged the above description, and inserted 
 the italics, in order to point out more strongly the analysis of 
 the parts, so that the reader may see that the beak of the Gnat, 
 with its apparatus of lancets and suction-tube, is formed of ex- 
 actly the same elements as the mouth of the Stag-Beetle which 
 is represented on page 9. 
 
 I strongly recommend any reader who has access to a micro- 
 scope to examine carefully the head and thorax of the Gnat, 
 both male and female. The Gnat is a singularly unpleasant 
 
602 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 insect in a room, but it is marvellously beautiful under the 
 microscope, and should be examined both with direct and 
 transmitted light, and with a succession of powers, beginning 
 at the lowest and ending at the highest, so as to gain its 
 beauties of detail by degrees. The antenna of the male, for 
 example, which is represented on Woodcut LXIX. Fig. A, is a 
 wonderfully beautiful object. There are fourteen joints, and 
 each joint is furnished with a whorl of long hair, disposed as 
 seen in the illustration. The same portion of the female has 
 the whorl of hair so short as to be invisible without the aid of 
 a lens. Then again, the beak, the wings, the limbs, and the 
 body generally are studded with beautiful scales, resembling in 
 form those of the Lepidoptera, but more deeply grooved, and 
 having the ridges prolonged beyond the end, so as to form a 
 row of little spikes. These scales are so plentiful, so easily 
 detached from the insect, and so readily recognised, that if a 
 G-nat should have been kept in a box in which various other 
 insects have been placed, the microscope will detect upon all 
 the later comers some of the scales of their predecessor. 
 
 These scales give to the insect a splendour of colouring 
 which cannot be appreciated until the microscope is brought to 
 bear on it, and which entirely baffles any power of description. 
 So I recommend my readers to look for themselves, and to 
 place the first Gnat that they catch under a microscope, taking 
 care to concentrate upon it as brilliant a light as they can 
 obtain. When they have done this, they will begin to realise 
 some of the wonders of Fairyland, and to see actually before 
 their eyes splendours which the most daring fairy tale has but 
 faintly pictured. Dull and colourless as the G-nat may appear 
 to the unaided eye, it has only to be placed under the r&vealing 
 glass of the microscope to blaze out in a magnificence which 
 would pale all the fabled glories of Aladdin's fairy palace. I 
 have no doubt that all this splendour is perfectly visible to the 
 eyes of the insects themselves, and that the beauties which are 
 hidden from us until we have recourse to artificial vision, are 
 seen and appreciated by the insects whose bodies they adorn. 
 
 To descend to more prosaic details — though after all, the 
 history of every insect is really a poem — we must bear in mind 
 that, though both sexes partake of this splendid apparel, the 
 male does not possess the skin-piercing lancets with which the 
 
VENOM OF THE GNAT. 603 
 
 mouth of the female is armed. The male Gnat, in fact, is 
 perfectly harmless, and it is to the female alone that we owe 
 the annoyances which have rendered the sight of the delicate 
 little insect hateful to our eyes, and the really musical hum of 
 its wings a terror to our ears. 
 
 In this favoured country, we know little of the powers of the 
 Grnat. We often suffer very considerable inconvenience and 
 annoyance from them, as I can testify, having twice in the 
 summer of 1870 lost the use of my right hand for a week 
 together in consequence of a single gnat-bite. In both cases 
 the bite took place just at the junction of the thumb and the 
 wrist, and in both cases the effect was the same. The hand 
 swelled until it looked like a boxing-glove, was purple in 
 colour where it was not crimson, the fingers could neither be 
 closed nor opened, and the only mode of subduing the fierce 
 heat of the hand was by carrying it in a sling, and having a 
 piece of ice fastened on it over the spot where the Grnat had 
 inserted her beautiful but objectionable beak. I did not fully 
 recover the use of the hand for full three weeks after the bite 
 had been inflicted. 
 
 Such being the effect of a single gnat-bite in England, we 
 may form some idea of the terrors of this little insect in the 
 coimtries where it is known as the Mosquito, where the venom 
 of its bite is increased tenfold, and its numbers are multiplied 
 by millions. Life is absolutely rendered a burden by these 
 tiny insects, which assume to themselves the mastery of the 
 country in which they live. There are some parts of the world 
 where the Grnat has absolutely driven the human inhabitants 
 from the land into the water. For some reason, not at present 
 ascertained, the Grnat never Hves at any distance from land. It 
 may travel inland for miles from the spot where it was hatched, 
 but it will not willingly travel to any distance over the water. 
 Knowing this peculiarity of constitution, the inhabitants of 
 such spots have taken advantage of it, and made their homes 
 on the bosoms of lakes, supporting them on piles driven into 
 the ground. 
 
 Here we really have no idea of the vast Grnat armies that 
 besiege other lands. E\'fen in parts of Russia, as we are told by 
 Dr. Clarke from his own experience, no amount of gloves, 
 handkerchiefs, and thick clothing could defend man or woman 
 
604 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 from the Grnats. On one occasion, on a close sultry night, 
 when not the slightest breeze was stirring, and in consequence 
 every breath of air was priceless, he was driven to take refuge 
 in his carriage, and to shut all the windows. Now closed 
 windows, although they may exclude those Gnats which are 
 outside the carriage, cannot eject those that are already in it, 
 and they were so numerous that Dr. Clarke was forced to tie 
 several handkerchiefs over his head, in spite of the sultry 
 weather. Setting these handkerchiefs at defiance the Grnats 
 got into his mouth, crawled up his nostrils, and forced them- 
 selves into his ears. In despair, he tried to light a lamp and 
 succeeded, but the flame was instantly extinguished by the 
 Grnats, who flew to the light, and poured in such numbers down 
 the glass chimney that a large conical heap of their bodies lay 
 over the burner. 
 
 As for remedies, it is no easy matter to recommend them. I 
 have an idea that the remedy must suit the idiosyncrasy of the 
 sufferer, and that a prescription which suits one person admir- 
 ably will have little or no effect upon another. For my own part, 
 I have found that arnica serves to keep down the swelling and 
 irritation better than anything else. This year, 1871, 1 have been 
 bitten several times, but have applied arnica, and found that it 
 • saved a vast amount of torture. There was some swelling and 
 considerable irritation, lasting for several days, but the aggra- 
 vated symptoms of the preceding year did not show themselves. 
 
 The life history of the Gnat is very interesting. When the 
 female is about to deposit her eggs, she proceeds to the nearest 
 water, and there sets about the last task of her life. Placing 
 her front legs on a piece of floating stick, straw, or anything 
 that will support her tiny weight, she allows the middle pair of 
 legs to rest on the surface of the water, and crosses the hind 
 pair so as to look like the capital letter X. She then deposits 
 a rather long and spindle-shaped egg, and places it upright 
 with the base downwards in the angle of the X. Another egg 
 is quickly placed by the side of the first, and followed by 
 others, all of which are glued together by a cement which is 
 not affected by water. Guided by the crossed legs, the eggs 
 are formed into a boat-like shape, and are then left to float on 
 the surface of the water. 
 
 These little egg-boats are quite plentiful in the summer- 
 
TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE GNAT. (505 
 
 time, and any number can be taken for the purpose of experi- 
 menting. Their shape very much resembles that of the life- 
 boat now in use, and, like the life-boat, the egg -boat cannot be 
 sunk, and if capsized rights itself again immediately. Even if 
 some of these boats be placed in a vessel of water, and the 
 contents of the vessel be poured from a height into the pond, 
 the little boats float at once to the surface like so many corks, 
 and each, as it rises, assumes its proper position. 
 
 In due course of time the larva is hatched, pushes ofif the 
 lower end of the egg, which opens like a little circular trap- 
 door, and allows itself to float off into the water. The larva is 
 a quaint-looking little being, with a long body terminated at 
 one end with a large round head, and at the other with a 
 forked tail. When examined through the microscope the larva 
 is a most cm-ious creature, the semi-transparency of the body 
 rendering the internal organs almost as plainly visible as if 
 there were no skin at all. The young and small larv^, which 
 have just shed one of their successive skins, are better for 
 microscopical examination than those of a larger size, because 
 their integuments become more opaque with age, Throuo-h 
 the centre of the body the digestive organs are marked by their 
 darker hue, and just above them pulsates the 'dorsal vessel' 
 which stands insects in the stead of a heart. 
 
 On either side of the body runs a rather dark tube, and the 
 two, joining each other at the angle of the fork of the tail, 
 turn off to one of the points of the fork, and run side by side 
 along it. These tubes are, the two principal canals of the 
 respiratory apparatus, as is easily seen by putting a high power 
 to the microscope — say, an object-glass magnifying some two 
 hundred diameters. When this is done, the spiral thread which 
 is coiled round the breathing tube of insects becomes plainly 
 visible, and at once declares the character of these dark vessels. 
 At regular intervals smaller vessels branch off to the other 
 parts of the body, and the tubes are iinally lost in the com- 
 paratively opaque head. 
 
 After shedding the larval skin several times, the pupal state 
 is assumed. In this condition the future Grnat can move about 
 with some activity, but it cannot take nourishment, all the 
 apparatus of its mouth being enveloped in the pupal skin. 
 After passing a short time in this state, the pupa cracks along 
 
606 INSECTS AT HOilE. 
 
 the back, and through the aperture the head and legs of the 
 Gnat show themselves. In a short time the Gnat draws itself 
 entirely out of the pupal shell, and uses it as a kind of raft on 
 which it can stand while it shakes out its damp and crumpled 
 wings. So small a creature does not require any long time for 
 this process, and as soon as it is completed the Gnat flies 
 merrily away. 
 
 I have been often asked to give some hints as to the extir- 
 pation of these insects. There are but very few that can be given. 
 In all places where ponds and stagnant waters are near, nothing 
 can be done. But I find that the chief nursery of the Gnat is 
 the open rain-water-butt. 
 
 The ordinary cover is useless as a protection from Gnats, as 
 the delicate little flies can insinuate themselves through very 
 small crevices. With regard to my own butt, I first nail down 
 the ordinary wooden cover, and then run a broad strip of 
 canvas round the upper part of the butt, fastening the lower 
 edge to the butt, and nailing the upper edge on the wooden 
 cover. I also caulk with tow any crack in the cover, and with 
 the same substance fill in the space between the rain-water 
 pipe and the sides of the hole in the cover through which it 
 passes. There has been a notable diminution of Gnats since 
 these precautions were taken, and I am sure that if every 
 water-butt were similarly protected, the number of Gnats that 
 get into houses would be diminished at least ninety per cent. 
 
 Eeference has been made to the too familiar hum of the 
 Gnat. This sharp and almost trumpet-Uke sound has been 
 carefully investigated, and by means of an instrument known as 
 the Siren it is possible to count the number of beats made in a 
 given time by the wings of the Gnat. The Siren is an 
 instrument which can produce any required number of vibra- 
 tions, and as they are produced registers them on a dial. Now 
 it is found that when the vibrations exceed a certain number 
 per second, a definite musical sound is produced, the sound or 
 tone becoming sharper in exact proportion as the number of 
 vibrations becomes greater. So, if a Gnat be heard to hum, 
 and a Siren be forced to produce the same note, the instrument 
 not only gives the exact note, but registers on its dial the 
 number of vibrations required to produce that note — in other 
 words, the number of vibrations of the Gnat's wing per second. 
 
THE DADDY LONG-LEGS. 607 
 
 Here it must be mentioned that these wings are moved in a 
 very curious manner. It was formerly thought that they 
 passed into the cavity of the thorax, and were worked by means 
 of the pow.erful muscles attached to their bases. Such, how- 
 ever, is not the case. Let any reader take a fly — one of the 
 many Hoverer flies is perhaps the best — kill it, and press the 
 point of a pin liglitly on the middle of the thorax. It will be 
 found that as soon as the point of the pin presses the thorax, 
 down go both the wings, so that in fact the movements of 
 flight are made by the action of the thorax to which the wings 
 are attached, and not by the action of muscles directly con- 
 nected with the wing. In point of fact the wing moves by the 
 rapid contraction and expansion of the mesothorax, such move- 
 ment being caused by the powerful set of muscles within it. 
 
 There is much more to be said about the Grnat, but our 
 rapidly diminishing space warns us to proceed to another 
 typical insect. 
 
 On Woodcut LXX. Fig. 1, is represented one of our finest 
 British examples of the insects called by the popular name of 
 Daddy-long-legs, or Crane-fly. 
 
 The name of this particular species is Tipula longicornis, 
 the latter name being given to it on account of the great length 
 of its antennae. 
 
 In the family of Tipulidae, to which this insect belongs, the 
 proboscis is very short, with its internal organs very slightly 
 developed. The legs are very long and slender, as is the body, 
 and the alulets are almost wholly wanting. The larvas of some 
 of the Tipulidae live in the water. Those of the genus Chiro- 
 nomus are long, slender, scarlet, and worm-like, and are well- 
 known under the name of Blood-worms. The rain-water butt 
 is a favourite nursery of these insects, and their larvae may often 
 be seen in the ewer, jerking and twisting about like little bits 
 of scarlet thread endowed with life. 
 
 The general colour of the present species is ochreous-yellow. 
 The thorax is black, with a slight ashen- grey down, and there 
 is a yellow semi-lunar spot before each of the wings. The 
 abdomen has a short slate-coloured streak down each side. It 
 is a tolerably common insect, and can be seen while flying 
 alonof hedo-e-rows in the dusk. 
 
608 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The life history of all the members of the genus Tipula is 
 very similar. The eggs are laid in the ground by means of the 
 sharp ovipositor which is seen at the end of the abdomen of the 
 female, and, when she is seen in the act of depositing her eggs, 
 the object of the long legs is evident. She always chooses some 
 grassy spot, and then stands almost erect on her hind legs 
 
 Tipula longicorDis. a. Side view of head, showing antenna, palpus, and mouth, 
 c. Larva. d. Front view of mouth, showing the two lobes. 
 
 6. Pupa. 
 
 among the blades of grass, with the point of the ovipositor on 
 the surface of the ground. She then begins to turn her body 
 from side to side, just as the carpenter turns a bradawl when he 
 wishes to bore a hole in a plank, and in a short time is enabled 
 to deposit an egg beneath the surface of the ground. This done, 
 she goes to another spot and repeats the process, until she has 
 deposited all her eggs. 
 
 When the young larvae are hatched, they make their way 
 
TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE DADDY LONG-LEGS. 609 
 
 among the roots of the grasses, on which they feed. One of 
 these larvoe is shown at Fig. c. They are tough-skinned, hard- 
 headed beings, and do incalculable damage to our lawns and 
 pasture lands, sometimes cutting away the roots of the grass so 
 completely that large masses of turf are completely separated 
 from the soil, and can be rolled up by the hand as if a turf- 
 cutter had been under them. There is no remedy against these 
 grubs which is half so effective as the starling. This bird 
 has a wonderful power of detecting the presence of the sub- 
 terranean larva. 
 
 If any of my readers will get up very early, so as to be 
 abroad at day-break, and will hide himself in some convenient 
 nook near a grass lawn, he will see how the starlings can work 
 for the benefit of man. They evidently employ the sense of 
 hearing as their principal mode of discovering their prey, and 
 may be seen with the side of their heads pressed against the 
 ground, evidently listening for the unseen grub. When they 
 have made up their minds, there is no delay, for the bird 
 gives half a dozen sharp pecks, thrusts its beak deeply into the 
 ground, gives a strong pull, and hauls out the Tipula larva, 
 which it has seized by the head. It does not eat the grub, 
 but flies off with it, still holding it by the head with the very 
 tip of its beak. 
 
 The pupal form of this insect is shown at Fig. 6. When the 
 pupa is about to change into the perfect form, the pupa issues 
 partly out of the ground, and the skin then splits and allows 
 the perfect insect to escape. 
 
 For the following interesting details of the Daddy Long- 
 legs, I am indebted to the Eev. J. W. Brooks, Great Ponton 
 Eectory, near Grantham : — 
 
 ' Some years since, when I was Vicar of Nottingham, I 
 turfed over a small plot in the garden at the back of my house 
 with turves procured from a sandy meadow in the neighbour- 
 hood. They proved to be full of the eggs of the Fly above 
 named ; and in the spring the grass portion of the garden, 
 comprehending only about three hundred and fifty square yards, 
 was swarming with their grubs, with which I had not pre- 
 viously been acquainted. They were sluggish-looking larvae, 
 curled, and apparently harmless. It was not until the period 
 of their escape that I discovered what they really were, and 
 
 B B 
 
610 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 killed about twelve hundred by hand-picking, giving them a 
 squeeze in the head as they were taken. 
 
 ' I did not, however, at that time understand their habits, 
 or the slaughter would have been greater. It was not until 
 the latter part of the year that I noticed that the Fly comes 
 forth from the earth at twilight — chiefly in the evening, but in 
 the morning twilight also. They may then be easily taken by 
 pacing about upon the grass, and watching them as they emerge. 
 To aid their capture the grass should be kept close cut during 
 the season of their appearance. I killed upwards of two 
 thousand in the second year, and in the fifth year of their 
 invasion, I saw no more of them. 
 
 ' I observed that the male commonly leaves his case in the 
 earth, and begins to fly immediately on his emerging there- 
 from ; or, after the lapse of a minute or so, while he rests upon 
 the grass. He is small and active, and scuttles about close to 
 the ground in a zigzag manner, like a spaniel in search of 
 game. 
 
 ' The female, being fat and plump, particularly towards the 
 end of the abdomen, often cannot extricate herself from the 
 old case in which she has been entombed, as the abdomen 
 sticks fast in the upper part of it, which is the narrowest. I 
 have seen them shoot up by the half-score together in the 
 twilight of a soft summer's evening, unable to bring the case 
 fully out of the ground. The wings at their extremities 
 frequently remain encased together with the abdomen, and 
 thus the insect is prevented from struggling except with its 
 fore-legs. 
 
 'I have measured them when in this position, and found 
 them, with the case attached, two inches and a half in length. 
 Both sexes are of a light blanched colour on their first coming 
 forth from the ground ; but a few minutes with the female, and 
 a few seconds with the male, change them to their usual dusty- 
 drab. 
 
 ' The reason of the active, searching motion of the male 
 quickly becomes apparent — he is hunting for the female. As 
 soon as he discovers one of them in the hampered position 
 already described, he rushes to her aid, and with his fore-legs 
 drags her out of the light pupa-case. The insects remain 
 together for several hours, and may thus be destroyed before 
 the female has had time to deposit her eggs. 
 
THE CHAMELEON-FLY. 611 
 
 ' If the mornings or evenings are frosty or damp, the insects 
 are dull and torpid, and may easily be taken with the hand ;. 
 but if the weather be hot and dry, they are lively and saucy, 
 and fly away as the captor approaches. They are, however, so 
 silly, that often, when they seem to be flying away, they rise 
 up in the air, make a short gyration, and descend, with a 
 sudden dart, at his very feet. 
 
 ' The time of the appearance of the perfect fly varies 
 according as the season has been warm and dry or cold and 
 damp. In the course of the four years that I watched for 
 them, their first appearance varied from the eighth of August 
 to the fifth of September, and their disappearance from 
 the fifth to the thirtieth of September. The process of 
 transformation from the larva to the fly continued, in the 
 entire community of them, from twenty-one to twenty-five 
 days.' 
 
 The pupa of this insect is shown at Fig. b. Fig. a repre- 
 sents a magnified profile view of the head of the perfect insect, 
 and Fig. d is the front view of the mouth. 
 
 We now come to the second division of the Cephalota, 
 namely the Brachocera, or Short-horned Diptera. They are 
 divided into smaller groups, or Stirpes, as Mr. Westwood 
 calls them. The first of them is the Notacantha, or Thorn- 
 backs, in which the antennse are apparently composed of only 
 three joints (of which the last is seen, when examined by a 
 lens, to be articulated), and the proboscis seldom contains 
 more than two lancets. The pupa is enclosed in the skin of 
 the larva, which, however, retains its previous shape instead of 
 being formed into an oval cocoon, as is the case with the com- 
 mon flies and bluebottles. We can only take one example of 
 this group, the Forked Chameleon Fly {Stratiomys furcata\ 
 which is represented on Woodcut LXXI. Fig. 3. In this 
 genus the proboscis is very short, and the basal joint of the 
 antennse is much longer than the second. The third joint is 
 apparently very long, but the microscope shows that it is 
 composed of several joints fused together, as may be seen by 
 reference to Fig. h. 
 
 Most of the insects belonging to this family are beautifully 
 coloured, and many of them shine with metallic tints, mostly 
 
 B B 2 
 
612 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 tending to purple. The present species is rather variable in 
 colouring, whence one of the three species derives the name of 
 Chameleon. It always, however, has a velvet-black body, on 
 which are a number of bold yellow patches, arranged as shown 
 in the illustration. The legs also are yellow. There are three 
 species all very much alike in colouring, and almost identical 
 
 LAXi 
 
 1, AsiliiR crabroniformis. 2. Asilns germanictis. 3. Stratiomys fnrcata. 4. Eristalis 
 tenax. a. Asilus crabroniformis, tarsus. b. Stratiomys furcata, antenna. c. Bristalis 
 tenax, antenna. 
 
 in their life history. The larva of this insect is an odd- 
 lookin'^ eature, long, slender, and worm-like, with its seg- 
 ments \ery strongly' marked, and gradually diminishing in 
 diameter towards the tail, which is furnished with a star of 
 radiating hairs. As is the case with the larva of the Grnat, that 
 of the Chameleon-fly breathes through the end of the tail, 
 the larva remaining suspended with its head downwards and its 
 star-tipped tail at the surface. The life history of the Common 
 
TRANSFOKIVIATIONS OF THE CHAMELEON-FLY. 613 
 
 Chameleon-fly {Stratiomys Chameleon) has been so tersely and 
 fully given by Mr. F. Walker in his ' Insecta Britannica,' that 
 I cannot do better than transfer his account to these pages : — 
 
 ' These flies feed on the honey of flowers, and appear in the 
 spring and in the summer on aquatic plants : their flight in 
 hot weather is very rapid, but short, and they quickly return to 
 the spot whence they took wing. The larvse are aquatic, and 
 the metamorphosis of Stratiomys Chameleon has been often 
 observed. 
 
 'Its eggs from white become green, and then change to 
 orange-green ; they are arranged like tiles on a roof, one laid 
 partly over another, on the underside of the leaves of Alisma 
 plantago, the water plantain. The larva often remains 
 suspended by its radiated anus at the surface of the water, 
 with its head downwards. Its ganglions are so near each other 
 as to appear like a string of beads. When it is disposed to 
 sink to the bottom or to descend, by bending the sides of its 
 tail, so as to form a concavity, it includes in them a bubble of 
 air, in brilliancy resembling silver or pearl, and then sinks 
 with it by its own weight : when it would return to the surface 
 it is by means of this bubble. If it moves upon the surface or 
 horizontally, it bends its body alternately to the right and 
 left, contracting itself into the form of the letter S, and then 
 extending itself again into a straight line : by these alternate 
 movements it makes its way slowly in the water. It has much 
 resemblance to some of the Polypi vaginati. The last joint of 
 the pupa retains the exact form of the larva-body, is extremely 
 long, and terminates in an orifice to receive the air, which is 
 surrounded by a circle of about thirty diverging rays, con- 
 sisting of beautifully feathered hairs or plumes. 
 
 ' The feathery hairs are so prepared as to repel the water, 
 and thus to suspend the animal by its tail at the surface, and 
 preserve a constant access of air. When it has occasion to 
 sink, it turns these hairs in and shuts the orifice, carrying down 
 with it an air-bubble that shines like quicksilver, and, as 
 is conjectured, enables it again to become buoyant when it 
 wants to breathe. The dorsal vessel (series of hearts, or artery) 
 is attenuated at both ends. The ovaries of the fly are agglo- 
 merate, and the egg-tubes form two bundles, in which the 
 branches are not discernible.' 
 
614 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The last-mentioned fact is a very curious one, as all will 
 admit who have dissected insects. I have dissected a vast 
 number of insects, representing every order, and nearly every 
 important group in entomology, but I never dissected a 
 Stratiomys, and never saw the remarkable structure which 
 Mr. Walker mentions. 
 
 When the larva is about to undergo its change to the pupal 
 form, the larval skin hardens, without much alteration of its 
 shape, and within this cover the pupa becomes developed. 
 Being much smaller than the larva, the pupa only occupies a 
 portion of the larval skin, so that a. large space is left, render- 
 ing the pupa and its case much lighter than water, and 
 enabling it to float at liberty on the surface. 
 
 We now come to the next group, or Stirps, of the Cephalote 
 Diptera. They are called Tanystoma, or Long-mouthed Flies, 
 in consequence of the construction of the mouth, which is 
 generally very prominent, and is furnished with a lancet-like 
 labrum and tongue. The larvae are very worm-like, without 
 feet, and having the head hard and scaly. They live under- 
 ground, and there pass through their transformations, as we 
 shall see in our short history of the following insect. 
 
 On Plate XX. Fig. 1 is represented the Geeat Breeze Fly, 
 GrAD Fly, or Cleg {Tahanus bovinus), one of the largest of our 
 Dipterous insects. Its colour is rather variable, but its general 
 effect is brown, sometimes deepening into dark-brown and yellow, 
 with chestnut triangular marks down the centre. It has very 
 much the aspect of a large bee, and its wheeling flight and 
 loud hum serve to strengthen the similitude. The mouth is 
 armed with most formidable lancets, and the insect, at least the 
 female Breeze Fly, can employ them with terrible effect. The 
 tough skin of cattle is no defence against the lancets of the 
 Breeze Fly, and the very hum of one of these insects is able 
 to set a whole herd of cattle scampering off in every direction. 
 
 Even human beings are not exempt from the attacks of the 
 Breeze Fly, as I can aver from much experience. Some years 
 ago I was spending a week or two in the New Forest, and 
 would have enjoyed it without alloy, had it not been for the 
 Breeze Flies, which almost drove me out of the Forest. They 
 seemed to detect me at a wonderful distance, and, with a loud, 
 
ATTACKS OF THE GREAT GAD-FLY, 615 
 
 fierce hum, as if sounding the charge, they would dart at ir.e, 
 and in a moment bury their hmcets in the skin. So fierce 
 were their assaults that they even pierced a stout coat of 
 Scotch tweed and a flannel shirt, and, in spite of these protec- 
 tions, drew blood from my arms. For the first few days I 
 was so persecuted by these insects that I hardly dared venture 
 into the Forest, and was seriously considering whether I should 
 not be obliged to go home again. 
 
 Their favourite point of attack was just behind the ear. 
 There was no hope of resisting them, for they did not wait to 
 settle, as reasonable flies might be expected to do, but drove 
 straight at me with extended beaks, and buried their lancet- 
 armed beak so deeply that each prick felt as if a stout needle 
 had been run sharply into me. On returning to my lodging, 
 after a few hours in the Forest, I have had the whole space 
 behind my ears filled with clotted blood, my neck filled also 
 with blood, my collar glued to my neck, and long tracks of 
 blood running down my body and arms. The hands were 
 served in just the same way, and, if I had not worn leather 
 gauntleted gloves, and tied them at the wrists, I should scarcely 
 have been able to move a finger. 
 
 At last I discovered a plan which enabled me to enjoy 
 comparative immunity from these and other insect pests. 
 Before starting into the Forest, I dipped a little sponge in 
 paraffin and rubbed it well over my hands, face, and neck. I 
 also put some of the liquid into' the gloves, and took a little 
 bottle with me, so that I might renew it as soon as the odour 
 began to decrease in strength. Thus armed, I went into the 
 Forest, and, hearing in the distance the well-known trumpet- 
 charge of the Breeze Fly, determined to await its onset without 
 flinching. 
 
 The creature drove fiercely at my face until it was within a 
 foot or eighteen inches from me, when it came within the 
 vapour of the paraffin, and darted off like an arrow. Two or 
 three times it tried the assault, and as often had to check 
 itself, until at last it fiew off in disgust and did not return. 
 After this glorious repulse of the enemy I never troubled 
 myself about the flies, but used to amuse myself by hearing 
 them in the distance, and then seeing them dart away, utterly 
 discomfited with the novel odour. Of course, the smell of the 
 
616 INSECTS AT HOJVIE. 
 
 paraffin was not very agreeable to my own nostrils, but of the 
 two evils it was infinitely the lesser, and I was only too glad to 
 accept it. 
 
 On the frontispiece, Fig. 9, is a coloured portrait of the 
 Humble-bee Fly {Bombylius medius), as it appears while on 
 the wing. 
 
 This insact is an example of the Bombylidse, a family in 
 which the body is short and thick, with the wings extended 
 horizontally on either side of the body. The proboscis is very 
 long, and the thorax very convex. All the Bombylidse fly 
 with wonderful rapidity, and in many of their habits resemble 
 the Humming-Bird Moth, which has already been described. 
 Like that insect, the fly has a way of suddenly appearing as if 
 by magic, and then disappearing as rapidly, its darting flight 
 being as invisible as the track of a bullet through the air. 
 Like the Humming-bird Moth, it feeds while on the wing, 
 balancing itself at some little distance from a flower, plunging 
 the end of its long proboscis into the nectary, and sucking out 
 the sweet juices. 
 
 A warm spring day is the time in which the Humble-bee Fly 
 may generally be seen. I have taken many of them in Bagley 
 Wood, and found no gi'eat difficulty in catching them when 
 their ways were learnt. It is useless to run after one of these 
 insects, as the least movement will terrify it, and send it off fai: 
 beyond the reach of the net. Whenever I wanted to catch a 
 Bombylius, I used to look out for a patch of primroses on 
 which the sun was shining, and to wait there with the net 
 placed close to the flowers in readiness for a stroke. " After 
 waiting some little time, and taking care not to make the 
 slightest movement, a Bombylius was nearly sure to come to 
 the flowers, and hover first over one and then over another as if 
 to ascertain which blossom contained the most honey. Having 
 at last fixed upon a flower, it would plunge its proboscis into it, 
 and then a quick stroke of the net would secure it before it had 
 time to dart away. 
 
 Passing by a considerable number of Flies, we come to the 
 family Asilidse. In this family, the body is long and the 
 thorax narrowed in front. The wings have some perfect cells, 
 
THE DRONE-FLY. 617 
 
 and the protoscis is stretched forward and about as long as the 
 head. There are many of these insects, and as their habits are 
 very similar we will take the present species as an example. 
 
 The GrREAT Hornet Flt {Asilus crabroniformis) is shown on 
 Woodcut LXXI. Fig. 1. Its colouring is simple, but exceed- 
 ingly bold. The thorax is chrome-yellow, rather darker behind, 
 and two blackish stripes run parallel to each other on the back. 
 The basal half of the abdomen is velvet-black, and the rest 
 bright chrome-yellow. The wings are yellow and so are the 
 legs. 
 
 At a little distance this insect really looks very much like a 
 hornet, and it has all the predacious habits of that insect. It 
 is seldom seen without a fly or other insect in its grasp, the 
 fore-legs clasping it firmly and the beak diiven into the body 
 of its victim. It is spread over the whole of England, but 
 prefers sea-side downs and similar places. My own specimens 
 were all taken on the great rolling chalk-downs of Wiltshire. 
 
 It has rather a peculiar mode of flight. It keeps near the 
 gromnd, and there waits until it feels that it is in danger, when 
 it rises and, with a sort of uncertain drifting movement, flies 
 some ten or twelve yards, and then settles again. If followed 
 up it is easily taken, as it soon appears to tire of these repeated 
 flushings, and allows the pursuer to come quite close before it 
 will move. This is by far the handsomest and most con- 
 spicuous of its family, all the others being comparatively dull. 
 At Fig. a is shown the tarsus of this insect. 
 
 The next family which comes before us is the large and 
 important family of the Syrphidae, popularly known as Hoverers, 
 Hawk-flies, and Drone-Flies. In this family the head is hemi- 
 spherical, and in the males the greater portion of it is occupied 
 by the eyes. The antennaBare three-jointed, and bear a bristle, 
 as seen at Fig. c on Woodcut LXXI. There are several perfect 
 cells in the wings. 
 
 We shall take several examples of this large family, on 
 account of the peculiar habits of their larvae. 
 
 On Woodcut LXXI. Fig. 4 is shown the common Deone-Flt 
 {Eristalis tenax), which is so plentiful in the summer time, 
 and is so often taken for a bee on account of its form, colour, 
 
618 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 large wings, and humming flight. Moreover, it has a bee-like 
 habit of moving its abdomen up and down as if threatening to 
 use a sting, and in consequence of this resemblance it is very 
 needlessly dreaded by the generality of those who see it. Its 
 coloui- is variable, but is generally some shades of brown, grey, 
 and black. It is very swift on the wing, and has a quick 
 darting flight much resembling that of the Humble-Bee Fly, 
 which has just been described. 
 
 The larva is a most curious being. It is a worm-shaped 
 grub, the tail of which is prolonged into a wonderfully long 
 telescopic tube, by means of which the creature breathes, the 
 air-tubes passing through it exactly as was related of the gnat 
 larva. When this telescopic tail is prolonged to its greatest 
 extent, it is about as thick as an ordinary pin. Owing to the 
 transparency of its walls, the double air-tube within it can be 
 easily seen, and when the tail is elongated so are the air-tubes. 
 But when the larva is frightened and contracts its tail, tlve air- 
 tubes may be seen doubled up in an apparently complicated 
 but really simple manner, just below the base of the tail. As 
 may be supposed, when a telescopic tail of more than two 
 inches in length is suddenly shut up and reduced to a nullity, 
 the elastic air-tubes within it must undergo a process of 
 folding. This is done with such precision that the tail can be 
 gradually extended or smartly closed over and over again, and 
 yet not one single fold of the enclosed air-tubes ever hitches 
 over another so as to impede the play of the all-important 
 tubes. 
 
 This may appear a very simple matter, but it is in fact a 
 very complicated one, as may be seen from the following 
 parallel. Suppose that an ordinary telescope were drawn out 
 to its fullest extent, and that two india-rubber tubes were 
 stretched inside it, parallel to each other. Now if the telescope 
 be closed, the tubes fall of necessity into coils in the lowest and 
 largest joint of the telescope. Open the telescope again, and 
 the two tubes will again be straight and parallel, provided that 
 they have not interfered with each other while they were coiled 
 up together at the bottom of the telescope. Let but one single 
 coil envelope another, and either the telescopic joints cannot 
 be opened, or one of the tubes is snapped. 
 
 I have dissected numbers of these larvae, and have always 
 
THE EAT-TAILED MAGGOT. 619 
 
 been impressed with the wonderful power and foresight dis- 
 played in this one point. Suppose that an Eristalis larva, or 
 Eat-tailed Maggot as it is popularly called, be put into spirits 
 of wine for the purpose of killing it, the tail at once contracts, 
 so that no one who was not acquainted with the creature could 
 recognise it. If, however, the tip of the tail be seized between 
 the points of the forceps, and the organ be drawn out to its full 
 extent, the air-tubes can be seen to unfold themselves with the 
 most perfect accuracy. A hitch never occurs, but the coils, or 
 rather the folds, open out one after the other, and the two 
 convoluted tubes become straight and parallel. 
 
 This remarkable tail is rendered necessary on account of the 
 habits of the larva which owns it. The creature lives in a 
 manner which to us would be about as miserable as can be 
 imagined. It passes the whole of its life immersed in thick 
 and semi-putrid mud, with its head downwards. The mud 
 cannot be too thick, too black, or too noisome for this larva. 
 There was. one place where I could procui'e as many Eat-tailed 
 larvae as I liked. Just under the eaves of a church roof a large 
 tub had been sunk in the ground, for the purpose of catching 
 the rain-water. Year after year it had been neglected, and it 
 had become two-thirds full of a horribly fetid mud, composed 
 of dead leaves, worms that had crawled over the edge of the 
 tub and fallen into the water, frogs and toads that had foolishly 
 jumped into the tub, forgetting that they could not jump out 
 again, quantities of moths, beetles, and other insects that had 
 inadvertently fallen into the water and been drowned, field- 
 mice that had overbalanced themselves in trying to drink, and 
 other substances too numerous to mention. 
 
 The state of such a mud can easily be imagined, and yet this 
 horrible compound was in its way a Paradise to vast numbers 
 of Eat-tailed Maggots, which were busily employed in their 
 beneficent task of transmuting death into life, and of devouring 
 this poisonous and mephitic mud, so that it might be changed 
 into bright and active flies. Such is indeed the task of these 
 and many other insects, and it is absolutely impossible to 
 exaggerate the debt of gratitude which we owe them. Every 
 Drone-Fly which we see is a living proof that a certain amount 
 of pestilential matter has been consumed and rendered harm- 
 less, and it is evident that such insects ought to be encoiu-aged 
 
620 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 and protected in every mode that lies in the power of civilised 
 man. 
 
 To return for a moment to our larva. It is impossible that 
 any creature could obtain air while buried in the thick mud 
 which has just been described. There are many creatures, 
 especially Crustacea, which do live buried in mud, but then 
 they always form a slight tunnel, so that they are really 
 immersed, not in mud, but in water. The Eat-tailed Maggot, 
 however, is really buried in the mud, and needs some apparatus 
 for communicating with the air. This apparatus is supplied by 
 the telescopic tail of the larva, which can be projected out of 
 tbe mud, and by means of the double air-tubes which it 
 contains conveys the necessary amount of oxygen to the system. 
 
 The Hail' can be retracted with great rapidity. I had a 
 great number of the larvae in a bottle, on the bottom of which 
 was placed a layer of mud in which the creatures could bury 
 themselves, and the rest of the bottle nearly filled with water. 
 When all was quiet, all the tails remained quite upright, and 
 looked like a number of young aquatic plants. But if the 
 slightest jar were given to the bottle, all the tails were 
 retracted, and the water was left clear and empty as if by a 
 conjuring trick. 
 
 When the larva is full-fed on the disgusting substances 
 which form its dainties, it extricates itself from the mud by 
 means of seven pairs of tiny hooked feet, crawls ashore, buries 
 itself in the earth, and there awaits its change. The larval 
 skin then shortens and hardens, and the pupa separates itself 
 from its former skin, which then acts the part of a cocoon. In 
 process of time the transformation is complete, and the dull 
 motionless grub that had passed its whole life sunk in the dark 
 and obscene mud is transformed into a creature of light, gifted 
 with enormous eyes and glittering powerful wings, and darting 
 through the air with a rapidity so great that the eye cannot 
 follow its track. The specific name of tenax is given to the 
 insect on account of the tenacity with which it holds to any 
 object that it may grasp with its feet. 
 
 On Woodcut LXXII. Fig. 3 is represented an insect called 
 Merodon clavipes. 
 
 In this genus the body is blunt and hairy, the third joint of 
 
THE MEEODON. 
 
 621 
 
 the antennaj is oval, and the thighs of the hind legs have a 
 strong tooth at their tips. The generic name Merodon refers 
 to this structure, signifying literally ' thigh-toothed,' and 
 the specific name of claoipes, or club-footed, cilludes to the 
 thickened and club-like form of the hind leg. 
 
 This is rather a pretty insect. The thorax is shining black, 
 with grey hair at the sides, and the abdomen is black, adorned 
 
 LXXli 
 
 1. Vohicella pellucens. 2. Volucella plutnata. 3. Mtjrodon clavii)es. 4. Syrphns lucorum. 
 a. Volucella pellucens, clypeus. b. Do., antenna. c. Do., ocelli. d. Do., front of head, 
 
 e. SjTphus lucorum, antenna. 
 
 with a covering of rich golden hairs. There is also a tuft of 
 golden hair at the base of the antennse. Tbe larva feeds on the 
 bulb of the narcissus, into which it burrows, and devours the 
 inside. It is rather an odd and clumsy-looking grub, shaped 
 much like a rolling-pin, and covered with successive rings of 
 hair. The mouth has two scaly hooks, and immediately above 
 them are two short, forked horns. 
 
622 INSECTS AT HO.ME. 
 
 On Woodcut LXXII. Fig. 1 is shown one of our most curious 
 insects, called Volucella pellucens. 
 
 It is impossible for a mere woodcut to represent the very 
 peculiar stn^cture of this creature. In the illustration, the 
 two large white patches on the abdomen look as if they were 
 merely white and opaque, whereas, in reality, they are almost 
 as translucent as if made of glass. Indeed the whole upper 
 part of the abdomen seems as if it were made of very transpa- 
 rent horn, the only opaque portion being the dark stripe down 
 the centre. Like the generality of its family, the insect is very 
 swift- winged, and has a quick, darting flight, which makes its 
 capture a work of some difficulty. I have taken plenty of 
 specimens in Bagley Wood, waiting for them as they balanced 
 themselves near flowers, and then capturing them with a smart 
 stroke of the net. 
 
 The larva of the Volucella is parasitic on the nests of social 
 hymenoptera. I have often obtained these larvse from the 
 nests of humble-bees, and always thought that they restricted 
 themselves to these bees. Mr. S. Stone, however, found that 
 the common wasp was also favoured with the presence of these 
 parasites. In his description of sundry wasp-nests, published 
 in the ' Zoologist,' p. 9452, he writes the following remarks : — 
 ' Upon the crown of almost every nest (of Vespa vulgaris) I 
 examined, after the season had become advanced, I found eggs 
 of Volucella, and my attention was in several instances drawn 
 to a nest by seeing a specimen of Volucella pellucens or of Volu- 
 cella bombylans hang about or alight near the entrance to it.' 
 
 These larvae are most extraordinary-looking beings. Sup- 
 posing a rolling-pin to be cut in two transversely in the middle, 
 each half will accurately resemble the Volucella larva. The 
 small end of this larva is the head, which is furnished with a 
 pair of double-toothed mandibles and six little tentacles ; and 
 the large and bluntly-truncated end is the tail, around the 
 circumference of which are planted six soft radiating tentacles. 
 The whole of the body is thickly covered with transverse 
 wrinkles, and along the sides is a row of five points. At 
 Fig. a is shown the curiously notched clypeus of this insect. 
 At Fig. b one of the antennae is drawn, so as to show the bold 
 double-feathering with which the bristle of the antennse is 
 adorned ; and at Fig. c the front of the head is drawn, for the 
 
8CHE HAWK-FLIES. 623 
 
 purpose of showing- the enormous eyes of the insect, and the 
 space which they occupy in the head. The ocelli, or simple 
 eyes, are shown at Fig. c. 
 
 On the same Woodcut, Fig. 2, is shown another species, 
 called Volucella plumata, so called because the bristle of the 
 antennae is so strongly feathered that it is quite conspicuous 
 even to the naked eye. It looks very' much like a humble-bee, 
 and indeed, so closely resembles a worker humble-bee, that no 
 one who was not an entomologist would think that it could be 
 any other insect. The thorax is shining black, and has a 
 quantity of golden-yellow hair on the sides. The thorax is also 
 black, with yellow hair on the base, and grey hair at the end. 
 
 This species haunts the nests of humble-bees, and probably, 
 owing to the bee-like aspect of the insect, mixes freely with 
 the bees and passes in and out of the nest without challenge. 
 I have often taken them near the nests of humble-bees, and, in 
 consequence of the remarkable similitude of the insects, at 
 first allowed the Flies to escape, taking them for bees. Indeed, 
 in the first instance, it was only the difference of flight that 
 betrayed the parasite. 
 
 At Fig. 4 of Woodcut LXXII. is drawn an insect belonging 
 to the typical genus. Its name is Syrphus lucorwm. 
 
 The word Syrphus is Greek, and is given under a remark- 
 able variety of forms, being indifferently spelt as Serphos, 
 Sterphos, or Seriphos. It is used to designate some small 
 winged insect, but that the word is not rightly applied to the 
 present group of insects is evident from tlie fact that an old 
 Grreek proverb alludes to the Syrphus as possessing a sting. 
 
 In these insects the third joint of the antennse is oval, the 
 abdomen is elliptic and depressed, the legs are slender, and the 
 tarsi simple in both sexes, whereas in some genera the front tarsi 
 of the males are flattened and widened. They are popularly 
 known as Hawk-flies. 
 
 This species is rather a pretty insect. Its general colour is 
 black. The thorax is clothed with rich, warm-brown hairs, 
 and the base of the abdomen with golden down. It is slightly 
 variable in the colour and extent of its markings, and in some 
 specimens there is a brown patch on the base of the abdomen. 
 
624 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 The larva of the Syrphus is predacious, and feeds upon the 
 aphides ; so that every Syrphus that is seen in the garden 
 ought to be protected as an inestimable friend to the gardener. 
 In shape it very much resembles the Volucella larva which 
 has just been described, the grub being small and tapering at 
 the head, and wide and blunt at the tail. When the female 
 Syrphus is engaged in the great work of oviposition, she looks 
 out for the leaves or twigs which are most thickly beset with 
 aphides, and deposits an egg among them, never putting two 
 eggs near each other. As soon as it is hatched, the young 
 Syrphus larva finds itself in the midst of its food, and straight- 
 way takes advantage of the position in wliich it is placed. 
 Clinging to the leaf with the projections on its under surface, 
 the larva stretches out the fore part of the body, and, with a 
 curious apparatus belonging to its mouth, seizes on an aphis. It 
 then pulls the aphis from its hold on the leaf or twig, and holds 
 it aloft, so that the struggles of its prey are quite useless, and 
 in this position sucks the juices. A very few minvites suflSce for 
 this operation, and it then throws away the emptied skin of the 
 unfortunate aphis, and waits until another comes in its way. 
 
 When full-fed, the Syrphus larva fixes its tail very firmly to 
 the plant on which it has been living, attaching it by means 
 of a sort of glue or cement. The whole of the body then 
 contracts, and the pupa is developed within the larval skin, 
 which acts the part of a cocoon. It is a curious fact that 
 when this change takes place, the creature exactly reverses its 
 shape, the thick, blunt tail being contracted nearly into a 
 point, while the slender, attenuated fore part of the body 
 becomes thick and blunt. Before many days have elapsed, 
 the fly is fully developed, pushes strongly against the end of 
 its habitation, forces off the end with its head, and emerges 
 upon the world. 
 
 Another species of these insects, Syrphus or SocBva pyrastri, 
 is shown on Woodcut LXXIII. Fig. 1. This fine insect is 
 blackish-blue, on which is a whitish-grey down. The thorax 
 is very shining, and on each side of the abdomen are three 
 short bands, varying from pure white to golden yellow. In 
 some few species the bands are absent. The larva may be 
 found feediijg on the aphides of the rose-tree. 
 
SWARM OF HAWK-FLIES. 
 
 625 
 
 All the Hawk-flies are extremely variable in their numbers, 
 sometimes being very scarce, while at other times they appear 
 in swarms. There is a notice in the ' Entomologist,' vol. iv. 
 page 357, by Mr. C. Home, in which the numbers of these 
 insects are mentioned. 
 
 'At Margate, on August 24, 1869, there came a great 
 number of these insects, so as to attract the notice of all 
 
 LZZIII 
 
 1. Syrphus (or Scseva) pjrastri. 
 4. Tachina grossa. a. Do., head, 
 of male. 
 
 2. Conops macrocephalns. 3. Tachina ferox. 
 
 b. Do., antenna. c. Conops macrocephalns, abdomen 
 
 visitors. Many specimens were taken, among which I have 
 identified Syrphus balteatus, S. decorits, S. tceniatus, S. topia- 
 Hus, and Eristalis tenax. The wind was then blowing from 
 the east, and it was very hot weather. The pier at Eamsgate 
 on the same day was almost covered with them, and everyone 
 said that they came from the Channel. After this tlie wind 
 was from inland, but it was too fresh and breezy for many to 
 
 s s 
 
626 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 remain ; and they had become so scarce in the month of 
 September, that with difficulty seven or eight specimens were 
 procured. 
 
 ' The servant at one of the houses in Clifton Terrace, 
 Margate, says that she had to go to all the windows with 
 a dust-pan and brush, to take them away from the window- 
 ledges ; and I have been given to understand that it was the 
 same in most of the houses at the place. They went by 
 strange names, but the most common one was that of " horse- 
 stingers," from their appearance. 
 
 ' You have already noticed flights of this class of insects 
 in the " Zoologist ; " and Mr. F. Smith, of the British Museum, 
 tells me that he saw, some years since, the line of surf on the 
 beach for miles covered with the dead bodies of Syiyhus 
 pyrastri, so that they might have been taken up by shovels- 
 full. This was at Bournemouth, and the insects had been 
 drowned in the sea, and their remains thus cast ashore. The 
 same thing, he tells me, was observed to occur at the back of 
 the Isle of Wight, which is not far off. Hence these flights 
 would appear to be not uncommon, although when they do 
 occur they are worthy of note.' 
 
 The next family is that of the Conopidae, which are repre- 
 sented by a very pretty insect, called Gonops vesicularis, which 
 is shown on Plate XX. Fig. 2. 
 
 In all the Conopidse the proboscis is always long and pro- 
 jecting, elbowed, and siphon-shaped ; while it varies in form 
 from conical and cylindrical to thread-like. In this organ 
 both the mandibles and the lancet which represent the maxillae 
 are absent, and only those portions remain which represent the 
 upper lip and tongue ; so that all the Conopidse are perfectly 
 harmless, and cannot even prey upon other insects. 
 
 This species bears the most extraordinary resembK-^ce to 
 the solitary wasps belonging to the genus Odynerus. The 
 thorax of this insect is black, and the base of the abdomen is 
 orange, the remainder being black and yellow, arranged as 
 shown in the illustration. The wings are transparent, and are 
 clouded with brown. 
 
 In its larval state this is one of the many parasitic insects, 
 living in the interior of the humble-bee. Like the Stylops, 
 which has already been described in the course of this work, 
 
PLATE XX. 
 DIPT ERA. 
 
 1. Tabanus bovinus, 
 
 2. Conops vesicularis. 
 
 3. Gasterophilus equi 
 
 4. Tachina grossa. 
 
 Plant :— 
 
 Honeysuckle. 
 
THE MUSCID^. 627 
 
 it undergoes all its transformations within the body of the 
 living bee, and then forces its way into the world between 
 the segments of the insect in which it had lived. Latreille 
 reared four of these curious flies from humble-bees which he 
 had placed in a box. 
 
 There are several species of Conops, all prettily coloured. 
 There is, for example, Conops flavipes, a smaller and slighter 
 insect than the preceding species, velvet-black in colour, banded 
 with bright golden yellow. Then there is Conops rujipes, 
 which is coloured exactly like the hornet, the thorax being 
 reddish-brown and the abdomen yellow, banded with dark brown. 
 Another species, Conops macrocephalus, is shown on Woodcut 
 LXXIII. Fig. 2, and the curious abdomen of the male insect is 
 drawn at Fig. c. The specific name macrocephalus signifies 
 long-headed, and is given to the insect in consequence of the 
 shape of the head, which is wider than the thorax. 
 
 This is a pretty and not common insect. The general colour 
 is black, and there is a coating of short ashen hairs. The face 
 is yellow, the antennae rust-red, and upon the shoulder of the 
 thorax there is a spot of silvery white. The wings are yellowish, 
 darkening into brown on the costal margin. The abdomen is 
 black, the margin of each segment is yellow, with a silvery 
 gloss. The legs are reddish, and the base of the thighs dark 
 brown. The insect may be found upon flowers. 
 
 The generic name Conops is clearly a wi'ong one, and 
 calculated to mislead anyone who is something of a classical 
 scholar and little of an entomologist. The word is Greek, 
 signifying a gnat, and has been incorporated in our lan- 
 guage in the well-known word ' canopy,' i.e., a gnat-curtain, 
 that being the real meaning of the word. Herodotus employs 
 the word Conops when describing the gnats or mosquitos which 
 infest the marshy lands on the banks of the Nile, and the 
 method employed by the fishermen in guarding themselves 
 from the attacks of these troublesome insects. 
 
 We now come to the enormous family of the Muscidge, a 
 family which may rank with the ichneumon-flies, the Noctuse 
 and Tinese Moths, and the Eove-beetles, as tests of an entomo- 
 logist's temper and patience. It is hardly possible to imagine 
 anything more trying to the entomologist than to have half a 
 
 s s 2 
 
628 INSECTS AT HO:\IE. 
 
 dozen large boxes of Muscidse placed before him,with instructions 
 to find out their names, and to marshal them in their right 
 places. The task really seems to be a hopeless one, and life to 
 be too short for accomplishing it, more especially as there are 
 sure to be some hitherto undescribed species, and they are 
 equally sure to come first to hand, as if for the express purpose 
 of making the unfortunate entomologist hvmt for their descrip- 
 tion in vain. At least a thousand species of Muscidae are 
 known to inhabit England, and it is probable that twice that 
 number may be yet discovered and named. 
 
 Fortunately, there is no diflSculty in deciding whether a fly 
 belongs to this family or not, as a glance at the proboscis will 
 at once determine its place. This organ is short and mem- 
 branous, and terminated by two large lobes,~the structure of 
 which will be briefly described in the course of the following 
 pages. None of the Muscidse are of any great size, the ordi- 
 nary house-fly being of about the average dimensions. 
 
 Without going further into detail, we will begin with the 
 insect which is represented on Woodcut LXXIII. Fig. 3, and 
 which is called Tachina ferox. 
 
 In some respects this insect resembles the ichneumon-flies 
 which have been already described. The female lays her eggs 
 upon the bodies of various caterpillars, and the young larvse, as 
 soon as they are hatched, penetrate into the body of the cater- 
 pillar, and feed upon the fatty substance which was intended 
 to be the subsistence of the insect during its pupal stage of 
 existence. One naturalist reared as many as eighty speci- 
 mens of Tachina from a single caterpillar of the Death's-head 
 Moth. Not only the Lepidoptera, but other orders of insects, 
 are subject to the attacks of these flies, for they have been as- 
 certained to inhabit the larvse of various Coleoptera, Hymen- 
 optera, and even the bodies of spiders. 
 
 The present species has its head tinged with grey, and 
 chestnut hairs on either side. The abdomen is yellowish, and 
 shining as if made of horn, and is black along the middle, and 
 slightly clothed with stiff hairs. The wings are transparent, 
 and tend to yellow towards the base. 
 
 The largest of these insects is that which is drawn on Wood- 
 cut LXXIII. Fig. 4» It is called Tachina grossa, and is so 
 
THE IVIEAT-FLY. 
 
 629 
 
 large and hairy that it looks very much like a black humble- 
 bee. Th.e general colour of this insect is black, but there is 
 some yellow hair on the face and sides. The very peculiar 
 antenna is shown at Fig. 6, and the front of the head at Fig. a. 
 Altogether no less than one hundred ard sixty-six species of 
 Tachina have been discovered in this country, and described ; 
 and, in all probability, many more remain to be discovered. 
 
 DOQV 
 
 1. Musca or Anthoaiyia lardaria. female. 
 c. Do., facets of eye. 2. Musca chloris, male. 
 
 e. Do., tongue. /. Do., antenna. 
 
 a. Do., antenna. 6. Do., foot. 
 
 d. Musca chloris, head of female. 
 
 Another figure of Tachina grossa is given on Plate XX. 
 Fiof. 4. 
 
 On Woodcut LXXIV. Fig. 1 is shown an insect called 
 the Meat-fly {Musca Antho^myia or Arlcia lardaria). In 
 this genus the bristle of the antennae is feathered, the abdomen 
 is oval and bristly, and the alulets are large. The colour of 
 
630 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 this species is blue-black, and the head is gilded above and in 
 front. The eyes are hairy, there are four longitudinal black 
 stripes on the thorax, and the whole of the body is .sparingly 
 covered with very short greyish down. 
 
 There are many species of this genus, the larvoe of which 
 undergo their transformation in various substances, both animal 
 and vegetable. These substances are generally in a more or less 
 decaying state, but there are some species which make their 
 larval home in the roots of different plants, the radish and the 
 onion being particularly favoured by them. 
 
 The last-mentioned insect, Anthowyia ceparum, lays her 
 eggs close to the ground, sheltered by the leaf-sheatli. Thus 
 protected, the larva is soon hatched, burrows downwards into 
 the very heart of the balb, and very effectually destroys it. Then 
 there is the Lettuce-fly (Anthomyia laducce), whicli burrows 
 into the heart of the lettuce, as it is tied up for the purpose 
 of blanching the leaves : and the Cabbage-fly {Anthomyia 
 brassicce), which performs a similar task with regard to the 
 cabbage, choosing for its depredations the junction of the 
 stem and leaves. 
 
 The second species on Woodcut LXXIV. is called Musca 
 chlons, and the two are introduced so as to show the construc- 
 tion of the most conspicuous parts of these insects. 
 
 On account of its colour, this insect is sometimes called the 
 Green-bottle, in contradistinction to the -Blue-bottle. Its 
 colour is bright shining green, slightly inclining to blue, or 
 taking a golden gloss. There is a black stripe upon the crown of 
 the head. The eyes are brownish-red, and are divided in the 
 female by a broad band, and in the males by a narrow one. 
 The name chloris is Greek, and signifies green. The insect 
 is tolerably common, and is very active and quick on the wing, 
 so that it is not easily caught. 
 
 Fig. a shows the antenna of Anthomyia, the very long and 
 almost cylindrical third joint being armed with a feathered 
 bristle. Fig. c shows in outline five of the facets which go to 
 make up the compound eye of the insect. If dissected, this 
 is shown to be a very wonderful structure, each of the facets being 
 then seen to be the termination of a separate eye. Every 
 one of these facets is set, so to speak, in a frame, which is, 
 for the most part, hexagonal, like a honeycomb, but at the 
 
THE HOUSE-FLY. 631 
 
 edges becomes either pentagonal or even square. It consists of 
 a conical transparent body, called the cone, which is set in a layer 
 of dark red pigment. If a fly be cruslied, this pigment escapes, 
 and looks just like blood. Then follows the 'rod,' a delicate 
 fibre which connects the cone with nerve-centres in the head. 
 
 The whole of this structure has been thoroughly worked out 
 by Mr. B. T. Lowne in his valuable monograph on ' The 
 Anatomy and Physiology of the Blow-Fly,' a work which every 
 entomologist ought to possess, as the information which it 
 gives does not merely relate to the particular insect of which 
 the author treats, but explains the structure of various other 
 insects. Having myself dissected great numbers of Blow-Flies, 
 I am qualified to express an opinion on the subject, and to 
 appreciate the careful pains and labour that the author has 
 bestowed upon his investigations. 
 
 At Fig. b is given an outline drawing of the foot, with its 
 two pads. The structure of this member has already been 
 described, so that we need not refer to it again. At Fig. e is 
 given a side view of the proboscis, showing its right lobe. 
 This instrument forms a most beautiful object in the micro- 
 scope. The two lobes are then seen to be traversed by a 
 number of air-tubes of a rather peculiar structure, all radiating 
 from two principal tubes, one to each lobe. 
 
 Generally the air-tubes or trachese of insects are kept in 
 shape by a spiral thread between the two layers of which, 
 they are composed, but in the air-tubes of the proboscis the 
 place of the spiral thread is taken by a number of incomplete 
 rings, called false tracheae. These incomplete rings look some- 
 thing like the ancient torque, or, to speak more familiarly, like 
 a horse-shoe. The open part of each ring is downward, and 
 the result of this structure is that they form a sort of strainer 
 through which the liquid portions of their food are passed. 
 The shape of this curious organ is greatly varied, and although 
 the proboscis of every Fly agrees in the principles of its 
 construction, there are not any two species which have it 
 exactly alike. 
 
 At Fig. 1 of Woodcut LXXV. is shown the common House- 
 Fly {Musca domestica), slightly magnified. In all the insects 
 belonging to this genus, the transformation is conducted in 
 
632 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 mucli the same manner. When the larva is full-fed, the skiu 
 hardens into an oval cocoon, and the pupa is thus developed 
 within its original larval skin. 
 
 To this enormous group belongs the Blow-Fly or Blue-bottle 
 {Musca vomitoria\vih\ch. is so very familiar in our houses, and 
 is so apt to deposit its eggs upon meat that even approaches 
 decomposition. Here I may mention that the oval meat-safes, 
 like dish-covers, which are so largely sold for the purpose of 
 keeping the Blow-Flies from the meat, do entirely exclude the 
 Flies, but they do not exclude the eggs, so that the cook who 
 has covered the meat carefully with one of these safes, often 
 finds that, in spite of her precautions, the meat is as ' fly-blown ' 
 as if it had been totally exposed to the Blue-bottles. The fact 
 is, when the mother insect finds that she cannot gain actual 
 access to the meat, she goes to the top of the cover, and lets 
 her eggs drop through the meshes of the wire gauze. 
 
 Then there is another insect, popularly called the Flesh-Fly 
 or the Baker {Musca or Sarcophaga carnaria\ which proceeds 
 in a different and more expeditious way. With the Blue-bottle 
 the eggs have to be hatched after they are deposited, but with 
 the Flesh-Fly they are deposited as maggots, being hatched 
 within the body of the parent. If the female be dissected 
 before she has deposited her young, a most curious spectacle is 
 disclosed. The abdomen is almost entirely filled with two 
 white rolls, like riband, and when these rolls are examined 
 with the microscope, they are seen to consist of a vast number 
 of tiny maggots, placed side by side in perfect order. Each of 
 these rolls contains from eight to ten thousand larvae ; and the 
 reader may easily imagine how rapid is the demolition of the 
 substances on which one of these Flies deposits her multi- 
 tudinous young. 
 
 It was to this species that Linnaeus referred when he wrote 
 the apparent paradox that three Flies could eat an ox as fast as 
 a lion. The Fly does not even wait for decomposition, or at 
 all events can detect incipient decomposition long before it is 
 apparent to the human senses ; for I have often found that if a 
 recently-killed mouse or bird be allowed to lie in any exposed 
 place for an hour or two, vast numbers of these tiny larvae will 
 be deposited upon it, the mother Fly having taken the pre- 
 caution to place them under the wings, in the mouth, at the 
 
THE COW-DUNG FLIES. 
 
 633 
 
 junction of the legs with the body, or, if the creature be lying on 
 the ground, upon the surface of the body that is next to the earth. 
 This is not the only Ply that deposits its young in this 
 curious manner, but I have selected the best known species as 
 an example of the group. 
 
 On Woodcut LXXV., at Figs. 2 and 3, are shown two 
 species of the well-known Dung-Flies, of which the common 
 
 1. Musca domestica. 2. Scatophaga scybalaria. 
 
 a. Scatophaga scybalaria, antenna. 
 
 3. Scatophaga stercoraria. 
 b. Do., tongue. 
 
 Cow-Du^TG Fly {Scatophctga stercoraria) is the most plentiful. 
 In this genus the last joint of the antenna is rather long, the 
 head is spherical, and the body covered with stiff hairs. These 
 Flies may always be found in fields frequented by cows, as it is 
 upon the dung of these animals that the larvffi are fed. 
 
 The most remarkable point in the economy of these insects 
 is the development of the e'^g;. It is necessary for the due 
 
634 INSECTS AT HOIVIE. 
 
 hatching of the young that the egg should be kept in a state 
 of moisture as well as warmth, and this point is secured by 
 depositing the egg in the recent cow-dung. This, however, is 
 not all. If the egg becomes dry, it shrivels up and the young 
 maggot is never hatched, while, if it should sink entirely, 
 it is drowned, so to speak, the egg requiring air as well as 
 moisture. 
 
 This object is attained in a very simple but effective manner. 
 The egg is shaped something like that of the domestic fowl, 
 being larger at one end than at the other. At the large end, 
 two horn-like appendages project from the egg and diverge 
 from each other, their roots being about one-third of the 
 length of the egg from the upper part, so that the egg cannot 
 sink deeper than the horns. When the time comes for the 
 hatching of the larva, the egg opens at the wide end, and the 
 young grub escapes through the opening. These eggs may be 
 found in plenty, more than a hundred being stuck into a space 
 scarcely wider than a man's hand. The larva is conical in 
 shape, thf^ head being at the apex of the cone, and the broadest 
 or tail end being armed with a number of little fleshy points. 
 
 The common yellow Cow-dung Fly is too well known to need 
 description. The other species, Scatophaga scybalaria, which 
 is shown at Fig. 2, is orange-ochreous in colour, but through 
 the soft yellow hair a number of black bristles protrude. The 
 thorax and scutellum are brownish, and the first segment of the 
 abdomen is ashen-grey. The wings are slightly iridescent and 
 brown, inclining to orange on the costal margin. The tips of 
 the thighs of the hind legs are black. 
 
 On Woodcut LXXVI. Fig. 1 is a magnified representation of 
 a little Fly called Phora ahdominalis. In this genus the 
 third joint of the antennae, instead of being long and nearly 
 cylindrical, is almost spherical. The margin of the wings is 
 fringed. The name of ahdoviinalis is given to this species on 
 account of the form of the abdomen, which is broad at the base 
 and tapers rapidly to the tip. One of the hind legs is shown at 
 Fig. b, and a profile view of the head is given at Fig. a. 
 
 The colour of this species is glossy black, and the head is 
 irregularly and coarsely pimctured. The palpi are orange. 
 The thorax is downy, the abdomen rust-red, and the wings 
 
THE EOT-FLIES. 
 
 635 
 
 yellowish, with brown nervures. Some of these insects were 
 patched from larvce found attached to the pupae of ladybirds. ' 
 
 The larvae of these Flies are found to feed on various 
 substances, some being believed to be parasitic on other larvae, 
 and others having been observed to feed on vegetable sub- 
 stances. For example, the larva of one species, Phone dauci, 
 
 LXXVl 
 
 1. Phora abdominalis. 2. Omithoniyia fringillaria. a. Phora abdominalis : head, 
 
 side view. b. Do., leg. c. Oriiithomyia fringillaria, leg. d. Do., maxilla. 
 
 was seen to feed upon the interior of decaying radish-roots. 
 The larva is nearly cylindrical in shape, but is slightly nar- 
 rowed in front. The last segment of the body has eight 
 radiating points, like those of the one or two larvae which have 
 been described, and there are also two spiracles on the same 
 segment. 
 
 We now come to the small but important family of the 
 CEstridae, popularly known as Bot-Flies. In these insects the 
 
C36 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 parts of the mouth are quite undeveloped, the whole of the 
 structures being represented by two or three little tubercles. 
 In the perfect state, therefore, these Flies are quite harm- 
 less, but in their larval condition they are hurtful to various 
 animals. In fact, all our cattle are attacked by these insects, 
 which are parasitic upon or in them, and not even the thick- 
 skinned camel and rhinoceros are exempt from them. 
 
 One of these insects, the common Bot-fly {Gasterophilua 
 equi) is shown on Plate XX. Fig. 3. Its Life history is briefly 
 as follows : — 
 
 The mother insect flies about a horse, and with its ovipo- 
 sitor places an egg on the hair of some part which the horse is 
 sure to lick. The egg is thus taken up by the tongue and con- 
 veyed into the stomach, where it is hatched. The larva then 
 attaches itself to the inner membrane of the stomach, and 
 appears to feed upon the secretions. 
 
 The number of these larvae which will inhabit the stomach 
 of the horse is really wonderful. I have seen the interior of that 
 organ so covered with them that the surface of the stomach 
 was completely hidden by their depending bodies. In form 
 they are nearly cylindrical, but the body is suddenly narrowed 
 towards the head, which is armed with a number of little 
 hooks, by which the grub attaches itself to the interior of the 
 stomach. They remain within the stomach of the horse 
 throughout the winter, and in the spring they are full-fed and 
 loosen their hold of the stomach. They are then carried 
 through the intestines and fall to the ground, into which they 
 at once burrow and there assume their pupal form. The pro- 
 cess of transformation Itists about three weeks, and at the 
 expiration of that time the perfect fly appears. 
 
 Opinions are greatly divided as to the effect produced on the 
 horse by these larvae. Some of our best authorities, Mr. 
 Youatt among the number, believe that they do no harm, 
 while some go so far as to think that their presence is bene- 
 ficial. I cannot but think, however, that as these larvae derive 
 all their nourishment from substances within the stomach of the 
 horse, they must abstract a corresponding amount from the 
 nourishment of the horse, and that, whether they cause incon- 
 venience or not to the animal, their presence must be in some 
 way hurtful to it. 
 
THE BREEZE-FLIES. 637 
 
 The generic name Gasteropliilus is formed from two Greek 
 words, and signifies ' belly-loving.' It has been gi^en to the 
 insect in consequence of the habits of the larvae. It is rather 
 a pretty insect, and has some resemblance to an Andrena. 
 The .thorax is black, partly covered with warm chestnut down, 
 and the abdomen is alternately banded with ruddy chestnut 
 and black. The wings are slightly clouded with brown. 
 
 There are several other insects belonging to this family, 
 each of which selects some particular animal for its home. 
 
 There is, for example, the Wdrble Breeze-fly, or Gad-fly 
 {(Estriis bovis), the economy of which is Very remarkable, the 
 creature seeming to produce much the same effect upon the ox 
 that the gall-flies do upon plants. Instead of being taken into 
 the stomach of the animal, as is the case with the last-mentioned 
 species, this species never penetrates further than the skin. 
 
 Into the skin the larva burrows as soon as hatched, and it is 
 remarkable that the female insect takes as much care to place 
 the egg on the back where the tongue of the ox cannot reach 
 it, as the Bot-fly to place the egg where the tongue of the 
 horse has easy access to it. Beneath, or rather in, the thick- 
 ness of the skin, the larva makes its residence, its head being 
 downwards and its wide tail upwards, so as to receive air into 
 the two spiracles which are there placed. The habitation of 
 the Wurble, as the grub is called, is made evident by a small 
 swelling, in the upper part of which is an opening through 
 which the tail end of the larva can be seen. 
 
 When it is full-fed, the larva retrogrades out of its habita- 
 tion and falls to the earth. No sooner is it fairly on the 
 ground than it begins to burrow, and then undergoes its trans- 
 formations underground, exactly as has been stated of the 
 Bot-fly. The colour of this species is brownish, the base of the 
 abdomen is covered with grey down, and the rest is ruddy 
 chestnut. 
 
 Then there is the Sheep-fly {(Estrus ovis), a smaller, greyer, 
 and more slender species. The female of this insect selects 
 the nostril of the sheep as the place whereon she is about to 
 deposit her eggs. The sheep are very much afraid of this 
 insect, and do all in their power to rid themselves of their 
 
038 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 enemy, rubbing their noses against the ground, shaking their 
 heads, aucf rushing about in all directions. Their exertions are, 
 however, useless. Sooner or later, the fly succeeds in depositing 
 her eggs just inside the nostril, and there leaves them. They 
 are soon hatched, and then the young larva, which is furnished 
 with hooked appendages to its head, crawls up the nostril, and 
 fixes itself in the frontal sinus. Its life then much resembles 
 that of the other insects of the family. 
 
 Antelopes are known to be specially subject to the attacks of 
 the Gad Fly, and all African hunters say that the head of the 
 gnu is never found to be without at least one Gad Fly grub in 
 the frontal sinus. 
 
 We now come to the last great division of the Diptera, the 
 Thoracocephala, or those insects whose heads are sunk in the 
 thorax. Like the preceding insects, they are all parasitic, but 
 they differ in many points from them. In the first place, 
 there is the position of the head, to which reference has just 
 been made, and besides, the antennae are differently arranged, 
 and the mode of transformation is different. In consequence 
 of these peculiarities, it has been thought by several eminent 
 entomologists that these insects ought not to be ranked with 
 the Diptera, but to be constituted into a separate order, to 
 which the name of Homaloptera was given. It has now, how- 
 ever, been decided that they really are Diptera, though they 
 form a very divergent branch of that great order. 
 
 They are divided into two families, the first of which is 
 named Hippoboscidae. This term is composed of two Greek 
 words, the former signifying a horse, and the latter, to feed 
 upon. How thoroughly appropriate is the word, anyone can 
 tell who has driven or ridden a horse when the Flies are 
 about. They are very active on foot, and can run sideways as 
 fast as they can forward, burying themselves among the hair 
 or feathers of the creature which they attack. In some of the 
 insects the wings are entirely wanting, as is the case with the 
 very common Sheep-Tick [Melophagus ovinus). I need 
 scarcely say that the name is entirely a wrong one, inasmuch 
 as the Sheep-tick is an insect, and the true ticks belong to 
 quite a different class of beings. This, being very plentiful, 
 will serve as an excellent example of the Hippoboscidae. It 
 
THE SIIEEP-TICK. 639 
 
 can be found without difficulty upon almost any sheep ; but to 
 get it away without damagino- it is not a very easy task, the 
 hooked and powerful legs grasping the wool as if with six pairs 
 of pincers, and the insect pushing its way deeper and deeper 
 in the fleece as it thinks itself in danger. While thus engaged 
 in evading the pursuer, the Sheep- tick looks so very much like 
 a spider that the French call it the Spider Fly. 
 
 The whole structure of the head and beak of this insect is 
 very remarkable, and it is not very easy to trace the analysis of 
 the various parts of the mouth. If one of these insects be 
 examined with a microscope, the front of the head is seen to 
 be furnished with two rather long, curved, pointed, horny 
 plates, covered with bristles, between which lie the setse or 
 piercing organs. Mr. Westwood tliinks that these instruments 
 are intended for the purpose of pushing away the hair of the 
 animal on which the Fly is feeding, so that the setae may 
 penetrate the more deeply into the skin. 
 
 It is evident that these projecting horny processes would be 
 very much in the way of the Sheep-tick when it travels to and 
 fro through the wool. If, however, the insect be turned over, 
 so that the under surface can be seen, the mode in which this 
 difficulty is overcome is at once evident. On the under surface 
 of the thorax there is a deep pit, extending beyond the fore- 
 legs as far as the base of the middle pair of legs. When the 
 head is bent downwards, the two horny projections, together 
 with the piercing and sucking apparatus of the mouth, are 
 sunk completely into the pit, so that nothing is presented to 
 the wool but a perfectly smooth and shining surface which can 
 easily glide between the fibres. 
 
 The colour of the Sheep-tick is yellow-brown, and the thorax 
 and limbs are polished and granulated. The legs are re- 
 markably strong, and the claws are jet-black and shining. 
 In shape they very much resemble the incurved claws of the 
 sloth, and the analogy between them is carried out in their 
 action as well as in their form. Just as the hooked claws of 
 the sloth enable it to raove with great activity among the 
 branches, swinging itself from bough to bough as easily as does 
 a monkey, so do the similar claws of the Sheep-tick enable 
 the insect to traverse the thick wool, among the fibres of 
 
G40 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 which it travels with a vapidity that seems scarcely possible in 
 such a locality. 
 
 I never saw a sloth on a level or smooth surface, but it is 
 well-known that the long and curved claws which are so useful 
 among the branches, are absolutely impediments when the 
 creature is on flat and hard ground on which its claws have no 
 hold. Similarly, I find that whereas the common Flies can- 
 move about actively enough on glass, even though it be 
 upright, the Sheep-tick is quite at a loss when placed on a 
 plate or any similarly smooth substance. Under such circum- 
 stances it moves its legs with great rapidity, but does not suc- 
 ceed in making much progress, and the unwonted effect of its 
 exertions seems to throw it into quite a fever of fright and 
 anxiety. 
 
 This is one of the wingless species. It is so completely 
 without wings that even the practised eye of the entomologist, 
 aided by the microscope, can hardly detect the undeveloped 
 rudiments of these organs. The insect, indeed, seems to be 
 nothing but legs and abdomen, the latter being nearly flat and 
 round, this shape being intended to serve a purpose which will 
 presently be described. 
 
 On Woodcut LXXVI. Fig. 2 is given a figure of the Finch 
 Fly ( Ornithomyia fringillaria). 
 
 On the right hand of the Fly, and at Fig. d, is drawn the 
 under part of the head, so as to show the horny projections 
 which have already been mentioned in the description of the 
 Sheep-tick. Mr. Kirby remarks that he has himself suffered 
 from the attacks of one of the Ornithomyise, which would 
 persist in alighting on his head, and driving their beaks into his 
 skin. He succeeded in catching two specimens, and found 
 them to be Ornithomyia avicularia. 
 
 The colour of our present species is ochreous, changing in 
 some lights to green. The head and thorax are shining 
 yellow mottled with brown, and having a faint line down the 
 middle of the back. The abdomen is dull green and hairy, 
 the legs are bright green, and the claws jet black. The wings 
 are iridescent and smoky. This is the smallest species of its 
 genus, and it is found on various small birds, such as the tit- 
 mouse, the yellow-hammer, and the robin. 
 
THE HORSE-FLY. 
 
 641 
 
 On Woodcut LXXVII. Fig. 1 is shown the insect which has 
 been accepted as the type of its family. This is the too fami- 
 liar HoRSE-FLT {Hippobosca equina). 
 
 This very plentiful and very unpleasant insect is an absolujbe 
 pest to those who have to deal with spirited horses, especially 
 when passing through woods. The Flies settle in numbers on 
 
 LXXVII 
 
 1. Hippobosca equina. 2. Stenopteryx hirundinis. a. Hippobosca equina, antenna. 
 
 6. Do., maxilla. c. Do., fore-leg. d. Stenopteryx hirundinis, fore-leg. e. Do., lip and 
 tongue. /. Do., antenna. 
 
 the animal, and cling so tightly with their hooked claws that 
 they cannot be shaken off by any efforts of the aggrieved 
 quadruped. They cluster round its eyes, get behind its ears, 
 under the belly, and, if they can, creep under the tail. All 
 the angry lashings of that organ do not in the least affect their 
 flat and tough bodies, and the repeated pricks of their sharp 
 beaks sometimes irritate a sensitive horse to such a degree that 
 it runs away, in the vain hope of escaping its persecutors. 
 
 T T 
 
642 INSECTS AT HOilE. 
 
 The life history of this insect is very remarkable. 
 
 Fortunately for horses, the Horse Fly is anything but pro- 
 lific, producing its young in a mode which is, I believe, con- 
 fined to insects of this gr(5up. The mother Horse Fly never 
 lays more than one egg, but then that egg is a phenomenon. 
 In truth, it ought not to be called an egg, having no more 
 right to that title than the so-called ' ants' eggs ' which have 
 already been described. The reader may remember that tlie 
 eggs of certain Flies are hatched in the body of the jmrent, 
 so that they are deposited in the larval and not the egg state. 
 The Hippobosca goes a step further. The egg, as it appears to 
 be, is no egg at all, but the skin of the larva, within which 
 the pupa is formed, so that the young Hippobosca is already a 
 pupa when it enters the world. 
 
 When first produced, the puparium (to use the scientific 
 term) is white ; but it soon darkens, and becomes quite hard 
 and tough. If it be opened carefully, within it may be found 
 the pupa, an odd-looking, crab-like being, with the legs tightly 
 folded over the body. When the time comes for the assump- 
 tion of the perfect state, it throws off the pupal skin, which it 
 leaves within the puparium, pushes off the end of the case in 
 which it had resided, and emerges as a perfect insect. 
 
 The chief points in the external anatomy of this insect are 
 given on the same Woodcut. Fig. a represents one of the 
 antennse separated from the head. Fig. b is the part of the 
 mouth containing the diverging horns which have already been 
 mentioned, and Fig. c represents one of the fore-legs, wath its 
 very powerful thigh, and its black, incurved claws. 
 
 At Fig. 2 of the same Woodcut is seen the Swallow Flt 
 {Stenopteryx hirundinis), so called because it is found almost 
 exclusively on the swallow tribe. The generic name is formed 
 from two Grreek words signifying ' narrow-winged,' and is very 
 appropriate, as may be seen by reference to the illustration. 
 
 Mr. Kirby mentions that this Fly sometimes attacks human 
 beings : — ' One found its way into the bed of the Eev. E. 
 Sheppard, where it first, for several nights, sorely annoyed a 
 friend of his, and afterwards himself, without their suspecting 
 the culprit. After a close search, however, it was discovered, 
 in the form of this Fly, which, forsaking the nest of the 
 
THE BIRD-FLIES. 643 
 
 swallow, had by some chance taken its station between the 
 sheets, and thus glutted itself with the blood of man.' 
 
 Mr. Shejipard remarks, as a reason for this dereliction of 
 their appropriate food, that no sooner does life depart from the 
 bird that these Flies infest, than they immediately desert it 
 and take flight, alighting upon the first living creature that 
 they meet with ; which, if it be not a bird, they soon quit, 
 but, as it should seem from the above facts, not until they 
 have made a trial how it will suit them as food.' 
 
 The fore-leg' of this insect is shown at Fig. d, the lip and 
 tongue at e, and the antenna at /. These organs should be 
 compared with those of the previously described insects, as by 
 their means identification becomes easy. 
 
 The generic name of the insect represented on Woodcut 
 LXXVIII. Fig. 1 is formed from two Grreek words, signifying 
 ' blood-devourer,' and is very appropriate. Its scientific name 
 is Hccmobora pallipes. I believe it is not common enough to 
 have any popular name. 
 
 The general colour of this insect is shining greenish-yellow, 
 clouded with brown. The eyes and claws are black. Beneath, 
 the thorax is boldly punctured, and covered with short and 
 strong hairs. The wings are nearly transparent, with yellow 
 nervures, and slightly ciliated on the costal margin. The 
 insect is found in the New Forest, attacking indiscriminately 
 any kind of quadruped. 
 
 The points in which this insect differs from those which have 
 hitherto been described are shown in the illustration. Fig. a 
 gives the front view of its head, which, as will at once be seen, 
 is very dififerent from that of the other Hippoboscidae. The 
 wings, too, are very much larger in proportion, and have a few 
 ver distinct nervures. The antenna is featliered, and tlie 
 fore-leg, as shown at 6, is short and strong. The peculiar form 
 of the mentum, with its array of bristles, is showai at c. 
 
 The second family of this group, or Nycteribiidge, has the 
 head very small and set on the back or upper part of the 
 thorax, and it cannot be bent down into a cavity of the under 
 surface of the thorax, as is the case with the preceding insect. 
 They are without wings, but Mr. \\^estwood thinks that a pair 
 
 T T 2 
 
644 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 of curious little organs, like semi-circular combs, which are 
 at the base of the intermediate legs, are the representatives of 
 wings. The thorax is flat, and seems to be made almost 
 entirely of the first joints of the legs, which are very long in 
 proportion to the size of the body. 
 
 There is a peculiarity in the legs of these insects which is 
 worthy of notice. The basal joint of the tarsus, instead of 
 
 LXXVIII 
 
 1. Hjemobora pallipe3. 2. Nycteribia Latreilli. 
 
 b. Do., leg. c. Do., mentutn. d. Nycteribia, leg. 
 
 a. Haemobora, front view. 
 e. Do., head, side view. 
 
 being small and short, as is usually the case, is very long, and 
 in fact, though not so thick, is quite as long as the tibia itself. 
 Indeed, were it separated from the rest of the limb, it would be 
 certainly mistaken for the tibia. The claws, too, are so large 
 that they remind the observer of the sting of the scorpion. 
 One of the legs is shown at Fig. d of Woodcut LXXVIII. 
 
 On Woodcut LXXVIII. is shown the insect popularly called 
 the Bat-Louse, because it is never found except on the bat. The 
 
THE BAT-LOUSE. 645 
 
 name, though, is quite as inappropriate as that of the Wood- 
 Louse, both words signifying creatures which belong to different 
 classes in the animal kingdom. Its colour is ochreous and 
 shining. The hinder part of the thorax is deeply waved, and 
 it is punctured beneath, with a channel down the centre. The 
 abdomen is ochreous brown, and the legs are covered with hair, 
 the tibiae being very broad and fiat. It is plentiful on the com- 
 mon Bat ( Vespertilio murinus), so that tliere is no difficulty in 
 procuring this curious insect. If a bat be killed, and taken into 
 the hand, the Nycteribise immediately crawl from beneath the 
 hairs of the dead animal, and crowd upon the hand of the holder. 
 As long as the animal is alive they remain upon it, but no sooner 
 is the life extinct than the Nycteribise desert it, and fasten upon 
 the first living being that they can find, just as has been related 
 of the Bird Flies. In some mysterious manner they know at 
 once that the life, which constitutes their home, has fled, and 
 they at once desert the empty tenement. 
 
 OuK task is now ended, and all that remains is to see how to 
 prepare — or ' set,' as is the technical term — insects which are 
 taken as specimens for the cabinet. On Fig. 1 of the accom- 
 panying illustration, the little black dot shows the spot at 
 which the pin ought to be inserted in all Beetles that are more 
 than a quarter of an inch in length. Even those of smaller 
 size can be thus treated, provided that the entomologist use 
 one of the fine pins which are employed for this special 
 purpose, and can be obtained at any of the naturalists' shops. 
 
 The best pins are gilt, so as to prevent them from producing 
 that abominable green verdigris which is almost invariably to 
 be found springing from the spot where the pin pierces the 
 insect, and which so often covers and spoils the insect itself. 
 Beetles of smaller size should be set on little strips of white 
 card-board, some transparent cement being used for the purpose. 
 In this case, one specimen at least should be set on its back, so 
 as to show the imder side, on which the entomologist often 
 finds the princijDal distinguishing characteristics. The same 
 rule applies to Earwigs, Grrasshoppers, and their kin. It is 
 always as well to set one specimen with spread wings, when 
 those organs are present. 
 
646 
 
 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 Fig. 2 shows the place of the pin in Butterflies, Moths, Bees, 
 Flies, Dragon-flies, and their kin, and indeed in all insects 
 where the wings are spread. Fig. 4 shows the manner in 
 which the card braces are used for the purpose of fixing the 
 wings, and Fig. 3 shows a section of the ' setting-board,' the 
 upper part being made of cork. 
 
 LXXIX 
 
 SETTING INSECTS FOR THE CABINET. 
 
 Such a board, however, is ratlier a luxury than a necessity. 
 Cutting a groove in cork is a very difficult business, and can 
 scarcely be done by any except a professional cork-cutter, 
 whose instruments are specially made for the purpose, are as 
 keen-edged as razors, and are sharpened after every cut that is 
 made with them. I have found, for my part, that it is quite 
 sufficient to fasten two strips of cork side by side on a jjiece of 
 soft wood, leaving between them a space just sufficient for the 
 body of the insect. 
 
SETTING INSECTS. 647 
 
 While the process of drying is going on — a process that 
 takes from one to five weeks, according to the size of the insect 
 — the boards must be protected from dust and the attacks of 
 other insects. I have always employed a ' setting-box,' which 
 can be made by any lad with the least notion of carpentering. 
 Take any conveniently sized box, with a closely fitting lid, cut 
 a large square piece out of the lid, another out of the bottom 
 of the box, and supply their place with wire gauze. Turn the 
 box on its side, so that the lid opens like a door, and nail strips 
 of wood on either end, so that a number of setting boards can 
 be placed on them, like shelves in a book-case. Leave two 
 inches clear space between the boards. Such a box is particu- 
 larly useful, as it can be shifted from place to place at the will 
 of the owner, and can be arranged in any spot where there is a 
 draught of dry air. 
 
 Care must be taken not to dry insects too rapidly, as the 
 wings generally warp and the body shrinks. Provided that a 
 current of dry air be kept up, the process of drying cannot be 
 too long, and above all things the young entomologist should 
 avoid the fife. It is very tempting to dry an insect by the aid 
 of the fire in half the time that would be occupied by the 
 ordinary process, but such temptations must be strenuously 
 resisted if the collector wishes to have specimens worthy of his 
 cabinet. 
 
 If an insect be badly set, it can easily be relaxed by a very 
 simple process. Bury in the ground a good sized flower- pot, 
 and get a flat stone that will perfectly cover it. Pin the insect 
 on a piece of cork, put it into the flower-pot, cover it over 
 completely, and in two or three days the wings and legs will 
 be relaxed, and can be reset as easily as if the creatm-e were 
 recently killed. In the British Museum there is a neat con- 
 trivance on the same principle. In shallow earthen vessels 
 witif tightly fitting covers a layer of sand is placed. The sand 
 is kept damp, and when insects have to be relaxed, they are 
 simply placed in the pan, which is then covered and put 
 aside until the dried limbs are sufliciently moistened. 
 
 I am often asked to give hints as to the proper construction 
 of a cabinet, and my reply is, that, unless the entomologist has • 
 plenty of money, he had better not have a cabinet at all. A 
 good cabinet is a very expensive affair, and to procure one 
 
648 INSECTS AT HOME. 
 
 cheaply is out of the question. A guinea j^er drawer is the 
 invariable price of a cabinet, and it is impossible to buy one 
 for less than that sum. Now, as the British Beetles alone will 
 occupy from twenty-five to thirty drawers, and the British 
 Moths at least the same number, it is evident that if the col- 
 lector desires to put up all his insects in cabinets, he will not 
 see much change out of a hundred pounds. 
 
 It is useless even to look out for second-hand cabinets, for 
 they cost quite as much as if they were new ; and, indeed, any 
 practical entomologist would much rather bay an old cabinet 
 than a new one, because he wo aid be sure that no part of it 
 would warp. There are very few joiners who know how to 
 make an entomological cabinet, and of these few it is almost 
 impossible to find one who will not use unseasoned wood in 
 those places where he thinks it will not be seen. 
 
 I strongly recommend the young entomologist not to trouble 
 himself about cabinets, but to purchase some ordinary entomo- 
 logic boxes, the cost of which is comparatively trifling, and 
 which are just as efficacious as cabinets in the preservation of 
 insects. It is as well to label them on the back, so that a 
 glance will tell the owner which box he will need, when 
 he comes to put another insect in it. The two first boxes in 
 my own collection are thus labelled : — 
 
 COLEOPTERA COLEOPTERA 
 
 1. 2. 
 
 CICINDELA . . . AMARA. AMARA . . . HYGROTUS. 
 
 The best mode of arranging the insects in the drawers or- 
 boxes appears to a novice to be a waste of time and space, and 
 to be considerably disheartening to boot. Complete lists, which 
 can be purchased at the professional naturalists, should be 
 obtained, cut up, and pinned or otherwise fastened to the floor 
 of the boxes in regular rows, a space being left between the 
 names for the insertion of the insects when they are obtained. 
 Of course, the spaces needed will depend very much on the 
 size of the insect, and the best plan is to leave room for four 
 rows of insects, two or three abreast, according to their size. 
 At first, the number of blanks is quite appalling, but after a 
 while the eye becomes familiarised to them, and then each 
 
AEEANGE]\IENT OF SPECIMENS. 649 
 
 blank becomes a sort of challenge, calling upon the collector to 
 fill it up. Thus, a perpetual interest is taken in tlie collection, 
 and the proprietor regards it with increasing pride, as year by 
 year the blanks become filled up, and their places are taken by 
 row upon row of well-set insects. 
 
SYSTEMATIC INDEX. 
 
 Order, COLEOPTERA. 
 
 Sec. GEODEPHAGA 
 
 Family, CiciNDELiWiE, 14 
 Genus, Cicindela, 14 
 Species, — campestris, 15 
 
 — germanica, 17 
 
 — mariiima, 19 
 Fam. Lebiad^e, 19 
 
 Gen. Lebia, 20 
 
 Sp. — crux-minor, 20 
 
 — cyanocephala, 21 
 
 — chlorocephala, 21 
 Gen. Dromius, 21 
 
 Sp. — quadrimaciilatus, 
 
 •22 
 Gen. Tarus, 22 
 Sp. — axillaris, 22 
 Gen. Brachinus, 23 ^ 
 Sp. explodens, 23 
 Fam. ScARiTiD.E, 24 
 Gen. Cli\'ina, 25 
 Sp. — fossor, 25 
 Gen. Dyschirius, 30 
 Fam. CAnABiD.s;, 31 ' 
 Gen. Carabus, 31 
 Sp. — monilis, 31 
 
 — auratus, 32 
 
 — cancellatus, 32 
 
 — intricatus, 33 
 
 — violaceus, 33 
 Gen. Notiophilus, 34 
 Sp. — higuttatus, 34 
 Gen. Nebria, 3o 
 
 Sp. — brevicollis, 35 
 
 Gen. Calosoma, 36 
 
 Sp. — sycophanta, 36 
 
 — i^iquisitor, 39 
 Gen. Cychrus, 40 
 
 Sp. — rostratus, 40 
 
 Fam. CHi,.aExrrD^, 41 
 
 Gen. Pogonus, 41 
 
 Sp. — luridipennis, 41 
 
 Gen. Pristonychus, 42 
 
 Sp. — terricola, 42 
 
 Gen. Sphodrus, 42 
 
 Sp. — leucopthalmns. 42 
 
 Gen. Calathus, 43 
 
 Sp. — cistdoidcs, 43 
 
 Gen. Anchomenus, 43. 
 
 Sp. — dorsalis, 43 
 
 Fam. Feroniid^, 44 
 
 Gen. Pterostichus, 45 
 
 Sp. — madidus, 45 
 
 Gen. Broscus, 45 
 
 Sp. — cephalotes, 45 
 
 Gen. Amara, 46 
 
 Sp. — obsoleta, 46 
 
 Fam. Haepalid.s;, 48 
 
 Gen. Harpalus, 48 
 
 Sp. — ceneus, 48 
 
 Gen. Stenolophus, 49 
 
 Sp. — Skriynshiranus, 49 
 
 Gen. iEpys, 49 
 
 Sp. — mari7ius, 49 
 
 Fam. BEMBiniiDJE, 50 
 
 Gen. Cillenium, 50 
 
 Sp. — laterale, 50 
 
 Gen. Bembidium, 50 
 
 Sp. — bistriatum, •'•0 
 
 — biguftatuin, 51 
 — fumigation, 51 
 
 — quadriguttatum, 51 
 
 — pallidipmnc, 52 
 
 Sec. HYBBADEPHAGA 
 
 Fam. DmciD^, 54 
 
 Gen. Dyticus, 54 
 
 Sp. — marginalis, 54 
 
 Geu. Agabus, 60 
 
 Sp. — higuttatus, 60 
 
 Gen. Hydroporus, 60 
 
 Sp. — duodec-im-puncta- 
 
 tns, 60 
 Geu. Haliplus, 61 
 Sp. — variegatus, 61 
 Gen. Cnemidotus, 61 
 
 Sp. CCBS21S, 61 
 
 Gen. Pelobius, 62 
 
 Sp. — Hermanni, 62 
 
 F im. Gyrinid^, 62 
 
 Gen. Gyrinus, 63 
 Sp. — natator, 63 
 — bicolor, 64 
 Gen. Orectochilus, 65 
 Sp. — vUlosus, 65 
 
 Sec. BBACHELYTRA 
 
 Fam. AxEOCH.\RiD.E, 67 
 
 Gen. Falagria, 69 
 
 Sp. — sulcata, 69 
 
 Gen. Aleochara, 69 
 
 Sp. — fuscipes, 70 
 
 Gen. Atemeles, 70 
 
 Sp. — emargi?iatus, 70 
 
 Gen. Oxypoda, 70 
 
 Sp. — luteipe7ipis, 70 
 
 Gen. Homalota, 71 
 
 Sp. — brunnea, 71 
 
 Gen. Gyrophsena, 71 
 
 Sp. — gentilis, 71 
 
 Gen. Myrmedonia, 72 
 
 Sp. — Haworthi, 72 
 
 Fam. TACHTPORID.S;, 73 
 
 Gen. Boletobius, 73 
 
 Sp. — atricapillus, 73 
 
 Gen. Quedius, 74 
 
 Sp. , — dilatatus, 74 
 
 — brevis, 75 
 Fam. Staphtlinidje, 75 
 Gen. Creophilus, 76 
 Sp. — maxillosus, 76 
 Gen. Staphylinus, 76 
 Sp. — ccesareus, 76 
 
 — erythropterus, 77 
 Gen. Ocypus, 77 
 
 Sp. — olens, 77 
 Gen. Philonthus, 80 
 Sp. — marginatus, 80 
 Fam. XAXTHOLrNrD.E, 80 
 Gen. Xantholinus, 81 
 Sp. — glabracus, 81 
 Fam. Pjederid.^:, 81 
 Gen. Stilicus, 81 
 Sp. — frag His, 81 
 
652 
 
 SYSTEMATIC INDEX. 
 
 Sp. — geniculatus, 82 
 — orhiculatus, 82 
 Fam. Stenid^, 83 
 Gen. Stenus, 83 
 Sp. — bimaculatus, 83 
 Earn. Omalid^e, 83 
 Gen. Micral^'mma, 84 
 Sp. — brevipenne, 84 
 Gen. Omalium, 84 
 Sp. —florah, 84 
 Gen. Prognatha, 85 
 Sp. — quadrioornis, 85 
 
 Sec. NECROPHAGA 
 
 Fam. SiLPHiDJE, 86 
 Sub-fam. Silphina, 86 
 Gen. Necrophorus, 87 
 Sp. — humator, 90 
 
 — vespiUo, 90 
 Gen. Necrodes, 92 
 Sp. — littoralis, 92 
 Gen. Silpha, 93 
 Sp. — thoracica, 93 
 Sub-fam. Cholevina, 94 
 Gen. Choleva, 95 
 Sp. — angustata, 95 
 Eam. ScydMjEnid.«:, 95 
 Gen. Scydmsenus, 96 
 
 Sp. — tarsatus, 95 
 
 Fam. ANISOTOMID.S;, 96 
 
 Gen. Anisotoma, 96 
 
 Sp. — cinnamomea, 96 
 
 Gen. Agathidiiim, 96 
 
 Sp. — lavigatum, 96 
 
 Fam. II1STERID.E, 97 
 
 Gen. Hister, 97 
 
 Sp. — quadrimaculatus, 9 7 
 
 Fam. NiTinrLiD^, 98 
 
 Sub-fam. Nitidulina, 98 
 
 Gen. Omosita, 98 
 
 Sp. — depressa, 98 
 
 — grisea, 98 
 Gen. Meligethes, 99 
 Sp. — aneus, 99 
 Sub-fam. Ipsina, 99 
 Gen. Eliizophagus, 99 
 Sp. — ferrugineus, 99 
 Fam. CoLyDiiD.s;, 101 
 Gen. Colydium, 101 
 
 Sp. — elongatum, 101 
 
 Gen. Anommatus, 101 
 
 Sp. — duodccim-striatus, 
 
 101 
 Fam. CRYPTOPHA.GID.S:, 102 
 Gen. Cryptophagus, 102 
 Sp. — pUoaus, 102 
 Fam. Mycetophagi, 102 
 Gen. Mycetophagus, 103 
 Sp. — quadripusiidatus, 103 
 
 Fam. DKRMESTID.S), 103 
 Gen. Uerniestes, 103 
 Sp. — lardarius, 1 04 
 Fam. "ByrrhidvE, 105 
 Gen. Byrrhus, 106 
 Sp. — fasciatus, 106 
 
 — jnlula, 106 
 Fam. HETERocEEiDiE, 107 
 Gen. Hetcrocerus, 107 
 Sp. — flexuosiis, 107 
 Fam. Parnid;e, 107 
 Sub-fam. Parnina, 107 
 Sub-fam. Elmina, 107 
 Gen. Elmis, 107 
 Sp. — anev.s, 107 * 
 Fam. Hydrophilid^e, 108 
 Gen. Hydrous, 108 
 Sp. — piceus, 108 
 Fam. SpH.a3RiDiiD.s;, 110 
 Gen. Cercyon, 111 
 !Sp. — anale, 111 
 
 Sec. LAMELLICORNES 
 
 Fam. Getoniid.s;, 112 
 Gen. Cetonia, 112 
 Sp. — aurata, 112 
 Gen. Gnorimus, 114 
 Sp. — nobilis, 114 
 Fam. RxjTELiDJE, 115 
 Gen. Phyllopertha, 115 
 Sp. — horticola, 115 
 Fam. Mei.olonthidje, 115 
 Gen. Melolontha, 115 
 Sp. — vtdgaris, 116 
 Fam. GEOTRUPiDiE, 117 
 Gen. Geotrupes, 118 
 Sp. — stcrcorarius, 118 
 Gen. Typhoeus, 119 
 Sp. — vulgaris, 119 
 Fam. Aphodiid.1;, 121 
 Gen. Aphodius, 121 
 Fam. LrcANiD.aE, 122 
 Gen. Lueanus, 122 
 Sp. — cervus, 122 
 Gen. Dorcus, 124 
 Sp. — parallelopipedus, 
 124 
 
 Sec. STERNOXI 
 
 Fam. BuPRESTiD^, 127 
 
 Gen. Agrilus, 128 
 
 Sp. — biguttatus, 128 
 
 Fam. Elaterid^, 129 
 
 Gen. Elater, 129 
 
 Sp. — sanguineus, 129 
 
 Gen. Campylus, 131 
 
 Sp. — linearis, 131 
 
 Sec. MALACODERMl 
 
 Fam. Lampyrid.*:, 133 
 
 Gen. Lampyris, 133 
 
 Sp. — noctihua, \Z3 
 
 Gen. Drilus, 135 
 
 Sp. — flavescens, 135 
 
 Fam. Ti-XEPHORiDJE, 137 
 
 Gen. Telephorus, 137 
 
 Sp. — fuscus, 1 37 
 
 Fam. CLERiD.ffi, 138 
 
 Gen. Clerus, 138 
 
 Sp. — formicarius, 138 
 
 — apiarius, 139 
 
 — ahcarius, 139 
 Fam. PTINID.E, 139 
 Gen. Anobium, 139 
 
 Sp. — striatum, 139 
 Gen. Niptus, 141 
 Gen. Gibbium, 141 
 Gen. Mezium, 141 
 Sp. — sulcatum, 141 
 
 Sec. HETEROMERA 
 
 Fam, Blaptidje, 143 
 
 Gen. Blaps, 143 
 
 Sp. — mortisaga, \i3 
 
 — niucronata, 144 
 Fam. DiAPERiDJE, 145 
 Gen. Diaperis, 145 
 
 Sp. — boleti, 145 
 Fam. 'TEt^EBRiONiDiE, 146 
 Gen. Tenebrio, 146 
 Sp. — moliior, 146 
 
 — obscurus, 146 
 Fam. Melandryad^, 146 
 Gen. Orchesia, 147 
 
 Sp. — uvdulata, 147 
 
 — micans, 148 
 Gen. Melandrya, 148 
 Sp. — carahiiides, 148 
 Fam. Pyrochroid^, 148 
 Gen, Pyrochroa, 148 
 
 Sp. — coccinea, 148 
 
 — rubens, 149 
 
 Fam. MORDELLIDJE, 150 
 
 Gen. Anaspis, 150 
 
 Sp. — ruficoUis, 150 
 
 Gen. Rhipiphorus, 151 
 
 Sp. — paradoxus, 151 
 
 Fam. Meloid^, 154 
 
 Gen. Meloe, 154 
 
 Sp. — cicatricosus, 154 
 
 — nigosus, 156 
 Gen. Stylops, 157 
 
 Sp. — milittcB, 167 
 Gen. Elenchus, 158 
 Sp. — teniticornis, 158 
 Gen. Lytta, 158 
 
SYSTEMATIC INDEX. 
 
 653 
 
 Sp. — vesicaioria, 158 
 
 Gen. Sitiiris, 159 
 
 Sp. — muralis, 159 
 
 Sec. RHYNCHOPHOEA 
 
 Sub-Sec. OETHOCERI 
 Earn. Bruchid.3E, 162 
 Gen. Bruchus, 162 
 Sp. — rujlmanus, 162 
 Earn. Anthribidvb, 163 
 Gen. Platyrhinxis, 163 
 Sp. — latirostris. \QZ 
 Fam. Attezabidvi;, 164 
 Gen. Attelabus, 164 
 Sp. — curculionoidis, \Q\ 
 Gen. Apoderus, 165 
 Gen. Rhynchites, 166 
 Sp. — Bacchus, 166 
 Gen. Apion, 166 
 Sp. — carduoriC7n. 168 
 
 Sub-Sec. GONATOCERI 
 Fam. Brachtderidj:, 169 
 Gen. Sitones, 169 
 Sp. — lineatus, 169 
 Fam. Cleonid.e. 170 
 Gen. Cleonus, 170 
 Sp. — nebuhsus, 170 
 Gen. Molyfes, 171 
 Sp. — gcrmanvs, 1 7 1 
 Gen. Phytonomus, 172 
 Sp. — tigrinus, 172 
 Earn. Otioehynchid.t;, 173 
 Gen. Otiorhynchus, 173 
 Sp. — picipcs, 173 
 
 — stdcatus, 175 
 
 — ienebricosus, 175 
 Fam. EEmuiNiDiE, 176 
 Gen. Lixus, 177 
 
 Sp. — bicolor, 177 
 
 — 'paraplccticits, 177 
 
 — angustatus, I'J'i 
 Gen. Pissodes, 177 
 
 Sp. — pini, 177 
 Gen. Anthonomus, 178 
 Sp. — pomorum, 178 
 Gen. Tychius, 181 
 Sp. — veniistus, 181 
 Gen. Orchestes, 182 
 Sp. — fagi, 182 
 Earn . Cryptoehynchid^, 
 183 
 
 Gen. Coiliodes, 183 
 Sp. — guercus, 183 
 Gen. Orobites, 184 
 Sp. — a/anctis, 184 
 Earn. Calandeidje, 184 
 Gen. Sitophilus, 184 
 Sp. — oryzcB, 184 
 
 — granarius, 184 
 Earn. Hylesinid^, 186 
 Gen. Hylesinus, 186 
 Sp. — crenatus,\%& 
 Gen. Scolytus, 186 
 Sp. — dcstmctor, 186 
 Gen. Tomicus, 190 
 Sp. — typographicus, 190 
 
 Sec. LONGICORNES 
 
 Fam. PE10N1D.J), 192 
 Gen. Prionus, 192 
 Sp. — coriarius, 192 
 Fam. Cerambycid.s;, 193 
 Gen. Aromia, 193 
 Sp. — moschata, 193 
 Gen. Callidium, 195 
 Sp. — violaceum, 195 
 Gen. Clytus, 196 
 Sp. — arietis, 196 
 Gen. Gracilia, 197 
 Sp. — pygmma, 197 
 Fam. LamiaDjE, 198 
 Gen. Astinomus, 198 
 Sp. — cediUs, 198 
 Gen. Pogonocenis, 200 
 Sp. — pilosus, 200 
 Fam. LEPTcrEiD.s:, 200 
 Gen. Rhagiiim, 200 
 Sp. • — inquisitor, 200 
 
 — bifasciatum, 201 
 Gen. Strangalia, 202 
 Sp. — armata, 202 
 
 Sec. EUPODA 
 
 Fam. DoNAciAD^, 203 
 
 Gen. Donacia, 203 
 
 Sp. — mcvyanthidis, 203 
 
 — nymph(Boides, 205 
 
 — typhce, 205 
 
 — latifolia, 205 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Fam. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Fam. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 iam. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Fam. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Fam. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 — sagitfaria, 205 
 Criocehiii^e, 205 
 Crioceri.s. 205 
 
 — merdigcra, 205 
 
 — asparogi, 206 
 Cryptocephalid^, 206 
 Cryptocephalus, 206 
 
 — rary/i, 206 
 CHRY.-iOMELlDyB, 208 
 
 Timarcha, 208 
 
 — IcBvigata, 208 
 
 — coriacea, 208 
 Chrj'somela, 209 
 
 — stapliylea, 209 
 Prasocuris, 209 
 
 — bcccabungm, 209 
 Halticid.!), 210 
 Phyllotreta, 211 
 
 — brassicw, 211 
 Phylliodes, 213 
 
 — hyoscyand, 213 
 Cassidiidv-e, 213 
 Cassida, 214 
 
 — viridis, 214 
 
 — murroea, 214 
 
 See. PSEUnOTRIMERJ 
 
 Fam. Erotylid^, 215 
 Gen. Triplax, 215 
 Sp. — russica, 215 
 Gen. Engis, 215 
 Earn. CoccinelliDjE, 216 
 Gen. Coccint-lla, 217 
 Sp. — occllata, 217 
 
 — scptenipiinctata, 
 
 217 
 
 — bipunctata, 218 
 Earn. Endomvchid^, 219 
 Gen. Lycoperdina, 219 
 Sp. — bovista, 219 
 Fam. Trichopterid^, 220 
 Gen. Trichopterj'x, 220 
 Sp. — atomaria, 220 
 Fam. PsELAPHiD^. 221 
 Sub-fam. Pselaphinse, 221 
 Gen. Pselaphus, 221 
 
 Sp. — Heisei, 221 
 
 — BnsdeiKnsis, 221 
 Sub-fam. Clavigerina, 222 
 Gen. Claviger, 222 
 
 Sp. ^- foveolatus, 222 
 
 Fam. FoEFrcuLiD.s:, 226 
 
 Gen. Forficula, 226 
 
 Sp. — auricviaria, 226 
 
 Order, DEEMAPTERA. 
 
 Gen. Labia, 228 
 Sp. — minor, 228 
 
 Gen. Labidura, 230 
 Sp- — gigantea, 230 
 
654 
 
 SYSTEMATIC INDEX. 
 
 Sec. CURSOEIA 
 
 "Fam. Blattid-e, 236 
 
 Gen. Blatta, 236 
 
 Sp. — orientalis, 236 
 
 — germanica, 239 
 
 — erketorum, 240 
 
 Order, ORTHOPTERA. 
 
 Sec. SALTATORIA 
 
 Fam. AcHETiD.i5, 240 
 
 Gen. Acheta, 241 
 
 Sp. — domestica, 241 
 
 — campestris, 243 
 
 — siilvesfris, 245 
 Gen. Gryllotalpa, 245 
 Sp. — vulgaris, 245 
 Fam. GRYLLiDiE, 247 
 Gen. Acrida, 247 
 
 Sp. — viridissima, 247 
 Gen. Meconema, 249 
 Sp. — varia, 249 
 Gen. Deeticus, 250 
 Sp. — griseus, 250 
 Gen. Thamnotrizon, 251 
 Sp. — cincreus, 251 
 Fam. LocusTrD.a3, 251 
 Gen. Pachytylus, 261 
 Sp. — migratorius, 261 
 
 Fam. THEiPiDiB, 259 
 
 Order, THYSANOPTERA. 
 
 I Gen. Phlseothripcj, 259 | Sp. — coriacea, 259 
 
 Order, NETJROPTERA. 
 
 Fam. PERLID.K, 263 
 
 Gen. Perla, 263 
 
 Sp. — marginata, 263 
 
 — grandis, 265 
 
 — PA'phalotes, 265 
 
 — bicaudata, 266 
 Gen. Chloroperla, 266 
 Sp. — viridis, 266 
 Fam. EphemekidjE, 266 
 Gen. Ephemera, 266 
 Sp. — vulgata, 266 
 i'^am. LiBELiiULiDJE, 269 
 Sub-fam.Libellulides,269 
 
 Gen. iEshna, 273 
 Sp. — grandis, 273 
 Gen. Libellula, 275 
 Sp. — deprcssa, 275 
 Gen. Cordulegaster, 276 
 Sp. — anmdatus, 276 
 Sub-fam. Agrionides, 277 
 Gen. Calopteryx, 277 
 Sp. — virgo, 277 
 Gen. Agrion, 277 
 Sp. — minium, 277 
 Fara. Eaphiuiid^, 278 
 
 Gen. Ehaphidia, 278 
 Sp. — ophiopsis, 278 
 Fam. Hemekobiid^e, 279 
 Gen. Chrysopa, 279 
 Sp. — vulgaris, 279 
 Gen. Osmylus, 281 
 Sp. — chrysop)s, 281 
 Fam. Panoepid.!:, 282 
 Gen. Panorpa, 282 
 Sp. — communis, 282 
 Gen. Boreus, 282 
 Sp. — hyemalis, 282 
 
 Fam. Phryganid^, 288 
 Gen. Phryganea, 288 
 Sp. — grandis, 288 
 — • minor, 291 
 
 — rhombica, 289 
 
 — lunaris, 289 
 
 Order, TRICHOPTERA. 
 
 Sp. — fusca, 289 
 Gen. Sericostoma, 289 
 Sp. — multiguttaium, 289 
 Gen. Hydropsyche, 290 
 Sp.. — maciilicornis, 290 
 
 Sp. — senex, 290 
 Gen. Limnephilus, 292 
 Sp. — elcgans, 292 
 Gen. Leptocerus, 292 
 Sp. — ochraccus, 292 
 
 Order, HYMENOPTERA. 
 
 See. TEREBEAIfTIA 
 
 Sub-Sec. PHYTOPHAG A 
 Fam. Tenthredinid.<e, 297 
 Gen. Cimbex, 299 
 Sp. — lutea, 299 
 Gen. Trichiosoma, 300 
 Sp. — hicorum, 300 
 Gen. Hylotonia, 302 
 
 Sp. — ros<B, 302 
 
 Gen. Sehizocerus, 303 
 
 Sp. — pallipes, 303 
 
 Gen. Athalia, 303 
 
 Sp. — sjnnarum, 303 
 
 Gen. Selandria, 307 
 
 Gea. Allantus, 307 
 
 Sp. — scrophularim, 307 
 
 Gen. Croesus, 308 
 
 Sp. — septentrionalis, 
 
 308 
 Gen. Tenthredo, 308 
 Sp. — zonatus, 308 
 Gen. Nematus, 309 
 Sp. — grtssuhirw, 309 
 Gen. Lophyrus, .S09 
 Sp. — pini. 309 
 Gen. Lyda, 311 
 
SYSTEMATIC INDEX. 
 
 655 
 
 Sp. — hortorum, 311 
 Fam. Ukocerid;e, 311 
 Gen. Urocerus, 312 
 Sp. — juvvncus, 312 
 
 — '(/iqas. 313 
 Sub-Se<'. ENTOMOPHAGA 
 Tribe, Spiculifpira, 315 
 Fam. Cynipid.t;;. 315 
 
 Gen. Cynips, 316 
 Sp. — Kollari, 316 
 Fam. EvANiin.E, 318 
 Fam. IcuNEu:\roxiD^, 320 
 Gen. Ichneumon, 320 
 Sp. — proteiis, 320 
 
 — crassorius, 321 
 Gen. Tryphon, 321 
 
 Sp. — rutilator, 322 
 Gen, Tragus, 322 
 Sp. — aimpos, 322 
 Gen. Cryptus, 322 
 Sp. — migrator, 322 
 Gen. Pezomaehus, 323 
 Sp. — sonatus. 323 
 
 — fasciafus, 323 
 Gen. Pimpla, 323 
 
 Sp. — instigator, 323 
 Gen. Rhyssa, 324 
 Sp. — pers'iasoria, 324 
 Gen. Chelonus, 325 
 .Sp. — ocidator, 325 
 Gen. Microgaster, 325 
 Sp. — glomeratus^, 325 
 
 — alvearius, 327 
 Fam. Chalcidics:. 328 
 Gen. Cleonymus, 328 
 
 Sp. — viacuUpinnis, 328 
 Fam. Peoctotrvpid-^^, 329 
 Gen. Teleas, 329 
 Sp. — datior, 329 
 Gen. Mymar, 329 
 Sp. — pidcheUus, 329 
 Tribe, Tubtjlifera. 330 
 Fam. Chrtsidid.e, 330 
 Gen. Chrysis, 331 
 Sp. — ignita. 331 
 
 — bidentata, 332 
 
 — neglecta, 332 I 
 
 Sec. HETEROGYNA 
 
 Tribe, Ac'uleata. 335 
 Fam. Formicid-ij, 335 
 Gen. Formica, 336 
 Sp. — rnfa, 336 
 
 . — fuligino.'<a, 339 
 
 — sanguinca, 340 
 Gen. Myrmica, 340 
 
 Sp. — lavinodes, 340 
 
 — nitidida, 340 
 Fam. MutillicUo. 340 
 Gen. Mutilla, 341 
 
 Sp. — Europtea, 341 
 Tribe, Fossores, 341 
 Fam. Pompilid.t;, 341 
 Gen. Pompilus, 341 
 Sp — ftcscxs, 341 
 Fam. Larrid^, 343 
 Gen. Astata, 343 
 Sp. — boojjs, 343 
 Fam. Ntssonid-je, 344 
 Gen. Mellinus, 344 
 Sp. — arvdisis, 344 
 Fam. CRABRONniJE, 345 
 Gen. Orabro, 345 
 Sp. — quadrimacidatus, 345 
 Fam. Philanthid^, 346 
 Gen. Cerceris, 346 
 Sp. — arvensis, 346 
 
 Sec. DIPLOPTERA 
 
 Fam. EtjmenidjE, 348 
 Gen. Eumenes, 348 
 Sp. — coardata, 348 
 Gen. Odynerus, 350 
 Sp. — Iwvipes, 350 
 
 — melanoccphalus, 
 
 350 
 
 — quadratus, 350 
 Fam. Vespiuje, 350 
 Gen. Vespa, 351 
 
 Sp. — vulgaris, 351 
 
 — germanica, 353 
 
 — arbor ea, 353 
 
 Sp. — Norvegica, 353 
 — crahro, 354 
 
 Sec. ANTHOPHILA 
 
 Fam. ANDRENiDyT:, 355 
 Gen. Halictus, 355 r 
 
 Sp. — rubicimdus, 355 
 
 — minutissimus, 356 
 Gen. Andrena, 357 
 
 Sp. — convcxiusctda, 35" 
 
 — vitida, 357 • 
 
 — Trimmerana, 357 
 
 — pilipes, 358 
 Gen. Cilissa, 358 
 
 Sp. — kfemorrkoidalis, 358 
 Gen. Dasypoda, 358 
 *Sp. — hirtipes, 358 
 Fam. AriD^, 359 
 Gen. Nomada, 359 
 Sp. — riificoryiis, 359 
 Gen. Ccelioxys, 361 
 Sp. — simplex, 361 
 Gen. Meleeta, 362 
 Sp. — armata, 362 
 Gen. Osmia, 363 
 Sp. — rufa, 363 
 
 — bicolor, 363 
 
 — leucomelana. .''64 
 
 — fulviventris, 364 
 
 — parictana, 364 
 Gen. Megac'hile, 365 
 
 Sp. — ccntuncularis, 365 
 
 Gen. Anthidium, 365 
 
 Sp. — manicatum, .?6') 
 
 Gen. Eucera, 367 
 
 Sp. — longicornis, 367 
 
 Gen. Bombus, 369 
 
 Sp. — ■ muscorum, 369 
 
 — lucorum, 371 
 
 — lapidarius, 372 
 Gen. Apathus, 373 
 
 Sp. — vestalis, 373 
 
 — harhatcllus, 374 
 Gen. Apis, 375 
 
 Sp. — mellijica, 375 
 
 Sec. RHOPALOCEEA 
 
 Fam. PAPiLio:«DiE, 386 
 
 Gen. Papilio, 386 
 
 Sp. — machaon, 386 
 
 Fam. PiERin.Ti. 389 
 
 Gen. Pieris, 390 
 
 Sp. — hrassic(e, 390 
 
 — cratregi, 391 
 
 — rapm, 391 
 
 Order, LEPIDOPTEEA. 
 
 jSp 
 
 - napi, 392 
 
 - Daplidicas, 392 
 Gen. Leucophasia, 392 
 Sp. — sinapis, 392 
 Gen. Anthocharis, 392 
 Sp. — cardamines, 392 
 Gen. Gonepteryx. 393 
 Sp. — rhaiMil, 393 
 Gen. Colias, 393 
 
 Sp. — edusa, 393 
 
 Fam. Yanessid.^, 394 
 Gen. Argynnis, 395 
 Sp. — aglaia, 395 
 Gen. Vanessa, 396 
 Sp. — antiopa. 396 
 
 — C. album, 397 
 
 — polychloros, 398 
 
 — urtirte, 399 
 
 — atalanta. 399 
 
 — cardui, 401 
 
656 
 
 SYSTEMATIC INDEX. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Fam 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Fam 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Geu. 
 Sp. 
 
 — lo, 403 
 Apatura, 403 
 
 — Iris, 403 
 Sattrid;e, 406 
 Arge, 406 
 
 — Galathea, 406 
 Erebia, 407 
 
 — blandina, 407 
 Satyrus, 407 
 
 — Egcria, 407 
 
 — Negmra, 407 
 
 — Semdc, 407 
 
 — Janira, 407 
 
 — Hypcranthus, 407 
 , Lycjenid^, 408 
 Polyommatus, 409 
 
 — dispar, 409 
 
 — Adonis, 410 
 Hesperia, 411 
 
 — paniscus, 411 
 
 — malves, 411 
 
 Sec. HETEROGERA. 
 
 Tribe, Noctueni, 412 
 Fam. Sphingid^, 412 
 Gen. Acherontia, 413 
 Sp. — Atropos, 413 
 Gen. Deilephila, 417 
 8p. — euphorhicB, 417 
 Gen. Smerinthus, 419 
 Sp. — ocdlatiis, 419 
 
 — popidi, 419 
 
 — tilics, 420 
 Gen. Sphinx, 421 
 
 Sp. — convolvuli, 421 
 
 — ligustri, 421 
 Gen. Choerocampa, 422 
 Sp. — ilpenor, 422 
 Gen. Macroglossa, 422 
 Sp. — stcUatarum, 422 
 
 — homhyliformis, 425 
 
 — fuciformis, 425 
 Fam. Sesiad^, 426 
 Gen. Sesia, 426 
 
 Sp. — apiformis, 426 
 
 — tipidiformis, 427 
 Fam. Zeuzkrid.^:, 427 
 Gen. Zeiizera, 428 
 
 Sp. — (SscuH. 428 
 Gen. Cossus, 430 
 Sp. — ligniperda, 430 
 Fam. Zyoj^jnid^, 433 
 Gen. Anthrncera, 433 
 Sp. _ filipcndula, 433 
 
 — Minos, 434 
 Fam. ErcHKi.iDJK, 435 
 Gen. Callimorplia, or Eu- 
 
 chelia, 435 
 Sp. — Jacobea, 435 
 
 Gen. Deiopeia, 4o6 
 
 Sp. — pnlchcUri, 436 
 
 Gen. CallimorpIiS, 437 
 
 Sp. — Domimtla, 437 
 
 Fam. CHEL0N1D.B, 437 
 
 Gen. Chelonia, 437 
 
 Sp. — caja, 437 
 
 Gen. Liparis, 438 
 
 Sp. — monacha, 438 
 
 Gen. Orgyia, 439 
 
 Sp. — antiqua, 439 
 
 Gen. Bombyx, 441 
 
 Sp. — quercus, 441 
 
 Gen. Gastropacha, 442 
 
 Sp. — quirdfolia, 442 
 
 Gen. Saturnia, 444 
 
 Sp. — Carpini, 444 
 
 Tribe, Geometer, 446 
 
 Fam. Ueapteetd;e, 447 
 
 Gen. Urapteryx. 447 
 
 Sp. — samhncata, 447 
 
 Fam. ExNOMiwjE. 448 
 
 Gen. Rumia, 448 
 
 Sp. — cratcegata, 448 
 
 Gen. Amphydasis, 449 
 
 Sp. — prodromaria, 449 
 
 Gen. Geometra. 450 
 
 Sp. — papUiovaria, 450 
 
 Gen. Abraxas, 450 
 
 Sp. — grossu'ariatn, 450 
 
 Fam. HiBERNiD^E, 452 
 
 Gen. Hibernia, 452 
 
 Sp. — defoliaria, 452 
 
 Fam. FiDONiD^, 454 
 
 Gen. Scodiona, 454 
 
 Sp. — belgiaria. 454 
 
 Gen. Cheimatobia, 454 
 
 Sp. — hrumata, 454 
 
 Gen. Oporabia, 457 
 
 Sp. — dilataia. 457 
 
 Gen. Melanthia, 457 
 
 Sp. — alhicillata, 457 
 
 Gen. Melanippp, 457 
 
 Sp. — haslata, 457 
 
 — montana, 458 
 Gen. Anticlea, 458 
 
 Sp. — sinufita, 458 
 
 — ruhidaia, 459 
 
 — badiaia, 459 
 Gen. Scotosia, 460 
 Sp. — certata. 460 
 Gen. Cidaria, 460 
 
 Sp. — sagittata, 460 
 
 Fam. EuBoi.iD^, 461 
 
 Gen. Chesias, 461 
 
 Sp. — sjMrtiata, 461 
 
 Gen. Tanagra, 462 
 
 Sp. — charophyllata, 462 
 
 Tribe,PSECDO-BOMBYCES, 
 
 463 
 Fam. DiCEAKUEiDiE, 463 
 
 Gen. Dicrannra, 463 
 
 Sp. — vimda, 463 
 
 — furcula, 466 
 Gen. Stauropiis, 468 
 Sp. — fagi, 468 
 Gen. Pygsera, 468 
 Sp. — buccphala, 468 
 Fam. NotodontidjE, 470 
 Gen. Notodonta, 470 
 Sp. — dromedarius, 47C 
 Tribe, Nocture, 471 
 Fam. Trifid.s;, 473 
 Gen. Thyatira, 473 
 Sp. — batis, 473 
 Fam. B0MBYCIC01D.E, 474 
 Gen. Diphthera, 474 
 Sp. — Orion, 474 
 Fam. LEUCANiD.iE, 475 
 Gen. Leucania, 475 
 Sp. — ■ ttirca, 475 
 Gen. Mamestra, 476 
 Sp. — brassiccB, 476 
 Fam. N0CTUID.E, 477 
 Gen. Agrotis, 477 
 Sp. — segetum, 477 
 Gen. Tryphsena, 478 
 Sp. — janthina, 478 
 
 — pronuha, 479 
 Fam. Orthosid.e, 481 
 Gen. .\authia, 481 
 
 Sp. — silago, 481 
 Fam. Hadenid;e, 481 
 Gen. Phlogophora, 481 
 Sp. — r/uticn/osa, 481 
 Fam. QuADRiFiDiE, 482 
 Gen. Plusia, 482 
 Sp. — chrysitis, 482 
 
 — gamma, 483 
 
 — ptdchrina, 483 
 
 — bractea. 483 
 Fam. G0XOPTEEID.S;, 484 
 Gen. Gonopteryx, 484 
 Sp. — libatrix, 484 
 Fam. Catocai-id,*;, 485 
 Gen. Catocala, 485 
 
 Sp. — nupta, 485 
 
 — promissa, 486 
 
 — fraxini, 486 
 
 Sec. BELTOIDES 
 
 Fam. Hypknid.s:, 488 
 
 Gen. Hypena, 488 
 
 Sp. — rostralis, 488 
 
 — proboscida/is, 48S 
 
 — crassalis, 488 
 
 Sec. PYRALIDES 
 
 Fam. PuLVERui-ENT.K, 489 
 Gen. Pyralis, 490 
 
SYSTEMATIC INDEX, 
 
 657 
 
 Sp. — farinalis, 490 
 
 — fflaucinalis, 490 
 G-en. Aglossa, 490 
 
 Sp. — pinguinalis, 490 
 
 Fam. LuRin.E, 491 
 
 Gen. Ennyeliia, 491 
 
 iSp. — ocfiiniacuMis, 491 
 
 Pam. HYDKoCAMPiD.Ti, 492 
 
 Gen. Hydrocampa, 492 
 
 Sp. — siagnalis, 492 
 
 Fam. BoTYD.ii, 494 
 
 Gen. Botys, 494 
 
 Sp. — urticalis, 495 
 
 Gen. Spilodes, 496 
 
 Sp. — sticticalis, 496 
 
 — clnctalis, 496 
 Fam. Plic.vt.e, 496 
 Gen. Steuopterj'x, 496 
 Sp. — hylridalls, 496 
 
 Sec. CRAMBITE8 
 
 Fam. CRAMBiD.ii, 497 
 
 Gen. Crambus, 497 
 
 Sp. — hamellus, 497 
 
 Fam. Chilid^, 498 
 
 Gen. Chilo, 498 
 
 Sp. — lAragmitellus, 498 
 
 Gen. Schoenobius, 499 
 
 8p. — gigantillus, 499 
 
 Fam. Physid^, 500 
 
 Gen. Galleria, oOO 
 
 Sp. — cerella, 500 
 
 Gen. Melia, 502 
 
 Sp. — socie/la, 502 
 
 Gen. Achroia, 502 
 
 Sp. — grisella, 502 
 
 See. TORTRICES 
 
 Fam. Cymbidte, 503 
 Gen. Halias, 504 
 
 Sp. — fraxinana, 504 
 
 — qucrcana, 504 
 Fam. ToRTRiciD.=E, 504 
 Gen. Tortrix, 504 
 
 Sp. — sorhiana, 504 
 
 — viridana, bOb 
 
 — costana. 505 
 Gen. Peronea, 505 
 
 Sp. — crisiana, 505 
 Gen. Teras, 506 
 Sp. — caudana, 506 
 Gen. Dictyopteryx, 507 
 Sp. — Bergmanniana, 
 
 507 
 Gen. Cuephasia, 508 
 Sp. — octomaculana, 
 
 508 
 Fam. SPILONOTID.E, 508 
 Gen. Spilonota, 508 
 Sp. — roborana, 508 
 
 — ocellana, 509 
 
 Fam. GRAPHOLITHIDiE, 509 
 
 Gen. Carpoeapsa, 509 
 Sp. — 2^omonaua, 509 
 Gen. Ephippiphora, 512 
 Sp. — scutidana, 512 
 
 — fcenclla, 513 
 Gen. Semasia, 513. 
 
 Sp. — Wehvrana, 513 
 Fam. CocHYLiD^, 513 
 Gen. Xanthosetia, 513 
 Sp. — zoegana, 513 
 
 Sec. TINEM 
 
 Fam. GELECHiD.ffi, 515 
 Gen. Depressaria, 515 
 Sp. — nervosella, 515 
 Fam. HYPONOMECTiDiE. 516 
 Gen. Hyponomeuta, 516 
 
 Sp. — padella, 516 
 Fam. TineidjE, 518 
 Gen. Adela, 518 
 Sp. — de Geerella, 518 
 Fam. GEACiiXARiDiE, 519 
 Gen. Gracillaria, 519 
 Sp. . — syringclla, 519 
 Fam. CoLEOPHORiD^^, 520 
 Gen. Coleophora, 520 
 Sp. — ihipcnnella, 520 
 
 — falliatella, 521 
 
 — therinella, 522 
 
 — currucipcnnclla, 522 
 
 — conspicuclla , 522 
 Fam. Elachistidjj, 522 
 Gen. Tischeria, 522 
 
 Sp. — complancUa, 523 
 Fam. LiTiiocoLLETiDJE, 623 
 Gen. Lithocolletes, 523 
 Sp. — cor?//c/la, 523 
 Fam. Neptictji-idjk, 525 
 Gen. Nepticula, 525 
 Sp. — aitrclla, b'lb 
 
 — plagicolella, 527 
 
 — argent ipedell a, 527 
 
 — acetosella, 627 
 
 Sec. PTEBOPHORl 
 
 Fam. Pterophoridje, 527 
 Gen. Agdistes, 528 
 Sp. — Bennetii, 528 
 Gen. Pterophorus, 528 
 Sp. — j)entadactyhi.s, 528 
 — ■ rhododnctylus, 529 
 — pffrodac/i/hcs, 529 
 Fam. Alucitid.^, 529 
 Gen. Alucita, 529 
 Sp. — polydaciyla, 629 
 
 Order, HOMOPTERA. 
 
 
 Sec. TEIMEEA 
 
 Sp. 
 
 — sangidnolenta, 539 
 
 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Ptyelus, 540 
 
 Fam 
 
 C1CADID.S:, 534 
 
 Sp. 
 
 — bifasciatus, 540 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Cicada, 534 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Aphrophora, 541 
 
 Sp. 
 
 — avglica, 534 
 
 Sp. 
 
 — spumaria, 541 
 
 Fam 
 
 Cercopidje. 536 
 
 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Centrotus, 537 
 
 
 
 Sp. 
 
 — corimtug, 537 
 
 
 Sec. BIMEEA 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Ledra, 538 
 
 
 
 Sp. 
 
 — aurita, 538 
 
 Fam 
 
 Aphid.*;, 542 
 
 Q-en. 
 
 Triepphora, 539 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Aphis, 542 
 
 Sp. — tilicB, 542 
 Gen Eriosoma, 547 
 Sp. — aphis, 548 
 
 Sec. MOXOMEBA 
 
 Fam. C0CCID.S;, 549 
 Gen. Coccus. 549 
 
 IJ U 
 
658 
 
 SYSTEMATIC INDEX. 
 
 Oedek, HETEROPTERA. 
 
 Sec. AUBOCOBISA 
 
 Fam. Cyunidjk, 557 
 G-en. Si'hirus, 557 
 Sp. — duhius, 557 
 Fam. AsopiDiE, 557 
 Gen. Asopiis, 557 
 Sp. — luridus, 657 
 Earn. CoEEiDJE, 559 
 Gen. Verlusia, 559 
 Sp. — rhomhea, 559 
 Gen. Coreus, 559 
 Sp. — hirticornis, 559 
 Gon. Stenocephalus, 560 
 Sp. — ■ agilis, 660 
 Fam. C^ciGENiNA, 560 
 Gen. Pynhocoris, 660 
 Sp. — ajjterus, 560 
 Fam. EerytidjE, 562 
 Gen. Neides, 562 
 Sp. — depressus, 562 
 
 Fam. EHYP.iROCHEOMIDJE, 
 
 562 
 Gen. Ehyparocliromus, 662 
 
 Sp. — dilatafHs, 562 
 Fam. Henestarid.'E, 563 
 Gen. Henestaris, 563 
 Sp. — laticeps, 563 
 Fam. PHYTOCDiaDjK, 664 
 Gen. Phytocoris, 56-1 
 Sp. — tilice, 56-1 
 Fam. Idolocoridje, 565 
 Gen. Systellonotus, 565 
 Sp. — triguttatus, 665 
 Fam. Capsid^, 666 
 Gen. Orthocephalus, 566 
 Sp. — hirtus, 566 
 Fam. AcANTHiiD^, 567 
 Gen. Ai-anthia, 567 
 Sp. — hctiilaria, 667 
 Fam. Reduviid^, 573 
 Gen. Eediivius, 573 
 Sp. — j^^ersowft^MS, 573 
 Gen. Coranus, 574 
 Sp. — ati/japterus, 674 
 Fam. Htorometrid^, 575 
 Gen. Hydrometra, 677 
 Sp. — gibbifera, 577 
 
 Sp. — argentata, 577 
 Fam. HALTicocoRiuiE, 578 
 Gen. Halticocoris, 578 
 Sp. — lutcicoUis, 578 
 
 • — pallidicornis, 578 
 Fam. ScuTELLAKiD/^, 578 
 Gen. Pentatoma, 678 
 Sp. — dissimile, 678 
 
 Sec. HYDROCORISA 
 
 Fam. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Fam . 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Sp. 
 
 NoTONECTip^, 581 
 
 Nolonecta,'582 
 
 — glavca, 682 
 Corixa, 684 
 
 — Geoffroyi, 584 
 Nepidje, 686 
 Nepa, 585 
 
 — cinerea, 586 
 Ranatra, 586 
 
 — linearis, 686 
 Naucoris, 586 
 
 -r cimicoides, 586 
 
 Okder, APHANIPTERA.- 
 
 Fam. PuLtciDjE, 591 
 
 Sp. 
 
 I Gen. Pulex, 595 
 irritans, 695 | 
 
 Sp. 
 
 I Sp. — talpcB, 595 
 - penetrans, 695 
 
 Order, DIPTERA. 
 
 Sec. CEPHALOTA 
 
 Tribe, Nemoceea, 600 
 
 Earn. CuLiciD-52, 601 
 
 Gen. Culex, 601 
 
 Sp. — pipiens, 601 
 
 Earn. TiPULiD^, 607 
 
 Gen. Tipula, 607 
 
 Sp. — longicornis, 607 
 
 Gen. Chironomus, 607 
 
 Tribe, Brachoceea, 611 
 
 StirpS, NOTACANTHA, 611 
 
 Fam. Stratiomydje, 611 
 Gen. Stratiomys, 611 
 Sp. — furcafa, 611 
 
 — chameleon, 612 
 Stirps, Tanysi'oma, 614 
 Earn. TABANiuiE, 614 
 Gen. Tabanus, 614 
 Sp. — boviuus, 614 
 Fam. BoMBYLiu.*!, 616 
 
 Gen. Bombylius, 616 
 
 Sp. — mcdius, 616 
 
 Fam. ASIL1D.S;, 616 
 
 Gen. Asilus, 617 
 
 Sp. — crabroniformisfiXl 
 
 Stirps, Atuvrickra, 617 
 
 Fam. Syrphid^e, 617 
 
 Gen. Eristali.s, 617 
 
 Sp. — tcnax, 617 
 
 Gen. Merodon, 620 
 
 Sp. — • clavipcs, 620 
 
 Gen. Volucella, 622 
 
 Sp. — pelluccns, 622 
 
 — plumata, 623 
 Gen. Syrphu.s, 623 
 
 Sp. — lucoruin, 623 
 
 — pyrastri, 624 
 
 — balteahni, 625 
 
 — decorns, 625 
 
 — tcBuiatus, 625 
 
 — topiarius, 625 
 
 Fam. CoNOPiDJE, 626 
 
 Gen. Conops, 626 
 
 Sp. — vesicularis, 626 
 
 — Jiavipes, 627 
 
 — rufipes, 627 
 
 — macrocephtdus, 627 
 Fam. MtrsciDJE, 627 
 
 Gen. Tachina, 628 
 Sp. — ferox, 628 
 
 — gro-isa, 628 
 Gen. Anthomyia, 629 
 Sp. — lardaria, 629 
 
 — ceparum, 630 
 
 — lactiiccB, 630 
 
 — brassiere, 630 
 Gen. Musca, 631 
 
 Sp. — domestica, 631 
 
 — vomit oria, 632 
 
 — carnaria, 632 
 Gen. Scatophaga, 633 
 Sp. — stercururia, G33 
 
Sp, — scyhnlaria, 634 
 
 Gen. Phora, 634 
 
 Sp. — abdominalis, 634 
 
 — dauci, 635 
 Fam. CEsTEiDJE, 635 
 Gen. Gasterophilus, 636 
 Sp. — equi, 636 
 Gen. CEstrus, 637 
 
 Sp. — bovis, 637 
 
 — ovis, 637 
 
 SYSTEMATIC INDEX. 
 
 Sec. THOBAGOCEPHALA 
 
 Fam. HippoBosciDJE, 638 
 Gen. Melophagus, 638 
 Sp. — ovi7ius, 638 
 Gen. Ornithomyia, 640 
 Sp. — fringillaria, 640 
 
 — avicidaria, 640 
 Gen. Hippobosca, 641 
 
 659 
 
 Sp. — equina, 641 
 Gen. Stonopteryx, 642 
 Sp. — hirundinis, 64 2 
 Gen. Haeraobora, 643 
 Sp. — pal/ipes, 643 
 Fam. NYCTERiBin).E, 643 
 Gen. Nycteribia, 644 
 Sp. — Latreilli, 644 
 
 V vS 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 ABR 
 
 ABEAXAS, 450 
 Acanthia, 567, 572 
 Acanthiidse, 567 
 Acherontia, 322, 413 
 Acheta, 241 
 Achetidse, 240 
 Achroia, 502 
 Acilius, 271 
 Acrida, 247 
 Aculeata, 297, 335 
 Adactyla, 528 
 Adela^ 518 
 Adephaga, 14 
 JEpys, 49 ■ 
 ^shna, 273 
 
 Afternoon Tortrix Moth, 
 Agabus, 60 
 Agathidium, 96 
 Agdistes, 528 
 Agelena, 323 
 Aglossa, 490 
 Agrilus, 128 
 Agrion, 277 
 Agrionides, 275, 277 
 Agriotypus, 492 
 Agrotis, 477 
 Air Bug, 556 
 Aleochara, 69 
 Aleoeharidae, 67 
 Allantus, 307 
 Alucita, 529 
 Amara, 47 
 
 American Blight, 548 
 Amphydasis, 449 
 Anaspis, 150 
 Anatomy of Beetle, 9 
 Anchomenus, 43 
 Andrena, 357 
 Andrenidse, 355 
 Andrenoides, 359 
 Angle-shades Moth, 481 
 Anisoptera, 266 
 Anisotoma, 96 
 Anisotomidpe, 96 
 Anobium, 139 
 Anommatuij, 101 
 
 507 
 
 ANT 
 Ants, 295, 335 
 
 — Black, 339 
 
 — Hill, 336 
 
 — Horse, 336 
 
 — Lions, 280 
 
 — Eed, 340 
 
 — Social, 335 
 
 — Solitary, 340 
 
 — Wood, '336 
 
 — Yellow, 340 
 Antelope Beetle, 125 
 Anthocharis, 392 
 Anthomyia, 630 
 Anthonomus, 178 
 Antbophila, 355 
 Antliophora, 363 
 Anthribidse, 163 
 Anthrocera, 433 
 Anticlea, 458 
 Apathus, 373 
 Apatura, 403 
 Aphaniptera, 589 
 Aphidse, 542 
 Aphis, 542 
 Aphodiidffi, 121 
 Aphodius, 121 
 Aphrophora, 541 
 Apidse, 359 
 Apion, 166 
 
 Apis, 375 
 Apoderus, 164 
 Apple Beetle, 178 
 
 — Weevil, 178 
 Apricot Beetle, 175 
 
 — Weevil, 175 
 Aretia, 437 
 Arge, 406 
 
 Argent and Sable 
 
 457 
 Argynnis, 395 
 Aricia, 629 
 Armed Beetle, 202 
 Aromia, 193 
 Asilidse, 616 
 Asilus, 617 
 Asopid?e, 557 
 
 Moth, 
 
 BEE 
 
 Asopns, 559 
 Asparagus Beetle, 206 
 Astata, 343 
 Astinomus, 198 
 Atalanta, 400 
 Atemeles, 70 
 Athalia, 303 
 Attelabus, 164 
 Aurocorisa, 556, 578 
 
 BACK-SWBIMER Bugs, 
 581 
 Baco]? Beetle, 104 
 Baker Fly, 632 
 Balaninus, 180 
 Banded Pill Beetle, 106 
 Banded Snout-Moth, 488 
 Bat-Louse, 644 
 Bearded-horn Beetle, 200 
 Beautiful Carpet Moth, 457 
 
 — China Mark Moth, 493 
 ~ Golden-Y Moth, 483 
 
 — Snout-Moth, 488 
 Bed Bug, 556, 567 
 Bee, 295, 359 
 
 — Carder, 369 
 
 — Cuckoo, 360 
 
 — Domesticated, 368 
 
 — Dumble. 368 
 
 — Hive, 375 
 
 — Hoop-shaver, 365 
 
 — Humble, 368 
 
 — Hummel, 368 
 
 — Kentish, 358 
 
 — Leaf-cutter, 361, 365 
 
 — Meadow, 369 
 
 — Naked, 359 
 
 — Social, 348, 368 
 
 — Solitary, 348, 355, 360 
 
 — Stone Humble, 372 
 
 — Wasp, 359 
 
 — Wild. 368 
 
 — Wood Humble, 371 
 Beech-hopper Beetle, 182 
 Beech-hopper Weevil, 182 
 
662 
 
 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 BEE 
 Beetle, 6 
 
 — Antelope, 126 
 
 — Apple, 178 
 
 — Apricot, 175 
 
 — Armed, 202 
 
 — Asparagus, 206 
 
 — Bacon, 104 
 
 _ Banded-Pill, 106 
 
 — Bearded-horn, 200 
 
 — Beech-hopper, 182 
 
 — Black, 238 
 
 — Black Water, 108 
 
 — Bladder-nut, 209 
 
 — Blind, 102 
 
 — Blister, 158 
 
 — Bloody-nose, 208 
 
 — Bombardier, 23 
 
 — Bracken- clock, 114 
 
 — Burying, 87 
 
 — Cardinal, US 
 
 — Cellar, 143 
 
 — Chafer, 112 
 
 — Churchyard, 143 
 
 — Click, 127 
 
 — Club-bearer, 222 
 
 — Coch-y-Bondhu, 114 
 
 — Cockchafer, 115 
 
 — Cockerbundy, 114 
 
 — Cocktail, 66 
 
 — Corn, 184 
 
 — Death -Watch, 141 
 
 — Devil's Coach-horse, 77 
 
 — Dor, 118 
 
 — Drummer, 141 
 
 — DumbleDor, 118 
 
 — Eyed Ladybird, 217 
 
 — False Three-jointed, 215 
 
 — Flour, 146 
 
 — Flower-dweller, 178 
 
 — Flying Watchman, 118 
 
 — Four-horn, 85 
 
 — Four-spot Mimic, 97 
 
 — Garden, 31 
 
 -- Glow-worm, 133 
 
 — Golden-apple, 208 
 
 — Grain Lover, 184 
 
 — Grooved, 175, 346 
 
 — Ground, 31 
 
 — Hidden-head, 206 
 
 — Hidden-snout, 183 
 
 — Hive, 139 
 
 — Hopper, 211 
 
 — Horn-bug, 122 
 
 — Hornet, 74 
 
 — June-bug, 114 
 
 — King of the Ants, 113 
 
 — Lady-bird, 216 
 
 — Lady-cow, 216 
 
 — Leaf-borer, 213 
 
 BEE 
 Beetle, Leaper, 182 
 
 — Letter- writer, 190 
 
 — Little-berry, 201 
 
 — Long-horned, 192 
 
 — Meal-worm, 146 
 
 — Mimic, 97 
 
 — Musk, 193, 314 
 
 — Nut, 180, 346 
 
 - Oil, 154, 219, 363 
 
 — Pear, 167 
 
 — Pill, 105 
 
 — Eam-horned, 202 
 
 — Eed-footed, 162 
 
 — Eed Neck, 81 
 
 — Rice, 184 
 
 — Rose, 112 
 
 — Rove, 66-, 225 
 
 — Sawyer, 193 
 
 — Sexton, 87 
 
 — Skipjack, 126 
 
 — Soldiers and Sailors, 137 
 
 — Spanish Fly, 158 
 
 — Sparkler; 15 
 
 — Squeaker, 194 
 
 — Stag, 122 
 
 — Three-plated, 215 
 
 — Tiger, 15 
 
 — Timber-eating, 186 
 
 — Timberman, 199 
 
 — Tortoise 214 
 
 — Turnip-flea, 211 
 
 — Two-spot Lady-bird, 218 
 
 — Wasp, 196 
 
 — Water, 54 
 
 — Whirligig, 62 
 
 — White-worm, 116 
 
 — Wood-devouring, 186 
 
 — Wood-eating, 186 
 Bembidium, 50 
 Bembidiidse, 50 
 Berghmannian Tortrix Moth, 
 
 507 
 
 Berytidae, 562 
 
 Bishops, 557 
 
 Bishop's Mitres, 557 
 
 Bird-flies, 643 
 
 Black Ant, 339 
 
 Black Arches Moth, 438 
 
 Black Beetles, 238 
 
 Black-veined White Butter- 
 fly, 391 
 
 Black Water Beetle, 108 
 
 Bladder-nut Beetle, 209 
 
 Blaps. 143 
 
 Blaptidse, 143 
 
 Blatta, 236 
 
 Blind Beetle, 102 
 
 Blister Beetle, 158 
 
 Blood-worms, 607 
 
 BUT 
 
 Bloody-nose Beetle, 208 
 Blow-'fly, 632 
 Bluebottle-fly, 632 
 Blue Butterfly, 408 
 Boletobius, 73 
 Bombardier Beetle, 23 
 Bombus, 368 
 Bombycidfe, 441 
 Bombycoidae, 474 
 Bombylidse, 616 
 Bombylius, 616 
 Bombyx, 441 
 Boreus, 282 
 Bot-fly, 635 
 Botys, 493 
 
 Brachelytra, 66, 221, 225 
 Brachinus, 23 
 Brachocera. 601, 611 
 Brachyderidse, 169 
 Bracken Clock, 114 
 Brimstone Butterfly, 393 
 Brimstone Moth, 448 
 Broscus, 46 
 
 Brown Cloak Moth, 508 
 Brown Dolly Moth, 523 
 Brown Plush Moth, 515 
 Bruchus, 162 
 Buff-tip Moth, 468 
 Bug, Air, 556 
 
 — Bed, 556, 567 
 
 — Back-swimmer, 581 
 
 — Fly, 573 
 
 — Jumping, 578 
 
 — Land, 556 
 
 — Mealy, 549 
 
 — Plant, 564 
 
 — Scarlet, 556 
 
 — Water, 556, 581 
 Buprestidse, 127 
 Burnet Moth, 433 
 Burnished Brass Moth, 482 
 Buryins Beetle, 87 
 Butterflies, 383 
 
 — Atalanta, 400 
 
 — Black-veined White, 391 
 
 — Blue, 408 
 
 — Brimstone, 393 
 
 — Camberwell Beauty, 396 
 
 — Chequered Skipper, 411 
 
 — Clifden Blue, 410 
 
 — Clouded Yellow, 393 
 
 — Comma, 397 
 
 — Common Tortoiseshell, 
 399 
 
 — Copper, 408 
 
 — Dark Green Fritillary, 395 
 
 — Emperor of Morocco, 403 
 
 — Grayling, 407 
 
 — Grtat C.)p[jer, 405, 409 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 663 
 
 Butterfly, Great Tortoise- 
 sholl, 398 
 
 — (ireen-chequered White, 
 392 
 
 — Green-veined White, 392 
 
 — Grizzled Skipper, 411 
 
 — Large Cabbage, 390 
 
 — Marbled White, 406 
 
 — Meadow Brown. 407 
 
 — Northern Brown, 407 
 
 — Orange Tip, 392 
 
 — Painted Ladv, 401 
 
 — Peacock, 403 
 
 — Purple Emperor, 403 
 - — Red Admiral, 399 
 
 — Ringlet, 407 
 
 — Skipper, 410 
 
 — Small Tortoiseshell, 399 
 
 — Small White, 391 
 
 — Speckled Wood, 40" 
 
 — Swallow Tail, 386 
 
 — Wall, 407 
 
 — White, 389 
 
 — White Bordered, 396 
 
 — Wood White. 392 
 Button Tortrix Moth, 505 
 Byrrhidse, 105 
 Byrrhus, 106 
 
 riABBAGE CATERPIL- 
 VJ LAR, 325 
 
 — Fly, 630 
 
 — Moth, 476 
 
 — White Butterflv, 325 
 Cads, 287 
 Caddis-fly, 287 
 
 — Grannums, 287 
 
 — Great, 288 
 
 — Lesser, 291 
 Csecigenina, 561 
 Calathus, 43 
 Callidium, 195 
 Callimorpha, 437 
 Calopteryx, 277 
 Calosoma, 36 
 
 Camberwell Beauty Butter- 
 fly, 396 
 
 Campylus, 131 
 Cannibal Insects, 561 
 Capsidse, 566 
 CaraViidie, 31 
 Carabus. 31 
 Carder Bee, 369 
 Cardinal Beetle, 148 
 Carpet Moths, 461 
 Cnrpocapsa. 509 
 Cassida, 214 
 Cassidiidse, 213 
 Catocala, 485 
 
 Cellar Beetle, 144 
 Centrotus, 537 
 Ccphalota, 600, 611 
 Cerambycidae, 193 
 Cerambvx, 193 
 Cerceris', 346 
 Cercopidpe, 536 
 Cercopis, 537 
 Cerura, 466 
 Cercyon, 111 
 Cetonia, 112 
 Cetoniidge, 112 
 Chafers. 112 
 Chalcididae, 328 
 Chequered Skipper Butter- 
 fly, 411 
 Cheilidie, 498 
 Cheimatobia, 454 
 Chelonia, 437 
 Chelonida;, 437 
 Chelonus, 325 
 Chesias, 461 
 Chigoe Flea, 595 
 Chilidse. 498 
 Chilo, 498 
 
 Chimney-sweeper Moth, 462 
 China Mark Moth, 492 
 Chironomus, 607 
 Chlseniidse, 41 
 Chloroperla, 266 
 Chcerocampa, 422 
 Cholevina, 94 
 Chrysididse, 330 
 Chrysis. 331 
 Chrysomela, 209 
 Chrysomelidse, 208 
 Chrysopa, 279 
 Churchyard Beetle, 143 
 Churr-worm, 246 
 Cicada, 534 
 Cicadidfe, 534 
 Cicindela, 14 
 Cicindelidse, 14 
 CidariH, 460 
 Cilissa, 358 
 Cillenium, 50 
 Cimbex, 299 
 Cinnabar Moth, 434 
 Cionus, 173 
 Clavieornes, 86 
 Claviger. 222 
 Clear-wing Moth, 427 
 Cleg Fly, 614 
 Cleonidse, 170 
 Cleonus, 170 
 Cleonymus. 328 
 Cleridffi. 1.38 
 Clerus, 138 
 Click Beetle, 127 
 
 CRI 
 
 Clifden Blue Butterfly, 410 
 Clifden Nonpareil Moth, 480 
 Clivina, 25 
 
 Clothes Moth, 440, 490 
 Clouded Yellow Butterfly, .393 
 Club-bearer Beetle, 222 
 Clytus, 196 
 Cnemidotus, 61 
 Cnephasia, 507 
 Coccidae. 550 
 Coccinella, 217 
 Cocci nellidse, 216 
 Coccus, 549 
 Cochineal Insect. 552 
 Cochleoctonus, 136 
 Coch-y-Bondhu Beetle, 114 
 Cockroach, 225 
 
 — Domestic, 236 
 
 — Field, 239 
 Cockchafer, 115 
 Coekspurs, 287 
 Cocktail Beetles, 66 
 Cod-baits, 287 
 Codlin Moth, 509 
 Cceliodes, 183 
 Coelioxys, 361 
 Coleophora, 520 
 Coleoptera, 6 
 Colias, 393 
 Colydiidffi, 101 
 Colydium, 101 
 Comma Butterfly, 397 
 Confluent Barred Moth, 519 _ 
 Conopidse, 626 
 
 Conops, 626 
 
 Convolvulus Hawk Moth, 42 1 
 
 Copper Butterfly, 408 
 
 Coranus, 574 
 
 Cordulegaster, 276 
 
 Coreidse, 559 
 
 Coreus, 559 ' 
 
 Corixa, 584 
 
 Corn Beetle, 184 
 
 — Weevil, 184 
 Cossus, 430 
 Cow-dung Fly, 633 
 Coxa, 12 
 Crabro, 345 
 Crabronidse, 345« 
 Crambites, 487, 497 
 Crambus, 497 
 Crane Fly, 607 
 
 Cream Short-Cloak Moth, 509 
 Creophilus, 76 
 Cricket, 240 
 
 — Cliurr-worm, 246 
 
 — Croaker, 246 
 
 — Earth-crab. 246 
 
 — Eve-churr, 246 
 
664 
 
 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 CRI 
 Cricket, Field, 243 
 
 — House, 241 
 
 — Jarr-worm, 246 
 
 — Mole, 241, 246 
 
 — Wood, 245 
 
 Crimson Speckled Moth, 436 
 Crimson Tiger Moth, 437 
 Crioceridae, 205 
 Crioceris, 205, 207, 214 
 Croiiker Cricket, 246 
 Crcesus, 308 
 Cryptophagidse, 102 
 Cryptophagus, 10:^ 
 Cryptocephalidse, 206 
 Cryptoeephaliis, 206 
 Cryptorhynchidse, 183 
 Cryptus, 322 
 Cuckoo-bee, 360 
 Cuckoo-spit, 537, 540 
 Cuculinse, 359 
 Culex, 601 
 Culicidae, 601 
 Currant Clear-wing Motb, 
 
 427 
 Currant Moth, 450 
 Cuspida'es, 463 
 Cychrub, 40 
 Cydnidse, 557 
 Cj'dnus, 557 
 Cymbidse, 503 
 Cynipidse, 315 
 Cynips, 316 
 
 DADDY - LONG - LEGS, 
 599, 601, 607 
 
 Dark Crimson Under wing 
 Moth. 486 
 
 Dark Green Fritillary But- 
 terfly, 395 
 
 DaajVpoda. 358 
 
 Death's - Head Moth, 322, 
 413 
 
 Death-Wat ch Beetle, 141 
 
 De Geerean Moth, 518 
 
 Deilephila, 417 
 
 Deiopeia, 436 
 
 Delta Moth, 487 
 
 Deltoides, 487 
 
 Demoiselle Dragon-fly, 277 
 
 Depressaria, 515 
 
 Dermaptera 223 
 
 Derraestes, 103 
 
 Dermestidse, 103 
 
 Devil's Coach-Horse Beetle, 
 77 
 
 Diamond Spot Moth, 496 
 
 Diaperidse, 145 
 
 Diaperis, 145 
 
 Dicranura, 463, 466 
 
 Dicranuridae, 463 
 
 Dictyopteryx, 507 
 
 Digger, 25 
 
 Diggers, 335, 341 
 
 Diniera, 542 
 
 Diploptera, 348 
 
 Dipthera, 474 
 
 Diptera, 597 
 
 Domesticated Bees, 368 
 
 Domestic Cockroach, 236 
 
 Donacia, 203 
 
 Donaciadse, 203 
 
 Dor Beetle, 118 
 
 Dorcus, 124 
 
 Double-Bar Mial Moth, 490 
 
 DouVjle-line Moth, 475 
 
 Dragon-fly, 263, 2G9 
 
 Dragon-fly, Demoiselle, 277 
 
 Dragon-fly, Horse Stingers, 
 
 269 
 Drepanulse, 463 
 Drilus, 135 
 Dromius, 21 
 Drone Fly, 017 
 Drummer Beetle, 141 
 Dumble Bee, 368 
 Durable-Dor Beetle, 118 
 Dung Fly, 633 
 Dyschirius, 30 
 Dyticidie, 54 
 Dyticus, 54, 271 
 
 ];;ARED Hopper, 537 
 J Earth Crab Cricket, 246 
 Earwig, 225 
 
 — Giant, 230 
 
 — Little, 228 
 Eight-spot Moth, 508 
 K later, 129 
 
 Elegant Grannuin, 292 
 Elephant Hawk-Moth, 422 
 Elmiua^, 107 
 Elmis, 107 
 Emperor Moth, 444 
 Emperor of Morocco Butter- 
 fly, 403 
 Endomychidc-e, 219 
 Engis, 215 
 Ennomidfe, 448 
 Ennychidse, 491 
 Ennychrus, 95 
 Entomology, 1 
 Entomophaga, 314 
 Ephemera, 266 
 Ephemeridae, 266 
 Ephippiphora, 512 
 Epimera, 113 
 
 Episterna, 11 
 Erebia, 407 
 Eriosoraa, 547 
 Eristalis, 617 
 Erotylidse, 215 
 Errhirinidse, 176 
 Eubolidffi, 461 
 Eucera, .360, 367 
 Euchelia, 435 
 Euchelidse, 435 
 Eucnemidse, 129 
 Eumenes, 348 
 Eumenidse, 348 
 Euplexoptera, 227 
 Eupoda, 203 
 Evaniidse, 318 
 Eve-churr, 246 
 Eyed Hawk Moth, 419 
 Eyed Lady Bird, 217 
 Eyes of Insects, 10 
 
 FALAGRI4, 69 
 False - three - jointed 
 Beetle, 215 
 Femur, 12 
 Feroniidfe, 44 
 Fidonidse, 454 
 Field Cricket, 243 
 
 — Cockroach, 239 
 Finch Fly, 640 
 Flakelet Moth, 520 
 Flame Moth, 459 
 Flea, 591 
 
 — Chigoe, 595 
 
 — Common, 595 
 
 — Jigger, 595 
 
 — Mole, 595 
 Flesh Fly, 632 
 Flour Beetle, 146. 416 
 Flower-dweller Beetle, 178 
 Fly, Baker, 632 
 
 — Blow, 632 
 
 — Blue-bottle, 632 
 
 — Bot, 635 
 
 — Bug, 573 
 
 — Cabbage, 630 
 
 — Cleg, 614 
 
 — Crane, 6.. 7 
 
 — Cow-dung, 633 
 
 — Drone, 617 
 
 — Dung, 633 
 
 — Finch, 640 
 
 — Flesh, 632 
 
 — Forked Chameleon, 611 
 
 — Gad, 614 
 
 — Great Breeze, 614 
 
 — Great Hornet, 617 
 
 — Green-bottle, 630 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 ee5 
 
 FLT 
 Fly, Hawk, 623 
 
 — Horse, 641 
 
 — House, 631 
 
 — Hovercr, 617 
 
 — Humble Bee, 616 
 
 — lolineumon, 492 
 
 — Lettuce, 630 
 
 — Long-moutlied, 614 
 
 — Meat, 629 
 
 — Shopp, 637 
 
 — Spider, 639 
 
 — Swallow. 642 
 
 — Wurble-Breeze, 637 
 Flying Watchman, 118 
 Forfieula, 226 
 
 Forked Chameleon Fly, 6 1 1 
 Formica, 336 
 Formicidae, 335 
 Four-horn Beetle, 85 
 Four - spot Mimic Beetle, 
 
 97 
 Frog Hopper. 537, 540 
 Frog-spit, 537 
 Fulgoridse, 536 
 
 G IAD-FLY, 614, 637 
 r Gall-fly, 295, 315 
 Galleria, 500 
 Galcrucidae, 210 
 Garden Beetle, 31 
 Gastcrophilus, 636 
 Gastropacha, 442 
 Genuinse, 475 
 Geocorisa, 556 
 Geodephaga, 14 
 Geometra, 450 
 Geometrse, 446 
 Geoiuetridse, 450 
 Geotrupes, 118 
 Geotnipidse, 117 
 German Wasp, 353 
 Giant Earwitr, 230 
 Gibbiura, 141 
 
 Gigantic Veneer Motii, 499 
 Glow-worm, 133 
 Gnat, 601 
 Gnorimus, 114 
 Goat-Moth, 365, 430 
 Golden-Apple Beetle. 208 
 Golden-eye Fly, 279 
 Golden Pigmv Moth, 515, 
 
 525 
 Gold-Spangle Moth, 483 
 Gonatoceri, 162 
 Gonepteryse. 393 
 Gonoptera, 484 
 Gonopteridae, 484 
 Gracilia, 197 
 
 Gracillaria, 519 
 Grain-lover Beetle, 184 
 Grannums, 287 
 Grasshopper, 247 
 
 — Great green, 247 
 
 — Tree, 249 
 
 — Wartbiter, 249 
 Grayling Butterfly, 407 
 Great Breeze Fly, 614 
 
 — Caddis Fly, 288 
 
 — Copper Butterfly, 405, 409 
 
 — Green Grasshopper, 247 
 
 — Hornet Fly, 617 
 
 — Tortoiseshell Butterfly, 
 398 
 
 Green Blight, 542 
 
 — Bottle Fly, 630 
 
 — Cheequered White Butter- 
 fly, 392 
 
 — Drake May-fly, 268 
 
 — Long-horn Moth, 519 
 — shaded Honey-comb Moth, 
 
 502- 
 
 — Silver- lines Moth. 504 
 — veined White Butterfly, 
 
 392 
 Grey Drake May-fly, 268 
 
 — Scalloped Bar Moth, 454 
 Grizzled Skipper Butterfly, 
 
 411 
 Ground Beetles, 31 
 Grooved Weevil, 175, 346 
 Gryllidse, 247 
 Gryllotalpa. 245 
 Gyrinidse, 54, 62 
 Gyrinus, 63 
 Gyropheena, 71 
 
 HADENID^, 481 
 Hiiemobora, 643 
 Halias, 504 
 Halicti, 356 
 Halictus, 355 
 Haliplus, 61 
 Halticae. 578 
 Halticida;, 210, 211 
 Halticocoris, 578 
 Halticocoridse, 578 
 Harpalus, 48 
 Harpalidse, 48 
 Hawk Moth, 413 
 — Fly, 623 
 Hazel Motl|, 504 
 Helodes, 209 
 Hemerobiidse. 279 
 Hen<staridiB. 5G3 
 Henestaris, 56'< 
 Herald Moth, 484 
 
 HYP 
 
 Hermit Crab, 290 
 Hesperidse, 410 
 Heterocera, 412 
 Heteroceridae, 107 
 Heterocerus, 107 
 Heterogyna, 335 
 Heteromera, 143 
 Ueteroptera, 553 
 Hibernia, 452 
 Hidden-head Beetle, 206 
 
 snout Beetle, 183 
 
 snout Weevil, 183 
 
 Hill Ant, 336 
 Hippobosca, 641 
 Hippolioscidse, 638 
 Hive Bee, 375 
 Hive Beetle, 139 
 Hister, 97 
 Histeridae, 97 
 Homaloptera, 638 
 Homalota, 71 
 Homoptera, 531 
 Honey-comb Moth, 499 
 Honey Moth, 502 
 Hoop-shaver Bee, 365 
 Hopper Beetle, 211 
 Hoppers, 537 
 Horse Ant, 336 
 Horse Fly, 641 
 Horse Stinger, 269 
 Horn Bug, 122 
 Hornet, 295, 354 
 Hornet Beetle, 74 
 Horn-tailed Saw-fly, 311 
 House Cricket, 241 
 House Fly, 631 
 Hoverer Fly, 617 
 Humble Bee, 341, 368 
 Humble-bee Fly. 616 
 Humnipl Bee, 368 
 Humming-bird Hawk Moth, 
 
 413 
 Humming-bird Moth, 422 
 Hybernidae, 452 
 Hydradephaga, 53 
 Hydrocampa, 492 
 Hydroeorisa, 556, 581 
 Hydrometra, 577 
 Hydrometridae, 575 
 Hydrophilidae, 108 
 Hydroiis, 108 
 H3-droporus, 60 
 Hydropsyche. 290 
 Hylesinidae, 186 
 Hylesinus, 186 
 Hylotoma, 302 
 Hymenoptera, 203, 314 
 Hypena, 448 
 Hyponomeuta, 516 
 
Gi;6 
 
 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 ICH 
 
 ] CHNEUMON-FLY, 295, 
 I 320, 492 
 Ichneumonidie, 320 
 IdolocoridfE, .'^65 
 Insect Cannibals, 361 
 Insect, Definition of, 2 
 Ipsinse, 99 
 Iron Prominent Moth, 470 
 
 JARR-WORM, 246 
 Jigger Flea, 595 
 Jumping Bug, 578 
 June Bug, 114 
 
 T/^ENTISH BEE, 358 
 lY. Killing Beetles, 145 
 King of the Ants, 113 
 
 LABIA, 228 
 Labidura, 230 
 Labium, 8 
 
 Laee-wing Flj, 263, 279 
 Lachnus, 548 
 Lac Insect, 551 
 Lady-bird, 216 
 Lady-cow, 216 
 Lamellicornes, 112 
 Lampyridae, 133 
 Lampyris, 133 
 Land Bugs, 556 
 Lantern Flies, 536 
 Lappet Moth, 442 
 Large Cabbage Butterfly, 390 
 Large Emerald Moth, 450 
 Larger Yellow Underwing 
 
 Moth, 479 
 Large White Plume Moth, 
 , 528 
 Larridse, 343 
 Lasiocampa, 44] 
 Laurel Bottle, 26 
 Leaf-borer Beetle, 213 
 Leaf-cutter Bee, 361, 365 
 Leaper Beetle, 182 
 Lebia, 20 
 Lebiadte, 19 
 Ledra, 538 
 Lepidoptera, 381 
 Leptocerus, 292 
 Lesser Broad Border Moth, 
 
 478 
 Lesser Caddis Fly, 291 
 Lesser Pearl Moth, 495 
 Letter- writer Beetle, 190 
 Letter-writer Weevil, 190 
 Lettuce Fly, 630 
 
 LEU 
 
 Leucania, 475 
 Lecanidse, 475 
 Leucophasia, 392 
 LibeUula, 275, 277 
 Libellulidae, 269 
 Libellulides, 275 
 Lilac Moth, 518 
 Lime Blight, 542 
 
 — Hawk Moth, 420 
 Limnephilus, 292 
 Liparis, 438 
 LithoeoUetes, 523 
 LithocoUetidse, 523 
 Little-berry Beetle, 201 
 Little Earwig, 228 
 Little Ermine Moth, 516 
 Little Waggoner Moth, 522 
 Lixus, 177 
 
 Lobster Moth, 468 
 Locust, 251 
 
 — Migratory, 251 
 Long-horned Beetle, 192 
 Longicornes, 191 
 Long-horned Moths, 518 
 Long-mouthed Fly, 614 
 Looper Moth, 446 
 Lopha, 51 
 
 Lophyrus, 309 
 Louse, Bat, 644 
 Lozotcenia, 506 
 Lucanidse, 122 
 Lueanus. 122 
 Luridse, 491 
 Lycsenidse, 408 
 Lycoperdina, 219 
 Lyda. 310 
 Lytta, 158 
 
 MACROGLOSSA, 422 
 Magpie Moth, 450 
 Malacodermi, 133 
 Mamestra, 476 
 Many-cleft Plume Moth, 529 
 Many Plume Moth, 429 
 Marbled White Butterfly, 406 
 Margaritia, 494 
 Marsh Carpet Moth, 460 
 May Fly, 266 
 
 — Common, 266 
 
 — Green Drake, 208 
 
 — Grey Drake, 268 
 Meadow Bee, 369 
 Meadow Brown Bi\tterfly, 407 
 Meal Moth, 489 
 
 — Worm, 146 
 Mealy Bugs, 649 
 Meat-tly, 629 
 Meconema, 249 
 
 M;egachi]e, 365 
 Melandrya, 148 
 Melandryadse, 146 
 Melanippe, 457 
 Melanthia, 457 
 Melecta, 362 
 Melia, 502 
 Meligethes, 99 
 Mellinus, 344 
 Meloe, 154 
 Melolontha, 115 
 Melolonthidae, 115 
 Melophagus, 638 
 Merodon, 620 
 Mesothorax. 11 
 Metasternum, 11 
 Mezium, 141 
 Micralymma, 84 
 Micro-coleoptera, 220 
 Microgaster, 325, 391 
 Micro-lepidoptera, 575 
 Migratory Locust, 251 
 Mimic Beetles, 97 
 Mole cricket, 241, 245 
 Mole-flea, 595 
 Molytes, 171 
 Monomera, 549 
 Mordellidae, 150 
 Moths' 384, 412 
 
 — Afternoon Tortrix, 507 
 
 — Angle Shades, 481 
 
 — Argent and Sable, 457 
 
 — Banded Snout, 488 
 
 — Beautiful Carpet, 457 
 
 China Mark, 493 
 
 Golden-Y, 483 
 
 Snout, 488 
 
 — Berghmannian Tortrix, 
 607 
 
 — Black Arches, 438 
 
 — Brimstone, 448 
 
 — Brown Cloak, 508 
 Dolly, 523 
 
 — — plush, 515 
 
 — Buff-tip, 468 
 
 — Burnet, 433 
 
 — Burnished Brass, 482 
 
 — Button Tortrix, 505 
 
 — Cabbage, 476 
 
 — Carpet, 461 
 
 — Chimney Sweeper, 462 
 
 — China, 492 
 
 — Cinnabar, 434 
 
 — ("lear-wing, 427 
 
 — Clifden Nonpariel, 486 
 
 — Clothes, 440, 490 
 
 — Codlin, 609 
 
 — Common Tiger, 437 
 
 — Confluent Barred, 519 
 
•ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 667 
 
 MOT 
 
 Moth, Convolvulus IIiiwk,421 
 
 — Cream Short Cloak, o09 
 
 — Ci'imson Speckled, 436 
 
 — Crimson Tiger, 437 
 
 — Currant Clear-wing, 427, 
 4o0 
 
 — Dark Crimson Underwing. 
 486 
 
 — Death's Head, 322, 413 
 
 — De Geerean, 518 
 
 — Delta, 487 
 
 — Diamond Spot, 496 
 
 — Double-bar, 490 
 
 — Double-line, 475 
 
 — Eight-spot, 508 
 
 — Elephant Hawk, 422 
 
 — Emperor, 444 
 
 — Eyed Hawk, 419 
 
 — Flakelet, 520 
 
 — Flame, 459 
 
 — Gigantic Veneer, 499 
 
 — Goat. 365, 430 
 
 — Golden Pigmy, 515, 525 
 
 — Gold Spangle^ 483 
 
 — Green Long-horn, 519 
 -shaded Honeycomb, 
 
 502 
 Silver-lines, 504 
 
 — Grev Scalloped Bar, 454 
 
 — Hawk, 413 
 
 — Hazel. 504 
 
 — Herald, 484 
 
 — Honey, 502 
 
 — Honeycomb, 500 
 
 — HummingBird, 413, 422 
 
 — Iron Prominent, 470 
 
 — Lappet, 442 
 
 — Large Emerald, 450 
 
 — Larger Yellow Under- 
 wing, 479 
 
 — Large White Plume, 528 
 
 — Lesser broad border, 478 
 
 — Lesser Pearl, 495 
 
 — Lilac, 518 
 
 — Lime Hawk, 420 
 
 — Little Ermine, 576 
 
 — Little "Waggoner, 522 
 
 — Lobster, 468 
 
 — Long-horn, 518 
 
 — Looper, 446 
 
 — Magpie, 450 
 
 — Many-cleft Plume, 529 
 
 — Many-plume, 529 
 
 — Marsh Carpet, 460 
 
 — Meal, 489 
 
 — Mother of Pearl, 495 
 — ' Mottled Umber, 452 
 
 — Narrow - bordered Bee 
 Hawk, 425 
 
 MOT 
 Moth, Notchwing, 506 
 
 — November, 457 
 
 — Oak, 506 
 
 — Oak Beauty, 449 
 
 — Oak Eggar, 441 
 
 — Peach blossom, 473 
 
 — Pea green, 505 
 
 — Pearl, 493 
 
 — Pearl-streak Veneer, 497 
 
 — Phantom, 528 
 
 — Pigmy, 526 
 
 — Pink-barred Yellow, 481 
 
 — Plume, 527 
 
 — Plumeless Plume, 528 
 
 — Poplar Hawk, 419 
 
 — Poplar Hornet Clearwing, 
 426 
 
 — Privet, 421 
 
 — Prominent, 470 
 
 — Puss, 463 
 
 — Red Feather, 522 
 
 — Red underwing, 485 
 
 — Rose plume, 529 
 
 — Royal Mantle, 458 
 
 — Rust Veneer, 496 
 
 — Sallow Kitten, 466 
 
 — Scarce Merveil du Jour, 
 474 
 
 — Silver lines, 504 
 
 — Tissue, 460 
 
 — Shoulder stripe, 459 
 
 — Silver Ground Carpet, 
 458 
 
 lines, 503 
 
 Y, 413 
 
 — Single blotch, 542 
 
 — Six-spotted Burnet, 433 
 
 — Skeleton, 528 
 
 — Small Tabby, 491 
 
 — Snout, 488 
 
 — Sphinx, 412 
 
 — Spurge Hawk, 417 
 
 — Stone plume, 529 
 
 — Straw Oblique Bar. 505 
 
 — Streak, 461 
 
 — Swallow-tailed, 447 
 
 — Tabbv, 490 
 
 — Thorn, 448 
 
 — Thousand plume, 529 
 
 — Tiger, 437 
 
 — Transparent Burnet, 434 
 
 — Turnip, 477 
 
 — Twenty plume, 529 
 
 — Twisters, 503 
 
 — Vapourer, 439 
 
 — Wseberian Tortrix, 513 
 
 — Wainscot Veneer, 498 
 
 — White spot, 498 
 
 — Winter, 454 
 
 NTS 
 Moth, Wood Leopard, 428 
 
 — Yellow Underwing, 478 
 
 — Zoegian Tortrix, 513 
 Mother of Pearl Moth, 495 
 Mottled Umber Moth, 452 
 Musca, 629 
 
 Museida>, 627 
 Musk Beetle, 193, 3 14 
 Mutilla, 341 
 Mutillidfp, 340 
 Mycetophagidse, 103 
 Mycetophagus, 103 
 Mymar, 329 
 Myrmedonia, 71 
 Myrmica, 340 
 
 NAKED BEES, 539 
 Narrow-bordered Bee 
 
 Hawk Moth, 425 
 Naucoris, 586 
 Nebria, 35 
 Necrodes, 92 
 Necrophaga, 86 
 Necrophorus, 90 
 Neides, 562 
 Nemasoma, 101 
 Nematus, 309 
 Nemocera, 600 
 Nemoura, 266 
 Nepa, 585 
 Nepticula, 525 
 Nepidse, 585 
 Net-sweep. 27 
 Neuroptera, 261 
 Nigger, Turnip fly, 303 
 Niptus. 141 
 Nitidula. 98 
 Nitidulidse, 98 
 Noctu», 463, 471, 482 
 Noctuidse, 477 
 Nomada, 359, 361 
 Northern Brown Butterfly, 
 
 407 
 Norway Wasp, 353 
 Notacantha. 611 
 Notaphus, 51 
 Notiophiius, 34 
 Notch-wiag Moth, 506 
 Notodonta, 470 
 Notodontidse, 470 
 Notonecta, 582 
 Notoneetidae, 581 
 November Moth, 457 
 Nut Beetle. 180, 346 
 Nut Weevil, 180, 346 
 Nyeteribiidse, 643 
 Nyssonidae, 344 
 
668 
 
 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 OAK 
 
 OAK BEAUTY MOTH, 
 449 
 
 — Eggar Moth, 441 
 
 — Moth, 505 
 Ocypus, 77 
 
 Odynerus, 322, 331, 350 
 (Edipoda, 251 
 (Estridie, 635 
 (Estrus, 637 
 
 Oil Beetle. 154, 219, 363 
 Omalidfe, 83 
 Omalium, 84 
 Omosita, 98 
 Oporabia, 457 
 Orange-tip Buttei-fly, 392 
 Orchesia, 147 
 Orchestes, 182 
 Orectochilus, 65 
 Orgyia, 439 
 Ornithomyia, 640 
 Orobites,"l84 
 Orthocephalus, 566 
 Orthoceri, 162 
 Orthoptera, 225, 233 
 Orthosidse, 481 
 Osmia, 363 
 Osmylus, 281 
 Otiorhynchidse, 173 
 Otiorhynchus, 173 
 Ourapteryx, 447 
 Oxypoda, 70 
 
 PACHYTYLUS, 251 
 Psederidse, 81 
 Painted Lady Butterfly, 401 
 Palpi, 8 
 Panorpa. 282 
 Panorpidse, 282 
 Panurgus, 359 
 Papilio, 386 
 Papilionidse, 386 
 Paraptera, 11 
 Parnidse. 107 
 Pavonia, 444 
 
 Peach-Blossom Moth, 473 
 Peacock Butterfly, 403 
 Pea-green Moth, 505 
 Pear Beetle, 167 
 Pearl Moth, 493 
 Pearl- streak Veneer Moth, 
 
 49G 
 Ppctinicornes, 122 
 Pelohius, 62 
 Pemphredon, 324 
 Pentatoma, 578 
 Perla, 263 
 Perlidc^, 263 
 Peronea, 505 
 
 PEZ 
 I Pezomaehus, 323 
 i Phantom Moth, 528 
 I Philanthidie, 346 
 
 Philonthns, 78 
 
 Philhydrida, 108 
 
 Phlogophora, 481 
 
 Phlseothrips, 259 
 
 Phora, 634 
 
 Phasgonura, 248 
 
 Phryganea, 288 
 
 Phyllopertha, 114 
 
 Phyllotreta. 211 
 
 PhytocoridBe, 564 
 
 Phytoeoris, 564 
 
 Phytonomus, 172 
 
 Pieridse, 389 
 
 Pieris, 390 
 
 Piestidse, 85 
 
 Pigmy Moths, 526 
 
 Pill Beetle, 105 
 
 Pimpla, 323 
 
 Pine Saw-fly, 309 
 
 Pink-barred Yellow Moth, 
 481 
 
 Piper, 287 
 
 Pissodes, 177 
 
 Plant Bug, 564 
 
 Plant Lice, 542 
 
 Platyrhinus, 163 
 
 Plumeless Plume Moth, 528 
 
 Plume Moth, 527 
 
 Plusia, 482 
 
 Plusidfe, 432 
 
 Pogonocerus, 200 
 
 Pogonus, 41 
 
 Polyomraatus, 409 
 
 Pompilidae, 341 
 
 Pompilus, 341 
 
 Poplar Hawk Moth, 419 
 
 Poplar Hornet Clear-wing 
 Moth, 426 
 
 Porcupine Ant-eater, 595 
 
 Prasocuris, 209 
 
 Prionus, 192 
 
 Pristonychus, 42 
 
 Privet Moth, 421 
 
 Proctotrupidge, 329 
 
 Prognatha, So 
 
 Prominent Moth, 470 
 
 Pselaphidre, 221 
 
 Pselaphinse, 221 
 
 Pselaphus, 221 
 
 Pseudo-Bombyces, 463 
 
 Pseudotrimera, 215 
 
 Psylliodes, 213 
 
 Pterophori, 503, 515, 527 
 
 Pterophorus, 528 ' 
 
 Pterostichus, 45 
 
 Ptinidae, 139 
 
 SAL 
 
 Pfcyelus, 540 
 
 Pulex, 595 
 
 Pulicidse, 591 
 
 Pulverulentse, 489 
 
 Purple Emperor Butterfly, 
 
 403 
 Puss Moth, 463 
 Pygcera, 468 
 Pyralides, 487, 489, 496 
 Pyralis, 490 
 Pyrochoa, 148 
 Pyrochroide, 148 
 Pyrrhocoris, 560, 561 
 
 QUADRIFID.^, 482 
 Quedius, 74, 338 
 
 RAM-HORNED BEETLE, 
 205 
 Ranatra, 586 
 Raphidiidae, 278 
 Rat-tailed Maggot, 619 
 Red Admiral Butterfly, 399 
 Red Ant, 340 
 Red Feather Moth, 522 
 Red -footed Beetle, 162 
 Red-neck, 51 
 
 Red Underwing Moth, 485 
 Reduviidse, 573 
 Reduvius, 573 
 Rhagium, 200 
 Rhaphidia, 278 
 Rhipiphorus, 151 
 Rhizophagus, 99 
 Rhopalocera, 383 
 Rhynchites, 166 
 Rhyparochromidse, 562 
 Rhyparochromus, 562 
 Rhyssa, 324 
 Rice Beetle, 184 
 Rice Weevil, 184 
 Ringlet Butterfly, 407 
 Rose Beetle, 112 
 Rose Plume Moth, 529 
 Rose Saw-fly, 302 
 Rove Beetle, 66, 225 
 Royal Mantle Moth, 458 
 Ruby-tailed fly, 330 
 Rumia, 448 
 
 Rust Veneer Moth, 496 
 Rutelidse, 115 
 
 SAGRID.E, 203 
 Sailors. 137 
 Sallow Kitten Moth, 466 
 Saltatoria, 240 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 669 
 
 SAN 
 Sand Wasp, 331 
 Saturnia, 444 
 Satyridie, 406 
 Satyrus, 407 
 Saw-bearers, 297 
 Saw Fly, 'Ido 
 
 — Horn-tailed, 311 
 
 — Pine. 309 
 
 — Eose, 302 
 Sawyer-Beetle, 193 
 Scseva, 624 
 
 Scale Insect, 549, 551 
 Scarce Merveil du Joxir 
 Moth, 474 
 
 — Silver lines Moth. 504 
 
 — Tissue Moth, 460 
 Scaritidse, 24 
 Scarlet Bug, 560 
 Scarlet Hopper, 539 
 Seatophaga, 633 
 Schizocerus, 303 
 Scodiona, 454 
 Schoenobius, 499 
 Scolytus, 186, 433 
 Scorpion Fly, 282 
 Scotosia, 460 
 Scutellaridae, 578 
 Scydnisenidae, 95 
 Scydmsenus, 95 
 Sehirus, 557 
 Selandria, 307 
 Semasia, 313 
 Sericostoma, 289 
 Serricornes, 126 
 Serrifera, 297 
 Sesia, 426 
 Sesiadse, 426 
 Setting Beetles, 29 
 Setting Insects, 645 
 Sexton Beetle, 87 
 Sheep-fly, 637 
 Sheep-tick. 638 
 Shoulder-Stripe Moth, 459 
 Silk, 453 
 
 Silpha, 93 
 Silphidae, 86 
 Silphinae, 86 
 
 Silver-Ground Carpet Moth, 
 458 
 
 — -lines Moth. 503 
 
 — Y Moth, 483 
 Single-blotch Moth, 512 
 Sirex, 312 
 
 Sitaris, 159 
 
 Sitones, 169 
 
 Sitopbilus, 184 
 
 Six-spotted Burnet Moth, 
 
 433 
 Skeleton Moth, 528 
 
 Skipjack Beetle, 126 
 Skipper Butterfly, 410 
 Slug Worm, 307 
 Small Tabby Moth, 491 
 Small Tortoiseshell Butter- 
 fly, 399 
 Small White Butterfly, 391 
 Smerinthus, 419 
 Snake Fly, 278 
 Snout Moth, 488 
 Social Ants, 335 
 
 — Bees, 348, 368 
 
 — Wasps, 350 
 Soldiers, 137 
 Solitary Ants, 340 
 
 — Bees, 348, 355, 360 
 
 — Wasps, 348 
 Sparkler, 15 
 
 Speckled Wood Butterfly, 
 
 407 
 Spiculifera, 315 
 Spider Fly, 639 
 Spilodes, 495 
 Spilonota, 508 
 Sphseridiidse, 110 
 Sphingidse, 412 
 Sphinx, 421 
 Sphinx Moths, 412 
 Sphodrus, 42 
 Spurge Hawk Moth, 417 
 Squeaker Beetle, 194 
 Stag Beetle, 122 
 Staphylinidse, 75 
 Staphylinus, 76 
 Staurnpus, 468 
 Stenidge, 83 
 Stenolophus, 49 
 Stenocephalus, 560 
 Stenopteryx, 496, 642 
 Stenus, 83 
 Sternoxi, 126 
 Sternum, 11 
 Stilicus, 81 
 Sting-bearer, 297 
 Stirps, 614 
 Stone Fly, 263 
 
 — Yellow Sally, 266 
 Stone Humble Bee, 372 
 Stone-plume Moth, 529 
 Strangalia, 202 
 Stratiomys. 611 
 
 Straw Oblique Bar Moth, 
 
 505 
 Straw Worms, 287 
 Streak Moth, 461 
 Strepsiptera, 156 
 Stylups, 157, 357 
 Sugaring, 472 
 Swallow Fly, 642 
 
 TRI 
 
 Swallow-tail Butterfly, 386 
 Swallow-tailed Moth, 447 
 Swollen-leg Locust, 251 
 Syrphidie, 617 
 Syrphus, 623 
 Sysiellonotus, 565 
 
 '■PABANUS. 614 
 1 Tabby Moth, 490 
 Tachina, 628 
 Taehyporidae, 73 
 Tanagra, 462 
 Tanystoma, 614 
 Tarsus, 12 
 Tarus, 22 
 Teleas, 329 
 Telephoridse, 137 
 Telephorus, 137 
 Tenebrio, 146 
 Tenebrionidae, 146 
 Tentiiredinidae, 297 
 Tenthredo, 308 
 Teras, 506 
 Terehrantia, 297 
 Termites, 295 
 Tetramera, 161 
 Thamnotrizon, 251 
 Thoracocephala, 638 
 Thorn-])ack. 611 
 Thorn Moth, 448 
 Thousand-plume Moth, 529 
 Three-plated Beetle, 215 
 Thrips, 260 
 Th^-atira, 473 
 Thysanoptera, 257 
 Tiger Beetle, 15 
 Tiger Moth, 437 
 Timarcha, 208 
 Timber eating Beetles, 186 
 Timberman, 199 
 Tipula, 607 
 Tipulidffi, 601, 607 
 Tinese, 503. 515 
 Tischeria, 522 
 Tomicus, 190 
 'Tortoise Beetle, 214 
 Tortrices, 503 
 Tortricidae, 504 
 Tortrix, 504 
 Transformation, 4 
 Transparent Burnet Moth, 
 
 434 
 Tree Grasshopper, 249 
 Tree Wasp, 353 
 Trichiosoma, 300 
 Trichoptera, 285 
 Trichopteridae, 220 
 Trichopteryx, 220 
 
670 
 
 AJLPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 Triepphora, 539 
 Triphidse, 474 
 Trimera, 534 
 Triplax, 215 
 Trogus, 322 
 Tryphsena. 478 
 Trvphon, 321 
 Tube Bearers, 330 
 Tubulifera, 330 
 Turnip Flea. 211 
 
 — Flj, 303 
 
 — Moth, 477 
 Twenty-plume Moth. 529 
 Twisting Moths, 502 
 Two-spot Lady Bird, 218 
 Tychius, 181 
 Typhoeus, 119 
 
 XTRAPTERID^, 447 
 J Urapteryx, 447 
 Uroceridse, 311 
 Urocerus, 312 
 
 TJANESSA, 396 
 y Vanessidre, 394 
 Vapourer Moth, 439 
 Velleius, 74 
 Verlusia, 559 
 Vespa, 350 
 Vespidse, 350 
 Volucella, 622 
 Viviparous Beetle, 35 
 
 "ITT^BERIAN Tortnx 
 VV Moth, 513 
 Wainscot Veneer Moth, 497 
 
 Wall Butterfly, 407 
 Wartbiter Grasshopper, 249 
 Wasp, 295, 348 
 
 — Bees, 359 
 
 — Beetle, 191 
 
 — Common, 351 
 
 — German, 353 
 
 — Norway, 353 
 
 — Sand, 331 
 
 — Social, 350 
 
 — Solitary, 348 
 
 — Tree, 353 
 Watchman, Flying, 118 
 Water Beetle, 54 
 
 — Boatmen, 556, 511 
 
 — Bugs, 556, 581 
 
 — Fleas, 556 
 
 — Gnats, 575 
 
 — Measurers, 575 
 
 — Scorpion, 556, 595 
 Weevils, 161 
 
 — Apple, 178 
 
 — Apricot, 175 
 
 — Beech-hopper, 182 
 
 — Corn, 184 
 
 — Flower-dweller, 178 
 
 — Grain-lover, 188 
 
 — Grooved, 175, 346 
 
 — Hidden-Snout, 183 
 
 — Leaper, 182 
 
 — Letter--writer, 190 
 
 — Nut, 180. 346 
 
 — Pear, 167 
 
 — Eed-footed, 162 
 
 — Rice, 184 
 
 — Wood-eating, 186 
 Whirligig Beetle, 62 
 White Ant, 295 
 
 White-bordered Butterfly, 
 396 
 
 — Butterfly, 389 
 spot Moth, 491 
 
 — Worm, 115 
 Wild Bee. 368 
 Willow Fly, 266 
 Winfer Moth, 454 
 Wireworm, 130 
 Wood Ant, 336 
 
 — Cricket, 245 
 
 — -eating Beetles, 186 
 
 — Humble Bee, 371 
 
 — Leopard Moth. 428 
 
 — White Butterfly, 392 
 Woolly Bear, 438 
 Wurble Breeze-fly, 637 
 
 XANTHIA, 481 
 Xantholiuus, 81 
 Xantholinidse, 80 
 Xylophagi, 186 
 
 YELLOW ANT, 340 
 Yellow-Sally Stone Fly, 
 266 
 Yellow Underwing Moth, 
 478 
 
 ZEUZERA, 428 
 Zeuzeridse. 427 
 Zoegian Tortrix Moth, 513 
 Zygsenia, 433 
 Zygaenidse, 433 
 
"It may bb said to teach Natural History through the Bible, and ro explain thb 
 Bible through Natural Historv." — Lomion Gazette. 
 
 Bible Animals: 
 
 Being a Description of every Living Creature mentioned in 
 the Scriptures, from tJie Ape to tJie Coral. 
 
 By the Rev. J. G. WOOD, M.A., F.L.S., &c., 
 
 Author of " Homes Without Hands," " Common Objects op thb Sba-shorb and Country," &c. 
 
 With IOC new designs by W. F. Keyl, T. W. Wood, and E. A. Smith. 
 Engraved by G. Pearson. 
 
 One vol. Rvo., half morocco, $8.00 ; full morocco, $12.00 ; cloth, $5.00 
 
 <s> 
 
 This beautiful volume is one of the most attractive aids to the study of the Bible ever published. 
 Its author, who occupies the foremost place among living writers upon Natural History, has taken 
 up, in its proper succession, every creature whose name is given in the Scriptures, and supplies so 
 much of its history as will enable the reader "to understand all the passages in which it is mentioned. 
 A general account of each animal is first given, embracing its habits, peuliarities, mode of life, and, 
 where it is sought as game, the manner in which it is caught ; and these particulars are followed by 
 special explanations (whenever required) of those texts in which pointed reference is made to it, but 
 of which the full force cannot be gathered without a knowledge of Natural History. The illustra- 
 tions, which are numerous, are from designs by the best English artists, and are executed in the finest 
 st)'le of wood engraving. They are, moreover, all taken from the living animals, while the accessory 
 details have been obtained either from the Egyptian or Assyrian monuments, from aftual specimens, 
 or from the photographs and drawings of the latest travellers. They have also been sele6led and 
 arranged so that each illustration explains one or more passages of Scripture. While the work is 
 one of the most entertaining and profitable that can be placed in the hands of the young, it cannot fail 
 to possess the greatest interest and value to the Natural Historian, and to the Biblical Studcr.t 
 of mature years. 
 
 NOTICES OF THE ENGLISH PRESS. 
 
 " No writer of our own day — nor of any previous time, so far as our recolleflion serves — has done 
 so much'to popularize Natural History as the author of ' Homes without Hands.' Mr. Wood has the 
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 the aid he recein-es from the pencils of competent artists, that his books force themselves as a conse- 
 quence into public notice, not alone as scientific treatises, but also as entertaining and instructive 
 reading." — London Art yoiirnal. 
 
 " He gives his readers the latest results of the inquiries of travellers as well as of naturalists and 
 linguists, and to those who have not been accustomed to seek the guidance of such an interpreter as 
 Mr. Wood, it will be wonderful how much additional interest is given to the Scriptures by readinp 
 them with such a commentary." — English Independent. 
 
 " It is an excellent family book, and will be in constant requisition amongst Bible readers of all 
 ages." — The London Student. 
 
 This work may be procured of all Booksellers, or will be sent, post-pata, upon re- 
 ceipt of the price by the publishers. 
 
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 654 Broadway, New Vor^. 
 
WILL BE PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER, 
 
 THE UNIVERSE; 
 
 OR, THE INFINITELY GREAT AND THE INFINITELY LITTLE. 
 By F. A. POUCHET, M.D. Translated from the French. 
 
 lUustrated by 343 engravings on wood, and four colored plates, from drawings by A. Faodet Mesnel 
 Emll Bayaed, and J. Sxewaet. One vol. large 8vo., rich cloth, gilt top. ' 
 
 The " UNIVERSE " is one of the most profusely and superbly illustrated works on Natural History ever produced. 
 i volume of about eight hundred pages, it contains nearly 350 engravings, a large proportion full page ; those 
 which represent objects in nature having been drawn with the most conscientious and painstaking accuracy, while 
 tho^e which are based upon subjects which give any scope to the imagination, display that fertility of invention and 
 skill which seems unattainable save by French artists. The engravings display the perfection of wood engraving, 
 and in all its mechanical detaUs the volume is exceedingly handsome. The letter-press, which has been translate'd 
 frooi the French of one of the most famous of living scientists, is written in a famihar and attractive style. The 
 ivork, as the author says, " is not a Scientific Treatise, it is a simple Elementary Study, made with the purpose oi 
 cringing the reader to seek 'in other works ' more extended and thorough knowledge." Beginning with the Animal 
 Kingdom, the Invisible World, the Ocean Architects, Insects, Bird Architecture, &c., &c., are discussed ; and under 
 the Vegetable Kingdom very many curious facta regarding the Anatomy and Physiology of Plants, Seed and its Ger- 
 mmation, &c., are stated. In the fourth section, which treats of Geology, a familiar account of the Formation of thfi 
 Globe is given, and this is foUowed by brief discussions upon Fossils, Mountains, Volcanoes and Earthquakes, and 
 other natural phenomena ; while in the concluding section there is a rapid survey of the starry universe. The 
 volume is at ouce comprehensive in the range of the subjects discussed, and thoroughly accurate in the treatment of 
 them, making it, in connection with the mechanical perfection of its finish, one of the most attractive and valuable 
 works of its class ever published. 
 
 THE AUTHOR'S OBJECT DEFINED. 
 
 Extract from the Preface to THE UNI VERSE : 
 
 kpSp^.'^^^ tT^-® °^^?^^ ,'" ^'"°K tliis work was to inspire and extend to the utmost of my power a taste for natural 
 Bcience. it is not a learned treatise, but a simple elementary study, conceived with the idea of inducing the reader 
 HoV^rT n^^„ f 7^ lor more extensive and more profound knowledge. I should (eel pleased were this study to bo 
 n,o ^ o '^ /^ the peristyle of the temple in which lie hidden the mysterious splendors of Nature, and if it were 
 Pn?^ Av^.L'H'"'"!^ ^T.'' ''''*^'' '}"?'''' ^'J penetrate into the sanctuary itself, and uplift the veil whieh conceals 
 I'.v.fp ^fil title which I have adopted, my intention was merely to indicate that I had gathered trom creation at 
 v.^,^;p '^"uti-'sting the smallest ot its productions with the mightiest. I have gleaned everywhere, to show that 
 
 M,t Win, 2!, ^^'' 'J'^'T'^^ '"""'''■ ^?'-' luterestiDg observations. The animal and the vegetable worlds, the earth and 
 
 Mie heavens, appear by turns upon the scene." 
 
 CRITICAL NOTICES BY THE FRENCH PRESS: 
 
 "M. Pouchet is one of the learned naturalists of our 
 age ; his works are consulted daily by all devoted to na- 
 
 " The Univeese is an excellent work, and one which 
 from its brilUant execution is destined long to pass from 
 hand to baud, to live in tiio esteem of the studious and 
 the learned, and to be cherished at the same time by those 
 who do not belong to the ranks of science, but who are not 
 repelled by a recreation agreeable, if somewhat serious." 
 —Comptes liendus de V Exposition Univtrselle, 1867. 
 
 " The reputation of this book is made. We know that, 
 faithtul to its titie. The Universe, and to its sub-titie. The 
 hijinttely Great and the Ivfinilely Little— nnim&\s, plants, 
 the earth, the heaven— it embraces everything, and that 
 It treats of everything, not ouly in an agreeable, but in a 
 competent manner."— i'Opi'jiiow Naiionalt. 
 
 "With what grace and tenderness are the pages 
 written in which M. Pouchet sets before us the life, the 
 planners, and the customs of birds ! M. Michelet's work 
 18 not more charming ; and families of joyous singers 
 that shc-ller their loves in nests so cunningly and elegantly 
 hidden amid leaves and flowers, have ouce more awoke 
 an inspiration, grare or gay as the subject demands."— 
 M. Octave Laeoix, in the Comptes Rendut de I'Exposilim 
 de 1867. 
 
 "Under the pen of the learned naturalist, science is 
 stripped of its drj-ncss and clothed in the mantle of 
 poetry." -Le Eon, in Le Courrier National. 
 
 tural science, and his fine observations are as well known 
 as his vast erudition. ' Whoever aspires,' says he in his 
 preface, 'to the title of phiiosoiiher has, iu the present 
 day, a double mission to perlorm— to discover and to po 
 pularize ; he should labor ou the one hand for the ad- 
 vancement, on the other for the dirtusiou, of science.' 
 M. Pouchet has performed both of these d-uties with 
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 public will convince him that he has succeeded in pro- 
 ducing one of the most attractive of books."— Co rsaire. 
 
 " The beautiful book whose publication we aunounce 
 is not only a good book, but it is a splendid and magnifi- 
 cent work of art, as remarkable for the beauty of the exe- 
 cution as for the numerous engravings by which it is 
 adorned ; both mind and eye are charmed iu turning 
 over its pages." — Amedee Gdillemin, author of Tlie 
 Heavens, in L'Avenir National. 
 
 "It reads like a romance of the Thousand and One 
 Nights of nature. The imagination of the fabulous story- 
 tellers of the East is surpassed, by the simple expositi >v 
 of the truth. But that truth M. Pouchet knows how tr. 
 color, if not to embellish. It is characterized not only by 
 the precision of science, but also by the ardor of poetical 
 feeling."— La Pretse. 
 
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