SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Jan. 1, 186G. 



and so great was his pugnacity that he would attack 

 a stick, or even the finger if put near him ; but the 

 most remarkable instance of his pugilistic disposition 

 was manifested when a caddis ventured near his 

 charge : he would immediately seize it and carry it 

 quite across the aquarium ; this being the more re- 

 markable as he did not touch it until it moved, 

 thus perhaps showing that in his judgment, if not in 

 the judgment of many pisciculturalists, the caddis 

 would devour or otherwise injure the spawn. It is 

 remarkable that the male plays the part of mamma 

 in every way, the female taking no heed of her off- 

 spring. 



Thus much for the common three-spined stickle- 

 back's nest. The nest of the ten-spined stickleback 

 is said to be barrel-shaped and [placed, not on the 

 bottom, but among the stems and leaves of plants. 



No doubt some who read this may like to try the 

 experiment themselves. Nothing can be easier ; all 

 there is to add is this : let your aquarium be without 

 fish for some time ; perhaps it would be better with- 

 out even snails. Do not omit to feed them with 

 small worms every day, and, above all, do not over 

 crowd them. 



Aphides or Plant-bugs. — The plant -bugs 

 (Aphides) are insects belonging to the order 

 Hemiptera, that is to say, to the group which in- 

 cludes the Cicadidae, Cimicida) (bugs), &c. They 

 form a very extensive genus, whose species are 

 even yet far from being^all known. These insects 

 arc genuine parasites, living upon vegetables, and 

 in these temperate climates there is hardly a single 

 plant but what supports its own species of Aphis, 

 cither upon its stems, or its leaves, or about its 

 roots. Many species of Aphis maybe classed among 

 the noxious insects. Reaumur discovered that the 

 punctures made by them, when in sufficient quantity, 

 • not only exhausted the plants, but gave rise to 

 nodular swellings, and to alteration of the tissues. 

 The laniger plant-bug {Lachnus laniger), which 

 attacks apple-trees especially, has on many occa- 

 sions destroyed the plantations of Normandy. This 

 species, which is one of the disastrous results of 

 commercial intercommunication with other countries, 

 was found in England, according to M. Tougard, in 

 1787. In 1812, it had reached the Erench depart- 

 ments of C6tes-du-Nord, Manche, and Calvados. 

 In 1818, it made its appearance in Paris in the 

 garden of the " Ecole de Pharmacie ; " it was seen 

 in the departments of the SeineTnferieure, the 

 Somme, and the Aisne, in 1822. Einally, it was dis- 

 covered in Belgium in 1827. This formidable little 

 insect has for some years held its sway in the 

 southern departments, no means of destroying it 

 having been discovered. — m Qitat 'refuges' Metamor- 

 phoses. 



THE GREATER SPOTTED WOOD-PECKER. 



IN a recent number of the Zoologist (March, 

 1864), Mr. Maurice describes his observations 

 respecting the Greater Spotted Wood-pecker, which 

 had attracted my notice when in Oaxaca forty years 

 ago ; and as I consider wood-peckers exceedingly 

 clever birds, and capable of performing acts that 

 would seem to denote, or require something more 

 than instinct, I have been surprised not to find any 

 explanation or suggestion regarding the wonderful 

 provision made by the Great Spotted Wood-peckers 

 for storing their winter food. 



It is in the higher regions of the Cordilleras that 

 the habits of the numerous species of wood-pecker 

 may be advantageously studied. In some such 

 localities a large and very beautiful wood-pecker 

 exhibits the most marvellous indications of fore- 

 thought and design. The acorn is its principal food, 

 the storing of which is performed, I suppose, by the 

 wood-pecker taking the precise measurement of an 

 acorn, and then making a hole in the bark of the 

 pitch- (or candle-) pine so exactly the size and shape 

 of the acorn that it must cost some trouble to pack 

 it the narrow end foremost (which it invariably 

 does), and the part that was attached to the cup, 

 outside, but not protruding from the bark. I have 

 seen trees in Oaxaca upwards of 100 feet high, so 

 completely stuffed with acorns, that it seemed im- 

 possible to find a place for an additional one. Trees 

 thus treated have a very singular appearance. Some 

 years ago (either 1854 or 1855) I saw in the Athe- 

 ncBiim a similar discription to my own by a traveller 

 in California, who considered that his observations 

 were something quite new. But I have never seen 

 any reason given, any guess hazarded, as to why the 

 wood-pecker acts so wisely as he does in selecting 

 the pitch-pine alone for storing his food. Why not 

 take the white-fhy the cedar, alder, or hundreds 

 of other trees that to an waobservant person would 

 appear equally, if not better adapted to the purpose ? 

 The question remains still unanswered as to why the 

 wood-pecker prefers the pitch-pine? I therefore 

 venture to offer my own explanation. 



In the forests the wood-peckers inhabit, there is 

 scarcely, an oak-tree without a squirrel skipping 

 along its branches. When the acorns are shed, or 

 rotting, or producing young oaks, the squirrels have 

 to look for food elsewhere. If the woodpeckers 

 stored their food in the bark of the Cedar, White- 

 Pine, or almost any other tree, the squirrels would 

 find no difficulty in gnawing their way to the wood- 

 pecker's dinner. But they are too wise to attempt 

 to extract a single acorn from the bark of the Pitch- 

 Pine, for they would have to gnaw into turpentine, 

 and would be laughed at by the woodpeckers for 

 their pains. E. G. 



