124 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



believe that any hole exists. Still patiently I watch 

 until a tiny, red velvety-jacketed spider, unsus- 

 pecting of danger, runs in a line directly across the 

 treacherous path. In less than the twink of an eye a 

 sharp click — spider and trap-door together disappear 

 — and lo ! in place thereof a hole is once more open 

 to my inquisitive eye. 'Tis the burrowr of the larva 

 of that most beautiful of all English insects the tiger 

 beetle (Cicindcia campestris), and that nicely fitting 

 trap-door was its flattened head, armed with a terrible 

 pair of jaws, on which, if once impaled, no victim 

 will ever find escape. 



The larva of the tiger beetle is a remarkable 

 instance of the adaptation of an animal to the 

 conditions of its existence. 'Tis a curiously un- 

 attractive specimen of insectivity when exhumed, 

 and it will at once be seen that it has been furnished 

 with special organs fitted for the performance of 

 special work. These consist of a pair of tubercles, 

 situated on the upper side of the isoft abdomen, to 

 these are attached two hooks, each surrounded by a 

 series of stiff bristles. These curious appendages 

 enable the creature to climb up, and retain its position 



Fig. %T.— Helix 

 hispiJa. 



Fig. 86. — Helix aspersa. 



inj any part of its smooth burrow, which, without 

 some such arrangement, it would be impossible for it 

 to do. Its flattened head, which is furnished with 

 six eyes, not simply serves the purpose of an efficient 

 shield, but is, also, a powerful implement, which 

 enables its possessor to cast out with facility the 

 excavated earth. Small pellets of sand, or loam, 

 and particles of rock introduced into the burrow are 

 ejected with wonderful precision and considerable 

 force, as are, also, the exuviae of its victims. A 

 sharp unmistakable click is heard, and the particle 

 is shot forth as a bomb from a mortar. When 

 visible, gently touch the shield-like head with a 

 slender blade of grass, the click which accompanies 

 the lightning-like backward movement of the head 

 indicates that the object has unerringly been struck, 

 and the slight start of the operator almost invariably 

 jerks the uncanny looking creature from its burrow. 

 When the larva is about to change into the pupal 

 condition, it securely barricades its burrow with a 

 diaphragm of earth, and in due time emerges a beetle, 

 resplendent in a panoply of emerald and ruby, 

 garnished with burnished gold, but endowed with 

 instincts little in accord with its beauteous aspect. 



The burrows are numerous in the sun-scorched 

 banks and indurated footpaths at the top of our lane. 



Space will not allow of my describing many other 

 curious forms of insect life, but winged creatures both 

 dipterous and hymenopterous, and of " forms and 

 hues divine," abound. Well represented are the 

 butterflies and moths : amongst the former the least 

 common are the beautiful brimstone (Gonepteryx 

 Rhanuii) and the dark-green fritillary {Argynnis 

 Aglaia), but some of the most richly coloured kinds 

 are abundant, the painted lady {Cynthia Cardni) 

 and the peacock ( Vanessa Id) particularly so ; the 

 red admiral ( Vanessa Atalanta), I seldom light upon, 

 whilst the commonest form in my orchard and 

 neighbourhood is the small tortoiseshell {V. Urticcc). 

 Of course the pretty orange-tip {Anthocaris Card- 

 amines) is, at times, plentiful ; nor must I forget that 

 charming though by no means rare blue — the chalk - 

 hill blue {Folyommatus Corydon). The speckled 

 wood (Lasiom7nata^geria), the wall (Z. Megara), and 

 the green hair-streak {Thecla Rubi), besides a host of 

 commoner species, sport in the summer sunshine, and 

 proclaim the richness of the locality in these " things 

 of beauty." 



Of all the many species of moths to be met with I 

 have found the burnet to be wonderfully plentiful at 



Fig. 88. — Helix arbusiorum, 



the lane-top, and the exquisite little twenty-plume 

 [Alucita hexadactyla) equally abundant in my garden. 

 All through the year — except during the coldest 

 months — three or four to a dozen, and upwards, may 

 always be found under the shelter of my stone, 

 honeysuckle covered porch, very many specimens 

 hybernating in our bedroom and dark closets. 



As might be expected, the Ichneumonidae are in 

 full force ; their name is Legion, and many and 

 curious^ are their nests to be found in the neighbour- 

 hood of our lane. The mud-wasps, too, build their 

 mud-cells in nearly every sunny crevice in the 

 woodwork of our summer-house, in which are stored 

 the living caterpillars which serve as food for the 

 young grubs when hatched. Then, too, the solitary 

 wasp ( Vespa Norvegica) last summer hung its pretty 

 pensile nest in a sheltered spot, o'erhung with ivj-, 

 and within but six inches of a spotted flycatcher's 

 nest. Although in such close proximity, both 

 creatures must have been peaceably engaged in their 

 building operations at the same time. Several 

 species of spiders that I have never before met with 

 are to be found in the hedges, some I believe to be 

 rare. 



