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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



[April 1, 1869. 



species : hundreds of other curculionids are to be 

 found in these sunny regions : Eustales, Platyomus, 

 Cyphus, Lordops, Chrysolobus, Naupactes, &c, 

 whose elytra, when prepared for the microscope, 

 give [one rather the idea of rich caskets of fairy 

 jewels, than a mere collection of beetles' wings. 

 On the other hand our tiny Polydrdsus can boast 

 only of a series of long narrow scales, pretty enough 

 in themselves, having the same glittering character 

 as in its more richly clothed relations ; but withal 

 so minute, and having such slight powers of 

 reflection, as scarcely to render the insect more 

 remarkable than its neighbours : at the same time, 

 the bold elevations and broad furrows, so con- 

 spicuous in the wing-covers of Entimus, are reduced 

 in Polydrosus to dots and stripes which can only 

 be discerned by means of a lens. 



Again, reflected light and the special colour of 

 the locality in which they live, are not without their 

 influence on insects. We find, for instance, the hue 

 of some (whether larva, pupa, or imago), corres- 

 ponding with that of the soil, the tree bark or other 

 part of a plant, on which they may be destined to 

 live. Thus we may see in almost any garden in the 

 summer season, how the rose aphids accommodate 

 themselves to the colour of the leaf or twig to which 

 they are fixed; green aphids being found upon green 

 shoots, whereas if the latter are red, the animals 

 upon them are tolerably sure to be red too. 



Elaphrus riparius, L., a not uncommon beetle on 

 the sides of ponds and ditches, is of a light brown 

 colour on gravel, but changes to a green when bred, 

 as it often is, among tufts of grass. 



Pacilus lepidus, Fabr., P. cuprens, L., Harpalus 

 /emus, Fabr., H. azureus, Fabr., Selatosomus cp.h&us, 

 Steph., and a host of others are liable to important 

 changes of colour dependant on locality. The pupa 

 of the lesser Tortoiseshell Butterfly (Vanessa ur'tica) 

 is naturally of a golden colour, but on a wall or 

 fence, where it is often found, it becomes reddish, 

 or grey, or even so dark as to be nearly black. 



The inhabitants of ponds and streams are not 

 exempted from the law which confers such subtle 

 power on the solar ray. Light, as is well known, 

 decreases in intensity with the depth of the water 

 through which it is made to pass ; and is, besides, 

 broken up, in its passage through the denser medium, 

 into its component parts. The first to be refracted 

 is the blue ray; and in agreement with this we 

 find that insects of a more or less purple tint, such 

 as Gyrinus, occupy the surface. This is followed by 

 the green and yellow rays, and here predominate 

 the olive coloured or yellowish brown genera, 

 Dyticus, Haliplus, &c. 



Nor must we forget to notice the strange influence 

 exercised on the insect world by the thick darkness 

 which usually in summer time precedes the out- 

 burst of a violent thunder-storm. As the sun hides 

 itself behind the heavy clouds, we may see the little 



animals making every effort to shelter themselves 

 from the coming deluge. Butterflies seek the 

 covert of a spreading leaf, or the rough chink of 

 overhanging bark. The smaller beetles and Physa- 

 pods nestle down into the centre of the corolla, ou 

 which they were previously feeding, and remain still 

 and quiet ; while even the industrious bees give 

 over their labours and swarm back to their hives 

 with all speed. While the greater part of the in- 

 sect world is thus flying before the threatening 

 clouds, the gnats renew their gambols with re- 

 doubled energy, and the bloodthirsty Horse-fly 

 {Hcematopota piuvialis, L.) plies his work on man 

 and beast more vigorously than ever. 



Even these, however, vanish with the first heavy 

 raindrops ; and then all is quiet, and Nature seems 

 to wait the storm silent and awe-struck. But no 

 sooner has the last of the thunder clouds passed 

 across the face of the sun, than forth come the 

 fugitives to their former scenes of activity ; swarms 

 of insects of every hue and every form issue from 

 their places of concealment; beetles creep out of 

 holes and corners; butterflies display their gaudy 

 wings on the still dripping flowers ; and once more 

 the whir and hum of countless tiny organisms fill the 

 warm air and give fresh life to the field and garden. 



" By myriads forth at once, 

 Swarming they pour, of all the varied hues 

 Their beauty-beaming parent can disclose ; 

 Ten thousand forms, ten thousand different tribes, 

 People the blaze."— Thomson's Seasons. 



ANIMAL FROM SALT LAKE. 



A SHORT time since, Mr. S. A. Briggs, of 

 -*-*- Chicago, sent to the Editor a rough camera 

 lucida sketch of an animal found in water from the 

 Great Salt Lake, which he was unable to identify. 

 The communication and sketch were submitted to 

 P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.R.S., who desired further par- 

 ticulars before hazarding an opinion on its zoological 

 position. Those further observations since sent to 

 Mr. Gosse, have kindly been placed at our disposal 

 for publication, with a reduced copy of the camera 

 lucida sketch. That gentleman's reply may pro- 

 bably appear hereafter, with Mr. Briggs's consent. 

 Although our knowledge of this creature is at pre- 

 sent very small, it may have an important history 

 "looming in the future." 



My Dear Sir, 

 M. C. Cooke, Esq., of London, has sent me your 

 note to him of the Gth inst. respecting an unknown 

 form which I found in a bottle of water sent me 

 from Great Salt Lake. 



As in your note you express a desire to know 

 more of it, and as I am extremely anxious to have 

 its position determined, I beg to inclose a duplicate 

 of the camera drawing I sent Mr. Cooke, upon which 



