HEMIPTERA. 189 



with the death of these winged individuals, which soon follows, 

 the race becomes extinct for the season. 



Plant-lice seem to love society, and often herd together in 

 dense masses, each one remaining fixed to the plant by means of 

 its long tubular beak ; and they rarely change their places till they 

 have exhausted the part first attacked. The attitudes and man- 

 ners of these little creatures are exceedingly amusing. When 

 disturbed, like restive horses, they begin to kick and sprawl in 

 the most ludicrous manner. They may be seen, at times, sus- 

 pended by their beaks alone, and throwing up their legs as if in a 

 high frolic, but too much engaged in sucking to withdraw their 

 beaks. As they take in great quantities of sap, they would soon 

 become gorged if they did not get rid of the superabundant fluid 

 through the two little tubes or pores at the extremity of their 

 bodies. When one of them gets running-over full, it seems to 

 communicate its uneasy sensations, by a kind of animal magnetism, 

 to the whole flock, upon which they all, with one accord, jerk 

 upwards their bodies, and eject a shower of the honeyed fluid. 

 The leaves and bark of plants much infested by these insects are 

 often completely sprinkled over with drops of this sticky fluid, 

 which, on drying, become dark colored, and greatly disfigure the 

 foliage. This appearance has been denominated honey-dew ; but 

 there is another somewhat similar production observable on plants, 

 after very dry weather, which has received the same name, and 

 consists of an extravasation or oozing of the sap from the leaves. 

 We are often apprized of the presence of plant-lice on plants 

 growing in the open air by the ants ascending and descending the 

 stems. By observing the motions of the latter we soon ascertain 

 that the sweet fluid discharged by the lice is the occasion of these 

 visits. The stems swarm with slim and hungry ants running up- 

 wards, and others lazily descending with their bellies swelled 

 almost to bursting. When arrived in the immediate vicinity of 

 the plant-lice, they greedily wipe up the sweet fluid which has 

 distilled from them, and, when this fails, they station themselves 

 among the lice, and catch the drops as they fall. The lice do not 

 seem in the least annoyed by the ants, but live on the best possi- 

 ble terms with them ; and, on the other hand, the ants, though 

 unsparing of other insects weaker than themselves, upon which 



