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INSECT TRANSF0R3IAT10NS. 



dart off into holes and corners so suddenly, as otten 

 to escape the quickest movements of an insect 

 hunter. It is remarkable, however, that those switt- 

 footed insects seldom run far without making a- full 

 pause to reconnoitre their position, as a deer may be 

 seen to arch his neck from behind a tree to examine 

 a stranger, and, after tripping off to some distance, 

 turn round again to take another peep at the intruder. 

 The same habit is observable among spiders, partic- 

 ularly the hunters, and those which run about 

 meadows and the margins of water {Lycosa saccata, 

 &c.) Some of the mites are still more rapid in their 

 movements, and we have oflen admired a very com- 

 mon one (Gammasus Baccm-um, Fabr.) which fre- 

 quents ttrawberry-beds in gardens, and, as Kirby 

 and Spence justly say, appears rather to glide or fly 

 than to use its legs.* Its minuteness adds to the 



ft^ Jxdus icrresiris. b, the snme coiled up. r, oil beetle (Piq- 

 scarabaus vulgaris). J, Nycteribia Hervianni. 



Intr. vol. 



u, p. 



Sll. 



