CH. XXIII.] HINTS FOR STUDENTS. 307 



pear to be the most prolific ; but much time will be 

 lost in searching a clay-pit, as only very few insects 

 are found in such a locality. Old trees afford a nidus 

 for various insects, as well as timber and planks 

 which have not been disturbed for a considerable 

 time. On palings, post and rails, &c., are found 

 lepidopterous species, and also others in a state of 

 repose. The sea itself has its particular species, 

 especially under stones, after the water has left the 

 shore. The running streams are the element of 

 some throughout their metamorphoses, of others 

 only through their larval stages. The collector must 

 also look under stones on the bank, as well as in the 

 mud. Aquatic plants afford food for many, and even 

 their roots require examination. Stagnant water 

 contains its peculiar kinds, especially under the 

 duckweed, and brackish must not be neglected. 

 Even carrion and dung form the habitation of a great 

 variety of species. 



Scarcely any situation, indeed, is without its pe- 

 culiar races of insects; and the poet, Thomson, 

 seems to have been well acquainted with their vari- 

 ous haunts : — 



" Ten thousand forms ! ten thousand different tribes ! 

 People the blaze. To sunny waters some 

 By fatal instinct fly ; where on the pool 

 They, sportive, wheel ; or, sailing down the stream, 

 Are snatch'd immediate by the quick-eyed trout 

 Or darting salmon. Through the greenwood glade 

 Some love to stray ; there lodged, amused, and fed 

 In the fresh leaf. Luxurious, others make 

 The meads their choice, and visit every flower 

 And every latent herb : for the sweet task, 

 To propagate their kinds, and where to wrap, 

 In what soft beds, their young ji-et undisclosed, 

 Employs their tender care. Some to the house, 

 The fold, and dairy, hungry, bend their flight ; 

 Sip at the pail, or taste the curding cheese; 

 Oft, inadvertent, from the milky stream 

 They meet their fate ; or, weltering in the bowl, 

 With powerless wings around them wrapped, expire." 



