﻿285 



believe that the flightless leaf-hoppers are more proliflc than 

 the fully winged specimens." 



In connection with this, it is worth noting- that both in Pcrkiii- 

 siclla saccharicida and graininicida e. g., the l:)rachypterous 

 females have distinctly larger and fatter abdomens \Vhich appear 

 at least to contain many more ova. 



(c) MATERNAL AFFECTION. 



The maternal solicitude, which has rendered so celebrated cer- 

 tain Earwigs, Centipedes, Cimicidae. and other Arthropods, 

 finds expression also in a Membracid, Entylia sinnata, the details 

 of which have been related by Miss Murtfeldt. The remarkable 

 point is that the hopper, usually s-o shy, leaping away at the first 

 alarm, refused to move when touched, while guarding her off- 

 spring. 



(d) STRIDULATION. 



The Stridulation of the Cicadoidea was known to the Greeks, 

 and doubtless was investigated by many a philosopher before 

 Xcnarchos. The other Auc'henor'hynchi have always been sup- 

 posed to be silent; but PcrkinsicUa saccharicida has been distinctly, 

 and often, heard to stridulate by the Entomologists of this sta- 

 tion, though specially modified organs have not yet been dis- 

 covered. As the tegmina, even in the brachypterous forms, are 

 observed synchronously to jerk u]) and down, this may have 

 seme connection with the phenomenon. 



(e) THE RELATIONS BETWEEN LEAF-HOPPERS AND ANTS. 



The relations between ants and other insects are extremely 

 complicated and little understood. 



That herds of Aphidae are kept in temperate zones b}- ants, 

 and tended in the most remarka'ble manner, is too well known 

 to be further dwelt upon ; in the tropics, where as a rule Aphidae 

 are very rare, their place is taken by other insects, among them 

 certain Coccidae (i. e., Meal\bugs), Leaf-hoppers, etc. Spix and 

 Martins, Beske, Lund, Hardwicke, Guilding, Swainson and 

 T'.elt have recorded observations on this point, though they were 

 doubted by Sharp. Green however, has recently reobserved the 

 phenomenon in Ceylon. He says: 'T have frequently watched 

 the larvae of various species of Ccntrotus being assiduously at- 

 tended by ants. The larvae are gregarious, usually frequenting 

 tlie succulent shoots of plants, and have an extensile organ at 



