CERCOPID/E. 70 



details ! Will it suggest questions to those who main- 

 tain that germs of organs (somehow) spontaneously 

 rise, which will develop and become hereditary if they 

 prove economically beneficial to the animal ? 



Although I have kept " cuckoo-spits " alive for four 

 days, under watch-glasses, without food, the insects are 

 very sensitive as to freshness in the character of their 

 food. When the sap of the plants in the least deteriorates, 

 the larvae crawl out of the spume and wander over 

 the plants until they die. The habits of these insects, 

 therefore, are not easy to watch in confinement. 



The convolutions of the intestines are very long and 

 intricate. Leon Dufour says that when unravelled 

 they are more than eight times the length of the body. 

 The tracheae are numerous. The oesophagus is straight, 

 and terminates in a rostrum with three long bristles, 

 as in Aphis. 



The Cercopidse feed on numerous plants and shrubs, 

 such as Rumex, Rubus, Veronica, Scabiosa, Rosa, Salix. 

 Also they may be taken on many Compositae, and on 

 various grasses. 



The very common Fhikenus spumarius is very indis- 

 criminate in its choice of food-plants. 



The elytra and wings of the Cercopidae are large, 

 yet the insects make no long flights. On the other 

 hand, the numerous spines on their legs give a good 

 foot-hold for long leaps which the wings help to 

 sustain. The insects run quickly and often, with an 

 odd sideways motion like that of the crab. 



Some literary interest attaches to the name Cercopidae. 

 Ovid tells us* that the Cercopes were the inhabitants 

 of Pithecusa, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, who 



'''■ Vide Ovid, Med. 14, v. 91. Also ' Cistula Entomologica,' Kspxo; 

 Kepy-w^", a tailed beast, a cheat, a howling monkey. Ancient beliefs, with 

 a love of the marvellous mixed with credulity, find exponents in our daj-. 

 In the author's knowledge a question was raised amongst some friends as 

 to the origin of cuckoo-spit. A wag gravely stated that the bird made 

 itself hoarse by singing his oft-repeated note, and that during the fits of 

 silence he relieved his throat in the manner shown on vegetation around. 

 An otherwise intelligent auditor accepted this explanation as satisfactory, 

 just in the same manner as our forefathers have done. 



