MOISES OF INSECTS. 379 



are equally barren of insects of sounding;' wing — and 

 proceed to an order, the Ili/menoptera^ in which the 

 insects that compose it are, many of them, of more fame 

 for this property. 



The indefatigable hive-bee, as she flies from flower 

 to flower, amuses the observer with her hum, which, 

 though monotonous, pleases by exciting- the idea of 

 happy industry, that wiles the toils of labour with a 

 song. When she alights upon a flower, and is en- 

 gaged in collecting its sweets, her hum ceases ; but it 

 is resumed again the moment that she leaves it. — The 

 wasp and hornet also are strenuous hummers ; and when 

 they enter our apartments, their hum often brings ter- 

 ror with it. But the most sonorous fliers of this order 

 are the larger humble-bees, whose bombination, boom-!- 

 ing, or bombing, may be heard from a considerable di- 

 stance, gradually increasing as the animal approaches 

 you, and when, in its wheeling flight, it rudely passes 

 close to your ear, almost stunning you by its sharp, 

 shrill, and deafening sound. Many genera, however, 

 of this order fly silently. 



But the noisiest wings belong to insects of the dipte- 

 rous order, a majority of which, probably, give notice 

 of their approach by the sound of their trumpets. Most 

 of those, however, that have a slender body, — the gnat 

 genus {Culex) excepted, — explore the air in silence. Of 

 this description are the Tipnlidce, the Asilidw, the ge- 

 nus En/pis, and their afiinities. The rest are more or 

 less insects of a humming flight ; and with respect to 

 many of them, their hum is a sound of terror and dis- 

 may to those who hear it. To man, the trumpet of the 

 gnat or mosquito; and to beasts, that of the gad-fly; 



