274 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



her snout, and puMrf^ near the nipples, which they find and prrasp by instinct. Their 

 growth is very rapid : at a week old they weigh thirty grains. They remain in the pouch 

 attached to the nipples till they are able to move about." 



lu winter, if the climate is cold, the opossums become sliiggi.-?li, but not tor- 

 pid, like the woodchucks. 



INSECTS. 



Before proceeding to a consideration of the characteristics and habits of our 

 native birds, it will be necessary to give a brief general description of the dif- 

 ferent orders of insects, which constitute a large proportion of their food. It 

 will not be necessary to enter into details regarding species, more than to 

 mention those most injurious, or to select familiar species as types of the vari- 

 ous families. We found iu the introductory description of insects that they 

 all undergo certain changes or metamorphoses after being hatched from the 

 Qgg. This peculiarity briefly describes, or rather distinguishes, animals of this 

 class from all others. The different orders into which they are divided are all 

 based upon characteristics which place them iu seven natural groups readily 

 distinguished : they are called Coleoptera, (beetles ;) Orthoptera, (cockroaches, 

 crickets, grasshoppers, &c. ;) Hemiptera, (bugs, locusts, plant-lice, &c. ;) 

 Keuroptera, (dragon flies, lace-winged flies, May flies, &c. ;) Lepidoptera, 

 (butterflies and moths ;) Ilymenoptera, (saw flies, wasps, bees, ants, &c. ;) 

 and Diptera, (mos'juitoes, gnats, flies, &c.) 



The Coleoptera (literally sheathed wings) include some of the most inju- 

 rious insects of the farm. The characteristics of this order are that the wings 

 "are covered and concealed by a pair of horny cases or shells, meeting in a 

 straight line on the top of the back, and usually having a little triangular or 

 semi-circular piece, called the scutel, wedged between their bases." — (Harris.) 

 Some families in this order are carnivorous, and, consequently, beneficial ; 

 these arc the CicindeladcB, (tiger beetlej? ;) Carahidce, (predaceous ground bee- 

 tles ;) Dytiscidce, (diving beetles ;) and the Coccinelladce, (ladybirds or lady 

 bugs, as they are often called.) The CicindeladcB may be recognized by the 

 metallic lustre of their wings and bodies, their agile movements, and their 

 habit of frequenting sandy roads and dry sandy fields, "starting from under 

 the feet of the traveller with a swift and noiseless flight, only to alight a few 

 feet ahead, facing about to meet the threatened danger as they touch the 

 ground. This operation is ofteii repeated several times before they will take 

 refuge in the grass or other herbage." The CarabidcB are generally pretty 

 well known, as are also the Coccinelladce. The Dytiscidce, or diving beetles, 

 are aquatic insects ; they destroy multitudes of those insects that pass through 

 their first transformation in the water. 



Nearly all the other families of the order Coleoptera are injurious ; among 

 them are found the Scarahacidcs, (tree beetles, dung beetles, dor beetles. May 

 bugs, and rose bugs, or beetles properly,) which subsist upon the leaves of 

 trees, shrubs, &c. ; the Cetoniadce, (flower beetles;) the Lucanidat, (stag bee- 

 tles, horn bugs, flying bulls, &c. ;) the Buprcstidce, (saw-horned beetles,) the 

 larva; of which are injurious to trees ; they are called " wood-eaters or borers." 

 Our forests and orchards are more or less subject to their attacks, especially 

 after the trees have passed their prime. " Some of these beetles are known to 

 eat leaves and flowers, and of this nature is probably the food of all of them. 

 The injury they may thus commit is not very apparent, and cannot bear any 

 comparison with the extensive ravages of their larva;." The Elateridcs, 

 (spring beetles,) which may be distinguished by their habit of jerking them- 

 selves upward and over when laid on their backs ; their larva; are also tree- 

 borers ; the Rhynckophoridce, (weevils,) which may be known by their length- 

 ened snouts, are injurious by attacking plums and other fruits, grains, and 

 Eeeds; the CerambycidcB, (borers,) which may be known by their habit, when 



