330 
Sabtpa Sp(?). 
This shore bug is very active and very difficult to catch and hard to 
find except on sunny days, when their shiny black wings make them 
rather conspicuous. They are found chiefly in the area covered by the 
Spergularia Marina. They live in burrows in the ground, and only venture 
forth in search of food on sunny days at low tide. 
Their resistance to drowning is not nearly as great as that of the 
beetles; twenty-four hours submergence usually being sufficient to kill 
them. Twelve hours had very little effect. Like the beetles, they enclose 
large bubbles of air under their wings. On several occasions I placed 
several of them on the surface of the water when the area was covered 
by the tide. They swam on the surface until they came to floating fucus 
thallus (other floating materials being rejected). They would then crawl 
to one of the deepest submerged branches, where they would remain. 
They were almost invisible on the thailus, due to the resemblance of the 
fucus to their wings with the enclosed air bubble. This, undoubtedly, is 
a protective instinct. 
3DELIDAS Sp( 7). 
This reddish-brown plant louse (2 to 3 mim. long) is widely distributed 
throughout the salt marsh. Their outer limit borders on the inner limit 
of the prevailing tides. They are never found beyond the inner Spartina 
limit, 64-foot level. Their mouth parts are especially adapted to sucking 
plant juices and they live on decaying plants. They are especially abun- 
dant on fresh drift weed. 
As stated, they are seldom found in the areas covered by the prevail- 
ing tides, yet on occasions of a sudden rise in tide levels, they may be 
found walking on the ground when it is covered by the tide. They do not 
seem to have any objections to such unusual conditions as they apparently 
make no effort to escape. They are easily washed away by the tide when 
once lifted from their feet, as their long slender legs are to their dis- 
advantage. After the retreat of such an unusually high tide, they are not 
as numerous as they were previous to it, due perhaps to the fact that they 
have no protection from aquatic enemies, and also because many of them 
are washed away. There is little danger of drowning. One morning, 
at 6:45, I placed six of them in vials and submerged them in sea water. 
At 5 p.m. they were all lying on their backs, apparently dead, but on 
exposure to the air they all revived. I also placed several in an un- 
