388 DEFINITION OF THE TERM INSECT. 
From this table you see that several insects included 
in it exceed some of the smallest Vertebrata in bulk. In 
the Mammalia, the Sorex Araneus, called by the common 
people here the Ranny, is not more than two inches 
long excluding the tail; and the Mus messorius, or har- 
vest-mouse, peculiar to the southern counties of England, 
is still more diminutive: so that to these little animals, 
the larger Dynastida, Goliathi, and Prioni, &c., appear 
giants, and may compete with the mole in size. Even some 
of the beetles of our own country, as the great Hydrophi- 
lus, the stag-beetle, &c., are more bulky than the two 
first-named quadrupeds. Amongst the birds, many Pica, 
Passeres, &c., yield to several insects in dimensions, and 
their wings when expanded do not extend so far as those 
of not a few Lepidoptera, 'The great owl-moth of Brazil 
(Erebus Strix) in this respect is a larger fowl than the 
quail. ‘Those beautiful little creatures, the humming- 
birds (Trochilus), the peculiar ornament and life of tro- 
pical gardens, which emulate the most splendid butter- 
flies, to which they seem the analogues, in the brilliancy 
of their plumage, are smaller than a considerable num- 
ber of insects in almost every order, and even than some 
of those that are natives of Britain. Various reptiles 
also are much inferior in size to many of the insects of 
the above table. The smallest lizard of this country 
would be outweighed by the great British beetles lately 
mentioned, and the mole-cricket (Gryllotalpa vulgaris) ; 
and some of the serpent tribe are smaller than the larger 
Myriapods. Amongst the jishes also, though some are 
so enormous in bulk, others in this respect yield the 
palm to several insects. The mznnow and the stickleback 
that frequent our own pools and streams are consider- 
ably inferior in size to some of our water beetles. 
