IQO DEL AGO A BAY. 



The PhasmidcB, or walking-stick insects, as 

 they are often called, are remarkable-looking 

 creatures of various sizes, resembling bits of dry 

 twig or stick so closely as to be very difficult to 

 distinguish from the tree they are resting upon. 

 Some have hardly any or very tiny wings, but 

 others are larger. The upper part of the wing 

 is hard and leathery, and when shut closely re- 

 sembles the body ; the under part is shiny mem- 

 brane, the colour of purple indigo. 



They greatly vary in size, some having a body 

 as thick as an ordinary lead-pencil, and nine 

 inches long, whilst others do not exceed two 

 and a half inches, and so exactly resemble a bit 

 of dry grass that I rarely catch any unless I 

 accidentally find them in my net. 



There are some exquisite little bugs too, like 

 animated skeleton leaves, which I generally catch 

 only by accident, for the same reason. 



The stick insects are remarkably tenacious of 

 life. I caught one between seven and eight 

 inches long, and he swallowed about six drops 

 of chloroform to begin with ; that having no 



