INSECTS LIKE BEADS. 393 



day, found a large number of round, black, shining 

 beads, which were streaked with white bands, and 

 presented a very pretty and attractive appearance. 

 Gathering a number of these in her hand, she 

 thought she would convert them into a necklace, 

 or, for ought we know, into a rosary, when, to her 

 great surprise, the beads became animated as soon 

 as ever they felt the point of the needle, with 

 which she was about to thread them, and began to 

 struggle actively to get away ; not, however, too 

 quickly for her; for with a violent scream, imagin- 

 ing the beads were bewitched, she ran into the 

 house. Some of the beetle tribe thus fold up 

 their legs, and roll themselves up so as to resemble 

 little globular pebbles. 



The Abdomen is, then, the only remaining por- 

 tion of the insect which we have now to notice. 

 It has no legs attached to it, and contains the in- 

 testines, and other portions of the insect's internal 

 anatomy. It is formed of a varying number of 

 rings, which are easily distinguishable in the wasp 

 and many other insects, and these rings are con- 

 nected together by delicate folds of membrane, 

 fitting sometimes into each other like the tubes of 

 a telescope ; in other instances fastened together, 



