36 ODD HOURS WITH NATURE 



it has any such effect. Definite observations have 

 proved that in this country insects are not less 

 abundant after a severe winter than after a mild 

 one. But there is ample proof that insects in 

 their larval form can survive almost any degree 

 of frost. There is no country in the world more 

 afflicted with insects than Lapland. In summer 

 they thicken the air, and render even breathing a 

 matter of difficulty. They prove too much for 

 the far from delicate cuticle of the Lapp and of 

 his companion, the shaggy reindeeer, and both are 

 forced to seek relief in the heights. But the larval 

 form of these same insects pass the winter at the 

 bottom of the innumerable shallow lakes of the 

 country, or in the water of its swamps, which are 

 frozen hard to their depths. Stories of frozen 

 fishes resuming their active life are probably in- 

 debted to their maker, but that larval insects can 

 endure a freezing hardly admits of a doubt. The 

 midge may carry the power a step further on in 

 its life. 



