[335] INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF VINEYARD SOUND, ETC. 41 



there are many animals that find congenial resorts on such flats. Then 

 there will sometimes be pools or rivulets of sea-water on the sandy flats, 

 in which certain creatures often spend the short time while thus impris 

 oned by the tide. 



The special localities where the sand-dwelling species of this region 

 .were chiefly studied, are the beaches on Naushon and adjacent islands; 

 Nobska Beach and several other beaches near Wood s Hole ; the exten 

 sive sand-beach between. Falmouth and Waquoit; the beach at Meneni- 

 sha Bight, on Martha s Vineyard ; several beaches on the shores of 

 Buzzard s Bay ; the beaches at South End, Savin Bock, and other local 

 ities near New Haven ; the beaches on Great South Baj-, Long Island ; 

 the beaches at the mouth of Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey, &c., be 

 sides the outer beaches at various other points. 



Along the upper part of the sand-beaches there is generally an almost 

 continuous belt of dead sea- weeds, broken shells, fragments of crabs, 

 lobsters, and various other debris cast up by the waves. Although 

 many of the dead shells, &c., which occur in this way, belong really to 

 the sandy shores near low-water, others have come, perhaps, from deeper 

 water and other kinds of bottom. Therefore, although such rubbish- 

 heaps may afford good collecting grounds for those who frequent the 

 shores after storms, it would be useless to enumerate the species that 

 more or less frequently occur in them. Beneath such masses of decay 

 ing materials many insects and Crustacea occur, together with certain 

 genuine worms. Part of these are truly marine forms, and are never 

 found away from the sea-shores, but many, especially of the insects, are 

 in no sense marine, being found anywhere in the interior where decay 

 ing matters abound. The two-winged flies (Diptera,) of many kinds, 

 are especially abundant, and their larvae occur in immense numbers in 

 the decaying sea- weed. Some of these flies are, however, true marine 

 species, and live in the larval state in situations where they are sub 

 merged for a considerable time by the tide. 1 have often dug such 

 larvae from the sand near low- water mark, and have also dredged them 

 at the depth of four or five fathoms off shore. During unusually high 

 tides immense quantities of the fly-larvae will be carried away by the 

 encroachment of the waters, and thus become food for fishes of many 

 kinds, and especially for the young ones, which frequent the shallow waters 

 along the shores. There are also many species of beetles (Coleoptera) 

 which frequent these places, and several of them are genuine marine 

 insects, living both in the larval and adult conditions in burrows be 

 tween tides. Among these are two or three species of Bledim, belong 

 ing to the Stapliylinidcv ; several tiger-beetles (Cicindela,) and represen 

 tatives of other families. The &quot; tiger-beetles &quot; are very active, carnivo 

 rous insects and frequent the dry sands just above high-water mark ; 

 when disturbed they rise quickly and fly away to the distance of sev 

 eral yards before alighting. They are so wary that it is difficult to catch 

 them without a net. Most of the species reflect bright, metallic, bronzy or 



