NOISES OF INSECTS. 375 



these numerous tribes, even those that fan the air with 

 " sail-broad vans," produce little or no sound by their 

 motion. I must therefore leave them, as well as the 

 Trichoptera and Neuroptera, which are equally barren 

 of insects of sounding wing and proceed to an order, 

 the Hymenoptera, in which the insects that compose it 

 are, many of them, of more fame for this property. 



The indefatigable hive-bee, as she flies from flower to 

 flower, amuses the observer with her hum, which, though 

 monotonous, pleases by exciting the idea of happy in- 

 dustry, that wiles the toils of labour with a song. 

 When she alights upon a flower, and is engaged in col- 

 lecting its sweets, her hum ceases; but it is resumed 

 again the moment that she leaves it. The wasp and 

 hornet also are strenuous hummers ; and when they 

 enter our apartments, their hum often brings terror with 

 it. But the most sonorous fliers of this order are the 

 larger humble-bees, whose bombination, booming, or 

 bombing, may be heard from a considerable distance, 

 gradually increasing as the animal approaches you, and 

 when, in its wheeling flight, it rudely passes close to 

 your ear, almost stunning you by its sharp, shrill, and 

 deafening sound. Many genera, however, of this order 

 fly silently. 



But the noisiest wings belong to insects of the dipte- 

 rous order, a majority of which, probably, give notice 

 of their approach by the sound of their trumpets. Most 

 of those, however, that have a slender body, the gnat 

 genus (Culex) excepted, explore the air in silence. Of 

 this description are the Tipularia, the Asilida, the ge- 

 nus Empis, and their affinities. The rest are more or 

 less insects of a humming flight; and with respect to 



