CAPRICORNES CAPRIFOLIACE.E. 



691 



These curious insects are of comparatively small size, 

 seldom exceeding an inch in length. They arc 

 generally found amongst marine plants, creeping 

 along, according to Otho Fabricius, (Fauna Grcen- 

 landicn,') in manner similar to the looper caterpillars, 

 throwing the head backwards in various directions, 

 and vibrating their antennae. When swimming they 

 bend the extremity of the body. This family com- 

 prises" three genera: 1st, Lcptomera (Latreille), 

 Prota (Leach), having the legs, fourteen in number, 

 placed in a regular series. iJnd, Nauprcdia, having 

 the legs, only ten in number, placed similarly, the 

 second, third, and fourth pairs, being furnished with 

 a basal vesicle. 3rd, Caprella, having ten legs, but 

 placed at irregular distances, the second and third 

 segments being destitute of legs. To the latter genus 

 belongs the Cancer phasina of Montague, ( Cancer 

 linearis, Linnaeus ?) described by Mr. Montague in 

 the seventh volume of the Linnaean Transactions, by 

 whom the following observations were made: the 



Caprella phasma. 



female differs in possessing several plates or valves 

 beneath the body, situated between the two pairs of 

 fins, the use of which is to carry and protect its eggs 

 or young, at which time they extend very conside- 

 rably, and form a kind of pouch, distended with ova, 

 fifteen or twenty of which are easily distinguished 

 between the transparent plates. In this part a very 

 strong pulsation is visible ; whilst examining a female 

 under a water microscope, this author was surprised 

 to observe not less than ten young ones crawl from 

 the abdominal pouch of the parent, all perfectly 

 formed, and moving with considerable agility over 

 the body of the mother, holding fast by their hind 

 claws, and erecting their head and arms. On a fucus 

 a vast number were collected of both sexes, and of 

 all sizes, to three-fourths of an inch. When at rest 

 they only held by their hind claws ; in motion the 

 arms were also used, and it also struck Mr. Montague 

 that the progression was somewhat similar to that of 

 the larvae of the Geometrte. Some specimens are 

 destitute of spurs on the body and arms, and differ 

 somewhat in the formation of the latter, besides 

 having that part extremely tomentose. These obser- 

 vations were made upon specimens taken on the coast 

 of Devonshire. The writer of this article has received 

 the same species from Weyrnouth. and Captain Ross 

 has brought some very large individuals from his late 

 North Polar expedition. 



CAPRICORNES or LONGICORNES. One 

 of the three great divisions into which the tetra- 

 merous beetles (or those having apparently only four 

 joints in the tarsi) are divided, and corresponding in 

 a great degree with the genera Cerambyx, Necydalis, 

 and Leptura of Linnaeus. These insects are generally 

 of a large size, having the antennae long, and gene- 

 rally exceeding the entire length of the body, filiform 

 or setaceous, sometimes simple in both sexes, in 

 others serrated or comb-shaped in the males. The 

 eyes, in many of the species, are lunate, and enclose 



the base of the antennae. The jaws are very robust, 

 and the palpi short ; the thorax is often spined at 

 the sides. The three basal joints of the tarsi are 

 dilated beneath, and cushioned on the under surface, 

 the third* being deeply cleft at its extremity, re- 

 ceives a minute nodule or ball at the base of the 

 slender and long terminal joint. 



These insects are amongst the most active instru- 

 ments in the economy of nature, in the warm climates 

 of the globe, where, from their great size, they are of 

 great service in checking the over-abundance of the 

 vegetable world, the larva? residing in the interior of 

 trees or beneath the bark ; in which state they appear 

 under the form of a flattened white fleshy grub, 

 broadest in front, with a scaly head armed with very 

 powerful jaws, with which they bore their way 

 through the hardest trees. From their habits in this 

 state, it is evident that legs would be an incumbrance 

 to them ; they therefore are almost obsolete, and of 

 a very minute size. The antennae and the other 

 parts of the mouth are likewise not exposed. Some 

 species live upon the roots of plants. 



This division comprises four great families, PRIO- 

 NID^E, CERAMBYCID^E, LAMIID^E, and LEPTURID^E, 

 which see. 



CAPRIFOLIACE.E (honeysuckle family). A 

 natural order of dicotyledonous plants, containing 

 twelve or thirteen genera, and upwards of one hun- 

 dred and forty species. It is nearly allied to the 

 RuUaccfB and Locanthaceee. From the former it 

 differs chiefly in its irregular corolla, and the absence 

 of stipules between the leaves ; while it is distin- 

 guished from the latter by the stamens being alternate 

 with the lobes of the corolla, and the corolla being 

 usually monopetalous. 



The essential characters of the order, as separated 

 from all others are : calyx superior, limb five-lobed ; 

 corolla monopetalous, inserted on the calyx, some- 

 times irregular: stamens equal in number to the 

 lobes of the corolla, and alternate with them, inserted 

 on the calyx ; filaments awl-shaped ; anthers ovate, 

 two-celled ; ovary one to five-celled ; one style and 

 from one to three stigmas ; fruit one or more celled, 

 either dry, fleshy or succulent, crowned by the per- 

 sistent lobes of the calyx ; seeds generally solitary, 

 pendulous ; embryo straight ; albumen fleshy ; radicle 

 superior. 



The plants included in this order are shrubs, rarely 

 trees, with opposite, simple or pinnated leaves, with- 

 out stipules, and corymbose flowers, which are often 

 sweet-scented. The colour of the flowers is white, 

 scarlet or yellow. 



The Caprifoliaceae grow chiefly in the temperate 

 regions of the northern hemisphere. They are found 

 in shady cool places in Europe, Asia and America, 

 and some are said to extend to the northern parts 

 of Africa. They are propagated by cuttings, layers 

 and seeds. 



The plants of this tribe have often been celebrated 

 for their beauty and fragrance, and on these accounts 

 have secured a place in the garden of the amateur, 

 as well as in the song of the poet. They possess 

 acrid and astringent properties, and have often been 

 applied to important uses. 



* Latreille, in the second edition of the Rdgne Animal, has 

 misstated the construction of the tarsi of this group, describing 

 the second and third as being heart-shaped, and " le quatritme 

 profondement bilob." 



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