774 



CERCIS CERCOPID^S. 



in the burrow of the cercevis. So intent is the 

 cerceris when thus engaged, that it will allow am 

 one to stoop close to the ground so as the better tc 

 observe its motions. Three specimens of Hafirlu 

 tercbrator, and one of Jlaliclns cuprca, serve for the 

 nourishment of a single larva of the cerceris. 



Several other species of this genus, the Ccrcem 

 aurita, Latreille, and C. quadrifasciata, Rose, render 

 considerable service to agriculture, by selecting seve- 

 ral destructive kinds of weevils (Curculionida;) for the 

 supplies of their progeny ; and it would seem tha' 

 they have the instinct to discover these beetles at 

 the time when their wing-cases are soft, and have 

 not acquired their firm consistence. To convey one 

 of these weevils to its burrow, the cerceris lays 5l 

 upon its back, so that the beetle clasps the body o: 

 the cerceris with its own legs, leaving the legs of the 

 latter free, which are employed in retaining it in this 

 situation, and in walking. 



The males have a large moustache on each side 

 of the face, just above the jaws. The colour oi 

 these insects are black, variegated with yellow, and 

 their length varies from one half to nearly one inch. 

 CEIICIS (Linnceus), is a hardy ornamental shrub 

 or small tree, natives of both continents ; Linnnean 

 class and order Decandria Monogynia; natural 

 order Lcgum'mosoE ; generic character : calyx pitcher 

 shaped, gibbous below, obtusely five-toothed ; corolla 

 wings marked, divaricating, keel of two petals ; 

 stamens declining, four of them longer; anthers in- 

 cumbent ; style, bearing an obtuse stigma ; pod long 

 and mernbranaceous, many seeded, attached to the 

 sutures. This is a handsome plant both in flowers 

 and in foliage, and is particularly suitable for planting 

 either singly on grass plats, or among other trees. 

 It is remarkable for producing its tufts of purple 

 flowers from the the bark of the trunk and brandies. 

 The plant is best raised from seed ; but it may also 

 be increased by layers. 



CERCOPID^ (Leach. CICADELL*:, Latreille). 

 A family of insects belonging to the order Homoptcm, 

 and section Cicadaircs of Latreille, and forming that 

 part of the great group of Cicada, to which Linnreus 

 gave the name of Ranatree. These insects have 

 the head of a small or moderate size, not produced 

 in front as in the FiilgoridcE ; the antennae, which are 

 composed of only three short joints, with a long ter- 

 minal seta, are inserted between the eyes ; the ocelli 

 are only two in number, and unlike the true Cicada, 

 the individuals of neither sex arc furnished with 

 instruments for the production of that chirping noise 

 which has rendered the latter insects so notorious, 

 from the earliest ages of natural history. The upper 

 wings of these insects are often opaque andcoriaceous, 

 they are, however, of the same substance throughout, 

 thus differing from the Linnsean Cimices, in which the 

 same organs are composed of two distinct kinds of 

 membrane. Their legs are also formed for leaping 

 to a distance, which, in proportion to the size of the 

 insect, seems immense : thus the cuckoo-spit insect, 

 Aphrophora spumaria, which is perhaps the most 

 active of all leaping insects, will sometimes spring 

 two or three yards ; hence taking the length of the 

 body of this insect at one sixth of an inch, the dis- 

 tance is nearly 650 times greater. This is as if a 

 person of ordinary stature were to vault through the 

 air to the distance of about six furlongs, thus bringing 

 to mind the feats of that friend of our childhood 

 him of the seven league boots. This extraordinary 



locomotive power is of course brought into action by 

 the great strength of the muscles of the locomotive 

 organs, which, in this group of leaping insects, are 

 confined to the hind legs. 



Hence it cannot be denied, that amongst the various 

 means which have been bestowed by an all-wise 

 Creator upon the little animals which are now the 

 peculiar objects of our attention, for the purpose of 

 aiding them either in escaping from the numbi-rli ss 

 enemies to which they are exposed, or of facilitating 

 their means of procuring food; this saltatorial power 

 which so many possess, of effecting an instantaneous 

 change of place, is one of the most remarkable. To 

 some great running 1 powers are given, to others, great 

 strength of wing , but this far exceeds the rest, and 

 cannot be found in so surprising a degree in any other 

 group of animated nature. 



This effect is produced in different modes iu differ- 

 ent insects. Thus the cheese matrgot, which is the 

 larva of a dipterous insect {Pwphila cnxci, Meig. ), 

 performs its leaps in the same manner as the salmon, 

 by taking hold of its tail with "its mouth, contracting 

 the rings of its body, and then suddenly letting o ( , 

 its tail. The voracious masked larvae of the dragon 

 flies suddenly propel themselves forward in the water 

 by a still more remarkable mauumvre, which is per- 

 formed by no other insects. They are furnishe;! at 

 the extremity of the abdomen, with an apparatus of 

 rive plates, capable of opening and shutting, and in 

 which a quantity of water is from time to time in- 

 closed, for the purpose of the absorption of its oxygen, 

 which having been effected, the water is violently 

 expelled, and the insect suddenly propelled to a. 

 considerable distance. In the click beetles ( F.litlerida-) 

 the leap is produced by the sudden jerk given to the 

 body when the insect, is laid upon its back, by forcibly 

 striking the acute spine of the breast into the corns- 

 pondiuo- cavity of the mesosternum. In the ground 

 Heas {Poduridce\ the spring is produced by the sudden 

 striking backwards of a forked appendage, fixed 

 beneath the extremity of the body. 



It is, however, to the peculiar construction of their 

 legs that insects are, for the most part, indebted for 

 their saltatorial powers of these, the tormenting 

 lea is the most notable example. Furnished with 

 ;highs of great muscular power, having the hind 

 "onger than the other?, with the tibiae and tarsi 

 strongly spined, by means of which they are well 

 nabled to take a hold for themselves so as to take 

 a spring, and clothed in a tough and highly polished 

 cuirass, no wonder that it effects an escape iu almost 

 every situation, and, to use the words of a" favourite 

 French author, " Comme 1'amour, rit en surete de la 

 jlessure qu' elle a fait, et de la colere qu' elle occa- 

 ionne." 



The locust, grasshopper, cricket, garden lleas, 

 HaHiccc, amongst which the destructive turnip-fly 

 s found) and the the flea wee vils (Orchestes) may -also 

 >e mentioned as examples of leaping powers, origin- 

 ating in the peculiarly incrassated form of the hind 

 egs. It is to be borne in mind, however, that many 

 nsects exist, which have thickened hind legs, but 

 vhich do not possess the powers of leaping, whilst on 

 he contrary, many species which leap well are not 

 >rovided with thickened legs. 



In the particular group of insects which have Jed 

 o these general observations, and, indeed, in the 

 vhole of the Linnaean genus Cicmla, now forming 

 wo families, the leaping 1 apparatus is different from 



