CERCOPITHECUS CEREUS. 



775 



that of any other insects, and consists of a coronet of 

 short thick spines or spurs of nearly equal size, 

 placed round the extremity of the posterior tibia, in 

 the midst of which, the basal part of the tarsi is im- 

 planted ; besides this, some of the species have the 

 the two basal joints of the tarsi similarly provided, 

 and these are enabled to leap more strongly than any 

 of the rest. 



This family is divisible into two groups ; first, 

 those having' the head inserted very low, the thorax 

 very elevated in the centre, and prolonged behind 

 into a point, and the tibia; scarcely spined along their 

 edges. Here are to be arranged the genera Mem- 

 bmci.t, (of which the body is so compressed that it 

 is scarcely thicker than a card), Trngopa, Darnix, 

 Bocydiuni, and Central us (which see); and second, 

 those with the head not lower than the upper surface 

 of the thorax, with the latter not elevated in the 

 middle nor prolonged into a point behind, the meso- 

 thorax funning a distinet scutcllum, and the tibia; 

 densely spined along the edges. Hero belong the 

 genera ^Etalion, Lcdra, Ciccus, Ccrcopis, Aphrop/iora, 

 L r lop(t, E/ipc/i.r, Pcnthhuia, ,frt.isns, Tettigonia, and 

 some others recently established by Germar and 

 Lewis in the first number of the Transactions of the 

 Entomological Society of London. Those marked 

 in italics in the second group are British. 



The genus Ccrcopis is characterised by having two 

 distinct ocelli, the head much smaller than the thorax, 

 and the latter of a hexagonal form. This genus is of 

 great extent, and comprises some of the largest in- 

 - in the family ; their colours are also brilliant 

 and they are chiefly inhabitants of tropical regions ; 

 one species only has hitherto been found in this 

 country, namely, the Ccrcopis ntlncrata Rossi, con- 

 founded by most Entomologists with the Sanriuino- 

 It-iita of Linnaeus. Of this latter insect we are also in 

 possession of a specimen, purchased at the sale of 

 Mr. Donovan's collection, which has all the appear- 

 ance of a British specimen, having been found amongst 

 a quantity of English insects. 



The cuckoo-spit insect or frog-hopper, (Cicada 

 spuntdria, Linnaeus,) forms the type of Germar's genus 

 Aplirophorn, a name derived from the Greek, and 

 alluding to the curious property which the larva and 

 pupa: of this insect possess of emitting a frothy 

 secretion, somewhat resembling saliva, which has, 

 from a vulgar error, been termed cuckoo-spit, ap- 

 pearing as it does during the months when that bird 

 visits us: The larvae and pupae resemble the perfect 



11, The Cuckoo-spit in-ivt 'Aphrophora spumaria'j. 



li, The mass of froth inclosing the larva. c, The pupa. 



ct in form, the former, however, is entirely desti- 

 tute, and tho latter has only the rudiments of wing 

 covers and wings, as represented in the figure; they 

 are, however, very soft, and it seems not improbable 

 that the froth, which we perceive on almost all kinds 

 of plants, is discharged by the insect for the purpose 

 of forming a covering against the overpowering effects 



of the sun. In certain seasons, this insect is so mul- 

 tiplied, that persons walking beneath willow trees 

 are wetted with the continual dropping of the fluid. 

 Another nearly allied species (Aphroplora (jondoti of 

 Bennett), has recently been found in very great 

 quantities upon trees in the island of Madagascar, 

 the larva of which, has the power of discharging a 

 considerable quantity of clear water, especially in 

 the middle of the day when the heat is greatest. An 

 account of this species has been published in the 

 Transactions of the Society of Natural History of 

 the island of Mauritius, for 1832, and a farther 

 account of it appears in the proceedings of the Zoolo- 

 gical Society of London, for January, 1833, from 

 which it is evident that, instead of remaining as a 

 frothy mantle, as in our British species, the fluid 

 which has been pumped up from the trees into the 

 stomach, is ejected in great quantities, and falls to the 

 ground in a constant and considerable shower. 



Messrs. Stephens and Curtis have given to these 

 insects the generic name of Tettigonia, proposed by 

 Fabricius for the true Cicadcc, but from the great con- 

 fusion which has occurred in the employment of this 

 name by various authors, we have thought it more 

 advisable, and indeed, more correct, to adopt Ger- 

 mar's very appropriate name of aphrophortt. 



CERCOPITHECUS. This name, which means 

 " tail-deep," is sometimes given to that division of 

 the quadrumana which are furnished with such an 

 appendage, and have it not prehensile, or adapted 

 for laying hold. We shall, however, defer noticing 

 the general characters, till we can bring the whole 

 into one article, MONKEY ; and the species are too 

 numerous for our notice. 



CEREOPSIS. A web-footed bird of Australia, 

 bearing some resemblance to the bernacle goose, but 

 having a much smaller bill, and the naked membrane 

 at the base of the bill more enlarged, and extending 

 more upon the forehead. Its colour is grey ; it is 

 about the same size as a goose, and very little dif- 

 ferent in its manners. 



CEREUS (Haworth). This is a remarkable and 

 highly interesting genus of South American plants ; 

 Linnaoan class and order Icosandria Monogynia ; 

 natural order Opuntiacea; generic character : calyx 

 bell shaped, imbricated or equal ; petals of the corolla 

 six or more, close to the calyx, campanulate and 

 rotate ; stamens numerous, joined to the petals and 

 calyx ; filaments awl shaped ; anthers oval, and two 

 celled ; style and stigma radiating, or crowded, being 

 one celled, many seeded. Many species of this line 

 genus, as well as several other congenial genera, 

 were formerly included under the old name of cactus. 

 The late A."H. Haworth, Esq., and other contem- 

 porary botanists have re-arranged this old Linmeau 

 genus, and from it have separated four or five new 

 ones, of which cereus is one. They have succulent 

 stems, of very different forms, destitute of leaves, but 

 instead thereof, many are profusely covered with 

 spines. The flowers of all arc striking, some of them 

 magnificent, those of speciosissimus, and grandiflora 

 particularly ; and even the humble flagelliformis, seen 

 in many a cottage window, is very showy when is 

 full flower. It is found that by exposing these succu- 

 lent plants to be hardened by the summer sun, they 

 flower more abundantly than if always kept in the 

 house. They grow best in a rich sandy loam, though 

 they succeed in any garden soil, if they are kept 

 rather dry when not in. active growth, and allowed 



