|3ajpular Sh'ctumarj? at "Uufmatctr 



249 



s;. 



the breeding season, is observed to protrude 

 from each side of its head a large inflated 

 globular vesicle, and croaks so loud as to be 

 heard at a vast distance : in fact, where 

 these animals assemble in large numbers, 

 their noise is most unpleasant and annoying. 



The BULL-FKOG (fiana pipiens} is the 

 largest species of the genus, being three or 

 four inches broad, and from six to eight in 

 length without including the feet ; with the 

 limbs extended it measures about eighteen 

 inches. It inhabits North America, par- 

 ticularly the southern parts of the United 

 States ; and has received the name of Bull- 

 Frog from its voice resembling the distant 

 lowing of a bull. Its colour on the upper 



}>arts is a dusky olive, somewhat irregu- 

 arly marked with numerous dark brown 

 spots ; the under parts being of a whitish 

 cast tinged with green, and thickly spotted. 

 The fore feet have only four toes, and are 

 umvebbed, but the hind feet, which are large 

 and long, are very widely webbed. The 

 irides of the eyes are red, surrounded with 

 a narrow border of yellow : the external 

 membranes of the ears are large and round, 

 of a reddish brown colour, and surrounded 



1a pale yellow or whitish margin. In 

 r. Catesby's Natural History of Carolina, 

 we are told that this species frequents springs 

 only, where, by the continual running of 

 the'water a small pond or hole is usually 

 j made before the mouth of the spring, which 

 is rarely without a pair of these Frogs, who 

 I when surprised, with a long leap or two 

 ! enter the mouth of the spring, where they 

 are secure. He adds, that it is commonly be- 

 lieved that they keep the springs clean, and 

 purify the water, and therefore the general 

 prejudice is in their favour, although they 

 are great devourers of young ducks and 

 goslings, which they often swallow whole. 



The ARGUS FKOG (Rana ocellata) is also 

 a native of several parts of North America, 

 choosing moist situations, as the neighbour- 

 hood of springs and rivulets. In size it dif- 

 fers but little from the Bull-Frog, except 

 that the limbs are thicker and stouter ; but 

 the feet are unwebbed, and are all divided 

 into five toes, each joint being furnished be- 

 neath with a kind of tubercle or process. 

 Its colour is a pale reddish brown, with two 

 distinctly marked whitish elevated lines 

 running down the middle of the back, the 

 intervening space being marked with several 

 broad fascize of a reddish chestnut colour, 

 while the sides are beautifully ornamented 

 with several ocellated or eye-shaped spots, 

 each being half surrounded by an iris-like 

 paler space or crescent. The limbs are 

 elegantly banded with chestnut-coloured 

 stripes : the under parts are of a dull white. 

 In its general manners it is said to resemble 

 the preceding. [For the Tree Frog, see 

 HYLA.] 



FROGHOPPER. (AphropTiora spumaria.) 

 The popular name of a small but singular 

 Homopterous insect, belonging to the Cerco- 

 pidcK family. They pass their whole lives on 

 plants, on the sterna of which their eggs are 

 laid in the autumn. The following summer 



they are hatched, and the young immediately 

 perforate the bark with their beaks, and 

 begin to imbibe their sap. Of this they take 

 in such quantities, that it oozes out of their 

 bodies continually, in the form of little 

 bubbles, which soon completely envelope the 

 insects ; and from this circumstance the 

 name of Cuckoo-spits is also very commonly 

 applied to them. They thus remain en- 

 tirely buried and concealed in large masses 

 of foam, until they have completed their 

 final transformation. When the pupa, 

 which is of a beautiful green colour, is about 

 to undergo its change into the complete in- 

 sect, it ceases to absorb any longer the juices 

 of the plant, and to discharge the projecting 

 froth. It then emerges from its concealment. 

 The winged insect is scarely larger than the 

 larva ; but its colour is brown, with a pair of 

 broad, irregular, pale bands across the upper 

 wings. It possesses the power of leaping in 

 a remarkable degree ; for which purpose, the 

 tips of their hind shanks are surrounded 

 with little spines, and the first two joints of 

 their feet have a similar coronet of spines at 

 their extremities. Their thorax projects 

 somewhat between the basis of the wing- 

 covers ; their bodies are rather short, and 

 their wing-covers are almost horizontal and 

 quite broad across the middle, which, with 

 the shortness of their legs, gives them a squat 

 appearance. 



FULGORA: FULGORID^. A genus 

 and family of insects bearing great resem- 

 blance to the Cicadidoe. Many of them are 

 distinguished by a curious prolongation of 

 the forehead, the shape of which varies ex- 

 tremely in the different species, which in 

 tropical regions are numerous. The legs 

 are in general fitted for leaping, with large 

 spurs ; and the males are destitute of those 

 organs which are employed in the Cicadas 

 for the production of sounds. We should 

 observe, that Kirby and Spence, on the 

 authority of Stedman's Surinam, assert that 

 Fulgora laternaria makes a loud noise in 

 the evening, like that made by a razor- 

 grinder, and that the Dutch in Guiana call 

 it scare-sleep. Dr. Hancock, however, states 

 that the razor-grinder, or the Aria Aria of 

 the natives, is a specis of Cicada. In the 

 typical genus Fulyora the head is dilated 

 in front into the most remarkable porrectcd 

 protuberances, varying in each species, and 

 which is the part of the body asserted by 

 various writers to emit a strong light by 

 night, analogous to that of the fire-flies. 



Mr. Westwood alludes to this luminous 

 property at some length. " Much uncer- 

 tainty (he says) exists as to the real ex- 

 istence of any luminous power possessed by 

 the typical species of this family. This ac- 

 count originated with Madame Merian 

 (Insccta Surinam, p. 49.), who asserted it to 

 be possessed by Fulgora laternaria in an 

 eminent degree, and her statement long re- 

 ceived general assent, and appears to be the 

 only authority for its existence. Olivier 

 appears to be the first author who doubted 

 the luminosity of the Fulgora!, from infor- 

 mation given to him by M. Richard, who 

 had reared the./'', laternaria in Cayenne, and 



