448 



Crcatfwp of jtatural 



in the earth ; this is done in a very short 

 time, by means of his broad head He goes 

 behind the rampart of earth, and pushes it 

 into the grave with amazing strength and 

 dexterity ; the head being bent directly 

 downward at first, and then the nose ele- 

 vated with a kind of jerk, which sends the 

 earth forwards. After the grave is thus 

 filled up, the earth is trodden in, and under- 

 goes another keen scrutiny all round, the 

 bird being completely hidden ; the beetle 

 then makes a hole in the still loose earth, 

 and having buried the bird and his own 

 bride, next buries himself. The female 

 having laid her eggs in the carcass of the 

 bird, in number proportioned to its size, and 

 the pair having eaten as much of the savoury 

 viand as they please, they make their way 

 out, and fly away." The eggs are quickly 

 hatched, and when the grubs become perfect 

 insects, they make holes in the ground, and 

 come forth. 



NECTARINIAD.E. A family of Pas- 

 serine birds, comprising the Honey-suckers, 

 all of which are foreign. They are distin- 

 guished by a beak of medium length, arched, 

 pointed, and compressed ; but they neither 

 use the tail, nor climb. Some of the smaller 

 species have a very vivid plumage. They 

 are natives of Africa and Asia for the most 

 part. 



NEGRO-FLY. (.Psfla rosre.) This Hemip- 

 terous insect, which is sometimes called 

 the Carrot-fly, in its perfect state is slightly 

 haired, shining black, rather of a metallic 

 green. The head is reddish yellow, antennae 

 and palpi with black tips. Legs light yellow; 

 balancers white ; and wings clear like glass. 

 It is found throughout the summer. The 

 larva lives in the carrot,where it eats passages; 

 it is found particularly near the extremity 

 of the main root. The carrots die off by 

 degrees, as they cannot draw sufficient nou- 

 rishment from the fibrous roots. When 

 carrots have been attacked by this insect, 

 they lose their sweet taste, and become 

 rusty, so called from the rusty colour as- 

 sumed by the passages of the maggots. The 

 larva of the Negro-fly is cylindrical, pointed 

 anteriorly, like parchment, shining, smooth, 

 bare, pale yellow ; the anal joint is rounded, 

 having posteriorly above two black, rather 

 elevated spiracular plates, the latter having 

 a sharp point at the end. Leaving the carrot, 

 the larva is transformed in the earth into a 

 small light brown, obliquely impressed, little 

 ova_l mass ; the short, roundish head end of 

 which is obliquely truncated, and rather 

 hollowed out above. At the anal end, the 

 two spiracular plates of the larva form two 

 small tail points. The only way to diminish 

 their numbers is to pull up the sickly in- 

 fested carrots, which are distinguishable by 

 their yellow outer leaves, and early wither- 

 ing ; and to destroy the insects contained in 

 them before they change into pupae. 



NEMATTJRA. A genus of Mollusca be- 

 longing to the family Turbinacea. The shell 

 is thin and nearly oval, somewhat com- 

 pressed from back to front ; spire acute, con- 



large, but contracted near the aperture ; 

 operculum spiral, horny, with few volutions. 



NEMEOBIUS. A genus of Diurnal 

 Lepidoptera, which contains one British spe- 

 cies, the NEMEOBIUS LUCINA ; or DUKE OF 

 BURGUNDY BUTTERFLY. This small indige- 

 nous species is somewhat local in its haunts, 

 though not by any means rare. The upper 

 surface of all the wings is obscure brown, ir- 

 regularly spotted with fulvous, disposed 

 transversely, the base of the wings being im- 

 maculate, and a central black dot being sur- 

 rounded by an outer row of spots: the anterior 



(NEMEOBIOS LCCINA.) 



wings' beneath are paler than the upper sur- 

 face, with two ranges of fuscous spots towards 

 the tip : the posterior wings beneath are deep 

 fulvous, with two rows of white spots, and a 

 marginal striga of black dots : the cilia on 

 both upper and lower surfaces are white, 

 interrupted with fuscous : the antennae and 

 upper part of the body dusky. The Cater- i 

 pillar is said to feed on grasses ; but neither ! 

 this nor its chrysalis appears to be well j 

 known. 



NEOMORPHA. A genus of birds allied to j 

 Epimachus, of which the only known species 

 is NEOMORPHA GOULDII, a native of New 

 Zealand, which, according to JJf. Dieft'en- j 

 bach, is confined to the hills near Port ] 

 Nicholson, whence the feathers of the tail ! 

 are in great request among the natives, who 1 

 send them to all parts of the island. The | 

 straight and stout-beaked bird is regarded 

 as the male ; the slender curved-billed as 

 the female. The natives entice them by a 

 shrill and long-continued whistle. Their 

 food consists of seeds and insects. James 

 Pomare, the New Zealand boy who accom- 

 panied Mr. Angus, had a tail of this bird in 

 his hair. The plumage is deep black ; the 

 tip of the tail white ; the beak horn coloured ; 

 wattle rich orange. 



NEPIIROPS. A genus of long-tailed 

 Crustacea allied to the lobster, and contain- 

 ing a species (N. Norwegians'), occasionally 



gisting of few rounded whorls, the last being brought to the London markets. 



