152 JUNE. 



" On catching a female with live larvse, nothing is 

 seen of the progeny till the parent has become at home 

 in the aquarium, when the little creatures leave her, 

 and swim about in her immediate neighbourhood. The 

 plan I have adopted to watch this curious habit of 

 maternal protection has been to place a single indivi- 

 dual in a bottle of sea-water. After a time, and that 

 soon, the little crustacean seems at ease, and swims 

 slowly about, when the young fry leave, and swarm 

 around her in a perfect cloud; they never leave for 

 more than half or three-quarters of an inch, and as she 

 slowly moves about they accompany her. If, now. one 

 taps the sides of the bottle with one's finger-nail, the 

 swarm of larvse rush under their parent, and in a second 

 are out of sight. The parent now becomes excited, and 

 swims about quickly, as if trying to escape ; but on 

 letting the bottle containing her rest quite still on a 

 table, she soon gets composed, when out come the young 

 larvse again, and swim about as before. This may be 

 repeated as often as the observer wishes, and always 

 with the same result. I have only seen this in one 

 species, but it is quite a common species in Poole Har- 

 bour, and I have watched the interesting habit many 

 times." 1 



Every little stream and ditch of running water in our 

 lanes and fields abounds with a species, which, except 



1 Bate and Westwood, p. 380. 



