LEAF-MINING INSECTS 15 



insects ; oak-apples and oak-spangles are familiar ex- 

 amples. Many beetles too infest the oak. I remember a 

 great oak-tree which stood hard by the cricket-field of 

 my boyhood. The lowest bough was high above the 

 ground, and it was long before I enjoyed the satisfaction 

 of climbing into that tree. The day on which I first 

 accomplished the feat was a hot summer's day when the 

 oak was in the glory of its fresh foliage. The first thing 

 which struck me was the number of beetles which lurked 

 among the leaves. I soon had a bottleful of miserable 

 captives, and no doubt sweetened with them the dull 

 preparation-hour ; two of those beetles I still recollect well 

 enough to give them their proper names. One would 

 have thought that the astringent flavour of all parts of 

 the oak would have sufficiently defended the tree, but 

 the defence is little heeded. 



These and other trees whose leaves are blighted by 

 frost, or wind, or mildew, or insects, have the means of 

 repairing the injury. They hasten the development of 

 some of their buds, and put forth July or Lammas shoots, 

 which are often conspicuous from the contrast between 

 their fresh green leaves and the faded leaves around. Oak, 

 sycamore and horse-chestnut are among the many trees 

 which regularly put forth July shoots, but ash, which 

 comes into leaf very late and rarely has its foliage defaced, 

 seldom if ever produces them. 



IV. LEAF-MINING INSECTS. 



Search the leaves of a bramble in July, and see if you 

 can find the mines of any insect-larvae in them. One 

 kind begins very narrow, but gradually widens as it pro- 

 ceeds, and turns this way and that upon the leaf, until its 

 tortuous course extends to nearly three inches. This is 

 the work of a small caterpillar, which eats away the soft 

 inner green substance on the leaf, but spares the trans- 



