ORDER IV. NEUROPTERA. 



their colouring, enliven the face of nature, and augment 

 the fascinations of the finest season in the year : various 

 large and costly volumes have been devoted to this subject 

 alone, to which the curious must be referred for enumera- 

 tion; for a particular description would be almost an end- 

 Jess task. It should be remarked, however, that the silk- 

 worm is a species of moth which, by its intrinsic value, 

 abundantly compensates the sterile beauty of the rest of 

 the family. 



ORDER IV NEUROPTERA. 



THE neuroptera have four wings, interwoven with veins 

 like a piece of net-work, and have no sting. The order 

 includes seven genera; some of which, as the pearl-fly 

 and the camel-fly, are found in woods, hedges, meadows, 

 and sand-banks, as well as on walls, fruits, and umbelli- 

 ferous flowers. Others, as the beautiful dragon-fly, the 

 spring-fly, and the ephemeron or May-fly, frequent lakes 

 and rivers. 



The last of these, though so minute, is one of the most 

 interesting objects in natural history. In its latest or 

 winged state, the ephemeron very much resembles the but- 

 terfly kind, excepting that its wings are not imbricated. 

 As there are but few species of this genus natives of 

 England, the entomologist can only be gratified by a con- 

 templation of their appearance and transient existence, 

 on the banks of the Seine, the Rhine, and other conti- 

 nental rivers, in temperate latitudes. For about three 

 days towards evening, in the middle of summer, their 

 numbers and rapid motions in such situations are perfectly 

 astonishing. Millions of aureliae, ascending to the top of 

 the water, instantly become inhabitants of the air, and fill 

 all the vicinity with their flutterings. But their sport is 

 speedily terminated ; for the whole swarm, in about five 



