386 



INSECT TRANSFORMATIONS. 



dart off into holes and corners so suddenly, as often 

 to escape the quickest movements of an insect 

 hunter. It is remarkable, however, that those swift- 

 footed insects seldom run far without making a full 

 pause to reconnoitre their position, as a deer may be 

 seen to arch his neck from behind a tree to examine 

 a stranger, and, after tripping off to some distance, 

 turn round again to take another peep at the intruder. 

 The same habit is observable among spiders, partic- 

 ularly the hunters, and those which run about 

 meadows and the margins of water (Lycosa saccata, 

 &c.) Some of the mites are still more rapid in their 

 movements, and we have often admired a very com- 

 mon one (Gammasus Baccarum, FABR.) which fre- 

 quents strawberry-beds in gardens, and, as Kirby 

 and Spence justly say, appears rather to glide or fly 

 than to use its legs.* Its minuteness adds to the 



o 



A, Julus tcrrestris. i, the same coiled up. c, 

 scarabaeus vulgaris). d, Nycteribia Hei 



* Intr. vol. ii, p. 311. 



oil beetle (P> . 

 rwuznni. 



