194 



KNOWLEDGE 



[Septembek, 1902. 



presents far more grotesque developments than in the 

 present ease. They constitute the fiiniily Memhrdcidie, of 

 the sub-order Homoptera, ami it would be difficult to find 

 anv other family of insects in any order wliieh eau show 

 an ei|ir,il ranfi;e of fantastic development <.f the tliorax, or, 

 for the matter of that, of any other ])art of the body. 

 Horns, spines, hooks, knobs, forks, blades — every con- 

 ceivable monstrosity may be found in the exotic members 

 of this family, and one would think that Nature must have 

 been in a s|iortive mood wln'U she made them, speaking 

 of some American species, a well-known authority says : 

 " If the young naturalist wants to laugh, let liini look at 

 the faces of these brownie-bugs through a lens. Their 

 eyes have a keen droll look, and the line that seixirates the 

 head from the prothorax gives tliem the a]pi)earauce of 

 wearing glasses. In some cases the prothorax is elevated 

 above the head, so that it looks like a peaked nightcap ; 

 in others it is shaped like a Tarn o' Shanter, while others 

 have prominent horns." 



In our next example it is the head instead of the thorax 

 that has developed grotesquely. The insect is called 

 Eupelix cHspidata (Pig. 2), and it belongs to the same 

 order Homoptera as our first 

 example, though to a different 

 family. It is a very different 

 insect from the preceding, 

 being smaller and narrower, 

 and of a pale yellowish brown 

 colour. There is nothing at 

 all remarkable about it except 

 the head, which is certainly a 

 most extraordinary structure. 

 It is shaped very much like a 

 miner's shovel, running far 

 foi'ward as a thin andllattened 

 triangular plate, scooped out 

 in the middle of its disc, 

 slightly rounded at the edges, 

 and turned up at the tip. 

 This leaf-like appendage is 

 slightly transparent, and is 

 often prettily marked with a 

 series of blackish mottlings 

 which give it somewhat the 

 appearance of black lace. The wings when closed are placed 

 along the sides of the body in a nearly vertical position, 

 and their surface is in some instances more or less plenti- 

 fully sprinkled with minute blackish dots, as though it 

 were slightly dusty. The large compound eyes are 

 situated in the hinder pai-t of the head, and the curious 

 shovel-like plate passes right in front of them, and in 

 fact bisects their surface, leaving part of each eye above 

 nnd part below its level. One would think that this 

 arrangement must interfere with vision, at least in the 

 forward direction, though no doubt the insect has an 

 unimpeded range of view on each side. The exact shape 

 and size of the shovel part of the head varies a good deal, 

 so much so indeed that different names have been assigned 

 to the different forms under the belief that they were 

 distinct species. However, as it is possible to find large 

 and small heads, as well as intermediate ones, in the same 

 batch at the same spot, it seems more probable that all 

 the differences of form are mere variations within the 

 limits of a single species. 



It is impossible to say what is the reason for this 

 curious conformation of the head. Practically nothing is 

 known of the habits of the insect, save that it lives amongst 

 low plants, grasses and the like, especially in dry sandy 

 places. In all likelihood there is little else to be known ; 

 they probably live very uneventful lives, and in spite of 



FlQ. 2. Eupelix cuspidata. 



their peculiar shape, they can hardly be very important 

 factors in the general scheme of things, or have any very 

 great influence in nature. Their numbers are not large, 

 and the amount of sa]i they consume in the course of their 

 lifetime is no doubt infinitesimal, so that there is pi'rhaps 

 some justification for th(,' contempt expressed for them by 

 a countryman to whom I once showed some specimens 

 when he came upon me in the act of collecting them. His 

 fancy was greatly tickled at the thought that an 

 otherwise apparently sane individual should so far forget 

 his dignify as to go down on his hands and knees in the 

 open country and grovel amongst the roots of mere weeds 

 for what the interlocutor was pleased to call "barley- 

 corns," and he was fain to call the attention of another 

 rustic to the strange phenomenon, so that they might 

 enjoy a laugh together at the expense of the mad 

 naturalist. 



Within this same order Homoptera there is still plenty 

 of scope for finding other oddities, and the next we shall 

 select is called Ledra aurita. This is almost the largest 

 species of Homoptera we possess in the British Islands ; 

 there is in fact only one that is larger. It is at least 

 I inch long, and is found, though not very frequently, in 

 oak-woods. It has a thin, flat head, somewhat after the 

 fashion of Eupelix, though not nearly so large as in that 

 insect; but the greatest peculiarity, and that which gives 

 it its name aurita, " eared," is a couple of large flaps which 

 rise from the back of the prothorax, one on each side, 

 like ears. The aspect of the insect changes very much 

 according to the position in which it is viewed, and it is 

 not easy to sav which is the best to show off its charac- 

 teristic peculiarities. Perhaps a view taken from the 

 front, and a little to one side, will reveal most effectively 

 the relative position and odd forms of the most strangely 

 shaped parts, and such a view is given in the figure 

 (Fig. 3). 



Tliis insect is the solitary representative of its family, 

 and as such, therefore, can 

 hardly be mistaken. It is of a 

 brownish colour tinged with 

 green, but the green tint soon 

 goes off when the insect is 

 dead, and it then appears 

 entirely of a dirty brown, 

 lighter or darker as the case 

 may be. Its hind legs are 

 peculiar, being very much 

 broadened, and ornamented on 

 the outer edge with a dense 



fringe of fine hairs, as if it had been intended to be a 

 swimming insect. Its larva is, if possible, a stranger 

 looking creature than itself, and were it not for its large 

 and broad hind legs, proportionately broader even than in 

 the adult, it might almost pass muster as a woodlouse. 

 The old naturalist Geoffroy, who describes our first insect 

 as " Le Petit Biable," calls the present one " Le Grand 

 Diahle." 



Still keeping to the order Homoptei'a, we may next 

 select the insect called Asimca cJavicornis (Fig. 4). This, 

 again, is not often met with, though when seen it cannot 

 be mistaken. It is found amongst low herbage in dry 

 places, and is most readily obtained by sweeping such 

 herbage with a strong net. But even when a specimen is 

 in the net, it is by no means a foregone conclusion that 

 the collector may call it his own, for the little creature is 

 an excellent jumper, and darts nimbly about in the most 

 instantaneous manner in totally unexpected directions, and 

 hence its final caj)ture is not always the easy process th.at 

 might be imagined. For the quaiutness of this insect's 

 apiiearanee. it is especially the first two pairs of legs and 



Fia. 3. — Side view of fore- 

 parts of Ledra aurita. 



