4 FLASHLIGHTS ON NATURE 



thing left to drink in it, only moving away on its 

 six sprawling legs when its native spot has been 

 drained dry of all nutriment. 



We often talk metaphorically of vegetating : the 

 aphis vegetates. Indeed, aphides are as sluggish 

 in their habits and manners as it is possible for 

 a living and locomotive animal to be : they do not 

 actually fasten for life to one point, like oysters or 

 barnacles ; but they are born on a soft shoot of 

 some particular plant ; they stick their sucking-tube 

 into it as soon as they emerge ; they anchor them- 

 selves on the spot for an indefinite period ; and 

 they only move on to a new " claim" when sheer 

 want of food or force majeure compels them. The 

 winged members are an exception : they are founders 

 of new colonies, and are now on their way to some 

 undiscovered Tasmania. 



And, indeed, as we shall see, these stick-in-the- 

 mud creatures have yet, in the lump, a mo^t event- 

 ful history a history fraught with strange loves, 

 with hairbreadth escapes, with remorseless foes, 

 with almost incredible episodes. They have enemies 

 enough to satisfy Mr. Rider Haggard or the British 

 schoolboy. If you look at No. 2, you will see the 

 first stage in the Seven Ages of a rose-aphis family. 

 The cycle of their life begins in autumn, with the 

 annual laying of the winter eggs ; these eggs are 

 carefully deposited on the leaf-buds of some rose- 

 bush, by a perfect wingless female, at the first 

 approach of the cold weather. I say a perfect 

 wingless female, because, as I shall explain here- 



