PHASES OF NATURE AROUND PRETORIA. 67 



and among Hemiptera a species ofLygceus is particularly 

 abundant. 



At about the end of November the shrill cry of the 

 Cicadas was constantly heard from the willow and peach- 

 trees in Pretoria, but principally from the first. The 

 dominant species was Platypleura divisa, and I was 

 surprised to find that it was captured and eaten by 

 spiders. On once hearing a particularly loud chorus 

 from a peach-tree, I visited the same to capture 

 specimens, and found that spiders had industriously 

 spread their webs between the branches, and remains of 

 the Platypleurce were suspended in a more or less de- 

 voured condition. I made use of these webs to procure 

 specimens, for when first disturbed the flight of the 

 Platypleurce is wild and headlong, but by getting 

 between them and the meshes of the spiders I was 

 soon enabled to obtain what was required. It is 

 reasonable to believe that these insects pair during 

 their mature stages or breeding-season. We passed 

 daily a small willow tree where I constantly noticed 

 a solitary couple of the species, and this was also 

 known by the fact that w r e drove them out on walking 

 by and frequently endeavoured to capture them. The 

 male was always tuning, and was probably addressing 

 his mate. At length, unfortunately, the singer allowed 

 us to capture him ; the tree was henceforth mute, and 

 I afterwards felt quite a remorse when my path took 

 me by the then silent Cicadan home, for there was not 

 the consolation of having captured either a new species 

 or one new to my collection. 



I was surprised to find how many living creatures 

 one had known in Britain were also to be found in the 

 Transvaal. In birds the European Bee-eater (Merops 

 apiaster) and Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus) were 

 not at all uncommon, whilst in insects one was continually 

 meeting with some old friend. A List is appended to 

 this volume of all these comrades one finds across the 

 sea, or rather near the extremity of another continent ; 

 but with fixed ideas of geographical distribution, and 

 our natural conception of an Ethiopian region, it was 



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