82 THE GYRONECHINA. 



mity, which glitters under water like a drop of quick- 

 silver. Like the Dytici they are well furnished with 

 wings, and make use of them freely to change their 

 quarters when the heat of summer threatens to dry 

 up their pool. 



The larva is a singular creature, and differs con- 

 siderably from that of the Dyticus. It has a long, 

 narrow, flat body, and a large oval head armed with 

 strong jaws; the first three segments of the body are 

 furnished with jointed legs of moderate length, and of 

 the remainder each bears a pair, and the last two 

 pairs of slender fringed filaments, which give the 

 animal very nearly the appearance of a small Cen- 

 tipede. These appendages are evidently organs of 

 respiration. 



When full grown, the larva creeps up the stems of 

 aquatic plants, to which it attaches itself by a small 

 oval cocoon, and in this changes to the pupa state. 

 It remains in this condition for about a month, and 

 emerges in the form of a perfect beetle about the 

 beginning of September. The food of the Gyrini, 

 according to Mr. West wood, consists of dead floating 

 insects, and that of their larvae is probably of a similar 

 nature. Several species are found in this country, 

 one of which, G. marinus, is found on brackish water 

 in salt marshes. They are all very similar in their 

 habits. 



The reader may perhaps be of opinion that we have 

 lingered quite long enough on the banks of our pond 

 to exhaust the history of its Coleopterous inhabitants, 

 and may feel a pardonable anxiety to visit some other 

 locality. The inexorable claims of system, however, 



