294 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



to balance itself by means of some prominent tubercles 

 on the last segment of the body. It then bends itself 

 into a circle, and having brought the head toward the 

 tail, it stretches out the two hooks of the mouth, fixing 

 them into two cavities at the other extremity of the body. 

 It then contracts the body from a circular to an oblong 

 figure the contraction extending in a manner to every 

 part of the body. It now suddenly lets go its hold, and 

 straightens the body with such violence that the noise 

 produced by its hooks is very perceptible. The height 

 of the leap is often from twenty to thirty times the length 

 of the body, exhibiting an energy of motion which is par 

 ticularly remarkable in the soft larva of an insect. A 

 Viper, if endowed with similar powers, would throw it 

 self nearly a hundred feet from the ground." 



Fig. 227 Wriggler. 



