THE BRITISH HEMIPTERA. 11 



Jicidce for their young. The mother would occasionally get 

 up and look around her, apparently to see if any enemy were 

 approaching, and if all was quiet she* would sit down again. 

 When disturbed by any thing, for instance, by a bit of stick, 

 with which I touched a young one, the mother directly came 

 to its rescue, putting- herantennee down to ihe little thing and 

 drawing them over it. If that did not do, she would walk 

 round it and endeavour to protect it. I repeated the ex- 

 periment with some of the other young ones to see if it was 

 really affection I had witnessed, and she repeated very nearly 

 the same conduct, and now and then placing a leg over it. 

 Altogether the little creature showed great excitement, and 

 by running round them appeared exceedingly anxious about 

 her little charo^es, — indeed I never before saw such affection 

 exhibited by any insect. And I must add that I certainly 

 felt a pang at taking the lives of these creatures, although if 

 I had not done so, it now turns out, from your remark, the 

 verification of De Geer's observation (which I had never seen) 

 would not have been made." 



The Cor tide olina all seem to occur under bark, and at p. 

 271 we read that " the species of Aradus are said to feed on 

 fungir 



As the insects of the order Hemiptera are generally con- 

 sidered rather obnoxious to the olfactory nerves, it is interest- 

 ing to find that Anisopteri/s setulosus, which has occurred at 

 Hurst Wood, near Tunbridge Wells, " gives off when handled 

 an exceedingly agreeable odour, much resembling that of 

 ripe jargonelle pears" (p. 386), and of Coranus suhapterusj 

 we read, p. 542, " the insects, if handled, give out a delicate 

 odour like that of ripe pears." 



The section Capdna, which comprises nearly half the 



* See Kirby and Spence's " Introduction to Entomology," 7th 

 edition, p. 203. 



