386 



[NSECT TEANSFORMATIONS. 



dart oft' into holes and corners so suddenly, as often 

 to escape the quickest movements of" an insect 

 hunter. It is remarkable, however, that those swift- 

 footed insects seldom run far without making a full 

 pause to reconnoitre their position, as a deer may he 

 seen to arch his neck from behind a tree to examine 

 a stranger, and, after tripping off" to some distance, 

 turn round again to take another peep at tlie intruder. 

 The same habit is observable among spiders, partic- 

 vdarly the hunters, and those which run about 

 meadows and the margins of water {Lijcosa saccata, 

 &.C.) Some of the mites are still more rapid in their 

 movements, and we have often admired a very com- 

 mon one (GammasKS Baccarum, Fabr.) which fre- 

 quents &trawberry-beds in gardens, and, as Kirby 

 and Spence justly say, appears rather to glide or fly 

 than to use its legs.* Its minuteness adds to the 



Julus terrestris. b, the same coiled up. r, oil beetle (P. 

 tcarabceus vulgaris), d, Nyctcribia Hermanni. 



Intr. vol. 



