346 OBSERVATIONS ON 



like an unruly colt ; the lover thus dismounted, soon finds 

 a new mate. The females afterwards retire to another part 

 of tlie lake, perhaps to deposit their foetus in quiet ; hence 

 the sexes are found separate, except in the pairing season. 



RANATRA LINE ARTS. 



Fiom the multitude of minute young- of all gradations of 

 sizes, these insects seem without doubt to be viviparous. 1 



PHAL^NA QUERCUS. 



MCST of our oaks are naked of leaves, and evtn the Holt in 

 general, having been ravaged by the caterpillars of a small 

 Phalceua which is of a pale yellow colour. These insects, 

 though a feeble race, yet, from their infinite numbers, are 

 of wonderful effect, being able to destroy the foliage of 



1 The egg of the long water-bug has been long known to entomolo- 

 gists. It is armed at one end by two bristles, and is inserted into the 

 stem of an aquatic plant, generally of a club rush, in which it is so 

 deeply imbedded by the lengthened ovipositor of the insect, as to be 

 entirely hidden from view ; the bristles alone projecting from the place 

 of concealment. These bristles by preventing the edges of the plant 

 stem from uniting, secure an exit for the larva, as soon as it is hatched 

 ED. 



