304 TH£ APHIDES. 



mire with that respect and adoration which We owe 1 

 to the great author of nature and ruler of the uni- 

 verse *." 



THE APHIDES. 



THE minute animals that compose this singular 

 tribe live entirely on vegetables, and the loftiest 

 tree is as liable to their attacks as the most humble 

 plant. Their numbers are often incalculably great. 

 They prefer the young shoots on account of their 

 tenderness, and frequently insinuate themselves into 

 the very hearts of the plants, doing irreparable mis- 

 chief even before they are discovered. But for the 

 most part they beset the foliage, and are always 

 found on the under side of the leaf. This they pre- 

 fer, not only on account of its being the most tender, 

 but ,because it affords them protection from the 

 weather, and from various injuries to which they 

 would be otherwise exposed. Sometimes, though 

 very rarely, the root is the object of their choice ; 

 and the roots of lettuces have been observed so 

 thickly beset with one of the species that the whole 

 crop has been rendered sickly, and of little value. 

 They are rarely, except one species {aphis salicis, 

 which is larger and much stronger than the others) 

 to be found on the bark of trees. 



Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. 



