﻿362 ON THE LACSHA, 



irregular squares, pentagons, and hexagons, about an 

 eighth of an inch in diameter, and \ deep ; they have 

 no communication with each other : all these I opened 

 during the time the animals were issuing, contained 

 in one-half a small bag filled with a thick red jelly- 

 like liquor, replete with what I take to be eggs ; these 

 bags, or utriculi, adhere to the bottom of the cells, and 

 have each two necks, which pass through perforations 

 in the external coat of the cells, forming the fore-men- 

 tioned excrescences, and ending in some very fine 

 hairs. The other half of the cells have a distinct 

 opening, and contain a white substance, like some 

 few filaments of cotton rolled together, and numbers 

 of the insects themselves ready to make their exit. 

 Several of the same insects I observed to have drawn 

 up their legs, and to lie flat ; they did not move on 

 being touched, nor did they show any signs of life 

 with the greatest irritation. 



December 5. The same minute hexapedes continue 

 issuino- from their cells in numbers ; they are more 

 lively, of a deepened red colour, and fewer of the mo- 

 tionless sort. To-day I saw the mouth ; it is a flat- 

 tened point, about the middle of the breast, which the 

 little animal projects on being compressed. 



December 6. The male insects I have found to-day. 

 A few of them are constantly running among the fe- 

 males most actively : as yet they are scarce more, I 

 imagine, than one to 5000 females, but twice their size. 

 The head is obtuse ; eyes black, very large ; antenna? 

 clavated, feathered, about f the length of the body ; be- 

 low the middle an articulation, such as those in the 

 legs; colour between the eyes a beautiful shining green ; 

 neck very short ; body oval, brown ; abdomen oblong, 

 the length of body and head; legs six; wings mem- 

 branaceous, four, longer than lhe body, fixed to the 



