5A | August, 
lately to be able to watch for some little time a similar family, I have 
thought that some account of what I saw would not be altogether 
without interest. 
On the 19th of last month, as I was poring over the outer twigs 
of the birch tree which I have in my garden—“ convenient” for larva 
rearing — my eye fell on a reddish-brown bug sitting motionless on the 
under-side of a leaf, just at the level of my head. On looking at it 
more closely, I saw it was covering, as well as it could, a number of 
little oval greenish bodies—at first sight like eggs. Further examina- 
tion, however, showed that these small creatures were the young bugs, 
in their first stage, I suppose, after leaving the egg, for the cluster of 
egg shells could be seen quite empty and transparent, under one side 
of the mother, while the young ones were mostly congregated under 
the other side. At this time then, the brood, numbering less than 20, 
were clustered together in two or three rows, some lying over the 
others, and really—but for their being silent and motionless—reminding 
one of a numerous litter of sucking pigs. 
The parent bug showed no fear, and barely moved when I touched 
her, only shifting her legs and sloping her shoulders and back so as 
to protect the side on which the danger threatened; and I could not 
see that either she or the young ones were drawing their sustenance 
from the leaf on which they were placed ; and, indeed, from their po- 
sition, it was not possible to make out any part of the young ones, save 
their plump abdomens. 
This state of things went on till June 23rd, when, on paying my 
morning visit to my family, I found the young bugs had advanced a 
stage in life; perhaps they had moulted, though I could see no cast 
skins ; but anyhow, they had become larger in size, and were no longer 
lying motionless, but moving about very actively, and busily vibrating 
their antenne. I now counted fifteen in the brood alive, and two that 
seemed in some way to have died, and remained sticking to the leaf ; 
the empty egg-shells were gone, but whether accidentally or purposely 
removed, I cannot say. 
The mother was now quite in a state of fuss; she moved about, 
felt everywhere with her antenne, and, if I attempted to touch her 
brood, she fluttered her wings rapidly ; but, with all this commotion, 
neither she nor the young ones moved away from the under-side of the 
leaf, on which they had hitherto been located, for two days longer; and 
during this period, if the sun shone out and the leaf were still, there 
was a great deal of running to and fro, but at night and when the wind 
blew roughly, the mother contrived to get them under her, and sat 
covering them as at first. 
On 25th June, [ found their native leaf quite deserted, and for a 
