TROPICAL AMERICA. SHELLS'. 8? 



virgin forests of the coast: very few of the genera com- 

 prised in this family are known in other countries. 



(122.) Ants are as numerous as in Western Africa, but 

 they all appear to belong to different species. The red 

 ants of Brazil are so destructive, and at the same time 

 so prolific, that they frequently dispute possession of 

 the ground with the husbandman, defy all his skill to 

 extirpate their colonies, and fairly compel him to leave 

 his fields uncultivated. The Termites, or white ants, are 

 principally confined to the woods : they are of different 

 species ; some building great nests in trees, while others 

 are subterraneous; but there is no evidence to prove 

 them the same as those of Western Africa. Locusts of 

 a beautiful green, with wings resembUng the leaves of 

 plants, are not uncommon; but they never become 

 noxious ; nor is there, we believe, any instance upon 

 record of their associating in flocks, and devastating the 

 country. They are, in fact, all specifically distinct from 

 those of the Old World. The dipterous insects are re- 

 markably few, — a peculiarity in American entomology, 

 for which we know not how to account : but it is sin- 

 gular, that spiders, which prey more especially upon 

 this order, are still more rare ; we never, in fact, met 

 with more than two or three species which spun webs ■ 

 yet of the little Saltici, or jumping spiders, which wan- 

 der about in quest of their prey, we described, upon the 

 spot, more than 100 species. Yet, however deficient 

 South America may be in Diptera, there are some be- 

 longing to the AselidcB, of dimensions far exceeding any 

 in the world. Few persons would beUeve in the exist- 

 ence of a real fly measuring full two inches long ; yet 

 several of these are in our museum. 



(123.) The testaceous ilfoZ/wsca, or shells, are compara- 

 tively very few, particularly on the eastern coasts, yet those 

 of Chili and Panama have furnished our cabinets with 

 many beautiful species : from the latter is brought the 

 lovely Murex regius Sw., the Murex radix L., with 

 many others of less note. From Chili and Peru we 



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