330 



Salda Sp(?). 



This shore bug is very active and very difficult to catch and hard to 

 find except on sunny days, when their shiny black wings make them 

 rather conspicuous. They are found chiefly in the area covered by the 

 Spergularia Marina. They live in burrows in the ground, and only venture 

 forth in search of food on sunny days at low tide. 



Their resistance to drowning is not nearly as great as that of the 

 beetles ; twenty-four hours submergence usually being sufficient to kill 

 them. Twelve hours had very little effect. Like the beetles, they enclose 

 large bubbles of air under their wings. On several occasions I placed 

 several of them on the surface of the water when the area was covered 

 by the tide. They swam on the surface until they' came to floating fucus 

 thallus (other floating materials being rejected). They would then crawl 

 to one of the deepest submerged branches, where they would remain. 

 They were almost invisible on the thallus, due to the resemblance of the 

 fucus to their wings with the enclosed air bubble. Tins, undoubtedly, is 

 a protective instinct. 



B deluxe Sp(?). 



This reddish-brown plant louse (2 to 3 mm. long) is widely distributed 

 throughout the salt marsh. Their outer limit borders on the inner limit 

 of the prevailing tides. They are never found beyond the inner Spartiua. 

 limit, frj-foot level. Their mouth parts are especially adapted to sucking 

 plant juices and they live on decaying plants. They are especially abun- 

 dant on fresh drift weed. 



As stated, they are seldom found in the areas covered by the prevail- 

 ing tides, yet on occasions of a sudden rise in tide levels, they may be 

 found walking on the ground when it is covered by the tide. They do not 

 seem to have any objections to such unusual conditions as they apparently 

 make no effort to escape. They are easily washed away by the tide when 

 once lifted from their feet, as their long slender legs are to their dis- 

 advantage. After the retreat of such an unusually high tide, they are not 

 as numerous as they were previous to it, due perhaps to the fact that they 

 have no protection from aquatic enemies, and also because many of them 

 are washed away. There is Tittle danger of drowning. One morning, 

 at 6:45, I placed six of them in vials and submerged them in sea water. 

 At 5 p. m. they were all lying on their backs, apparently dead, but on 

 exposure to the air they all revived. I also placed several in an mi- 



