l6o INSECT LIFE. 



antennas. Fig. 131 will aid in recognizing them. The 

 shore-bugs take flight quickly when disturbed, but 

 alight after flying a short distance ; some species dig 

 burrows and live for a part of the time beneath the 

 ground. Collect specimens and put them in your 

 collection under a copy of the following label : — 

 Family Saldid^ (Sal'di-dse). 

 The Shore-bugs. 



The Toad-shaped Bugs {Field and School Work). 



— There is sometimes found on the margins of streams 



or in marshes where the soil is moist a cu- 



#rious bug, which, on account of its short and 

 broad body and projecting eyes, reminds 

 one of a toad (Fig. 132). If you find speci- 

 mens of these, observe the color of the soil 

 upon which they are found and compare it 

 with that of the insects, for this species exhibits con- 

 siderable variation in coloring, and its colors are usu- 

 ally protective. 



The toad-shaped bugs belong to the order Hemip- 

 tera. Label your specimens as follows : — 

 Family GalgulidjE (Gal-gu'li-dae). 

 The Toad-shaped Bugs. 



The Pine-cone Willow-gall {Field and School 

 Work). — The wanderer by the brookside often sees 

 a crop of cones borne by willows, and if he is care- 

 less he is apt tf) pass them by, thinking that they, like 

 the cones of pines and spruces, contain the seeds of 

 the plant. But the observant student knows that the 

 seeds of willows are borne in catkins, which differ 

 greatly in shape from these conelike growths. 



