108 THE NATUEALIST IN BERMUDA. 



INSECTA. 



The Entomology of the Bermudas does not present that 

 ample field we could desire ; the limited area of those 

 isles, their isolated character, and other causes, alluded to 

 in these pages, sufficiently explain why the forms of insect 

 life should be confined to few genera. We believe that 

 most of the insects found in the Bermudas, are also to be 

 met with in the nearest portion of the American conti- 

 nent, — North Carolina, distant about six hundred nautical 

 miles ; — thus leading us to iofer that each species, at some 

 former period of time, and by methods not clearly under- 

 stood, has been transported over sea from the Virginian 

 coast to its present habitat. In like manner, the few 

 native iusects common to the West Indies, are supposed to 

 have been introduced from thence iu the packages of shrubs, 

 .plants, or fruit, occasionally imported from that quarter. 



COLEOPTERA (Beetles). 



The little modest colored Gicindela tortuosa is found in 

 some abundance in the Bermudas, where it is common on 

 the rocky point of Harris's Bay, in the months of September 

 and October. Like its congeners of other lands, this iusect 

 is ever on the alert, and ready to spring on the approach of 

 the collector. It is the only species of the family Ciaw- 

 delidce we met with on the islands. 



By far the most common beetle, and the best known to 

 the inhabitants, is the "hard back" {Ligyrus jwoencus). 

 The strength of this insect is amazing, considering its 

 small size ; and if a glass tumbler or a candlestick be 



