74 



THE ATLANTIC SLOPE NATURALIST. 



off its old shell, or pupal covering, as 

 the entomologist would call it, it 

 crawled to the surface of the dirt in 

 the flower pot, where it rested while its 

 wings unfolded. The sprouts of the deli- 

 cate wings were hardly to be detected at 

 the first, but within twenty minutes the 

 wings were fully unfolded or developed, 

 and in less than an hour from the time 

 that the delicate creature emerged from 

 the ground it was flying about the room. 



Thinking to test the ability of the spe- 

 cies to withstand the severity of the tem- 

 perature outside, I caught a specimen and 

 made some experiments, which proved 

 so interesting that the results are offered 

 here. As a comparison to this test, I se- 

 cured an earth worm who was so foolish 

 as to come to the surface of the soil in the 

 pot which was probably too liberally 

 watered for its comfort. The worm and 

 fly were set outside in the month of Feb- 

 ruary with the mercury at two degrees 

 above zero, Fahrenheit, the insect being 

 confined in a gauze covered glass, so that 

 I could watch the movements. Inside of 

 three minutes the movements of the worm 

 had ceased, and the creature was quickly 

 frozen stiff. The rigid, frozen mass was 

 taken inside and an effort made to resus- 

 citate it, but without success as it was 

 killed by the cold. 



The little Aphis Fly ran about for three 

 minutes, and all motion did not cease for 

 over eight minutes. After twenty min- 

 utes it was taken into a room at a temper- 

 ature of over [70] degrees, and within a 

 few minutes it was as lively as ever. It 

 was again submitted to an outside tem- 

 perature and left there over an hour, and 

 when brought in was with difficulty re- 

 stored. But I do not doubt that if these 

 little insects were slowly brought under 

 the change of a low temperature that they 

 might stand it as well as the many outside 

 species which are hibernating in millions 

 all about us every winter. In the colder 

 months the earth worms burrow deep in 

 the ground, and below the frost line and 

 thus protect themselves from the cold; 

 yet this little insect which it was judged 

 weighed about one six-hundredth of the 



weight of the worm was capable of with- 

 standing a much greater degree of cold. 



But the difference between the aphis 

 and worm is not as great as the difference 

 in weight in man and the delicately built 

 chickadee which is about one twenty-five 

 hundredth part of an ordinary sized man's 

 weight. Yet the titmouse will thrive in a 

 temperature where a man would certain- 

 ly succumb if he were kept in it continu- 

 ously. 



Anyone may study the aphis at home. 

 All that is necessary is a few house plants. 

 There is mifch that is interesting about 

 them, and they should not be wholly con. 

 demned. 



Breeding of the Least Bittern in New 



Jersey. 



By Mark L. C. Wilde, Camden, N. J. 



It is surprising how common a breeder 

 the Least Bittern may be in a suitable 

 locality, and yet remain almost entirely 

 unknown. 



This is due principally to the lack of 

 investigation on the part of the bird 

 student ; for, as far as others are con- 

 cerned, these birds might go on breeding 

 and never be discovered unless by acci- 

 dent. 



The reason for this is obvious. Least 

 Bitterns feed during the night, and in the 

 day time they are scarcely ever seen 

 exposed, but skulk in the rushes or small 

 bushes in reedy swamps and marshes 

 close to their breeding grounds. 



These birds are very common breeders 

 in suitable localities in New Jersey, and I 

 have found them all over the southern 

 portion of • the State, from the Rancocas 

 Creek to Cape May County, even within 

 the limits of the city of Camden. 



They are very common during the 

 breeding season along all three branches 

 of the Newton Creek, which empties into 

 the Delaware river, between South Cam- 

 den and Gloucester. Along this creek I 

 have found as many as eight or ten pairs 

 nesting within an area of one hundred 

 square yards. 



