THE PLANT-LICE. 237 



means of its long tubular beak ; and they rarely change 

 their places till they have exhausted the part first attacked. 

 The attitudes and manners of these little creatures are ex- 

 ceedingly amusing. When disturbed, like restive horses, 

 they begin to kick and sprawl in the most ludicrous manner. 

 They may be seen, at times, suspended by their beaks alone, 

 and throwing up their legs as if in a high frolic, but too 

 much engaged in sucking to withdraw their beaks. As they 

 take in great quantities of sap, they would soon become 

 gorged if they did not get rid of the superabundant fluid 

 through the two little tubes or pores at the extremity of 

 their bodies. When one of them gets running-over full, 

 it seems to communicate its uneasy sensations, by a kind of 

 animal magnetism, to the whole flock, upon which they all, 

 with one accord, jerk upwards their bodies, and eject a 

 shower of the honeyed fluid. The leaves and bark of plants 

 much infested by these insects are often completely sprinkled 

 over with drops of this sticky fluid, which, on drying, become 

 dark colored, and greatly disfigure the foliage. This appear- 

 ance has been denominated honey-dew ; but there is another 

 somewhat similar production observable on plants, after very 

 dry weather, which has received the same name, and consists 

 of an extravasation or oozing of the sap from the leaves. 



We are often apprised of the presence of plant-lice on 

 plants growing in the open air by the ants ascending and 

 descending the stems. By observing the motions of the 

 latter, we soon ascertain that the sweet fluid discharged by 

 the lice is the occasion of these visits. The stems swarm 

 with slim and hungry ants running upwards, and others 

 lazily descending with their bellies swelled almost to bursting. 

 When arrived in the immediate vicinity of the plant-lice, 

 they greedily wipe up the sweet fluid which has distilled 

 from them, and when this fails, they station themselves 

 among the lice, and catch the drops as they fill. 



The lice do not seem in the least annoyed by the ants, 

 but live on the best possible terms with them ; and, on the 



