LETTER XXVI. 
ON THE HYBERNATION AND TORPIDITY 
OF INSECTS. 
IF insects can boast of enjoying a greater variety of 
food than many other tribes of animals, this advantage 
seems at first sight more than counterbalanced in our 
climates, by the temporary nature of their supply. The 
graminivorous quadrupeds, with few exceptions, how- 
ever scanty their bill of fare, and their carnivorous 
brethren, as well as the whole race of birds and fishes, 
can at all seasons satisfy, in greater or less abundance, 
their demand for food. But to the great majority of 
insects, the earth for nearly one half of the year is a 
barren desert, affording no appropriate nutriment. As 
soon as winter has stripped the vegetable world of its 
foliage, the vast hosts of insects that feed on the leaves 
of plants must necessarily fast until the return of spring : 
and even the carnivorous tribes, such as the Carabidae, 
Ichneumonidae, Sphegide, &c. would at that period of 
the year in vain look for their accustomed prey. 
How is this difficulty provided for? In what mode 
has the Universal Parent secured an uninterrupted suc- 
cession of generations in a class of animals for the most 
