Insects. 



5931 



about as wide a range as any I know, and zonaviella seems as fondly attached to the 

 rough hair-grass {Aira ccespitosa). Adscitella, too, has a peculiar liking for the blue 

 moor-grass (Sesleria ccerulea), for, although plenty of other grasses grow amongst and 

 beside this one, where I find the creature by scores, yet I never found it in any other. 

 Each has also its own peculiar manner of working : some merely cut out a channel 

 large enough to allow the body to pass down, and others mine the whole width of the 

 leaf. The mine of one larva assumes a pinkish tinge, of another brown, and that 

 of adscitella is nearly white, and these are the stepping-stones towards the discrimi- 

 nation, at first sight, of the different species of larvae. Some never venture into the 

 stem, others do, the depths of their proceedings being only checked by the roots 

 themselves. Then, again, whilst lying looking for these habitations, see the endless 

 variety of other creatures which come upon the scene. Numbers of Apions and Sito- 

 nas crawl up the leaves, and after a long look at you, as if the sight of such a monster 

 was too much for them, they suddenly seem to lose all power over their limbs, and 

 drop apparently lifeless to the bottom. Once out of sight, this feigning, however, 

 does not last long: up they come again, this time a little more fearless than before; 

 and it is only when you make a movement in their direction that they repeat their lit- 

 tle piece of juggling. Then there are numbers of Carabidae mining about the roots, 

 and occasionally Leistus rufescens may be met with running up the stems and leaves 

 to have a look round and see what is doing. The Halticae keep hopping about in all 

 directions, and " cocktails," as the Staphylinidae are politely termed, plunge into all 

 sorts of holes and corners should their quiet be disturbed. Ichneumons, too, revel all 

 over, in search of some poor unfortunates to act as nurses and be mothers to their fry ; 

 and the bugs drop down with a lazy whir-r-r, as if it was taxing their powers too much 

 to make them use the appendages given by Nature for transporting them from one 

 place to another. Besides these there are spiders of all shapes and sizes, black spi- 

 ders and red, gray spiders and brown; some all legs and little or no body, others all 

 body and little legs ; some with the body as large as the head, and some all body and 

 no head ; while one little flat fellow has a pair of feelers stretched out in front for all 

 the world like a pair of huge lobster-claws, and it seems immaterial to him whether 

 he goes backwards or forwards. These are but a few of the many interesting little 

 scenes to be met with on any summer's day and by any one. The great book of Na- 

 ture is open to all. Her gifts are alike to each, munificent. There is no stinginess 

 on her part ; and, indeed, it very often happens that he who knows least about her 

 fares best, as if she threw inducements in his way to call him from the forgetfulness 

 in which he has hitherto been wrapped to scenes of wisdom, to a very " fairy land." I 

 don't ask all to turn butterfly hunters because I am one ; but I ask them to find some- 

 thing to do. Turn over some of Nature's pages ; surely some of them have interest 

 for you ; so that in after years it may be a sweet recollection to refer to hours and days 

 numbered amongst the happiest of your lives. 



" Let Nature be your teacher ; 

 Sweet is the love which Nature brings : 

 Our meddling intellect 

 Misshapes the beauteous form of things.'' 



— John Scott ; Southfield Villas, Middlesbro^-on-TeeSy December , 1867. 



