THE YOUXG NATURALIST. 



87 



nany places where it is not wanted. It can be 

 distinguished in its earlier stages by its lighter 

 :olor. The eggs are laid in the beginning of 

 summer. This insect, which was not included in 

 Dur report of the Rev. J. G. Woods' "Unapprec- 

 ated Insects," is said not to be a native of Britain, 

 md we have seen it stated that it was introduced 

 oy Philip of Spain, and his suite, when he came 

 iere as the husband of " Bloody Mary." Kirby 

 and Spence, however, relate an anecdote about 

 :he species under date of 1503, showing that this 

 :aleof its introduction cannot be correct. It is so 

 much a dweller in cities, and the dirtiest parts of 

 hem, that it might easily be unknown or little 

 loticed in England in those days when the popu- 

 ation was but scant, and large towns few in 

 lumber. 



There are several insects of this order living in 

 abater to which we will briefly refer. The Water 

 Boatman is perhaps one of the best known. In 

 ,ummer-time every little pool is tenanted by this 

 ;ingular insect. The third pair of legs are greatly 

 dongated, and are principally used for swimming. 

 !t is rather curious, too, that in swimming it places 

 tself on its back and moves much like a small 

 )oat propelled by a pair of oars. It is very 

 :arnivorous, and will attack and kill almost any" 

 hing, which makes it an undesirable tenant of an 

 iquarium for which its bright colors and graceful 

 movements would otherwise render it suitable. It 

 s undecided whether it injects any poison in the 

 vound it makes. Its prey die so soon that it is 

 nore than probable ; and Kirby and Spence record 

 hat the fact that it made them " suffer still more 

 everely, as if it had been burned, by the insertion 

 >f its rostrum ; but the wound was not followed 

 >y any inflammation ; and, long before me, 

 .Yilloughby had made the same discovery and 

 •bservation." When it quits the water, which it 

 ;enerally does at dusk, it unfolds its wings and 

 lies away. When walking on the ground its 

 notion is both slow and awkward, the long hind 

 2gs being of no use to it in walking, and dragging 

 •n the mud behind it. Another common species 

 5 the Water Scorpion, Nepa cinerea, an ugly, 

 irty looking insect, that crawls slowly about the 

 nud and decaying leaves at the bottom of ponds 

 ■r very slow streams. The first pair of legs seem 

 seel only fcr catching its prey ; they seem to 

 vork like the jaws of a pair of sugar nippers, and 

 voe to the luckless insect that comes within their 



grasp. It is remorselessly held and pressed against 

 the rostrum till all its juices are sucked out. We 

 suppose the Water Scorpion can swim and fly, 

 though we never saw it do anything but move 

 slowly about the mud. The Water Runner, 

 Hydrometra stagnorum, is even commoner than 

 this last. It is like a very long, narrow bodied, 

 long-legged fly, or has been compared to a bit of 

 broken stick. It runs with great speed about the 

 surface of ponds, has a long narrow head, and its 

 fore wings are also very long and narrow. From 

 its elongated appearance it has been called the 

 Needle Fly. It runs some little distance, then 

 stops again as if it had been jerked forward. It 

 can dive well, but is most unwilling to do so, and 

 we have often tried in vain to get them under 

 water. It can fly too, but is most at home on the 

 surface of the water, and you will not find it easy 

 to capture one with your hand. 



Though these water bugs are perhaps better 

 known to incipients than the land bugs, there are 

 not more than one-tenth of the known species 

 living in that element. The volume Hemiptera — 

 Heteroptera, by Messrs. Douglas & Scott, 

 issued by the Ray Society in 1865, contained 

 descriptions of 352 species, of which there were 

 only 9 speciesof Hydrodromica and28 ofAquatilia. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



To the Editor of the Young Natural st. 



Dear Sir, — I trust your Magazine will have a very 

 wide circulation. It is exactly what was wanted, 

 so it seems to me ; and if I am right in this, the 

 wide circulation is sure to come by degrees. I am 

 ( glad to see from No. 5, that you do not fall in 

 with a prevalent idea that the study of Natural 

 History can be best carried on by a rigid avoidance 

 of technical terms ! Without these there can be 

 no real accuracy. I very much doubt whether 

 / even the example you quote, as unnecessarily tech- 

 nical is really well interpreted by your shorter 

 I phrase ! Does not "elongated" mean the length- 

 j ning out of something beyond the extent normal to 

 some other thing with which it is impliedly com- 

 > pared ? If so "long" simply, would not at all 

 I express this. So, too " anterior extremities " 

 I might mean more than " fore legs " merely ! But 

 I of course there may be, and I admit sometimes is, 

 I unnecessary technicalit) - , — cases where it amounts 

 to pedantry and affectation. With regard to 

 English names I fully agree with you ; but if you 

 come down into these parts you would certainly 

 not find the name " long tailed Mag " applied to 

 I the Magpie; it is the common and universal name 

 I given by the rustics here to the long tailed Tit. 



I am, faithfully yours, 

 I Bloxworth-rectory, Blandford, O.P. Cambridge. 



