346 
OBSERVATIONS ON 
like an unruly colt ; the lover thus dismounted, soon finds 
a new mate. The females afterwards retire to another part 
of the lake, perhaps to deposit their foetus in quiet ; hence 
the sexes are found separate, except in the pairing season. 
RANATRA LINEARIS. 
From the multitude of minute young of all gradations of 
sizes, these insects seem without doubt to be viviparous.^ 
PHAL^NA QUERCUS. 
Most of our oaks are naked of leaves, and even the Holt in 
general, having been ravaged by the cate;rpillars of a small 
Phalcena which is of a pale yellow colour. These insects, 
though a feeble race, yet, from their infinite numbers, are 
of wonderful effect, being able to destroy the foliage of 
^ The egg of the long water-bug has been long known to entomolo- 
gists. It is armed at one end bv two bristles, and is inserted into the 
stem of an aquatic plant, generally of a club rush, in which it is so 
deeply imbedded by the lengthened ovipositor of the insect, as to be 
entirely hidden from view ; the bristles alone projecting from the place 
of concealment. These bristles by preventing the edges of the plant 
stem from uniting, secure an exit for the larva as soon as it is hatched. 
— Ed. 
