4 
great; value, as they contain a considerable 
quanty of oil, which is used in Sweden as a 
successful cure for rheumatism. The history of 
this insect is peculiar. The female insect lays 
eggs in the earth, and the larvae which comes 
forth being exceedingly active attach 
themselves to bees and other insects, 
to which . they adhere like leeches, 
dinging so tightly as to render it impossible 
forthe insect to get rid of them. Accordingly 
being carried to the nest or hive they feed 
either upon the food supplied for the larvae or 
on the juicee of the larvae, to which when full 
grown they bear a great resemblance. In 
Australia we have several (in fact many) kinds 
of caterpillars, whose hairs are capable of 
causing great irritation. Whether they could 
be found useful in the way that the cantharis 
is employed remains to be proved. Various 
kinds of the coccus tribe exude substances of a 
sugary nature, but not of quantity sufficient 
to make them serviceable to man. The ants, 
however, know well how to make use of them. 
If we examine any small sapling we shall, 
generally find the ants busily employed ascend- 
ing and descending. A little observation will 
show the reason. Fixed to the branches we 
shall observe little whitish or re dish lumps 
of apparently inanimate matter, these are the 
cocci, busily employed in extracting and trans- 
muting the juices of the plant into the much 
coveted material. The ants may be observed 
carefully licking away the exudation which is 
given forth, and when satisfied making way for 
others to take then 1 place. Another tribe of 
the homoptera to which these cocci belong is 
the cercopidse, or as they are sometimes called, 
from their form, frog-hoppers. Their habits 
are similar to those we have just been consi- 
dering, and the ants pay similar respects to 
them. The cicada family are numerous in this 
country. They belong to the homoptera also. 
Commonly, but erroneously called “ locusts,” 
the ear is often deafened by their shrill noise, 
like a knife-grinder’s wheel. These insects are 
many of them of a very large size, and are 
often to be seen collected in great numbers 
upon the freshly-peeled bark of the gum trees, 
sending down showers of sweet rain, for as 
they are incessantly sucking they must give 
out the sweet liquor in great quantity. I can 
not see any way of turning this material to 
account, though it is possible some one might 
be discovered. It has been gravely asserted by 
several respectable authors that the lady- 
bird beetle (coecinella) as well as several 
other coleopterous insects, are a cure for the 
toothache. This is a most extensive genus in 
this country, and it would be well worth trying. 
One author says that, when crushed, the finger 
becomes so imbued with the virtue as to be of 
service for several days. The Gall insect must 
now come in for a short notice. Galls, as is 
well known, are certain vegetable excrescences 
found on a great variety of trees and plants. 
That of the oak is well known and highly 
valued for making ink, and for the purposes 
of dyeing. The gall insects belong to the 
liymenopterous order, and are usually of minute 
size. The female insect is furnished with an 
ovipositor, with which she punctures the leaves 
or stems of plants, depositing an egg in each 
hole. A species of vegetable irritation sets in, 
which causes a remarkable change in the plant, 
which, instead of giving forth leaves and shoots, 
become swollen, in many cases, as in the gall of 
the oak, developing itself into a nearly solid 
ball, of a woody texture ; in many others, of 
very irregular form, as we may see exemplified 
in that of the wattle tree : and in others, a hard 
nucleus, covered with a mossy hair like what 
we sometimes see upon, the rose tree. It 
appears that the peculiar principle of the tree 
becomes concentrated in these galls, if we may 
judge by that of the oak ; tannin being an im- 
portant constituent, also the useful photo- 
graphic agent gallic acid. It is worthy to be 
noted, that as oak bark is here replaced by that 
of the wattle tree for the purposes of tanning, 
it is more than likely that the galls of the same, 
which can be procured in immense quantities, 
will be found worthy of attention as an article 
of commerce not much inferior to those of the 
oak. The study of the gall insects of Aus- 
tralia would form a delightful employment for 
any naturalist, who would find work in abun- 
dance for years, and enrich the science with 
many new and interesting facts among insects. I 
have thus enumerated some of the most interest- 
ing and useful productions of the insect world to 
man. The catalogue might doubtless be con- 
siderably added were more sufficient attention 
paid to this subject, and, doubtless, as time 
rolls on, much more will we be indebted to the 
insect tribes than we are at present. The study 
of these minions of creation is in itself a benefit 
to man, of no ordinary kind, open- 
ing out to us views of the Creator’s 
power and goodness in small things, 
happy in the enjoyment of their short existence, 
(in some cases extending only to afew hours), and 
ever without deviation following the law of their 
creation, they read us a useful lesson to do 
likewise. On another occasion I may again 
take up this topic, and dwell upon their indirect 
uses to mankind, which will be found to be 
manifold. Any imperfection in the way of 
composition will, I am sure, be pardoned by 
you, as I did not aim so much at the choice of 
language as to place before you practical and 
useful facts. 
S. DIGGLES. 
June 2, 1863. 
Since the above was read I have perused a 
very interesting paper by H. L. Schrader, Esq., 
member of the New South Wales Entomolo- 
gical Society, who has been devoting great at- 
tention to the study of the gall insects of that 
locality. It appears from his observations that 
to the family of the coccidse, with few excep- 
tions, is due the formation of the very singular 
excrescences we see on almost every tree. 
S. D. 
