THE LOUSE. 
273 
bodies fitted to remove the earth ; nor can they creep into 
every chink, as their legs are too long : besides, their bodies 
are so tender, that the least rough particle of the earth 
would hurt them. They therefore get into the deep chinks 
of the bark, and into the cavities of the stronger stalks, 
whence they sally out upon the branches and leaves, when 
the warmth of the sun begins to be felt. Neither the cold 
in the autumnal season, nor the lesser degree of heat in the 
spring, ever hurts them ; they seldom, therefore, seek for 
hiding-places before the fall of the leaf, and are alert enough 
to take the earliest advantage of the returning spring. 
Like many other insects, they cast their skins four several 
times; and, what is very remarkable, the males have four 
wings, but the females never have any. They all have long 
legs, not only to enable them to creep over the long hairs of 
plants and leaves, but also to travel from one tree to an- 
other, when they happen to stand at a distance. Their 
trunk or snout lies under their breast ; and this they thrust 
into the pores of the plant to suck out the juice, for they do 
not gnaw them, like the caterpillar; but so hurt them by 
sucking, that the leaves become spotted, and as it were over- 
run with scabs; for which reason their edges always turn 
up towards the middle. 
It has been said, that these insects are often carried away 
and devoured by ants; but this Frysch, from whom this 
description is taken, could never observe. The ants indeed 
are fond of those trees where there is a great number of 
those insects; but then it is only to suck the juice which 
liows from the leaves that have been just wounded. This 
more particularly happens in the heat of summer, when 
other moisture is wanting : however, he never found them 
hurting or carrying away any of these insects while alive; 
nor indeed were they able, for the leaf louse is more than 
a match for the ant at single combat. Whenever they per- 
ceive the ant approaching behind them, they kickback with 
their hinder feet, and thus drive off the invader, as a horse 
Would a lion. 
The three principal and constant enemies to these insects 
are, first, the fire-fly, which lays its eggs where these insects 
are in greatest numbers, which producing a worm, seizes 
and devours all the leaf-lice that come near it : another ene- 
my is the worm of a peculiar kind of beetle, which destroys 
them in great numbers : but the most formidable of all ene- 
mies is the ichneumon fly, that seizes upon one of the 
largest females, and laying its egg upon her, this is hatched 
Vol. II. 2 M 
