moj>t other insects of its tribe. It retires under 
ground in tha, month of August, in order to undergo 
its change into a chrysalis, from which, in the month 
of September in the following year proceeds the 
complete insect, which is distinguished by a remark¬ 
able spot or patch on the thorax, bearing an imagi¬ 
nary resemblance to the figure of a scull or death’s- 
head, as vulgarly represented. From this circum¬ 
stance, joined to the stridulous tone which it utters 
when handled or irritated, it has been considered by 
the vulgar as an animal of ill omen, and as a mes¬ 
senger of fate. The celebrated Reaumur informs 
us that the members of a female convent in France 
were seized with general consternation on discover¬ 
ing one of these insects, which had accidentally 
flown in at one of the open windows during the 
evening. Like most other insects, it occasionally 
varies somewhat in colour, being darker or lighter in 
different individuals. 
