NOTONECTA. 157 
as may enable yoii hereafter to follow up 
this instructive and highly entertaining 
study with greater ease and advantage. 
We will therefore proceed to the noto- 
necta, or boat fly, 
Lucy. Is that the little bright black 
animal, like a beetle, that I have seen 
moving in circles on the pond ? 
Mother, No, that is the gyrinus na- 
tatory commonly called the water-Jlea, 
and belonging to the order coleoptera ; 
but the notonecta, also, is found in ponds. 
It has the singular characteristic of swim- 
ming on its back, and from that circum- 
stance it takes its name, which is derived 
from the Greek. The English name has 
been given from the resemblance of this 
insect to a little boat, the six legs ap- 
pearing like so many oars, with which it 
rows along with amazing swiftness ; and 
the hinder pair are fringed with stiff 
hairs, which seem to answer the same 
purpose that fins do to fish. It must be 
handled with great caution, for it is not 
only provided with a sting, but its beak. 
