The Living Animals of the World, Volume II: Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Fishes, Jointed Animals, Molluscs, etc.

In England there are two allied species called WATER-SCORPIONS, from their long front legs, which somewhat resemble the nippers of a scorpion. The commonest is a brown insect, with the abdomen red beneath. It is about an inch long, including the breathing-tube, which sticks out behind the body like a tail, and is formed of two separable parts. It is an oval insect, half as broad as long, and is common in stagnant water. The other species is twice as long, and is much more slender, with longer and more slender legs. It is yellowish brown, like most of the other water-bugs, and is a sluggish and rather scarce insect, creeping about in the mud at the bottom of deeper water than that preferred by the commoner species.

The WATER-BOATMEN are yellowish-brown insects, measuring half an inch in length, with smooth bodies, and long, hairy hind legs, with which they row themselves about on the water, as if with oars, while floating on their backs. All the larger water-bugs are capable of inflicting a severe puncture with their sharp proboscis, if handled incautiously.

Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.] [Regent's Park.

GREAT WATER-BUG.

Very similar species are found in Africa, Asia, and America. Photo by W. P. Dando, F.. (Regent's Park.

GREAT WATER-BUG.

These insects live in water during the day, and fly about in the evening. (27

the World728 The Living Animals of

The FROG-HOPPERS and their allies differ from the Bugs in the fore wings being uniform in texture throughout, and not membranous, with the tips transparent. Sometimes the fore wings are of a more or less horny texture, but they are frequently as transparent as the hind wings. All the species are plant-feeding insects.

The first family, the CICADAS, includes a number of large or moderate-sized species, in which the males are provided with a large, drum-like apparatus on the abdomen, and some of is only onewhich make the loud noise for which they have long been celebrated. There comparatively small species in England, which is rare, and almost confined to the New Forest. It is black, with transparent wings, about 1| inch in expanse, and has red transverse lines on the abdomen. The largest Indian species, however, sometimes expands 8 inches. Cicadas have broad heads, broad short bodies, ending rather abruptly in a point, and their larvse live in the ground, where they are sometimes injurious to the roots of trees. The wings are

flioto by J. Edwards] \Colesborne.

INDIAN CANDLE-FLY.

Erroneously stated to be luminous usually, but not always, transparent a very common Indian and Chinese species, about 3 inches in expanse, being black, with large yellow spots on the fore wings. In North America and Australia cicadas are often miscalled Locusts.

The LANTERN-FLIES, or CANDLE-FLIES, which form the next family, derive their name from having been stated to be luminous, a statement which is now considered very doubtful. They are insects of considerable size and bright colours, occasionally resembling butterflies and moths; the largest species, the LANTERN-FLY of South America, sometimes measures as much as 5 inches across the wings, which are of a pale yellowish or greenish tint, with a large round spot on the hind wings, formed of black rings or crescents, and enclosing one or two large white spots. On the head is an immense hollow, blunt protuberance, marked with one is a curved horn in front of the head;or two longitudinal red lines. In some species there' in some the horn forms a short cross; in others it ends in a red knob; while others are destitute of such an appendage. The hind wings are often brightly coloured, red or yellow usually predominating.

Half'Winged Insects 729 The TRUE FROG-HOPPERS are small insects about a quarter ol an inch long, found among grass and bushes. The fore wings are of rather a stout consistency and uniform in colour (often yellowish), and the hind wings transparent. The larvae are soft grubs, and live in the masses of froth so common in grass and bushes, which are vulgarly known as " cuckoo-spit."

Passing over several families of small species, we arrive at two which contain many very destructive insects. The APHIDES, PLANT- Photoby '. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regents Park. SCALE-INSECT. LICE, or SMOTHER-FLIES are the small green or brown winged or The females die, covering their eggs their own bodies.wingless insects which frequently cover the shoots of roses and with other trees and plants, and exude a sweet sticky substance, called "honey-dew," very attractive to ants. One species, known as the -AMERICAN BLIGHT, is extremely destructive to apple-trees, patches of a substance resembling white cotton appearing on the bark. Under these patches the bark rots from the attacks of the insects, the pest being very difficult to eradicate.

Many of the Aphides exhibit the curious phenomenon known as "alternation of generations." The first brood consists of winged males and females; but the eggs which the latter lay produce exclusively wingless females, or rather sexless creatures capable of laying eggs, and these multiply indefinitely for a time, till perfect males and females are again reproduced. In some cases the winged forms live on the leaves of trees, and the wingless forms at the roots of grass, etc. One of the most destructive of all these insects is the VINE- APHIS, which was probably introduced into Europe from America, and which threatened at one time almost to destroy the vine industry in France. Wingless sexless forms \oto by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.,

Regent's Park. live and multiply at the roots of vines; and

APHIS. in summer winged males and females are A sexual wingless form. produced, which fly up, and lay eggs on the leaves; while some of the wingless insects also quit the ground, and form small galls on the vine-leaves. Although very abundant in America, the insect is not nearly so destructive to the plants which it attacks as in Europe.

Some species of SCALE-INSECTS are almost equally destructive, is slender and two- especially to greenhouse plants. The male winged, but the female is wingless and often legless, and after depositing her eggs usually dies above them, thus forming a covering to protect them from injury. Cochineal consists of the bodies of a species of scale-insect which infests the leaves of a cactus in Mexico.

The TRUE LICE are found on various species of mammals, and imbibe their food through a proboscis. The BIRD-LICE, or BITING-LICE, form a well-defined group by themselves. They are sometimes regarded as forming distinct orders of insects; but lioto by If-'. P. Dando, F.Z S., Regent's Pan some authors treat the first group as a degraded family of insects SCALE-INSECTS. allied to the Frog-hoppers, and the second group as an equally Showing their appearance when degraded and aberrant family allied to the Lace-winged Insects. crowded together on a branch. 92

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TWO-WINGED INSECTS, OR FLIES.

BY W. F. KIRBY, F.L.S.

THIS order of insects is probably one of the most numerous in individuals, though it may be that, when we know more of the insect population of the world, we shall find that it is outnumbered in species by the Beetles or the order to which the Bees and Ants belong. It differs from all other orders in possessing only two wings instead of four, which is the usual number in insects. The meta-is furnished morphoses are complete, and the mouth with a proboscis for imbibing liquid food. Hind wings are represented in many species by a pair of organs " called poisers," resembling a knob at the end of a stick, and other species have two small additional " " lobes attached to the wing, called winglets; but there is no such thing as a really developed hind wing in any insect belonging to the group. They are always two-winged flies, except in the case of a few aberrant species, such as the Fleas, in which no

Photo by C. If. Mavroy [Smyrna. wings, or only mere rudiments of wings, are to be CICADA AND PUPJE. met with. The Gnats, Daddy-long-legs, and House-flies are among the commonest representatives of Noted for the loud drumming sound produced by the males. this order. The first section of the group includes the GNATS and the DADDY-LONG-LEGS, or CRANE- FLIES, the members of which may be distinguished by having moderately long antennae, composed of more than six joints, and never terminating in a bristle. They are all vegetable-feeders, with the exception of the females of gnats and sand-flies, which are furnished with a lancet-like arrangement for sucking the blood of warm-blooded animals.

The GALL-FLIES, WHEAT-MIDGES, etc., have rather long, jointed antennae, which are not feathered, though sometimes tufted on the sides, and their maggots produce small galls on various trees and plants, or distort and otherwise injure them. They resemble small gnats, else-and there are two particularly destructive species which attack corn in England and where, the WHEAT-MIDGE, an orange-yellow fly with black eyes, which produces little yellowish or reddish maggots which injure the growing grain in the ear; and the HESSIAN FLY, which is brown, and produces semi-transparent maggots, which afterwards grow darker, and when full grown become pupae resembling flax-seeds. The maggots attack the stalk, feeding on the sap till the stalk cracks and bends over. This is an infallible sign of their presence, and of the mischief they are doing.

Among the best-known insects of this group are the GNATS, or is noMOSQUITOES, of which there are many genera and species. There difference, however, to permit of their being classified in two separate popular categories. In England any of these troublesome insects are called Gnats; out of England they are termed Mosquitoes, if we are tormented by them, even though they may belong to the same species as the English ones for " mosquito " is merely the Spanish word for "gnat" Anglicised. F.Z.S., Gnats breed in standing water, fresh or otherwise, but seem to prefer Photo by W. P. Dando, Regent's Park. rain-water, for they are very numerous about small pools and water-butts. BROWN MOSQUITO. Consequently they were formerly far more abundant in England than at Observe the proboscis in front present, when the fens were still undrained, and when every house had of the head.