insect

Strong lines radiated in a vertical plane from a common centre, where the insect had its station; but only two of the rays were connected by a symmetrical mesh-work; so that the net, instead of being, as is generally the case, circular, consisted of a wedge-shaped segment.

175), mentioning a hymenopterous insect, probably of the same genus, says he saw it dragging a dead spider through tall grass, in a straight line to its nest, which was one hundred and sixty-three paces distant.

Rio de Janeiro -- Excursion north of Cape Frio -- Great Evaporation -- Slavery -- Botofogo Bay -- Terrestrial Planariae -- Clouds on the Corcovado -- Heavy Rain -- Musical Frogs -- Phosphorescent Insects -- Elater, springing powers of -- Blue Haze -- Noise made by a Butterfly -- Entomology -- Ants -- Wasp killing a Spider -- Parasitical Spider -- Artifices of an Epeira -- Gregarious Spider -- Spider with an unsymmetrical Web.

-- In returning we spent two days at Socego, and I employed them in collecting insects in the forest.

'--then you don't like all insects?' the Gnat went on, as quietly as if nothing had happened.

'What sort of insects do you rejoice in, where YOU come from?' the Gnat inquired.

'I don't REJOICE in insects at all,' Alice explained, 'because I'm rather afraid of them--at least the large kinds.

"'Behold!' cried the Professor, in a loud voice, 'this highly-magnified Woggle-Bug; one of the most curious insects in existence!'

"I didn't know before," said Tip, looking at the Woggle-Bug with a puzzled expression, "that insects wore clothes."

Seedlings, also, are destroyed in vast numbers by various enemies; for instance, on a piece of ground three feet long and two wide, dug and cleared, and where there could be no choking from other plants, I marked all the seedlings of our native weeds as they came up, and out of the 357 no less than 295 were destroyed, chiefly by slugs and insects. If turf which has long been mown, and the case would be the same with turf closely browsed by quadrupeds, be let to grow, the more vigorous plants gradually kill the less vigorous, though fully grown, plants: thus out of twenty species growing on a little plot of turf (three feet by four) nine species perished from the other species being allowed to grow up freely.

The effect on the insects must have been still greater, for six insectivorous birds were very common in the plantations, which were not to be seen on the heath; and the heath was frequented by two or three distinct insectivorous birds.

Here we see that cattle absolutely determine the existence of the Scotch fir; but in several parts of the world insects determine the existence of cattle.