insect abounds, it is so numerous as to cover the ground; it blackens the stalks of the plants upon which it feeds; it fills the air when, at seasons of its mating, it takes wing for flight; it marches to new feeding grounds in solid bodies, upon and over one another; its invading armies sweep over and utterly destroy a wheat or corn field in two or three days; and the nauseous bed-bug odour which they exhale sickens those who are compelled to breathe it.

As the past history of the insect has shown that parasites and other enemies have entirely failed to arrest its multiplication, we are compelled to believe, from present indications, that it has come to stay, and that it will do so, unless effectual means are taken to prevent it. Its capability of increase is wonderful. Under the most conservative circumstances, a single chinch-bug, depositing its eggs about the 1st of June, would be, in the following August, the progenitor of a quarter of a million."

It is evidently most important that every practicable means should be employed in the endeavour to arrest as far as possible the progress of this mischievous foe, and to destroy it wherever found. Should it continue to increase, since it is already upon our borders, it will in all probability establish itself in force in the adjacent districts in Ontario, if indeed it has not done so already, and it may become to us a more formidable enemy than the wheat midge.

REMEDIES.

Where the insects are found among the roots of timothy, it is recommended to plough them under by turning over a flat (not overlapping) broad furrow as deep as possible, but not less than eight inches. It is said that the insect cannot survive this deep burial. Fire will certainly destroy it, and where the conditions of the grass will admit of burning, this measure should be resorted to; a thin covering of straw would prove a material aid in the burning. Where neither of these remedies can be applied the field should be heavily rolled as early in the spring as possible, for the purpose of preventing the bugs which have hibernated, from gaining easy access to the roots of the grass or grain on which to deposit their eggs. The use of common kerosine or coal oil has also been recommended, made into an emulsion by forcibly agitating it for a considerable time with an equal measure of milk, either sweet or sour, when it will become thick almost like butter, which, diluted with water, should be sprayed over the ground by means of a suitable pump; or the oil may be emulsified by agitating it thoroughly with a larger quantity of soapsuds and applied in the same manner.

COLOU

OBSERVATIONS ON FORM AND COLOUR, AS EXHIBITED IN INSECTS.

BY THE REV. THOMAS W. FYLES, SOUTH QUEBEC.

The most careless observer can hardly have failed to notice some of the peculiarities in the motions of birds-the heavy flight of the heron, the short, quick strokes of the wild duck, the serene gliding motion of the hawk-and tracing backward, in a measure, the lines of causes and effects, to associate these with diversities of structure. But to those who are not careless-to those whom interest or pleasure has led to observe attentively, the movements of living creatures convey many a lesson. I once knew a man who had been brought up in a lonely cottage, on an extensive piece of common landhalf moor, half fen-situated in the north-east of England. The spot was a favourite breeding-ground of numberless wild fowl-mallards, shovellers, grey geese, black-headed gulls, curlews, dottrells, red-shanks, etc. This man had made the study of natural history his delight, and turned his knowledge to account in procuring a livelihood. He made it a part of his business to supply plovers' eggs to the dealers; and so closely had he watched the green plover or lapwing that (as he assured me, and as my observations of his proceedings led me to believe), he could not only tell from her motions whether the

mother-bird had eggs or young ones, but whether, in the former case, she had laid a part only or the whole of her complement of eggs.

But the

That peculiarities in the flight of insects, too, have arrested the eye of the ordinary observer may be gathered from the common names given to different species, such as the Hawk moth, the Humming-bird moth, the Owlet moth, the Vapourer, etc. scientist regards nature with a keener eye than does the ordinary observer; and what American entomologist does not recognize at a glance the dash of Clisiocampa Americana, or the loose-jointed shambling flight of Ctenucha Latreilliana? What naturalist does not readily distinguish between the steady, shrill clarion of the mosquito and the fussy, impertinent buzz of the cattle-fly (Stomoxys calcitrans)? The late Reverend Chancellor Bird, who was an accomplished entomologist, was one night heard groping for a match by a friend, who enquired if anything were the matter. "No," he said. "Such a moth I know it by its hum; and I want it for my collection." (naming it) is in my room. And, in all probability, many a sound we cannot hear, and many a motion we cannot see, and many a scent our organs of smell fail to distinguish, have their messages to numberless living things.

First, a few words on the general form and build of insects. And, to illustrate the subject, let us take that philosophical toy named after the smooth-sailing bird of prey, the Kite. The school-boy, to secure the balance of his kite, attends to the weight and the disposition of the wings and the tail, and to the proper adjustment of the martingale. Now, take for example any species of the genus Papilio (such as Papilio turnus, fig. 32). The weight of the body of the insect answers to the tension of the string upon the martingale; the backward stretch of the hind wings, with their appendages, answers to the tail in the kite; and the adjustability of the wings secures evenness of flight. A number of insects have, more or less, the form of the Papilionida. Amongst them are the showy Canadian moth, Attacus luna (fig. 33), and the Brazilian, Eudemonia Streckeri. Another remarkable form of insects may be called the Bat-like. Attacus cecropia (fig. 34) is an example of this; and so closely do the motions of the moth resemble those

of the Vespertilio that, in the dusk of the evening, it requires the eye of a naturalist to distinguish between them. Many of our butterflies have more or less of this form.

A third is the Bird-like. In this, when the wings are expanded, the body projects. beyond the lines of the wings. In some cases the abdomen is furnished with tufts, which For examples see Amphion nessus serve, in a measure, the purposes of the tail in birds. and Sesia pelasgus. To maintain the balance of insects of this form nature has many expedients. In the Diptera the absence of the under-wings, which, in other cases,

represent the curved lower sweep of the secondaries and tertials in the wings of birds, halteres or balancers are supplied. In the Strepsiptera the lower-wings are largely developed, and the fore-wings degenerate into balancers.

There is a departure from this third form, in which all the four wings are nearly of equal length, and diverge considerably,

as in the Dragon flies, of which fig. 35 is an example, and Lace-winged flies.

Where unusual projections are met with in the fore-part of the body, they are counter-balanced by a proportionate extension or development of the abdomen. The large head and scythe-like mandibles of the Horned corydalis are balanced by its dank and elongated body. In a dried specimen of this insect the want of symmetry, occasioned by the contraction of the abdomen, at once strikes the eye. The antennæ of the longicorn beetles are thrown over the back in flight, and

Fig. 35.

the ovipositor of Pimpla lunator streams behind. There are instances among the Hymenoptera in which the abdomen is provided with a foot-stalk, and, in this arrangement, the equilibrium of the insect is maintained without an inconvenient increase of weight.

Many beetles have what may be called the Tortoise-shape; and it will be found that, as a rule, these are sluggish in disposition, falling, when disturbed, inertly to the ground. They are, consequently, oftentimes in danger of being trodden under foot. But their form is admirably adapted to resist pressure; and an ox might tread one of them into the yielding sod without doing it an injury. The potato-beetle is a familiar instance of insects of this form, and so is the beautiful pie-bald beetle that frequents the silk-weed. The water-beetles and bugs are admirably adapted to their environment. Belostoma

Fig. 36.

grandis (fig. 36) is a wherry of the most approved form, having powerful sweeps with which it can urge its way through the water. It is also provided in its fore-legs with grapnels, with which it can hold itself against the force of the current. Insects of this form-and there are many of them-may well be described as the Boat-shaped.

We have already alluded to the fact that variations of structure in winged insects are associated with diversities of modes of flight. The ample-winged Attici have a flitting, uncertain flight; but the clean-cut, powerful wings of the Sphinges (see fig. 37) are admirably suited both for hovering over flowers and for making a sudden dash out of the way of harm. Insects that have wings of an intermediate size are those that have the most stately flight. Danais Archippus, for instance (fig. 38), sails through the air with a grace and dignity that are perfectly charming. And this creature, too, is capable of long-sustained effort. It is known to be migratory, and to pass in flocks from one district to another.

In the calm summer and autumn evenings how amusing it is to witness the sportive dances, in the beams of the falling sun, of Ephemera and Tipulæ. The long limbs of these insects retard a forward movement, but yield readily to an upward flight. The mere weight, however, of the appendages soon brings the creatures down when the force of the wing-stroke is abated. Renewed efforts, again and again, give an upward movement, and so the mazes of the airy dance are threaded.

The honey-bee has the most business-like flight of any insect I know. With what calm, set purpose it passes from flower to flower! With what direct and eager flight it makes its way in the summer, to the flowering basswood or the patch of white clover; in the autumn, to the field of buckwheat! How steadily it bears its burden to the hive! What a threatening twang it sends forth when annoyed by an intruder upon its haunts!

Some insect-sounds are produced by special arrangements, as the notes of the Cicada, produced by organs in the sides, and those of the Acheta and Gryllus by friction of the stiff membraneous wings. But the various humming noises of insects are produced by alar vibrations more or less rapid. Everyone acquainted with the structure of a reed organ knows that the different notes are caused by vibratory tongues of different sizes, and of different degrees of weight and pliancy. The range of octaves of the grand insect scale has never been determined. It may be that the organs of the smallest Cecidomyia are sensitive to pulsations caused by the vibratory motions of the wings of its minute

compeers.

To return to our illustration of the reed organ: Who is not acquainted with the jar caused by the intrusion of a filament or other obstacle upon the notes? Just such a jar is heard breaking in upon the sustained note of the humble-bee whenever the creature passes into the corolla of a flower. The regular vibrations are broken short and disturbed, and a harsh, discordant sound is the result.

If one with a well-cultivated ear for music wishes to become acquainted with insect sounds, let him, on a calm evening in the beginning of July, just as night is closing in, take his stand by an English honeysuckle, or a bed of perennial phlox, or amongst the