marvellous history of these wonderful animals, which, if not so well authenticated, might be supposed a philosophical romance ;—such as the neuter or working ants feeding eacn other and the offspring;—the manner in which they make, defend, and repair their dwellings, provide their food, watch and attend to the female, and take care of her eggs;-their extraordinary mode of acquiring and defending the aphides and cocci, which bear to them the same relation that cattle do to man, which are fed by them with so much care, and the milk of which forms so important a part of their food;-the predatory excursions of a particular species to carry off pupa, which they bring up as slaves.

HAL. To enter into any of the details of the history of insects in society, would carry us into an interminable, though interesting subject, that would soon lose all relation to fly-fishing: and I fear what I have to say, even on the winged insects connected with this amusement, will occupy too much of your time, for we have not more than an hour to devote to this object.

POIET. Tell us what you please: we are attentive. HAL. The various individuals of the gryllus, or grasshopper tribe, spring from larvæ, that do not differ much from the perfect insect, except in possessing no wings. The eggs are deposited in our meadows,

and many species of this animal are gregarious, and their emigrations in swarms are well known. The butterfly and moths, as you know, lay eggs which produce caterpillars; and these caterpillars, after feeding upon vegetable food, spin themselves or frame houses or beds,-cocoons; in which they are transformed into aurelias, and from which they burst forth as perfect winged insects. The libellula, or dragon fly, the most voracious of the winged insect tribe, deposits her eggs in such a manner, that the larvæ fall into the water, and, after destroying and feeding upon almost all the aquatic insects found in this element, and changing their skins at various times, they emerge in their winged form the tyrants of the insect generations in the air. The gnats and tipulæ have a similar existence. The gnat,-the female of which only is said by De Geer to bite man, or suck human blood,-in Sweden, lays her egg in a kind of little boat or cocoon of her own spinning. These eggs are hatched on the surface of the water, and produce the larvæ, which undergo another change into peculiar nymphæ, that still retain the power of swimming and moving, from which the perfect insect is produced during the summer heat. The flies, which I mentioned to you in a former conversation, under the name of the grannom, or green tail, (see fig. 2,) are of the class phryganea, which includes all those

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water flies that have long antennæ, and wings something like those of the moths, but usually veined and without powder. The yellow flies, which you sporting on the banks of the The phryganeæ (see figs.

saw a short time since river, are of this kind.

1, 2, 3, and 4,) have four wings, which, when closed, lie flat on their backs, the two upper ones being folded over the lower ones: the flies called by anglers the willow fly, the alder fly, (see fig. 4,) and the dun cut, are of this kind. The phryganeæ lay their eggs on the leaves of willows, or other trees, that overhang the water; they are fastened by a sort of gluten to the surface of the leaf: when hatched, they produce small hexapode larvæ, which fall into the water, and by a curious economy of nature collect round themselves some, parts of plants or small sticks; some, gravel; and some, even shell fish. They spin themselves a sort of case of silk from their bodies, and by a gluten, that exudes from this case, cement their materials together. They feed upon aquatic plants, and sometimes upon insects, protruding only their head and legs from the case. When about to undergo transmutation, they quit their cases, rise to the surface, and wait for this process of nature in the air; but some species fix themselves on plants or stones: they burst the skin of the larvæ, and appear perfect animals, male and female, fitted for the office