the month of April, after it has cast its last skin, and afsumed its perfect state, that the insect loses its scalelike form, acquires with rapidity that thickness, and swells into that rotundity of shape already described. Now also it has totally lost its locomotive powers; for, if the branch to which it adheres be cut off, it never attempts to quit it; but there it must inevitably perish.

Such are the changes that this little insect was observed to undergo, after a long course of watching by the most clear-sighted naturalists in Europe. It was long before any distinction of sexes could be observed, and many were the speculations that occurred during this period respecting the mode of its propagation; till at last the cautious Reaumur discovered the male under a form so very different from that of the female above described, that, though it had been often seen, it had not been suspected to be an individual of this species. A knowledge of the way in which he was led to this discovery may serve as a lefson to other observers; it will, therefore, be proper briefly to state it here.

Mr. Reaumur observed, that the larvæ of this insect were often placed so near to each other on the tender twigs of the peach-tree, as nearly to touch each other, even while they were yet of very diminutive size; and he was at a lofs to conceive how they could find room upon it when they attained their full magnitude. This made him attend to their progress with more than ordinary care; in consequence of which he soon remarked, that when they had attained their fullest

were two clafses very distinctly perceptible, one of which was greatly inferior in size to the other, and never attained to nearly such an eminence of projection, these small ones becoming stationary at that particular period when the others began to advance to the quickest stage in their progrefs. At first he thought that these must have been abortive embryos that had been occasioned by some unknown cause; but finding the proportions of these at all times nearly the same, and that in all cases the small were much more numerous than the larger sort, he began to doubt this opinion. Upon opening these galls (for so we may not improperly call them) for examination, he found that they were empty and dry, while those of the larger sort were full and moist. On a still narrower inspection, he found in them some of the exuviæ of an insect, which convinced him that these dry cases had performed the office of a cocoon, in which the insect had passed its nymph state, and afterwards escaped when it attained its complete perfection. On searching more narrowly, he found some of the nymphs yet in their dormant state, which afterwards afsumed the form of a small active fly, that soon made its escape. Having thus obtained a knowledge of this fly, he watched its progrefs so narrowly, as soon to obtain the most decisive evidences that it was indeed the male of this species of Coccus, who, after a short but activé life, soon closed his existence without having tasted food, being provided with no sort of organs for that purpose.

These flies are very small when compared to the female, not being nearly one fourth part of their size;

but are a beautiful little animal. The head is ornamented with two long antennæ; it has six legs, a pair of globular eyes, one pair of wings, which are proportionally large, being twice the length of the body at least. The abdomen terminates in a long pointed kind of tail; but what more particularly characterises this fly are two long white filaments which spring out from behind, and are twice as long as the wings. As to colours: the head, body, corcelet, and legs of this fly are of a deep red; the wings of a dirty white, less transparent than is common with flies of the common sorts; they are bordered with a stripe of bright red approaching to that of carmine, which proves a great ornament to this little insect.

These flies generally appear towards the end of April. About the beginning of May the female has attained nearly her full convexity; towards the middle of that month her eggs begin to be extruded from the abdomen, and about the end of May the whole of this operation is finished, and the life of the mother brought to a close. Early in June the young fry are hatched; and about the middle of that month the nest is totally abandoned by them. They have now spread themselves about upon the leaves and tenderest twigs that they can find. It is generally about the beginning of April that the females cast their last skin, when it be supposed that they emerge from their nymph state, after which they swell rapidly till they have attained their fullest degree of prominence.

may

I have been at the pains to trace the progrefs and changes of this singular insect thus particularly, not

were two clafses very distinctly perceptible, one of which was greatly inferior in size to the other, and never attained to nearly such an eminence of projec tion, these small ones becoming stationary at that particular period when the others began to advance to the quickest stage in their progrefs. At first he thought that these must have been abortive embryos that had been occasioned by some unknown cause; but finding the proportions of these at all times nearly the same, and that in all cases the small were much. more numerous than the larger sort, he began to doubt this opinion. Upon opening these galls (for so we may not improperly call them) for examination, he found that they were empty and dry, while those of the larger sort were full and moist. On a still narrower inspection, he found in them some of the exuviæ of an insect, which convinced him that these dry cases had performed the office of a cocoon, in which the insect had passed its nymph state, and afterwards escaped when it attained its complete perfection. On searching more narrowly, he found some of the nymphs yet in their dormant state, which afterwards assumed the form of a small active fly, that soon made its escape. Having thus obtained a knowledge of this fly, he watched its progrefs so narrowly, as soon to obtain the most decisive evidences that it was indeed the male of this species of Coccus, who, after a short but activé life, soon closed his existence without having tasted food, being provided with no sort of organs for that purpose.

These flies are very small when compared to the female, not being nearly one fourth part of their size;

but are a beautiful little animal. The head is ornamented with two long antennæ; it has six legs, a pair of globular eyes, one pair of wings, which are proportionally large, being twice the length of the body at least. The abdomen terminates in a long pointed kind of tail; but what more particularly characterises this fly are two long white filaments which spring out from behind, and are twice as long as the wings. As to colours: the head, body, corcelet, and legs of this fly are of a deep red; the wings of a dirty white, lefs transparent than is common with flies of the common sorts; they are bordered with a stripe of bright red approaching to that of carmine, which proves a great ornament to this little insect.

These flies generally appear towards the end of April. About the beginning of May the female has attained nearly her full convexity; towards the middle of that month her eggs begin to be extruded from the abdomen, and about the end of May the whole of this operation is finished, and the life of the mother brought to a close. Early in June the young fry are hatched; and about the middle of that month the nest is totally abandoned by them. They have now spread themselves about upon the leaves and tenderest twigs that they can find. It is generally about the beginning of April that the females cast their last skin, when it may be supposed that they emerge from their nymph state, after which they swell rapidly till they have attained their fullest degree of prominence.

I have been at the pains to trace the progrefs and changes of this singular insect thus particularly, not