The Phasmidm abound- in Asia, Africa, S. America, the Eastern Archipelago, and Australia. They are numerous in British India. Their varied shapes have obtained for them curious names,— spectres, phantoms, devils' horses, soldiers of Cayenne, sticks, walking leaves, or leaf insects (Phyllium), animated sticks, and, like the Bacteria sarmentosa, they mostly are inoffensive leaf-eating creatures, some being broad and leaf like, while, others are long and cylindrical, so as to resemble sticks or bits of withered grass. The imitative resemblance of some of these insects to the plants on which they live, and to the bits of straw and wood around them, is marvellous.— Wallace, Tr. Nat. p. 92.
The praying insects, the Mantidm, are so called because of their habit of sitting with their long fore feet held up as if in prayer. In reality they are real tigers amongst insects, taking that position in wait for their prey, which they seize with their powerful serrated fore feet. They stand motion less, and so closely resemble the leaves as not to be easily perceived.
The true leaf insects of the East Indies are species of the genus Phyllium. They are the size of a moderate leaf, which their large wing-covers, and the expanded margins of the head, thorax, and legs, cause them exactly to resemble. Their green colour and the veining of their wings precisely correspond to that of their food plant.
Hymenoptera comprise the gall insect, ichneu mon flies, sand wasps, mason wasps, mining wasps, stinging ants, common ants, wasps, hornets, carpenter bees, honey bees, and dammer bees. They mostly have stings with which to protect themselves, and the pain from the thrust of that of the wasp, the bee, the hornet, or the ichneumon is considerable, death even resulting from the attacks of a multitude of bees. Even large birds like the myna carefully fly off to avoid the hornet's attacks.
Bugs to the family Hemiptera, several genera of which occur in India. Amongst others are Cantuo ocellatus, Leptoscelis marginalia, Callidea Stockerius, etc. Of the aquatic species, the gigantic Belostoma Indicum attains a size of nearly three inches. Yet some of them are most attractive in colour ; a green one is often seen on leaves. They are quite inoffensive if unmolested, but if irritated exhale an offensive odour.
The larvm of the genus Adolia are hairy, and sting with virulence.
Another Ceylon caterpillar of the moth Necera lepida, the Limacodes graciosa, West.,
short, broad, pale-green, with black spines, which feeds on the Carissa jasminiflora, stings with fury. It occupies also the Thespesia populnea, and at a certain stage of its growth descends by a silken thread and hurries away.
A species of the Hister family, of British India and Further India, a small glossy black ;beetle, when touched draws up its limbs and counterfeits death to admiration.
One of the,Brachinides of Burma, when seized, emits, with slight snapping noises, successive discharges of aeriform vapour, which blackens the fingers like a strong acid.
Latrodectes lugubris, tho kara kart or black worm of the Kirghiz, is about the size of a finger nail. It can jump several feet, and its bite is very venomous.—Sehuyier, ii. p. 123.
The running spiders and some of the water beetles, species of Hydrophilus, secure their progeny by carrying their eggs in a cocoon under the abdomen.
The object for which some insects are furnished is not apparent. Many species of the Ceram bycithe beetles emit an odour resembling attar of roses.
Scolopendra phosphorea, Mason, of Burma, is a small centipede, which when touched suddenly becomes a living blaze, each lobo glowing like a mass of phosphorus.
All Hindus reverence the ,cow amongst mam mals, also the 13ralunany kite amongst birds, and the tulsi (Ocimuni sanctum) amongst plants, but to no insect do they attach religious import ance. In ancient times, however, the Ateuchus Egyptiorum was the sacred beetle of the Egyptians. It is found in Egypt and Western Asia. It has almost an exact representative of India in Ateu chus sanetus. It was regarded by the Egyptians as an emblem of fertility, or more probably that of eternity.
The most remarkable and gigantic insects of the old world are species of the Scarabmns. S. atlas, Fabr., is said to be a native of Java, and there are four species indigenous to Nepal.
Luminous insects were styled by the Romans Noctiluca and Luciola. They are numerous in the tropics, and greatly so in some parts of the S. and E. of Asia.
The names glow-worm and fire-fly are applied to the Lampyrides, a tribe of the Malacodermous Coleoptera, also to the South American Elateridm, of the genus Pyrophorus, and to the Homopterous insect Fulgora oculata, which occurs in Penang, and F. spinolm of Assam. Fulgorm of Burma are said not to be luminous. F. laternaria is of S. America. F. eandelaria is said to be of S.E. Asia.