FELICIA TO CONSTANCE. DEAR CONSTANCE,
A RAINY morning having depriv
ed me of my walk, I cannot employ the leisure
opportunity more agreeably than in writing to
you; and shall continue my entomological
descriptions, by introducing to your notice the
genus Tipula, which bears a near affinity to
that of the gnat tribe. The larger kinds are
generally distinguished by long, slender bodies;
expanded ivings; and legs of unusual length,
which are so frail and tender, that the insect
can scarcely be handled without breaking them.
The larvri of the different species vary miicli
in their modes of life; some being terrestrial,
and others aquatic. They feed on the softer
kinds of vegetable substances. The largest
of the European kinds, is the Tipula riz'osa:
this is our old acquaintance, father Longlegs,
which has so often distressed us, by flying into
the candle, notwithstanding all our endeavours
to preserve it from such a painful death. It
proceeds
