Sea Anemone, which lived for over 50 years. Insects are generally
short-lived; the Queen Bee, however, is said by Aristotle, whose
statement has not been confirmed by recent writers, to live 7 years. I
myself had a Queen Ant which attained the age of 15 years.

The May Fly (Ephemera) is celebrated as living only for a day, and has
given its name to all things short-lived. The statement usually made is,
indeed, very misleading, for in its larval condition the Ephemera lives
for weeks. Many writers have expressed surprise that in the perfect
state its life should be so short. It is, however, so defenceless, and,
moreover, so much appreciated by birds and fish, that unless they laid
their eggs very rapidly none would perhaps survive to continue the
species.

Many of these estimates are, as will be seen, very vague and doubtful,
so that we must still admit with Bacon that, "touching the length and
shortness of life in living creatures, the information which may be had
is but slender, observation is negligent, and tradition fabulous. In
tame creatures their degenerate life corrupteth them, in wild creatures
their exposing to all weathers often intercepteth them."

ON INDIVIDUALITY

When we descend still lower in the animal scale, the consideration of
this question opens out a very curious and interesting subject connected
with animal individuality. As regards the animals with which we are
most familiar no such question intrudes. Among quadrupeds and birds,
fishes and reptiles, there is no difficulty in deciding whether a given
organism is an individual, or a part of an individual. Nor does the
difficulty arise in the case of most insects. The Bee or Butterfly lays
an egg which develops successively into a larva and pupa, finally
producing Bee or Butterfly. In these cases, therefore, the egg, larva,
pupa, and perfect Insect, are regarded as stages in the life of a single
individual. In certain gnats, however, the larva itself produces young
larvae, each of which develops into a gnat, so that the egg produces not
one gnat but many gnats.

The difficulty of determining what constitutes an individual becomes
still greater among the Zoophytes. These beautiful creatures in many
cases so closely resemble plants, that until our countryman Ellis proved
them to be animals, Crabbe was justified in saying--

Involved in seawrack here we find a race,
Which Science, doubting, knows not where to place;
On shell or ston