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kTHE DRAG0N-F1,Y {Ubellnla de/>ressa).
A, Perfect Insect. B, Perfect Insect emergir.g from the Pupa, c, r, Larvae and Pup;e.

ACE

This popular French book on Insects has been placed in
my hands in order that the scientific portions of it should
be examined and, if necessary, corrected. This task has
been a light one, for the book had already passed through
the able editorship of Mr. Jansen. But I have added a
short notice of the Thysanoptera, which did not appear in
M. Figuier's original work, and also the necessary informa-
tion respecting the evolution of Stylops.

VL. P. MARTIN DUNCAN.

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION i

I. APTERA . 27

II. DIPTERA 33

Nemocera 35

Brachycera 47

III. HEMIPTERA 90

Heteroptera 90

HOMOPTERA lOI

IV. LEPIDOPTERA 138

The Larva, or Caterpillar 138

The Chrysalis, or Pupa 146

^V The Perfect Insect .,■..... 165

^ V. ORTHOPTERA 284

VI. HYMENOPTERA . . . 313

The Humble or Bumble Bees 357

Solitary Bees 362

Wasps 367

Ants 377

VII. THYSANOPTERA 400

VIII. NEUROPTERA > 402

IX. COLEOPTERA 435

INDEX . 523

LIST OF PLATES.

Frontispiece. — The Dragon-fly {Libellula depressa\

PLATE
I.

II.
III.

IV.
V.

VI.
VII.

VIII.

IX.

X.

XI.
XII.

Herd of Horses aitacked by Gad-flies
{CEstrus equi) ... . . . .

Herd of Cattle attacked by Bot-flies {(Estrus
bovis)

Sheep attacked by Cephalemyia ovis

Gathering Cochineal in Algeria

The Empress Si-ling-chi gathering Mulberry
Leaves . .

Silkworm-rearing Establishment

Goat Moth {Cossus ligniperda). Larva, Pupa, and
Perfect Insect

Cloud of Locusts in Algeria ....

Nest of White Ants

Nest of the White Ant {Termes bellicosus) in Cen-
tral Africa. {After Smeathman)

Diligence stopped by a Cloud of Cockchafers

Gathering Cantharides ......

To face page 57

60
66
133

212
229

257
302
402

411

451
500

The Insect World,

INTRODUCTION.

It is not intended to investigate the anatomy of insects in this work
thoroughly ; but, as we are about to treat of the habits and economy
of certain created beings, it is necessary first to explain the principal
parts of their structure, and the stages which every perfect insect or
imago has undergone before arriving at that state.

We, therefore, proceed to explain, as simply as possible, the
anatomy of an insect, and the functions of its organs.

If we take an insect, and turn it over, and examine it carefully,
the first thing that strikes us is that it is divided into three parts : the
head ; the thorax, or chest ; and the abdomen, or stomach.

The head (Fig. i) is a kind of box, formed of a single piece,
having here and there joints more or less
strongly marked, sometimes scarcely visible.
It is furnished in front with an opening — often
very small — which is the mouth ; and with
some for the ey-es, and with others for the
insertion of the antennae or horns.

The integuments of the head are generally
harder than the other parts of the body. It
is necessary that this should be so. Insects
often live and die in the midst of substances
which offer some resistance. It is necessary,
therefore, that the head should be strong
enough to overcome such resistance. The
head contains the masticatory organs, which,

frequently having to attack hard substances, must be strongly sup-
ported. The exception to this rule is among insects which live
by suction.

It would be out of place here to mention the numerous modifi-
58

Fig. I. — Head of an Insect.

1 THE INSECT WORLD.

cations of the head which are presented in the immense class ov
insects.

The eyes of insects are of two kinds. There are compound eye
or eyes composed of many lenses, united
by their margins and forming hexagonal
facettes ; and there are also simple eyes,
or ocelli.

The exterior of the eye is called the

cornea (Fig. 2), each facette being a cornea ;

and the facettes, which vary in size even

in the same eye, unite and form a common

Fig. 2.-A Compound Cornea, ^omca, which is represented by the entire

figure.

In order to show the immense number of tlie facettes possessed

by many insects, we give the following list : —

In the genus Mordella (a genus of beetles) the eye has 25,008 facettes.

In the Z/^<'//«/a (dragon-fly) 12,544 ,,

In the genus /'<z//7/c (a genus of butterflies) . . 17,355 >>

In .S^>^/«jir r^wz't^/c'//// (the convolvulus hawk-moth) . 1,300 ,,

In Bombyx mori (the common silkworm moth) . 6,236 ,,

In th^ house-fly 4,000 ,,

In the ant ........ 50 ,,

In the cockchafer ....... 8,820 ,,

The facettes appear to be most numerous in insects of the genus
Scarabmis (a genus of beetles). They are so minute, that they can
only be detected with a magnifying glass.

Looked at in front, a compound eye may be considered an
agglomeration of simple eyes ; but internally this is hardly correct.

On the under side of each facette we find a body of a gelatinous
appearance, transparent, and usually conical; the base of this
occupies the centre of the facette in such a manner as to leave
around.it a ring to receive some colouring matter. This body
diminishes in thickness towards its other extremity, and terminates in
a point v/here it joins a nervous filament proceeding from the optic
nerve. These cones, agreeing in number with the facettes, play the
part of the crystalline lens in the eyes of animals. They are
straight and parallel with each other. A pigment fills all the spaces
between the cones, and between the nervous filaments, and covers
the under side of each cornea, except at the centre. This pigment
varies much in colour. There are almost always two layers, of
which the exterior one is the more brilliant. In fact, these eyes
often sparkle with fire, like precious stones.

INTRODUCTION. 3

M. Lacordaire, in his " Introduction k rEutomologie," from
which we borrow the greater part of this information, has summed
up as follows, the manner in which, according to M. Miiller, the
visual organs of insects operate : —

"Each facette, with its lens and nervous filament, separated
from those surrounding it by the pigment in which they are
enclosed, forms an isolated apparatus, impenetrable to all rays of
light, except those which fall perpendicularly on the centre of the
facette, which alone is devoid of pigment. All rays falling obliquely
are absorbed by that pigment which surrounds the gelatinous cone.
It results partly from this, and partly from the immobility of the eye,
that the field of vision of each facette is very limited, and that there
are as many objects reflected on the optic filaments as there are
corneae. The extent, then, of the field of vision will be determined,
not by the diameter of these last, but by the diameter of the entire
eye, and will be in proportion to its size and convexity. But what-
ever may be the size of the eyes, like their fields of vision, they are
independent of each other ; there is always a space, greater or less,
between them; and the insect cannot see objects in front of this space
without turning its head. What a peculiar sensation must result
from the multiplicity of images on the optic filaments ! This is
not more easily explained than that which happens with animals
which, having two eyes, see only one image \ and probably the
same is the case with insects. But these eyes usually look in
opposite directions, and should see two images, as in the chameleon,
whose eyes move independently of each other. The clearness and
length of vision will depend, continues M. Miiller, on the diameter
of the sphere of which the entire eye forms a segment, on the
number and' size of the facettes, and the length of the cones or
lenses. The larger each facette, taken separately, and the more
brilliant the pigment placed between the lenses, the more distinct
will be the image of objects at a distance, and the less distinct
that of objects near. With the latter the luminous rays diverge
considerably ; while those from the former are more nearly parallel.
In the first case, in traversing the pigment, they impinge obliquely
on the crystalline, and consequently confuse the vision ; in the
second, they fall more perpendicularly on each facette.

" Objects do not appear of the same size to each optic filament,
unless the eye is a perfect section of a sphere, and its convexity
concentric with that of the optic nerve. Whenever it is otherwise,
the image corresponds more or less imperfectly with the size of
the object, and is more or less incorrect. Hence it follows, tliat

4 THE INSECT WORLtX.

elliptical or conical eyes, which one generally finds among insects,
are less perfect than those referred to above.

"The differences which exist in the organisation of the eye
among insects are explicable, to a certain point, on the theory
which we are about to explain in a few words. Those species
which live in the same substances on which they feed, and those
which are parasitical, have small and flattened eyes ; those, on the
contrary, which have to seek their food, and which need to see
objects at a distance, have large or very convex eyes. For the
same reason the males, which have to seek their females, have
larger eyes than the latter. The position of the eyes depends also
on their size and shape; those which are flat, and have consequently
a short field of vision, are placed close together, and rather in front
than at the sides of the head, and often adjoining. Spherical and
convex eyes, on the contrary, are placed on the sides, and their
axes are opposite. But the greater field of vision which they are
able to take in makes up for this position."

Almost all insects are provided with a pair of compound eyes,
which are placed on the sides of the head. The size and form of
these organs are very variable, as we shall presently see. They are
generally placed behind the antennae.

Although simple eyes (ocelU or stemmata) are common, they do
not exist in all the orders of insects. They are generally round, and
more or less convex and black, and there are three in the majority of
cases. When there is this number they are most frequently placed in
a triangle behind, and at a greater or less distance from the antennae.
Under the cornea, which varies in convexity, is found a transparent,
rather hard, and nearly globular body, which is the true crystalline
resting on a mass, which represents the vitreous body. This vitreous
body is enclosed in an expansion of the optic nerve. Besides these,
there is a pigment, most frequently red-bro^vn, sometimes black,
or blood-red. The organisation of these eyes is analogous to the
eyes of fishes, and their refractive power is very great.

With these eyes insects can only see such objects as are at a short
distance. Of what use then can stemmata be to insects also provided
with compound eyes ? It has been remarked that most insects having
this arrangement of eyes feed on the pollen of plants, and it has been
surmised that the stemmata enable them to distinguish the parts of
the flowers.

The antennae, commonly called horns, are two flexible appendages,
of very variable form, which are joined to different parts of the head,
and are iUways two in number. The joints of which they are madt

INTRODUCTION.

5

up have the power of motion, which enables the insect to move them
in any direction.

The antennae consist of three parts : the basal joint, commonly
distinguished by its form, length, and colour ; the club, formed by a
gradual or sudden thickening of the terminal joints, of which the
number, form, and size present great variations ; lastly, the stalk,
formed by all the joints of the antennae, except the basal, when no
club exists, and in case of the existence of a club, of all those
between it and the basal one.

We give as examples the antennae of two beetles, one of the
genus Asida, the other of the genus
Zygia (Figs. 3 and 4).

Insects, for the most part, while in
repose, place their antennae on their
backs, or along the sides of the head,
or even on the thorax. Others are
provided with cavities in which the
antennae repose either wholly or in part.

During their different movements,
insects move their antennae more or
less, sometimes slowly and with regu-
larity, at other times in all directions.
Some insects impart to their antennae
a perpetual vibration. During flight
they are directed in front, perpendicular
to the axis of the body, or else they
repose on the back.

What is the use of the antennae,
resembling as they do, feathers, saws, clubs, &c. ? Everything
indicates that these organs play a very important part in the life of
insects, but their functions are imperfectly understood. Experience
has shown that they only play a subordinate part as feelers, and have
nothing to do with the senses of taste or smell. There is no other
function for them to fulfil, except that of hearing.

On this hypothesis the antennae will be the principal instruments
for the transmission of sound-waves. The membrane at their base
represents a trace of the tympanum which exists among the higher
animals. This membrane then will have some connection with an
auditory nerve.

The mouth of insects is formed after two general types, which
correspond to two kinds of requirements. It is suited in the one
case to break solid substances, in the other to imbibe hquids.

Fig. 3.

Antenna of a

species of Asida.

Fig. 4.

Antenna of

Zygia oblonga.

6 THE INSECT WORLD.

At first sight there seems no similarity between the mouth of a
biting insect and of one living by suction. But on examination it is
found that the parts of the mouth in the one are exactly analogous
to the same parts in the other, and that they have only modifications
suiting them to the different purposes which they have to fulfil.

The mouth of a biting insect is composed of an upper lip, a pair
of mandibles, a pair of jaws, and a lower lip (Fig. 5).

The lower lip and the jaws carry on the outside certain appendages
or filaments which have received the name of palpi.

When speaking of sucking insects, and in general of the various

Fig. 5. — Mouth of a masticating insect. Fig. 6. — Thorax of Acrocinus longimanus (a beetleV

orders of insects, we shall speak more in detail of the various parts of
the mouth.

The thorax (Fig. 6), the second primary division of the body of
insects, plays almost as important a part as the head. It consists of
three segments or rings, which are in general joined together — the
prothorax, the mesothorax, and the metathorax, each of which bears
a pair of legs. The wings are attached to the two posterior segments.

All insects have six true legs. There is no exception whatever
to this rule, though some may not be developed.

From the segments to which they are attached, the legs are called
anterior, posterior, and intermediate. The legs are composed of four
parts : the trochanter, a short joint which unites the thigh to the
body; the thigh ox femur ; the tibia, answering to the shank in
animals ; and the tarsus, or foot, composed of a variable number of
pieces placed end to end, and called the p/ia/anges.

We take as examples the hind leg of a Heterocerus (Fig. 7). and the
front leg of a Zophosis (Fig. 8) (genera of beetles).

INTRODUCTION.

We shall not dwell on the different parts, as they perform functions
which will occupy us later, when speaking of the various species of
the great class of insects.

The functions which the legs
of insects have to perform con-
sist in walking, swimming, or
jumping.

In walking, says M. Lacor
daire, insects move their legs in
different ways. Some move their
six legs successively, or only two
or three at a time without dis-
tinction, but never both legs of
the same pair together, conse-
quently one step is not the same
as another. The walk of insects
is sometimes very irregular, espe-
cially when the legs are long ; and
they often hop rather than walk.
Others have one kind of step,
and walk very regularly. They
commence by moving the pos-
terior and anterior legs on the
same side and the intermediate
ones on the opposite side. The
first step made, these legs are
put down, and the others raised
in their turn to make a second.

Running does not change the
order of the movements, it only
makes them quicker — very rapid
in some species, and surpassing
in proportion that of all other
animals ; but in others the pace
is slow. Some insects rather
crawl than walk.

In swimming, the posterior legs play the principal parti ; The
other legs striking the water upwards or downwards, produce an
upward or downward motion. The animal changes its course at
will by using the legs on one side only, in the same way as one
turns a rowing boat with one oar without the aid of a rudder. Swim-
ming differs essentially from walking, for the foot being surrounded

Fig. 7.
Hind leg of a
Heterocerus.

Big-
Front Teg of a
Zophosis.

Fig. 9. — Posterior leg of a jumping insect.

8 THE INSECT WORLD.

by a resisting medium, the legs on both sides aie moved al the
same time.

The act of jumping is principally performed by the hind legs.
Insects which jump have these legs very largely developed, as in
Fig. 9. When about to jump they bring the tibia into contact
^ith the thigh, which is often furnished with a groove to receive it,
having on each side a row of spines. The leg then suddenly
straightens like a spring, and the foot being placed firmly on the
ground, sends the insect into the air, and at the same time propels
forward. The jump is greater in proportion as the leg is longer.

To treat here in a general manner of the wings of insects
would be useless. We shall refer to them at length in their proper
place, when treating of the various types of winged insects.

In the perfect insect the abdomen does not carry either the wings
or the legs. It is formed of nine segments, which are without ap-
pendages, with the exception of the posterior ones, which often
carry small organs differing much in form and function. These are
saws, probes, forceps, stings, augers, &c We shall consider these
different organs in their proper places.

With vertebrate animals, which have an interior skeleton suited
to furnish points of resistance for their various movements, the skin
is a more or less soft covering, uniformly diffused over the exterior
of the body, and intended only to protect it against external injury.
In insects the points of resistance are changed from the interior to
the exterior. The skin is altered by Nature to fit it to this purpose.
It is hard, and presents between the segments only membranous
intervals, which allow the hard parts to move in all directions.

We are examining a perfect insect ; we have glanced at its skele-
ton, and the different appendages which spring from it. The prin-
cipal organs which are contained in the body remain to be examined.

We will first study the digestive apparatus. This apparatus con-
sists of a lengthened tubular organ, swollen at certain points, forming
more or less numerous convolutions, and provided with two distinct
orifices. This alimentary canal is always situated in the median line
of the body, traverses its whole length, and is at first surrounded by,
and then passes above, the nervous ganglia.*

In its most complicated form the alimentary canal is composed
of an (esophagus, or gullet, of a crop, of a gizzard, of a chylific ven-
tricle or stomach, a small intestine, a large intestine, divers appendages,
salivary, biliary, and urinary glands. The oesophagus is often not

* Ganglion — a mass, literally a knot, of nervous matter.

INTRODUCTION.

wider than a hair, and part of it in many species is enlarged into a
pouch, which is called the crop, because it occupies the same position,
and performs analogous functions with that organ in birds. It is
enough to say that the food remains there some time before passing
on to the other parts of the
intestinal canal, and undergoes
a certain amount of preparation.
It is in the gizzard, when one
exists, that the food, separated
by the masticatory organs of the
mouth, undergoes another and
more complete grinding. Its
structure is suited to its office.
It is, in fact, very muscular,
often half cartilaginous, and
strongly contractile. Its in-
terior walls are provided with a
grinding apparatus, which varies
according to the species, and
consists of teeth, plates, spines,
and notches, which convert the
food into pulp. It only exists
among insects which live on
solid matters, hard vegetables,
small animals, tough skin, &c.
This apparatus is absent in
sucking insects and those which
live on soft substances, such as
the pollen of flowers, &c.

The chylific ventricle or
stomach is never absent \ it is
the organ which performs the
principal part in the act of
digestion.

Two kinds of appendages
belong to the chylific ventricle, but only in certain families. The
first are papillae, in the form of the fingers of a glove, which bristle
over the exterior of this organ, and in which it is believed that the
food begins to be converted into chyle. The second are casca, and
larger and less numerous.

They have been considered as secretory organs, answering to
the pancreas in vertebrate animals.
58*

Fig. lo. — Digestive apparatus of Carabus auratus.

10

THE INSECT WORLD,

Fig. 10, which represents the digestive apparatus of Carabus
aurattis, a common beetle, presents to the eyes of the reader the
different organs of which we are speaking.

A is the mouth of the insect, b the oesophagus, c the crop, d the
gizzard, e the chyHfic ventricle, f and g the
small and large intestines, and h the anus.

It is not necessary to consider the other
parts of the alimentary canal in insects, but
only to refer to some of the appendages of
this apparatus.

The salivary glands pour into the di-
gestive tube a liquid, generally colourless,
which, from the place where it is secreted,
and its alkaline nature, corresponds to the
saliva in vertebrate animals. It is this
liquid which comes from the tongue of
sucking insects in the form of drops.

These glands are always two in number.
Their form is as variable as complicated.
The most simple is that of a closed flexible
tube, generally rolled into a ball, and open-
ing on the sides of the oesophagus.

At the posterior extremity of the chylific
ventricle are inserted a variable number of
fine tubes, usually elongated and flexible,
and terminating in culs-dt-sac at one end.
Their colour, which depends on the liquid
they may contain, is sometimes white, but
more frequently brown, blackish, or green.
They appear to be composed of a very
slight and delicate membrane, as they are
very easily torn, and nothing is more diffi-
cult than to unroll and to disengage them
from the fatty or other ti':sues by which
they are enveloped.

The function of these vessels is uncer-

Cuvier and Leon Dufour supposed

them to be analogous to the liver, and on

that account they have been called biliar)'

vessels ; and they are often termed the Malpighian vessels, after the

name of their discoverer.

According to M. Lacordaire, their functions vary with their

Fig. II. — Posterior extremity of the j-oin
chylific ventricle, surrounded by the '■"•^^^*
Malpighian vessels.

INTRODUCTION.

II

position. When they enter the chylific ventricle, they furnish only
bile; bile and a urinary Hquid when they enter the posterior part
of the ventricle and the intestine; and urine alone when they are
placed near the posterior extremity of the alimentary canal.

Fig. II represents part of the preceding figure more highly
magnified, showing the manner in which these tubes enter the
chylific ventricle.

In our rapid description of the digestive apparatus of insects, it
only remains for us to mention cer-
tain purifying organs which secrete
those fluids, generally blackish,
caustic, or of peculiar smell, which
some insects emit when they are
irritated, and which cause a smarting
when they get into one's eyes.

Less well developed than the
salivary organs, they are often of a
very complicated structure. In
Fig, 1 2 is represented the secretory
apparatus of the Carabus miratiis^
which will serve for an example :
A represents the secretory sacs
aggregated together like a bunch of
grapes, B the canal, c the pouch
which receives the secretion, d the
excretory duct.

Sometimes the secretion is
liquid, and has a foetid or am-
m.oniacal odour; sometimes, as in
the Bombardier beetle {Brachimis
crepitans)^ it is gaseous, and is
emitted, with an explosion, in the
form of a whitish vapour, having a

strong pungent odour analogous to that of nitric acid, and the same
properties. It reddens litmus paper, and burns and reddens the
skin, which after a time becomes brown, and continues so for a
considerable time.

About the middle of the seventeenth century Malpighi at
Bologna, and Swammerdam at Utrecht, discovered a pulsatory
organ occupying a median Hne of the back, which appeared to
them to be a heart, in different insects. Nevertheless, Cuvier,
having declared some time afterwards that there was no circula-

Fig. 12.
Secretory apparatus of Carabus auratus.

12 THE INSECT WORLD.

tion, properly so called, among insects, his opinion was universally
adopted.

But in 1827 a German naturalist named Cams discovered that
there were real currents of blood circulating throughout the body,
and returning to their point of departure. The observations of Carus
were repeated and confirmed by many other naturalists, and we are
thus enabled to form a sufficiently exact idea of the manner in which
the blood circulates.

The following summary of the phenomena of circulation among
insects is borrowed from *' Le9ons sur la Physiologic et I'Anatomie
comparee," by M. Milne-Edwards : —

The tube which passes under the skin of the back of the head,
and front part of the body, above the alimentary canal, has been
known for a long time as the dorsal vessel. It is composed of two
very distinct portions : the anterior, which is tubular and not con-
tractile ; and the posterior, which is larger, of more complicated
structure, and which contracts and dilates at regular intervals.

This latter part constitutes, then, more particularly the heart of the
insect. Generally it occupies the whole length of the abdomen, and
is fixed to the vault of the tegumentary skeleton by membranous
expansions, in such a manner as to leave a free space around it, but
shut above and below, so as to form a reservoir into which the blood
pours before penetrating to the heart. This reservoir is often called the
auricle, for it seems to act as an instrument of impulsion, and to
drive the blood into the ventricle or heart, properly so called.

The heart is fusiform, and is divided by numerous constrictions
into chambers. These chambers have exits placed in pairs, and
membranous folds which divide the cavity in the manner of a
portcullis. The lips of the orifices, instead of terminating in a clean
edge, penetrate into the interior of the heart in the form of the
mouth-piece of a flute. The double membranous folds thus formed
on each side of the dorsal vessel are in the shape of a half moon,
and separate from each other when this organ dilates ; but the
contrary movement taking place, the passage is closed.

By the aid of this valvular apparatus, the blood can penetrate into
the heart from the pericardiac chamber, the empty space surrounding
the heart, but cannot flow back from the heart into that reservoir.

The anterior or aortic portion of the dorsal vessels shows neither
fan-shaped lateral expansions, nor orifices, and consists of a single
membranous tube. The whole of the blood set in motion by the
contractions of the cardiac portion of the dorsal vessel runs into the
cavity of the head, and circulates afterwards in irregular channels

INTRODUCTION, 1 3

formed by the empty spaces left between the different organs. It is
the unoccupied portions of the great visceral cavity which serve as
channels for the blood, and through them run the main currents to
the lateral and lower parts of the body. These currents regain the
back part of the abdomen, and enter the heart after having passed
over the internal organs. These principal channels are in continuity
with otiier gaps between the muscles, or between the bundles of
fibres of which these muscles are composed.

The principal currents send into the network thus formed, minor
branches, which having ramified in their turn among the principal
parts of the organism, re-enter some main current to regain the
dorsal vessel.

In the transparent parts of the body the blood may be seen
circulating in this way to a number of inter- organic channels, pene-
trating the limbs and the wings, when these appendages are not
horny, and, in short, diffusing itself everywhere. " If, by means of
coloured injections," says M. Milne-Edwards, " one studies the
connections which exist between the cavities in which sanguineous
currents have been found to exist and the rest of the economy,
it is easy to see that the irrigatory system thus formed penetrates to
the full depth of every organ, and should cause the rapid renewal of
the nourishing fluid in all the parts where the process of vitality
renders the passage of this fluid necessary."

We shall see presently, in speaking of respiration, that the relations
between the nourishing fluid and the atmospheric air are more direct
and regular than was for a long time supposed.

In short, insects possess an active circulation, although we find
neither arteries nor veins, and although the blood put in motion by
the contractions of the heart, and carried to the head by the aortic
portion of the dorsal vessel, can only distribute itself in the different
parts of the system to return to the heart, by the gaps left between
the different organs, or between the membranes and fibres of which
these organs are composed.

Fig. 13 (page 14), which shows both the circulating and breathing
systems of an insect, enables us to recognise the different organs
which we have described, as helping to keep up both respiration and
circulation.

The knowledge of the respiration of the insect is comparatively
a modern scientific acquisition. Malpighi was the first to prove, in
1669, that insects are provided with organs of respiration, and that
air is as indispensable to them as it is to other living bemgs. But the
0}jinion of this celebrated naturalist has been contradicted, and his.

H

THE INSECT WOELD.

Fig. 13.— Organs of circulation and breathing in an insect. A, abdominal portion of the dorsal
vessel B, aortic or thoracic portion, c, air-vessels of the head ; D, of the abdomen.

mTkODUCT/ON. t§

views were long contested. Now, however, one can easily recognise
the apparatus by the aid of which the respiration of the insect is
effected.

The respiratory apparatus is essentially composed of membranous
ducts of great tenuity, their ramifications spread everywhere in
incalculable numbers, and bury themselves in the different organs,
much in the same way as the fibrous roots of plants bury themselves
in the soil. These vessels are called tracheae. Their communications
with the air are established externally in different ways, according to
the character of the medium in which the insect lives.

It is well known that a vast number of insects live in the air. The
air penetrates into the tracheae by a number of orifices placed at the
sides of the body, which are termed spiracles. On close examination
these may be seen in the shape of button-holes in a number of
different species. Let us dwell for a moment on the breathing
apparatus of the insect, that is to say, on the tracheae.

This apparatus is sometimes composed of elastic tubes only, some-
times of a collection of tubes and membranous pouches. We will
first treat of the former.

The coats of these breathing tubes are very elastic, and always
preserve a cylindrical form, even when not distended. This state of
things is maintained by the existence, throughout the whole length of
the tracheae, of a thread of half horny consistency, rolled up in a
spiral, and covered externally by a very delicate membranous sheath.
The external membrane is thin, smooth, and generally colourless, or
of a pearly white. The cartilaginous spiral is sometimes cyHndrical
and sometimes flat. It only adheres slightly to the external mem-
brane, but is, on the other hand, closely united to the internal
one. This spiral thread is only continuous in the same trunk ; it
breaks off when it branches, and each branch then possesses its
own thread, in such a way that it is not joined to the thread of the
trunk from which it issued, except by continuity, just as the branch
of a tree is attached to the stem which supports it. This thread is
prolonged, without interruption, to the extreme points of the finest
ramifications.

The number of tracheae in the body of an insect is very great.
That patient anatomist, Lyonnet, proved this in his great work on
the Goat-moth Caterpillar, Cossus ligniperda. Lyonnet, who con-
gratulated himself with having finished his long labours without
having had to destroy more than eight or nine of the species he
wished to describe, had the patience to count the different air-tubes
in that caterpillar. He found that there were 256 longitudinal and

i6 THR INSECT WORLh.

1.336 transverse branches ; in short, that the body of this creature \\
traversed in all directions by 1,572 aeriferous tubes which are visible
to the eye by the aid of a magnifying glass, without taking into
account those which may be imperceptible.

The complicated system of the breathing apparatus which we are
describing is sometimes composed of an assemblage of tubes and
membranous pouches, besidee the elastic tubes which v\ e have already
mentioned. These pouches vary in size, and are very elastic,
expanding when the air enters, and contracting when it leaves them,
as they are altogether without the species of framework formed by
the spiral thread of the tubular tracheae, of which they are only
enlargements.

Fig. 13 is explanatory of these organs of respiration.

The respiratory mechanism of an insect is easily understood.
"The abdominal cavity," says M. Milne-Edwards, "in which is
placed the greater part of the respiratory apparatus, is susceptible
of being contracted and dilated alternately by the play of the
different segments of which the skeleton is composed, and which
are placed in such a manner that they can be drawn into each other
to a greater or less extent. When the insect contracts its body,
the tracheae are compressed and the air driven out. But when,
on the other hand, the visceral cavity assumes its normal size,
or dilates, these channels become larger, and the air with which
they are filled being rarefied by this expansion, is no longer in
equilibrium with the outer air with which it is in communication
through the medium of the spiracles. The exterior air is then
impelled into the interior of the respiratory tubes, and the inspiration
is effected."

The respiratory movements can be accelerated or diminished,
according to the wants of the animal ; in general, there are from
thirty to fifty to the minute. In a state of repose the spiracles
are open, and all tlie tracheae are free to receive air whenever
the visceral cavity is dilated, but those orifices may be closed,
and the insect thus possesses the faculty of stopping all commu-
nication between the respiratory apparatus and the surrounding
atmosphere.

Some insects live in the water; they are therefore obliged to
come to the surface to take the air they are in need of, or else to
possess themselves of the small amount contained in the water.
Both these methods of respiration exist under different forms in
aquatic insects.

To inhale atmospheric air, which is necessary for respiration,

INTRODUCTION.

17

above the water, certain insects employ their elytra* as a sort of
reservoir; others make use of their antennae, the hairs of which
retain the globules of air. In this case
it is brought under the thorax, whence a
groove carries it to the spiracles. Some-
times the same result is obtained by
a more complicated arrangement, con-
sisting of respiratory tubes which can be
thrust into the air, which it is their func-
tion to introduce into the organisation.

Insects which breathe in the water
without rising to the surface are provided
with gills — organs which, though variable
in form, generally consist of foliaceous
or fringed expansions, in the midst of
which the tracheae ramify in considerable
numbers. These vessels are filled with
air, but it does not disseminate itself in
them directly, and it is only through the
walls of these tubes that the contained
gas is exchanged for the air held in sus-
pension by the surrounding water. The
oxygen contained in the water passes
through certain very permeable mem-
branes of the gill, and penetrates the
tracheae, which discharge, in exchange,
carbonic acid, which is the gaseous pro-
duct of respiration.

Fig. 1 4 represents the gills or breathing
apparatus in an aquatic insect. We take
as an example Ep/iemera.\ It may be
observed that the gills or foliaceous
laminae are placed at the circumference
of the body, and at its smallest parts.

We have now seen that the respiratory
apparatus is considerably developed in
insects ; it is, therefore, easy to foresee
that those functions are most actively employed by them. In fact,

Fig. 14.
Branchiae, or gills, of an aquatic larva
- {EpJienierd).
A, foliaceous laminae, or gills.

* The horny upper wings with which some insects are provided are called
elytra.— Ed.

t May -ily family. — Ed.

tS THE INSECT WORLD.

if one compares the oxygen they imbibe with the heavy organic matter
of which their body is composed, the amount is enormous.

Before finishing this rapid examination of the body of an insect,
we shall have to say a few words on the nervous system.

This system is chiefly composed of a double series of ganglions,
or collections of nerves, which are united together by longitudinal
cords. The number of these ganglions corresponds with that of the
segments. Sometimes they are at equal distances, and extend in a
chain from one end of the body to the other ; at others they are
many of them close together, so as to form a single mass.

The cephalic ganglions are two in number ; they have been
described by anatomists under the name of brain. " This expres-
sion," says M, Lacordaire, "would be apt to mislead the reader, as
it would induce him to suppose the existence of a concentration of
faculties to control the feelings and excite the movements, which is
not the case.""' The same naturalist observes, "All the ganglions
of the ventral chain are endowed with nearly the same properties,
and represent each other uniformly."

The ganglion situated above the oesophagus gives rise to the
optic nerves, which are the most considerable of all those of the
body, and to the nerves of the antennae. The ganglion beneath the
oesophagus provides the nerves of the mandibles, of the jaws, and of
the lower lip. The three pairs of ganglions which follow those placed
immediately below the oesophagus, belong to the three segments of
the thorax, and give rise to the nerves of the feet and wings. They
are in general more voluminous than the following pairs, which
occupy the abdomen.

Fig. 15 represents the nervous system of the Carabus auratus :
A is the cephalic ganglion ; b, the sub-oesophagian ganglion ; c, the
prothoracic ganglion ; d and e are the ganglions of the mesothorax
and metathorax. The remainder, f f, are the abdominal gangHons.

Before finishing these preliminary observations, it is necessary
to say that the preceding remarks only apply absolutely to insects
arrived at the perfect state. It is important to make this remark,
as insects, before arriving at that state, pass through various other
stages. These stages are often so difl^erent from each other, that
it would be difiicult to imagine that they are only modifications
of the same animal ; one would suppose that they were as many
different kinds of animals, if there was not abundant proof of the
contrary.

* ** Introduction a I'Entomologie," tome ii. p. 192. 8vo. Paris. 1838.

The successive stages through which an insect passes are four

Fig. 15.— Nervous system of Carabus auratus.

in number :— the egg ; the larva ; the pupa, nymph, or chrysalis |
and the perfect insect, or imago.

20 THE INSECT WORLD.

Tlie egg state, which is common to them, as to all other articu-
late animals, it is unnecessary to explain. Nearly all insects lay
eggs, though some few are viviparous. There often exists in the
extremity of the abdomen of the female a peculiar organ, called
the ovipositor, which is destined to make holes for the reception
of the eggs. By a wonderful instinct the mother always lays her
eggs in a place where her young, on being hatched, can find an
abundance of nutritious substances. It will not be needless to
observe that in most cases, these aliments are quite different to
those which the mother seeks for herself

In the second stage, that is to say, on leaving the egg — the larva
period — the insect presents itself in a soft state, without wings, and
resembles a worm. In ordinary language, it is nearly always called a
worm, or grub, and in certain cases, a caterpillar.

I.innasus was the first to use the term '' larva "' — taken from the
Latin word larva ^ " a mask " — as he considered that, in this form, the
insect was as it were masked. During this period of its life the insect
eats voraciously, and often changes its skin. At a certain period it
ceases to eat, retires to some hidden spot, and, after changing its skin
for the last time, enters the third stage of its existence, and becomes a
chrysalis. In this state it resembles a mummy enveloped in bandages,
or a child in its swaddling clothes. It is generally incapable of either
moving or nourishing itself It continues so for days, weeks, months,
and sometimes even for years.

While the insect is thus apparently dead, a slow but certain change
is going on in the interior of its body. A marvellous work, though
not visible outside, is being eftected, for the different organs of the
insect are developing by degrees under the covering which surrounds
them. When their formation is complete, the insect disengages itself
from the narrow prison in which it was enclosed, and makes its
appearance, provided with wings, and capable of propagating its kind
in short, of enjoying all the faculties which Nature has accorded to its
species. It has thrown off the mask ; the larva and pupa has dis-
appeared, and given place to the perfect insect.

To show the reader the four states through which the insect passes
in succession, in Fig. i6 is represented the insect known as the
Hydi'Ophilus* firstly, in the egg state ; secondly, as the larva, or
caterpillar ; thirdly in the pupa ; and fourthly as the perfect insect or
imago. The different degrees of transformation and evolution which
we have just described, are those which take place either completely

■* A kind of water-beetle. — Ed.

INTRODUCTION.

2!

ir incompletely in all insects. Their metamorphoses are then at an
nd. There are certain insects, however, that show no difference in
heir various stages, except by absence of wings in the larva ; and in
hese the chrysalis is only characterised by the growth of the wings,
shich, at first folded back and hidden under the skin, afterwards
)ecome free, but are not wholly developed till the last skin is cast.
rhese insects are said to undergo incomplete metamorphoses, the

Fig. i6. — Hydrophilus in its four states.
A, eggs ; B, larva ; C, pupa ; D, imago, or perfect insect.

former complete metamorphoses. Some never possess wings ; indeed,
there are others which undergo no metamorphosis, and are born pos-
sessed of all the organs with which it is necessary they should be
provided.

Certain curious researches have been made on the strength of in-
sects. M. Felix Plateau, of Brussels, has published some observations
on this point, which we think of sufficient interest to reproduce here.

22 THE INSECT WORLD.

In order to measure the muscular strength of man, or of animals—
as the horse, for instance — many different dynamometric apparatuses
have been invented, composed of springs, or systems of unequal
levers. The Turks' heads which are seen at fairs, or in the Champs
Elysees, at Paris, and on which the person who wishes to try his
strength gives a strong blow with his fist, represent a dynamometer oi
this kind. The one which Buffon had constructed by Regnier the
mechanician, and which is known by the name of Regnier' s Dynamo-
meter, is much more precise. It consists of an oval spring, of which
the two ends approach each other ; when they are pulled in opposite
directions, a needle, which works on a dial marked with figure?,
indicates the force exercised on the spring. It has been proved, witi
this instrument, that the muscular effort of a man pulling with bot;
hands is about 124 lbs., and that of a woman only 74 lbs. Thi
ordinary effort of strength of a man in lifting a weight is 292 lbs. ; |
and a horse, in pulling, shows a strength of 675 lbs.; a man, under '
the same circumstances, exhibiting a strength of 90 lbs. \

Physiologists have not has yet given their attention to the strength (
of invertebrate animals. It is, relatively speaking, immense. Many
people have observed how out of proportion a jump of a flea is to its
size. A flea is not more than an eighth of an inch in length, and it
jumps a yard ; in proportion, a Hon ought to jump one-third of a mile.
Pliny shows, in his *' Natural History," that the weights carried by
ants appear exceedingly great when they are compared with the size
of these indefatigable labourers. The strength of these insects is still
more striking, when one considers the edifices they are able to
construct, and the devastations they occasion. The Terrnes, or White
Ant,* constructs habitations many yards in height, which are so firmly
and solidly built, that the buffaloes are able to mount them, and use
them as observatories ; they are made of particles of wood joined
together by a gummy substance, and are able to resist even the force
of a hurricane.

There is another circumstance which is worth being noted. Man
is proud of his works ; but what are they, after all, in comparison with
those of the ant, taking the relative heights into consideration? The
largest pyramid in Egypt is only 146 yards high, that is, about ninety
times the average height of man ; whereas, the nests of the Temiites
are a thousand times the height of the insects which construct them.
Their habitations are thus twelve times higher than the largest
specimen of architecture raised by human hands. We are, therefore,

* A neuropterous insect, not a true ant. — Ep,

INTRODUCTION. 23

far beneath these Httle insects, as far as strength and the spirit of
working go.

The destructive powers of these creatures, so insignificant in
ai)pearance, are still more surprising. During the spring of a single
year they can effect the ruin of a house by destroying the beams and
l)lanks. The town of La Rochelle, to which the Termites were
imported by an American ship, is menaced with being eventually
suspended on catacombs, like the town of Valencia in New Granada.
It is well known what destruction is caused when a swarm of locusts
alight in a cultivated field ; and it is certain that even their larvae do
as severe injury as the perfect insect. All this sufficiently proves the
destructive capabilities of these little animals, which we are accus-
tomed to despise.

M. Plateau has studied the power of traction in some insects, the
power of pushing in the digging insects, and the lifting power of
others during flight. He has thus been able to make some most
interesting comparisons, of some of which we will relate the results.

The average weight of man being 142 lbs., and his power of
traction, according to Regnier, being 124 lbs., the proportion of the
weight he can draw to the weight of his body is only as 87 to 100.
With the horse the proportion is not more than 67 to 100, ahorse
1,350 lbs. in weight only drawing about 900 lbs. The horse, there-
fore, can draw little more than half his own weight, and a man cannot
draw the weight of his own body.

This is a very poor result, if compared with the strength of the
cockchafer. This insect, in fact, possesses a power of traction equal
to more than fourteen times its own weight. If you amuse yourself
with the children's game of making a cockchafer draw small cargoes
of stones, you will be surprised at the great weight which this insigni-
ficant-looking animal is able to manage.

To test the power of traction in insects, M. Plateau attached
them to a weight by means of a thread fastened to one of their
feet. The Coleoptera (Beetles) are the best adapted for these
experiments.

The following are some of the results obtained by the Belgian
physician : — Carabiis auratus can draw seven times the weight of its
body ; Nebria brevicollis^ twenty-five times ; Necrophorus vespillo^
fifteen times ; Trichius fasciatiis, forty-one times ; and Oryctes nasi-
cornis, four times only. The bee can draw twenty times the weight
of its body ; Donacia nyinphea * forty-two times its own weight.

* A beetle. —Ed,

24 THE INSECT WORLD.

From this it follows that if the horse possessed the same strength
as this last insect, or if the insect were the size of a horse, they
would either of them be able to draw 56,700 lbs. M. Plateau has
ascertained the pushing power in insects, by introducing them into a
pasteboard tube, the interior of which was made rough, and in which
was fixed a glass plate, which allowed the light to penetrate into the
prison. The animal, if excited, struggled with all its strength against
the transparent plate, which, on being pushed forward, turned a lever
adapted to a miniature dynamometer, which indicated the amount of
effort exercised.

The results thus obtained prove that the pushing power, like the
power of traction, is greater in inverse proportion to the size and
weight of the animal. A few figures will better explain this curious
law. In Orydes naskornis the proportion of the pushing power to
the weight of the insect is only three to two ; in Geotrupcs sferco-
rarius it is sixteen to two ; and in Onthophagus niickicornis seventy-
nine to six.

Experiments have been made on the lifting power of insects by
fastening a ball of soft wax to a thread attached to the hind legs.
The proportion of the weight lifted has been found equal to that of
the body. That is to say, the insect when flying can lift its own
weight. This is proved by the following calculations : — In the
Neuroptera the proportion is i in the Dragon-fly {Libellu/a vulgata)^
•7 in Lestes sponsa. In the order Hymenoptera it is 78 in the bee,
and •63 in Bombus terrestris, the humble-bee. In the Diptera it is
•9 in CaUiphora vomitoria* 1-84 in the Syrphus corollce^ and 177 in
the house-fly.

These results show that insects have only sufficient power to
sustain their own weight when flying, as the above calculations
exhibit the maximum of which they are capable, and at the utmost
this strength would only compensate for the fatigue occasioned by the
action of flight.

At the same time it is to be observed that the Diptera, and
among others the house-fly, can sustain their flight longer than the
Hymenoptera and Neuroptera, although one would not think so
from their appearance. In conclusion, if an insect's power of flying
is not considerable, its power of traction and propulsion are immense,
compared with the vertebrate animals ; and, in the same group of
insects, those that are the smallest and lightest are the strongest.
The proportion between the muscular strength of insects and the

* The meat-fly. — Ed.

INTRODUCTION. 2$

dimensions of their bodies, would not appear to be on account of
their muscles being more numerous than those of vertebrate animals,
but on account of greater intrinsic energy and muscular activity.
The articulations of insects may be considered as solid cases which
envelop the muscles, and the thickness of these cases appears to
decrease in a singular manner according to the size of the creature.
The relative bulk of the muscles being less in the smaller species
than in the larger, it is necessary to explain the superior relative
strength of the former by supposing them to possess a greater amount
of vital energy.

These astonishing phenomena will perhaps be better understood
if we consider the obstacles which insects have to overcome to satisfy
their wants, to seek their food, to defend themselves against their
enemies, &c.

To meet these requirements they are marvellously constructed
for both labour and warfare, and their strength is superior to that dis-
played by all other animals. It is also much greater than that of the
machines we construct to replace manual labour. They represent
strength itself God's workmen are infinitely more powerful than
those invented by the genius of man, which we call machines.

We think it necessary, in closing this chapter, to give a sort of
general outline of the great class of animals which we are about to
study. If we wished to characterise insects by their exterior aspect,
we might consider them as articulate animals, whose bodies, covered
with tough and membranous integuments, are divided into three
distinct parts : the head, provided with two antennae, and eyes and
mouth of very variable form ; a trunk or thorax, composed of three
segments, which has underneath it always six articulated limbs, and
often above it two or four wings; and an abdomen, composed of
nine segments, although some may not appear to exist at first sight.

If, in addition to these characteristics, one considers that these
animals are not provided with interior skeletons — that their nervous
system is formed of a double cord, swelHng at intervals, and placed
along the underside of the body, with the exception of the first
swellings or ganglions which are under the head — that they are not
provided with a complete circulating system — that they breathe by
particular organs, termed tracheae, extending parallel to each other
along each side of the body, and comnmnicating with the exterior
air by lateral openings termed spiracles — that their sexes are distinct
— that they are reproduced from eggs — and, in conclusion, that the
different parts we have mentioned are not complete until the creature
has passed through several successive changes, called metamorphoses,

26 THE INSECT WORLD.

a general idea may be formed of what is meant in zoology by the
word "insect."

Insects, whose general organisation we have briefly traced, have
been classed by naturalists as follows : —

1. Aptera (Fleas and Lice).

2. DiPTERA. (Gnats, Flies, &c.)

3. Hemiptera (Bugs, &c.)

4. Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths).

5. Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Cockroaches, &c.)

6. Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, &c.)

7. Thysanoptera ( Thrips cerealuim).

8. Neuroptera {Libellula, or Dragon-lly ; Ephemera^ or May-fly ;

Phryganea, or Alder-fly).

9. Coleoptera (Beetles).

We shall commence the history of the various orders by examin
ing the Aptera.

27

APTERA.

Insects of this order are without wings, and the name is derived
from two Greek words, a, privative, and irrephv, wing, indicating the
negative character which constitutes this order.* It consists of Fleas
and Lice. The Flea (Fu/ex), of which De Geer formed a separate
group, and called Suctona, includes several species.

The common flea {Fiilex irrifans, Fig. 17) has a body of oval
form, somewhat flattened, covered with a rather
hard horny skin of a brilliant chestnut brown
colour. It is the breaking of this hard skin
which produces the little crack which is heard
when, after a successful hunt, one has the
happiness to crush one of these parasites
between one's nails.

Its head, small in proportion to the body. Fig. 17.

is compressed, and carries two small antennae, ^'^* {Puiex tmtans).
of cyHndrical form, composed of four joints,

which the animal shakes continually when in motion, but which
it lowers and rests in front of its head when in a state of repose.
The eyes are simple, large, and round. The beak is composed of an
exterior jointed sheath, having inside it a tube, and carrying under-
neath two long sharp lancets, with cutting and saw-like edges. It is
with this instrument that the flea pierces the skin, irritates it, and
causes the blood on which it lives to flow.

This bite, as every one knows, is easily recognised by the presence
of small darkish red spots, surrounded by a circle of a paler colour.

* It is probable that one day the order Aptera will be superseded. The
absence of wings is not really a character of great value. De Blainville, Mollarcl,
Pouchet, Van Beneden, and Gervais, have made several attempts in that direction.
The fleas have been placed among the Diptera, and the lice among Ilemiptera in
the " Traits de Zoolojjie Medicale " of the two last authors.

28 THE INSECT WORLD.

The quantity of blood absorbed by this Httle creature is enormous,
when compared with its size.

The body of the flea is divided into thirteen segments, of which
one forms the head; three the thorax, which is short, and the
remainder the abdomen.

The Hmbs are long, strong, and spiny. The tarsus or foot, has
five joints, and terminates in hooks turned in opposite directions.
The two anterior limbs are separated from the others, and are inserted
nearly under the head ; the posterior ones are particularly large and
strong.

The jumps which fleas are able to make are really gigantic, and
the strength of these litde animals quite herculean, when compared
with the size of their bodies. The reader may be inclined to smile at
the assertion that the flea possesses herculean strength ; but let him
wait a little, and he will find that it is no exaggeration.

To give some idea of the strength, the docility, and the goodwill
of the fleas, some wonderful little things have been made, which
have served at the same time to show the astonishing skill of certain
workmen.

In his " Histoire abrege'e des Insectes," published in the seventh
year of the French Republic, Geoffroy relates that a certain Mark, an
Englishman, had succeeded, by dint of patience and art, in making a
gold chain the length of a finger, with a padlock and a key to fasten
it, not exceeding a single grain in weight. A flea attached to the
chain pulled it easily. The same learned writer relates a still more
surprising fact. An English workman constructed a carriage and six
horses of ivory. The coachman was on the box, with a dog between
his legs, there were also a postillion, four persons in the carriage,
and two servants behind, and the whole of this was drawn by one
flea.

In his " Histoire Naturelle des Insectes Apteres," Baron Walck-
enaer relates the following marvellous instance of industry, patience,
and dexterity : —

" I think it is about fifteen years ago, that the whole population
of Paris could see the following wonders exhibited on the Place de la
Bourse for sixty centimes. They were the learned fleas. I have
seen and examined them with entomological eyes, assisted by a
glass.

"Thirty fleas went through military exercise, and stood upon
their hind legs, armed with pikes, formed of very small splinters of
wood.

" Two fleas were harnessed to and drew a golden carriage with

AFTER A. 29

four wheels and a postillion. A third flea was seated on the coach-
box, and held a splinter of wood for a whip. Two other fleas drew
a cannon on its carriage ; this little trinket was admirably finished,
not a screw or a nut was wanting. These and other wonders were
performed on polished glass. The flea-horses were fastened by a gold
chain attached to the thighs of their hind legs, which I was told
was never taken off". They had lived thus for two years and a half,
not one having died during the period. To be fed, they were placed
on a man's arm, which they sucked. When they were unwilling to
draw the cannon or the carriage, the man took a burning coal, and on
it being moved about near them, they were at once roused, and re-
commenced the performances."

The learned fleas were the admiration and amazement of Paris,
Lyons, and the chief provincial towns of France, in 1825.

But how, one will ask, was it possible in a large public room to
see this wonderful sight ? And it is necessary that this should be
explained. The spectators were seated in front of a curtain, pro-
vided with magnifying glasses, through which they looked, as they
would at a diorama of landscapes or buildings.

But let us return to the natural history of our insect. The female
flea lays from eight to twelve eggs, which are of oval shape, smooth,
viscous, and white.

Contrary to what one might think, a priori, the flea does not fix
its eggs to the skin of its victims. She lets them drop on the ground,
between the boards of floors, or old furniture, and among dirty linen
and rubbish.

M. Defrance has remarked that there are always found mixed with
the eggs a certain number of grains of a brilliant black colour, which
are simply dried blood. This is a provision which the foreseeing
mother has prepared at our expense to nourish her young offspring.

In four or five days in summer, and in eleven days in winter,
one may see coming out of these eggs small, elongated larvae, of
cylindrical form, covered with hair, and divided into three parts, the
last provided with two small hooks. The head is scaly above, has
two small antennae, and is without eyes. These larvse are without
limbs, but they can twist about, roll themselves over and over, and
even advance pretty fast by raising their heads. Though at first
white, they become afterwards of a reddish colour.

About a fortnight after they are hatched they cease to eat, and
are immovable, as if about to die. They then commence to make a
small, whitish, silky cocoon, in which they are transformed into pupae.
In another fortnight these pupae become perfect insects.

30 THE INSECT WORLD.

A most remarkable trait, and unique among insects, has been
observed in the flea. The mother disgorges into the mouths of the
larvae the blood with which she is filled.

The flea is most abundant in Europe and the North of Africa.
Certain circumstances particularly favour its multiplication ; being most
abundant in dirty houses, in barracks, and in camps; in deserted build-
ings, in ruins, and in places frequented by people of uncleanly habits.

Other kinds of fleas live on animals, as, for example, the cat flea,
the dog flea, and those of the pigeon and poultry.

We shall say a few words about a peculiar species which abounds
in all the hot parts of America, but principally in the Brazils and
the neighbouring countries. This formidable species is the Chigo
(Pulex penetrans).

The chigo, called also the tick, is smaller than the common flea.
It is flat, brown with a white spot on the back, and is armed with a
strong pointed stiff" beak, provided with three lancets. It is with
this instrument that the female attacks man with the intention of
lodging in his skin and bringing forth her young there.

The chigo attacks chiefly the feet. It slips in between the flesh
and the nails, or gets under the skin of the heel. Notwithstanding
the length of the animal's beak, introducing itself beneath the skin
does not at first cause any pain ; but after a few days one is made
aware of its presence by an itching, which, though at first slight,
gradually increases, and ends by becoming unbearable.

The chigo, when under the skin, betrays itself by a bump outside.
Its body has now become as large as a pea ; in the attacked skin a
large brown bag containing matter is formed. In this bag are col-
lected the eggs, which issue from an orifice in the posterior extremity,
and are not hatched in the wound itself, as was long thought to be
the case.

The chigoes are an object of terror to the Brazilian negroes.
These formidable parasites sometimes attack the whole of the foot,
which they devour, and thus bring on mortification ; many negroes
losing the bones of some of their toes by the ravages of these
dangerous creatures. To guard against their attacks, they wear thick
shoes, and examine their feet carefully every day. The plan usually
followed in the Brazils to prevent the chigoes from injuring the feet,
is to employ children, who, by their sharpness of sight, can easily
perceive the red spot on the skin where the chigo has entered.
These children are in the habit of extracting the insect from the
wound by means of a needle. But this is not without risk ; as, if
any portion of the insect remains in the wound, a dangerous

AFTER A, 3 1

inflammation may ensue. For this reason, operators who are re-
nowned for their skill are much sought after, flattered, and rewarded
by the poor negroes of the plantations.

The Head Louse {Pedicubis capitis, Fig. i8) is an insect with a
flat body, slightly transparent, and of greyish colour,
spotted with black on the spiracles, soft in the middle,
and rather hard at the sides. The head, which is oval,
is furnished with two thread-like antenna, composed
of five joints, which are constantly in motion while
the creature is walking ; it is also furnished with two
^ simple, round, black eyes ; and lastly, with a mouth.
In the front of the head is a short, conical, fleshy
nipple. This nipple contains a sucker, or rostrum,
which the animal can put out when it likes, and vv^hich, (jy^Sicuim'capms).
when extended, represents a tubular body, terminating
in six little pointed hooks, bent back, and serving to
retain the instrument in the skin. This organ is surmounted by four
fine hairs, fixed to one another, and seated in its interior. It is by
means of this complicated apparatus that the louse pricks and sucks
the skin of the head. The thorax is nearly square, and divided into
three parts by deep incisions. The abdomen, strongly lobed at
the sides, is composed of eight rings, and is provided with sixteen
spiracles. The limbs consist of a trochanter, a thigh, a shank, and
a tarsus of a single joint, and are very thick. A strong nail, which
folds back on an indented projection, thus forming a pincer, ter-
minates the tarsus. It is with this pincer that the louse fastens
itself to the hair.

Lice are oviparous. Their eggs, which remain sticking to the hair,
are long and white, and are commonly called " nits." The young
are hatched in the course of five or six days ; and in eighteen days
are able to reproduce their kind. Leuwenhoek calculated that in
two months two female lice could produce ten thousand !' Other
naturalists have asserted that the second generation of a single indi-
vidual can amount to two thousand five hundred, and the third, to a
hundred and twenty-five thousand ! Happily for the victims of these
disgusting parasites, their reproduction is not generally to this pro-
digious extent.

Many means are employed to kill lice. Lotions of the smaller
centaury or of stavesacre, and pomatum mixed v/ith mercurial oint-
ment, are very efticacious. But the surest and easiest remedy is to
put plenty of oil on the head. The oil kills the lice by obstructing
their tracheae^ and thus stopping respiration.

32 THE INSECT WORLD.

There are other kinds of lice, but we will only mention the louse
which infests beggars and people of unclean habits, Pedicnius
humani corporis^ producing the complaint called phthiriasis. In the
victims of this disease these parasites increase with fearful rapidity.
This dreadful disorder is often mentioned by the ancients. King
Antiochus, the philosopher Pherecydes of Scyros, the contemporary
and friend of Thales, the dictator Sylla, Agrippa, and Valerius
Maximus, are said to have been attacked by phthiriasis, and even to
have died of it. Amatus Lusitanus, a Portuguese doctor of the six-
teenth century, relates that lice increased so quickly and to such an
extent on a rich nobleman attacked with phthiriasis, that the whole
duty of two of his servants consisted in carrying away, and throwing
into the sea, whole basketfuls of the vermin, which were continually
escaping from the person of their noble master.

Little is known at the present day of the details of this complaint,
though it is observed frequently enough in some parts of the south
of Europe, where the dirty and miserable inhabitants are a prey to
poverty and uncleanliness — two misfortunes which often go together.
In Galicia, in Poland, in the Asturias, and in Spain, we may find
many victims of phthiriasis.

Lice increase with such rapidity on persons thus attacked, that
it is common to attribute their appearance to spontaneous generation
alone. But the prodigious rapidity of reproduction in these insects
sufficiently explains their increase, especially when it is admitted that
it is possible for the female louse to reproduce young without the
agency of the male.

The Thysanura or " Skip Tail " tribe are small insects, which are
better known on account of the beauty of their microscopic body
scales than. for any interesting habits or instincts. They do not
undergo metamorphosis.

The Fish Scale or Lepisma saccharina, and the Skip Tail or
Podura plumbca belong to the Thysanura.

35

11.

D I P T E R A.

All suctorial insects which in the perfect state possess only two
membranous wings, are called Diptera, from two Greek words —
5«, twice, and Trrephu, wing.

The Diptera were known and scientifically described at a very
early date. They are frequently mentioned by Aristotle in his
"History of Animals;" and he applied the term to the same insects
as now constitute the order.

The absence of the second wings, common to other insects, which
are in this case replaced by two appendages, which have received
the name of balancers,* because they serve to regulate the action of
flight, constitutes the chief characteristic of the Diptera. Let us,
however, give a glance at their other organs, which have more or
less affinity with those which exist in other classes of insects, pre-
serving, nevertheless, their own especial characteristics.

The mouth, for instance — suited for suction only — is in the form
of a trunk, and is composed of a sheath, a sucker, and two palpi.
The antennae are generally composed of only three joints. The eyes
— usually two in number — are very large, and sometimes take up
nearly the whole of the head. They are both simple and compound.
The wings are membranous, delicate, and veined ; the limbs long
and slight. In giving the history of the principal types of Diptera,

I We shall explain more fully the formation of these organs.

j The Diptera, by their rapid flight, enliven both the earth and the

I air. The different species abound in every climate, and in every
situation, some inhabiting woods, plains, fields, or banks of rivers ;
others preferring our houses. They like the neighbourhood of vegeta-

' tion, choosing either the flowers, the leaves, or the stems of the trees
of our woods, our gardens, or our plantauons. Their food varies

* Sometimes called halicns. — Ed.
59

34- THE INSECT WORLD.

very much ; and the formation of the sucker is regulated by it. Some
imbibe blood, others live on the secretions of animals. Their chief
nourishment, however, consists of the juices of flowers, on whose
brilliant corollas the Diptera abound, either plundering from every
species indiscriminately, or attaching themselves to some particular
kind. They display the most wonderful instinct in their maternal care,
and employ the most varied and ingenious precautions to preserve
their progeny.

The Diptera, besides their variety and the number of their species,
are remarkable on account of their profusion. The myriads of flies
which rise from our meadows, which fly in crowds around our plants,
and around every organised substance from which life has departed,
some of which even infest living animals, are Diptera.

The profusion with which they are distributed over the face of the
globe, causes them to fulfil two important duties in the economy of
Nature. On the one hand, they furnish to insectivorous birds an
inexhaustible supply of food ; on the other, they contribute to the
removal of all decaying animal and vegetable substances, and thus
serve to purify the air which we breathe. Their fecundity, the rapidity
with which one generation succeeds another, and their great voracity,
added to the extraordinary quickness of their reproduction, are such
that Linnaeus tells us that three flies, with the generations which spring
from them, could eat up a dead horse as quickly as a lion could.

These Diptera, which are worthy of so much attention, and
deserve so much study with regard to the part they play in the
general economy of Nature, are an object of fear and repulsion when
one considers their relations to us and other animals. Gnats and
mosquitoes suck our blood ; the gad-fly and the species of Asilus
attack our cattle. The order Diptera is composed of a great number
of families, which are again divided into tribes, each comprising
several genera. We shall only notice the more remarkable genera of
Diptera.

M. Macquart, the learned author of "L'Histoire Naturelle des
Dipteres,''''' divides this great class of insects into two principal groups.
In one of these groups, the antennae are formed of at least six joints,
and tlie palpi of four or five : these are called Nemocera. In the
other, the antennae consist only of three joints, and the palpi of one
or two : these are the Brachycera.

The Nemocera may generally be distinguished from the other
Diptera, independently of the difference in the antennae and palpi, by

* " Suites a Buflon." 2 vols. 3vo.

DIPT ERA.

35

the slenderness of the body, the smaUness of the head, the shape of
the thorax, and the length of the feet and wings. The result of this
" organisation is a graceful, light, and aerial form

Nemocera.

Abounding everywhere, the Nemocera live, some on the blood of
' man and animals, some on small insects, and others on the juices of
fragrant flowers. From vr\ii.(x, thread ; /c^pos, horn.

In all climates, in every latitude, in the fields and woods, even in
our dwellings, they may be seen fluttering and plundering. The
Nemocera are divided into two families, that of the Cii/icidce, of which
the gnat {Culex), which has a long, thin trunk, and a sucker provided
with six bristles, is a member ; and that of the Tipu/idcE, which have
a short thick trunk, and a sucker having two bristles.

We will begin our examination with the Gnat {Culex pip lens), of

Figs. 19 and 20. — The Gnat {Culex pi^iens).

which Re'aumur, in his "Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire des
Insectes," has given such a curious history (Figs. 19, 20). ''The gnat
is our declared enemy," says Re'aumur, in the introduction to his
memoir, "and a very troublesome enemy it is. However, it is well
to make its acquaintance, for if we pay a little attention we shall be
forced to admire it, and even to admire the instrument with which it
wounds us. Besides which, throughout the whole course of its life it
offers most interesting matter of investigation to those who are curious

36

THE INSECT WORLD.

to know the wonders of Nature. During a period in its life the
observer, forgetting that it will at some time annoy him, feels the
greatest interest in its life- history."

As this is the case, let us explain the history of these insects,
which excite so much interest. The illustrious naturalist we have
just mentioned will be our guide.

The body of the gnat is long and cylindrical. When in a state
of repose one of its wings is crossed over the other. They present
a charming appearance when seen through a microscope, their
nervures, as well as their edges, being completely covered with scales,

Fig. 21.— Antennse of Gnat, magnified.

Fig. 22. — Head of Gnat, magnified.

shaped like oblong plates and finely striated longitudinally. These
scales are also found on all the segments of the body.

The antenn?e of the gnat, particularly those of the male, have a
fine feathery appearance (Fig. 21).

Their eyes, covered with network, are so large that they cover
nearly the whole of the head. Some have eyes of a brilliant green
colour, but looked at in certain lights they appear red. Fig. 22
shows the head of, the gnat with its two eyes, its antenn?e, and trunk.

The instrument which the gnat employs for puncturing the skin,
and which is called the trunk (Fig. 23), is well worthy of our atten-
tion. That which is generally seen is only the case of those instru-
ments which are intended to pierce our skin and suck our blood, and
in which they are held, as lancets and other instruments are held in
a surgeon's case. The case (Fig. 24) is cylindrical, covered with
scales, and terminates in a small knob. Split from end to end that

DIPTERA.

37

it may open, It contains a perfect bundle of stings. Reaumur tried
to observe, by allowing himself to be stung by gnats, what took place
during the attack. He forgot, in watching the operations of the
insect, the slight pain caused by the wound, soliciting it as a favour,
his only regret being not to obtain it when he wished.

Reaumur observed that the compound sting, which is about a line
in length, enters the skin to the depth of about three-quarters of a
line, and that during that time the case bends into a bow, until the
two ends meet. He noticed besides, that the trunk-case of certain

\

Figs. 23 and 24.
Trunk of Gnat, magnified.

Figs. 25, 26, 2.7.
Lancets of the Gnat.

gnats was even more complicated than that which we have described.
But we will not dwell any longer on this point.

Let us now try to give an idea of the construction and com-
position of this sting, which, after piercing the skin, draws our blood.

According to Reaumur, the sting of the gnat is composed of five
parts. He acknowledges, however, that it is very difficult to be
certain of the exact number of these parts, on account of the way In
which they are united, and of their form. At the present day we
know that there are six. Reaumur, as also Leuwenhoek, thought he
saw two In the form of a sword blade with three edges. These have
the points reversed, and are serrated on the convex side of the bend
(Fig. 25). To form an idea of the shape of the other points, the
reader should look at Figs. 26 and 27. He will then see that the
gnat's sting is a sword in miniature.

The prick made by so fine a point as that of the sting of the gnat

38

THE INSECT WOni.D.

ought not to cause any pain. " The point of the finest needle," says
Reaumur, '' compared to the sting of the gnat, is the same as the
point of a sword compared to that of the needle." How is it then
that so small a wound does not heal at once ? How is it that small
bumps arise on the part that is stung ? The fact is, that it is not
only a wound, but it has been imbued with an irritating liquid.

This liquid may be seen to exude, under different circumstances,
from the trunk of the gnat, like a drop of very clear v/ater.

Reaumur sometimes saw this liquid even in the trunk itself.
" There is nothing better," he observes, " to prevent the bad effects
of gnat bites than at once to dilute the liquid they have left in the
wound with water. However small this wound may be, it will not
be difficult for water to be introduced. By rubbing, it will be at
once enlarged, and there is nothing to do but to wash it. I have
sometimes found this remedy answer very well."

The gnat is not always in the form of a winged insect, greedy for
our blood. There is a period during which they
leave us in repose. This is the larva period. It
is in water, and in stagnant water in particular,
that the larva of the insect which occupies our
attention is to be found. It resembles a worm,
and may be found in ponds from the month of
May until the commencement of winter.

If we desire to follow the larva of the gnat
from the beginning, we have only to keep a bucket
of water in the open air. After a few days this
water will be observed to be full of the larvae of
the gnat (Fig. 28). They are very small, and
come to the surface of the water to breathe ; for
which purpose they extend the opening of a pipe,
A, which is attached to the last segment of the
body, a little above the surface. I'hey are, con-
sequently, obliged to hold their heads down. By
the side of the breathing-tube is another tube, b,
shorter and thicker than the former, nearly per-
pendicular to the body, its orifice being the exterior
termination of the digestive tube. At the anus it
is fringed with long hairs, having the appearance,
when in the water, of a funnel. At the end of the same tube, and
inside the hair funnel, are four thin, oval, transparent, scaly blades,
having the appearance of fins. They are placed in pairs, of which
one emanates from the right side, the other from the left.

Fig. 28.
Larva of the Gnat.

I

DIPTERA. 39

These four blades or fins have the power of separating from each
other. Each segment of the abdomen has on both sides a tuft of
hair, and the thorax has three. Hie head is round and flat, and is
provided with two simple brown eyes. Round the mouth are several
wattles, furnished with hair, of which two of crescent-like form are
the most conspicuous. These tufts move with great quickness,
causing small cuiTents of liquid to flow into the moutli, by means of
which the necessary food, microscopic insects and particles of vege-
table and earthy matter, is brought to the larva.

They change their skin several times during their continuance in
this state. This latter fact has been remarked by Dom Allou, a learned
Carthusian, '• whose pleasure," says Reaumur, " consisted in admiring
the works of the Almighty, when not occupied in singing His praises."
We think it will be interesting to repeat the fe\v lines which accom-
pany the mention made by Reaumur of this worthy Carthusian.
They appear to us to be well worth reading, even at the present day.

" If the pious monks who composed so many societies, possessed,
like Dom Allou, the love of observing insects, we might hope that
the most essential facts in the history of those little creatures would
soon be made known to us. What enjoyment more worthy of the
calling they have chosen could these pious men pursue than that
which would place before their eyes the marvellous creations of an
Almighty Power? Even their leisure would then incline them to
adore that Power, and would furnish them the means to
make others do so who are occupied by too serious or too
frivolous employments.''

After having changed its skin three times in a fortnight
or three weeks, the larva of the gnat throws off its covering
for a fourth time, and is no longer in the larva state. It is
changed both in shape and condition. Instead of being
oblong, its body is shortened, rounded, and bent in such a
way that the tail is applied to the under part of the head.
This is the case when the animal is in repose ; but it is
able to move and swim, and then, by bending its body and
straightening it again, propels itself through the water.

In this new condition, that is to say, in the pupa state
(Fig. 29), it does not eat. It no longer possesses digestive Fig. 29.
organs, but it is necessary, even more than before its meta- the?5nat.
morphosis, that it should breathe atmospheric air. Besides,
the organs of respiration are greatly changed. During the time the
insect was in the larva state, it was through the long tube fixed to
the posterior part that it received or expelled the air ; but in casting

40 THE INSECT WORLD.

its skin it loses the tube, two appendages resembling an ass's ears
being for the pupa what the tube was for the larva, the opening of
these ears being held above the surface of the water. From this
pupa the perfect insect will emerge ; it is developed little by little,
and the principal members may be distinguished under the transparent
membranous skin which envelopes it.

When the insect is about to change from the pupa state, it lies on
the surface of the water, straightening the hind part of its body, and
extending itself on the surface of the water, above which the thorax
is raised. Before it has been a moment in this position, its skin
splits between the two breathing trumpets, the split increasing very
rapidly in length and breadth.

" It leaves uncovered," says Re'aumur, " a portion of the thorax
of the gnat, easily to be recognised by the freshness of its colour,
which is green, and different from the skin in which it was before
enveloped.

" As soon as the split is enlarged — ■and to do so sufficiently is the
work of a moment — the fore part of the perfect insect is not long in
showing itself; and soon afterwards the head appears, rising above
the edges of the opening. But this moment, and those which follow,
until the gnat has entirely left its covering, are most critical, and
when it is exposed to fearful danger. This insect, which lately lived
in the water, is suddenly in a position in which it has nothing to fear
so much as water. If it were upset on the water, and the water were
to touch its thorax or body, it would be fatal. This is the way
in which it acts in this critical position — As soon as it has got out
its head and thorax, it lifts them as high as it is able above the
opening through which they had emerged, and then draws the
posterior part of its body through the same opening ; or rather that
part pushes itself forward by contracting a little and then lengthening
again, the roughness of the covering from which it desires to extricate
itself serving as an assistance.

"A larger portion of the gnat is thus uncovered, and at the same
time the head is advanced farther towards the anterior end of the
covering ; but as it advances in this direction, it rises more and more,
the anterior and posterior ends of the sheath thus becoming quite
empty. The sheath then becomes a sort of boat, into which the
water does not enter ; and it would be fatal if it did. The water
could not find a passage to the farther end, and the edges of the
anterior end could not be submerged until the other was considerably
sunk. The gnat itself is the mast of its little boat. Large boats,
which pass under bridges, have masts which can be lowered; as

DIPTERA.

4t

Fig. 30.— Gnats emerging.

soon as the boat has passed the bridge the mast is hoisted up by
degrees, until it is perpendicular. The gnat rises thus until it

59"

42 THE INSECT WORLD.

becomes the mast of its own little boat, and a vertical mast also.
It is difficult to imagine how it is able to put itself in such a singular,
though for it necessary, position, and also how it can keep it. The
fore part of the boat is much more loaded than the other, but it is
also much broader. Any one who observes how deep the fore part
of the boat is, and how near the edges of its sides are to the water,
forgets for the time being that the gnat is an insect that he would
willingly destroy at other times. One feels uneasy for its fate ; and
the more so if the wind happens to rise, particularly if it disturbs
the surface of the water. But one sees with pleasure that there is
air enough to carry the gnat along quickly ; it is carried from side to
side ; it makes different voyages in the bucket in which it is borne.
Though it is only a sort of boat — or rather mast, because its wings
and legs are fixed close to its body, it is perhaps, in proportion to the
size of its boat, a larger sail than one would dare to put on a real
vessel — one cannot help fearing that the little boat will capsize.
* * * As soon as the boat is capsized, as soon as the gnat is laid on
the surface of the water, there is no chance left for it. I have some*
times seen the water covered with gnats which had perished thus as.
soon as they were born. It is, however, still more extraordinary that
the gnat is able to finish its operations. Happily they do not last
long ; all dangers may be passed over in a minute.

*' The gnat, after raising itself perpendicularly, draws its two front
legs from the sheath, and brings them forward. It then draws out
the two next. It now no longer tries to maintain its uneasy position,
but leans towards the water ; gets near it, and places its feet upon it;
the water is sufficiently firm and solid support for them, and is able
to bear them, although burdened with the insect's body. As soon as
the insect is thus on the water it is in safety ; its wings are unfolded
and dried, which is done sooner than it takes to tell it, at length the

gnat is in a position to use them, and
it is soon seen to fly away, particularly
if one tries to catch it " (Fig. 30).

One more word about the gnat,
whose life is full of such interesting
details.

Fig. 31.- Eggs of the Gnat, magnified. The reader will perhaps not feel

much pleasure in learning that the
fecundity of these insects is extraordinary. Many generations are
born in a single year, each generation requiring only three weeks or
a month to arrive at a condition to bring forth a new generation.
Thus, the number of gnats which comes into existence in the cours<*

DIPT ERA. 43

of a year is marvellous. Only a lew days after the pupae in a bucket
are transformed into gnats, eggs (Fig. 31) which have been left by
the females may be observed on the water in little clusters.

Many species of gnats, known as mosquitoes, are to be found in
America. All travellers speak of the sufferings endured by a stranger
in that country from the bites of these insects. One can only
preserve oneself from these cruel enemies during sleep by hanging
gauze, called a mosquito curtain, round the bed. Mosquito curtains
are not only necessary in America ; during the hot season, in Spain,
throughout the whole of Italy, and a part of the south of France, it
is necessary to hang these curtains round the bed, if one wishes to
obtain any sleep ; it is also a necessary precaution not to have a Hght
in one's bedchamber, as the sight of it at once attracts these
dangerous companions, whose buzzing and stinging prevent any
possibility of repose during the whole night. Such is our advice to
people who travel in the above-mentioned countries.

The Tipulidce have a narrow, elongated abdomen, and long and
slight limbs. The head is round, and the eyes, which are compound,
are, especially in the males, very large. The wings, which are long
and narrow, are sometimes held wide apart, sometimes horizontally,
and sometimes bent so as to form, as it were, a roof. The balancers
are naked and elongated ; the abdomen long, cylindrical, and often
terminating in a club in the male, and in a point in the female. The
antennae, which are longer than the head, are generally composed of
from fourteen to sixteen joints, and are sometimes in the form of a
comb or saw, sometimes furnished with hair, in form of plumes,
bunches, or in a whorl. The larvae live on plants, in the fields, in
gardens, and sometimes in woods. The perfect insects, at first sight,
resemble gnats, but are without a trunk, or rather their trunk is
extremely short, terminating in two large lips, and the sucker is
composed of two fibres only.''' The larger species of Tipiilce, which

* The genus Cecidomyia, which belongs to this family, presents the most
extraordinary instance of agamo-genesis— or reproduction without fertilisation by
another individual— at present known among insects. Until lately it Avas almost
an axiom with naturalists that no insect was capable of reproduction until it had
attained its adult or perfect state. Several Continental observers, some of them
without any knowledge of the others' discoveries, have found that the lai-vcc oi
some of the species of this genus reproduce larvos resembling themselves in every
respect ; and what is still more sti-ange, these larvae live in a free state Avithin the
parent larvae, feeding upon its tissues, and causing its ultimate destruction.

A very interesting article on this subject will be found in the Popular Science
Revievi) for the 1st April, 1868. The larvcB of a species {^Cecidomyia tritici)
frequently causes much injury to the wheat. — Ed.

44 THE INSECT tVOJ^LD.

are commonly known as " Daddy Longlegs," &c., and in France as
" TalUeurs " and " Couturieres,'' are found in fields at the end of
September and commencement of October.

" Although they sometimes fly a considerable distance," says
Reaumur, " when the sun is bright and hot, they generally do not go
far; often, indeed, only along the ground, or rather the top of the
grass. Sometimes they only use their wings to keep them above the
level of the herbage, and to take them along. Their legs, particularly
the hind ones, are disproportionately large. They are three times
the length of the body, and are to these insects what stilts are to the
peasants of marshy and inundated countries, enabling them to pass
with ease over the higher blades of grass.''

One of the smaller species has been termed culiciformis, on
account of its resemblance to the gnat. The smaller are more active
than the larger species which we have mentioned. Not only do they
fly more rapidly, but there are some kinds which are continually on
the wing. In all seasons, even during the winter, at certain hours of
the day, clouds of small insects are seen in the air, which are taken
for gnats : they are Tipidce. Their flight is worthy of attention ; they
generally only rise and fall in the same vertical line. All these flies
come from larvae, which resemble very elongated worms, having
scaly heads, generally furnished with two very small conical antennae,
and certain other organs, for the purpose of obtaining food. Their
bodies are jointed without limbs, but nevertheless provided with
appendages which supply their place. The larvae of the various
species are of very different habits. Some are aquatic, as that of
Tipida adiciformis, a small species which is very numerous in
stagnant waters.

It is necessary to say a few words about these worm-like larvae,
which are extremely common. They are of a brilliant red colour,
and inhabit little oblong bent masses of earth, thickly pierced with
holes. Each hole allows a worm to extend its head, and the foremost
part of its body, out of the cell, which is made of light spongy
matters, remains of decayed leaves, &c. These larvae are transformed
into pupae in the cell in which they have lived during the larval
state, losing by this metamorphosis the scaly coverings of the head
and of all the exterior parts. They pass into the pupa state, and
have the thorax provided with dainty plumes, which probably assist
in the action of respiration. This pupa is very active and quick in
its movements in the water. When the moment comes for its last
metamorphosis, it throws off its feathery covering in much the same
manner as the gnat.

DIPTERA.

i5

Fig. 32 represents Tipida oleracea in the different stages of larva,
pupa, and perfect insect.

Other species of small Tipidce. have aquatic larvae very similar to

Fig. 32,— Daddy Longlegs {Tipula oleracea)^

those which we have described. Reaumur remarked that each of
these worms is lodged in a thick mass, convex at the top, formed of
a transparent and adhesive white jelly. The larvae of the larger
Tipidce are not aquatic, but are of different habits, and live under the
ground ; all soil which is not frequently turned is suitable to them,
but they are to be found especially in low damp meadows.

Reaumur saw large districts of grassy swamps in Poitou, which,
in certain years, furnished very little grass for the cattle, on account
of the ravages caused by these larvae. They had also much injured
the harvest in the same districts during those years.

These larvae appear to require no other food than vegetable
mould. Their excrements are, in fact, according to Reaumur,

46 THE INSECT WORLD.

nothing else than dried earth, from which the stomach and intestines
of the insect have withdrawn all nourishing matter.

Old trees have often hollow cavities occasioned by the decay of
the trunk. When these cavities are old, their lower parts are full of
a sort of mould, which is in fact half-decayed wood. It is there that
the Tipidce. often lay their eggs. Reaumur frequently found the
larvae in the trunks of elms or willows, and also in the fleshy parts of
certain kinds of mushrooms. He carefully observed the habits of
one, which lived under the covering of a mushroom, the Oak agaric
{Agaricus qucrciniis). This larva is round, grey, and resembles an
earth-worm. It does not walk, but crawls ; and the places where it
stops, or which it passes over, are covered with a sort of brilliant
slime, like that left by the snail or slug.

M. Gue'rin-Meneville has published some very interesting remarks
on the migrations of the larvae of a particular kind of Tipula, known
by the name of Sciara. We will borrow from that entomologist the
following curious details, which will initiate us into one of the most
wonderful phenomena in the whole history of insects. These small
larvae are without feet, hardly five lines in length, and about the
third of a line in diameter. They are composed of thirteen seg-
ments, and have small black heads.

In some years, during the month of July, may be found on the
borders of forests in Norway and Hanover, immense trains of these
larvae, formed by the union of an innumerable quantity fixed to each
other by a sticky substance. These collections of larvae resemble
fjome sort of strange animal of serpent-like form, several feet long,
one or two inches in thickness. Although clinging to each other by
thousands, they move onwards together. The whole society advances
thus with one accord, leaving a track after it on the ground, as a
material indication of its presence, and affording one of the most
singular spectacles that the eye of man has ever beheld.

These strange collections of living creatures form societies, some-
times only a few yards long ; but at other times it happens that they
form bands from ten to twelve yards in length, of the breadth of a
hand and the thickness of a thumb. M. Guerin-Me'neville observed
columns as many as thirty yards in length. These troops advance
as slowly as a snail, and in a certain direction. If they encounter an
obstacle — as a stone, for instance — they cross over it, turn round it,
or else divide into two sections, which reunite after the obstacle is
passed. If a portion of the column be removed so as to divide it
into two parts, it is quickly reunited, as the hindmost portion soon
joins that which precedes it. Lastly, if the posterior part of thi?

DIPTERA. 47

living ribbon be brought into contact with the anterior, a circle is

formed, which turns round and round on the same ground for a long

time, sometimes even for a whole day, before breaking, and continu-

iing to advance. They are never met with in bad weather, but only

I^Bien the sun is warm.

I^B' The curious and astonishing phenomenon of an assembly of
I^Bvae without feet, advancing with an equal movement resulting from
IHk individual motion of thousands of little worms, was remarked for
:]] the first time, in 1603, by Gaspard Schwenefelt. This naturalist says
that the inhabitants of Siberia consider this phenomenon as an indi-
cation of a bad harvest if they go towards the mountains ; whereas,
I^k they descend towards the plains, it is the sign of a good one. In
^B'15 Jonas Ramus mentioned the same phenomenon, recalling a
superstition attached to it by the peasants of Norway. This writer
informs us that the peasants of that country, on meeting one of these
moving columns, throw down their belts or waistcoats on the ground
before it. If the orme-drag (that is the name given to the moving
column) crosses over this obstacle, it is a good sign ; but on the other
hand, if the column turns round the obstacle, instead of crossing it,
some mischief may be expected.

The same animals were observed in 1845 ^^ Birkenmore, near
Hefeld, by M. Rande, Royal Inspector of the Forests of Hanover.

M. Gue'rin-Me'neville is of opinion that these larvae, which exist
in great numbers in certain districts, sometimes devour all the nutri-
tive substances contained in the ground. After having done so,
they are obliged to come out of it, in order to seek at a distance a
place where they will find food, or perhaps only a suitable place to
undergo their metamorphosis. It is then that this singular journey
commences. As regards the uniting of these myriads of individuals
into columns, M. Gue'rin-Me'neville thinks that it can be explained
by the necessity these insects feel for mutual protection against the
drying effect of the atmosphere when they are forced to leave the
ground. United into masses, and moistened by the glutinous matter
which connects them, they can leave their former place of abode
without danger ; if each were by itself, they would soon perish.
Here, as in other cases, union is strength ; and the strength of these
larvae lies in this protecting moisture. However it may be explained,
the migration of these troops of insects is among the most astonish-
ing phenomena of Nature.

Brachycera.
The Brachycera, from Ppaxvs, "short;" and Kepas, "a horn" —

48 THE INSECT WORLD.

these Diptera having short antennae — are divided into four groups.
In this subdivision the sucker is composed of six bristles. Amongst
other famiUes it includes that of the lahaiiidce ; the insects belonging
to which family are of remarkable strength, and possessed of daring
and courage in the highest degree. Their wings are provided
with powerful muscles, their feet are very strong, and their trunk
is provided with six flat, sharp lancets. Distributed over the
entire world, their instinct is everywhere the same, it is the desire
for blood, at least in the females ; for the males are not so war-
like, they do no harm, but live on the juices of. flowers. They
are chiefly found in woods and pastures, and during the hottest
part of the day in summer may be seen flying about seeking for
their prey.

M. de Saint-Fargeau has described the manner in which the
males fly. They may be seen flying hither and thither in the glades
of woods, remaining for some time suspended in the air, then darting
quickly and suddenly away a yard or two, again taking up the same
immovable position, and in each of these movements turning the
head to the opposite way from that in which they are going. This
naturalist is certain that on these occasions they are watching for the
females, which they dart upon. When they have succeeded in doing
so, they rise so high as to be out of sight.

To this group belongs the genus Tahanus.

The first species we shall mention, Tahanus aiitumnalis (Fig. 2)Z\
a common species, is eight or nine lines in length, and of blackish
colour. The palpi, the face, and the forehead are grey ; the antennae
black ; the thorax grey, striped with brown ; the abdomen spotted
with yellow; the legs of a yellowish white; and the outer edge of the
wings brown.

Another species ( Tabaniis bovinus) is twelve lines in length, and
of a blackish brown. The palpi, the face, and the forehead are
yellow ; the antennae black, with a whitish base ; the thorax, covered
with yeflow hair, is striped with black ; the posterior edge of the
segments of the abdomen pale yeflow ; the legs yeflowish, with the
extremities black, and the exterior edge of the wings yeflow. This
species is frequently met with in woods.

A third species, Chrysops ccectitieiis (Fig. 34), which belongs to
the same family, and of which the generic name Chrysops signifies
golden-eyed, torments horses and cattle very much by biting them
round the eyes. Its thorax is of a yellowish colour, striped or spotted
with black ; the abdomen yellow, and the eyes golden.

In the next group of the Brachycera the sucker is composed of

DIPT ERA.

49

four bristles, and the antennae generally terminate in a point which
appears to be rather a development than an appendage.

This group includes a number of genera, but the following only

Fig- 33.— Tabanus auturanalis.

Fig. 34.— Chrysops csecutiens.

possess sufficient interest to claim our attention. From the Tanystonice
we select the families of the Asilidce, Empidce, and Boinbylidce.
As types of the Brachystomce we select the Leptidce and SyrphidcE.

The chief characteristic of the Asilidce is strength. All their
organs combine to produce this quality, which they display only
too much, being as formidable to cattle as the Tabani, but even
surpassing those insects in natural cruelty.

The AsiUdcB unceasingly attack other insects, and even those of
their own kind> Their trunk is strong ; one of the fibres of the sucker
is furnished with small points, turned back, which are intended to
hold firmly to the body into which it has entered. They carry on
their devastations in the glades of woods and on sunny roads.

50

THE INSECT WORLD.

We will mention in this group Asiliis crabroniformis (Fig. 35),
an insect ten to twelve lines long, having a yellow head, black
antennae, and thorax of a brownish yellow. The first three segments
of the abdomen are black, the second and third having a white spot

Fig- 35- — Asilus crabroniformis.

Fig. 36. — Bombylius major.

on each side, the remaining segments are yellow. The wings ar
yellowish, spotted with black on the inner and hind margin. Th
species is common over the whole of Europe, and lives at the expense
of caterpillars and other insects, of which it sucks the blood with the
greatest voracity.

The Empidce live in the same way as the Asilidce, but the mak>
are chiefly nourished by the juices of flowers.

il

D/PTERA. 5 1

;j " They wage war on other insects," says M. Macquart, in his

rj '^Histoire Naturelle des Dipteres," "either when flying or running,

t] md they seize their victims with their feet, which are formed in

J rarious ways, and well adapted for their purpose, but it is in the

lir that their hunting, as well as their amours, chiefly takes place.

rhey unite together in numerous companies, which during fine

summer evenings whirl like gnats about the water's edge. A singular

:>bservation, however, that I have made on the Efnpis, is, that among

the thousands of pairs that I have seen resting on hedges and bushes,

nearly all the females were occupied in sucking an insect ; some had

dold of small Phryganece^''' others of EphemercB^\ but the greater

part of Tipidcer

The Empidce have the trunk bent down, and resembHng the beak
3f a bird ; but the Bornbylidce^ on the contrary, have the trunk
extended straight in front.

The typical genus which has given its name to this latter group is
easily to be recognised by the elegance of the fur which covers its
body, the slenderness of its feet, and the length ot its wings, which
extend horizontally on each side of the body.

Much more common in hot climates than in the North, these
insects, the larvae of which are not yet known, take flight in the
middle of the day, when the sun's rays are hottest. They fly very
fast, making a dull buzzing sound, and hover over flowers, from which
they draw the juices without settling.

Fig. 2i^ represents the Boi7thyIius major ^ which is common enough
throughout the whole of Europe. This insect is from four to six
lines long, black, with yellow fur ; the feet light yellow ; and the wings
have the edges bordered with a sinuous brown band.

The genus Anthj-ax, belonging to this family, has a diflerent form
to Bombylius. The body is much less hairy; the trunk is short and
concealed in the mouth ; the wings, which are very large, are clothed,
at least in the principal genus, in a garb of mourning, sufficiently
I remarkable, in which the combinations of black and white are
admirably diversified.

*' Here," says M. Macquart, *' the line which separates the two
colours is straight ; there it represents gradations, in other cases it is
deeply sinuous. Sometimes the dark part shows transparent points.
or the glassy part dark spots. Th'is sombre garb, added to the velvet
black of the body, gives the Anthrax a most elegant appearance ;

* The insects produced from the caddis or case-worm.— Ed.
t May-fly family.— Ed.

52

THE INSECT WORLD.

and while resting on the corolla of the honeysuckle and hawthorn tc
suck the juice, forms a most striking contrast, and sets forth its
beauty no less than that of those lovely flowers."

Anthrax sinuata is common in Europe.

The family of the SyrphidcB includes three remarkable types
which we cannot pass over in silence. They are Vermileo^ VoluccUa
and Hclophilus.

Vermileo de Geeri (Fig. 37), which inhabits the central anc
southern parts of France, is four or five lines in length. Its face
is white ; its forehead grey, bordered with black ; the thorax of
yellowish grey, with four brown stripes in the male ; the abdom
light yellow, spotted with black ; and the wings glassy.

Fig. 37. — Vermileo de Geeri,

Fig. 38, —A species of Volucella.

The larva of the Vermileo has a thin cylindrical body, capable of
bending itself in every direction ; a conical head, armed with two
horny points ; and the last segment elongated, flat, elevated, and
terminated by four hairy tentacles ; at the sides of the fifth segment
may be observed a little angle, from which projects a horny retractile
point.

It is of very singular habits. It makes a small tunnel in the
sand, having a conical mouth, where it waits, like the spider, im-
movable. As soon as an insect falls into the hole, it raises its head,
and squeezing its prey in the folds of its body, devours it, and after-
wards throws out the skin. It lives in this way for at least three
years before attaining the perfect state.

The Vohccellce (Fig. 38) have a strong resemblance to the humble-
bee. Certain kinds make use and abuse of this resemblance to
introduce themselves fraudulently into its nests, and to deposit their

DIPTERA.

53

;ggs therein. When these eggs have hatched, the larvae, which have
he mouth armed with two mandibles, devour the larvae of tlieir
losts, the bees. This is the return

|:hey make for the hospitality they
lave received !

The Hclophili (Fig. 39; deserve
:o be mentioned here on account
>f the singular shape of many of
their larvae. The head is thick,
!leshy, and varying a little in form.
But the point by which they are
easily to be distinguished from
most other larvae is, that they have
always very long tails, sometimes,
indeed, out of proportion to the
length of the body. Reaumur called these larvae " vers a queue de
rat ;" they are known in England as rat-tailed maggots, and their

Fig. 39. — A species of Helophilus.

Fig. 40. — Larvae of Helophilus.

habits are aquatic. Having placed some of them in a basin of
water, Reaumur saw that they kept in a perpendicular position at
the bottom of the basin, and parallel to one another, the extremities

54 THE INSECT WORLD.

of their tails being on the surface of the water. He then increased
the depth of the water by degrees ; and, as it got deeper, observed
that the tail of each worm became longer. These tails, which at
first were only two inches long, at last attained to five.

It will be remarked that the body of each worm does not exceed
five lines in length. The tail is a pecuhar organ, by the aid of
which the worm breathes, although its body may be covered by
water to the depth of several inches. It is composed of two tubes,
one of which shuts into the other, like a telescope. Reaumur calls
it the breathing tube. It terminates in a little brown knob, in
which, according to Reaumur, are two holes for the purpose oi
receiving the air, and which have five little tufts of hair, which floa;
on the surface of the water. When the time comes for the metn
morphosis of these worms, they come out of the water and bury
themselves in the earth ; the skin then hardens and becomes a sor
of cocoon. In this cocoon the insect loses the form of a worm, an(
takes by degrees that of the pupa, which it keeps until circumstance-
cause it to throw off its last coverings, and to appear in the winged
state.

What an eventful life ! what a life full of changes and turns of
fortune is that of these insects, which pass the first and longest
period of their existence under water, another part of their life under
the ground, and, finally, after having existed in these two elements,
enjoy, high in the air, the pleasures of flight !

The third group of Brachycera is that of the DicJuEta ; that is,
those flies having two-fibred suckers. Among these are classed the
CEstri, the Co/iopes, and the flies properly so called.

The genus CEstrus, the Gad, Bot-fly, or Breeze, comprises those
formidable insects which attack the horse, the sheep, and the ox.'"
The labours of Re'aumur, in his admirable Memoirs, and those of
M. Joly, Professor of Zoology to the Faculte des Sciences de
loulouse, who published some most valuable researches on this
subject, in 1846, will guide us in the following brief explanation.

The following is the description given by M. Joly of the Gad-fly
{CEstrus equi) represented in Figs. 41, 42, which are taken from a
drawing which accompanies that naturalist's Memoirs.

The head of this insect is large and obtuse ; the face light yellow,
with whitish silky fur ; the eyes blackish ; the antennae ferruginous ;

* Mr. Bates, in his interesting "Naturalist on the Amazons," mentions art
CEstrus as occurring in those regions, which deposits its eggs in the human ilesh,
the larva causing a swelling which resembles a boil.— Ed.

bIPTERA.

57

the thorax grey ; and the abdomen of a reddish yellow, with black
spots. The wings are whitish, not diaphanous, with a golden tint,
and divided by a winding band of blackish colour. The feet are
palish yellow.

This species is found in France, in Italy, and also in the East,

Fig. 41.— Horse-fly, male {(Estrus
{gasterophtlus) eqiti).

Fig. 42.— Horse-fly, female {CEstrus
{gasterophilus) equt).

especially in Persia, and rarely in England. During the months of

fuly and August the CEstnis frequents pastures, and deposits its eggs

chiefly on the shoulders and knees of horses (Plate I. ). In order to do

this, the female suspends herself in the air for some seconds over the

iplace she has chosen, falls upon it, and with her abdomen bent, sticks

ler eggs to the horse's hair by means of a glutinous liquid with

vhich they are provided, and which soon dries. This is repeated at

ery short intervals. It often happens that from four to five hundred

ggs are thus deposited upon the same horse. Guided by a marvellous

nstinct, the female CEstrus generally places her eggs on those parts

)f the horse's body which can be most easily touched with the

ongue, that is, at the inner part of the knees, on the shoulders, and

'arely on the outer part of the mane.

The eggs of the (Estrus, which are white and of conical form,

Fig. 43.— Eggs of the Gad-fly {CEstrus {gasterophilus) equt) deposited on the hairs of a horse.

dhere to the horse's hair, as shown in Fig. 43. They are furnished
ith a lid, which at the time of hatching opens, to allow the exit of

1

5 8 THE INSECT WORLD.

the young larva, which takes place, according to M. Joly, about
twenty days after they are deposited. In fact, it is not in the egg
state, but really in that of the larva, that the horse, as we shall
explain, takes into his stomach these parasitical guests, to which
Nature has allotted so singular an abode. When licking itself, the
horse carries them into its mouth, and afterwards swallows them with
his food, by which means they enter the stomach. It is a remarkable
fact that it is sometimes other insects, as the Tabania for instance, that
by their repeated stinging cause the horse to lick himself, and thus to
receive his most cruel enemy. In the perilous journey they have to

Fig. 44.— Portion of the stomach of the horse, and larvae of CEstrus (gasterophilus) equi.

perform from the skin of the horse to his stomach, many of th€
larvae of the CEstrus, as may be supposed, are destroyed, ground b>
the teeth of the animal, or crushed by the alimentary substances
There is hardly one CEstrus in fifty that arrives safely in the stomacl:
of the horse ; and yet if one were to open a horse which had beer
attacked by the CEstri, the stomach would be nearly always found t(
have many of the larvae sticking to its inside. Fig. 44, taken from i
drawing which accompanies M. Joly's Memoirs, represents the stat(
of a horse's stomach attacked by the Gad-fly larvae.

The larvae are of a reddish yellow, and each of their segments i:
armed at the posterior edge with a double row of triangular spines

DIPTERA. 59

large and small alternately, yellow at the base, and black at the
point, which is always turned backwards. The head is furnished
ivith two hooks, which serve to fasten the larva to the internal coats
of the stomach. The spines with which the whole surface of the
body is furnished contribute to fix it more perfectly, preventing the
reatures, by the manner in which they are placed, from being
carried away by the food which has gone through the first process of
digestion.

It is probable that this larva, so singularly deposited, is nourished
by the mucus secreted by the mucous membrane of the stomach, and
til at it breathes the air which the horse swallows with its food during
the process of deglutition. It must be acknowledged, however, that
it is in the midst of a gaseous atmosphere which is very unhealthy,
for nearly all the gases generated in the stomach of the horse are
fatal to man and to the generality of animals, as they consist of
nitrogen, carbonic acid, sulphuretted hydrogen, and carburetted
hydrogen. To explain how the insect can live under such circum-
stances, M. Joly has suggested the following ingenious hypothesis : —

" When the stomach which the larva inhabits," says this learned
naturalist, " contains only oxygen, or air that is nearly pure, the
insect opens the two lips of the cavity which contains the spiracles,
and breathes at its ease. When the digestion of the alimentary
substance generates gas which is unfit for respiration, or when the
spiracles run the risk of being obstructed by the solid or liquid
substances contained in the stomach, it shuts the lips, and continues
to live on the air contained in its numerous tracheae."

" Whatever niay be the value of this explanation," adds M. Joiy,
'' it is nevertheless very curious to see an insect pass the greater part
of its life in an atmosphere which would be instantly fatal to most
animals, and in an organ where, under the government of life,
chemical processes bring about the most wonderful changes of the
food into the substance of the animal itself But how can the insect
itself resist the action of these mysterious powers, and remain alone
intact in the midst of all these matters which are unceasingly
changing and decomposing ? This is another question which it is
difficult, or rather impossible, to explain in the present state of
science ; another enigma which humbles our pride, and of which He
who has created both man and the worm alone knows the secret."

Arrived at a state of complete development, the larva of the
CEstrus imprisoned in the stomach of the horse leaves the membrane
to which it has been fixed, then directing the anterior part of its body
towards the pyloric opening of the stomach, allows itself to be

^ THn mSECT WORLD.

carried away with the excrementitious matter. It traverses, mixed
with the excrementary bohis, the whole length of the intestinal canal,
leaves it by the anal orifice, and on touching the ground at once
seeks a suitable place to go through the last but one of its
metamorphoses.

The skin then gets thick, hardens, and becomes black. All the
organs of the animal are composed of a whitish amorphous pulp,
which soon assumes its destined form, and the insect becomes perfect.

'■ ■' ' / ' Fig 45.— Bot-fly {CEsirus lovis).

It then lifts a lid at the anterior part of its cocoon, emerges, dries its
wings, and flies ofl".

The Bot-fly {CEstrus bovis, Fig. 45) has a very hairy body, large
head, the face and forehead covered with light yellow hair, the eyes
brown, and the antennae black. The thorax is yellow, barred with
black ; the abdomen of a greyish white at the base, covered with
black hair on the third segment, and the remainder of an orange
yellow ; the wings are smoky brown.

As soon as the cattle are attacked, they may be seen, their heads
and necks extended, their tails trembling, and held in a line with the
body, to rush to the nearest river or pond, while such as are not
attacked disperse (Plate II.). It is asserted that the buzzing alone of

DIPT ERA. 63

the (Estriis terrifies a bullock to such an extent as to render it un-
manageable. As for the insect, it simply obeys its maternal instinct,
which commands it to deposit its eggs under the skin of our large
ruminants.

Let us now explain how the eggs of the CEstrus, deposited in the
skin of the bullock, accommodate themselves to this strange abode.
The mother insect makes a certain number of little wounds in the
skin of the beast, each of which receives an egg, which the heat of
the animal serves to bring forth. It is a natural parallel to the arti-
ficial way which the ancient Egyptians invented of hatching the eggs
of domestic fowls, and which has been imitated badly enough in our
day.

Directly the larva of the Bot-fly is out of the egg and lodged be-
tween the skin and the flesh of its host, the bullock, it finds itself in
a place perfectly suitable to its existence. In this happy condition
the larva increases in growth, and eventually becomes a fly in its
turn. Those parts of the animal's body in which the larvae are lodged
are easily to be recognised, as above each larva may be seen an eleva-
tion, a sort of tumour, termed a bot— a bump, as Re'aumur calls it,
comparing it more or less justly to the bump caused on a man's head
by a severe blow.

Fig. 46, taken from a drawing in Reaumur's Memoirs, represents
the bots of which we speak.

The country people are well aware of the nature and cause of
these bots. They know that each one contains a worm, that this
worm comes from a fly, and that later it will be transformed into a
fly itself. Each of these bots has in its interior a cavity, occupied by
a larva, which, as well as the bot, increases in size as the larva be-
comes developed.

It is generally on young cows or young bullocks — in fact, on
catde of from two to three years of age — that these tumours exist,
and they are rarely to be seen on old animals. The fly, which by
piercing the skin occasions these tumours, always chooses those
whose skin offers litde resistance. Each tumour is provided with a
small opening, by which the larva breathes.

In order to examine the interior of the cavity, Reaumur opened
5ome of these tumours, either with a razor or a pair of scissors. He
found them in a most disgusting state. The larva is lodged in a regu-
lar festering wound, matter occupying the bottom of the cavity, and
the head of the worm is continually, or almost continually, plunged
in this liquid. " It is most likely very well off there," says Reaumur;
and he adds that this matter appears to be the sole food of the larva.

64

THE INSECT WORLD.

" I'he position of a horned beast," observes the great naturaHst,
" which has thirty or forty of these bumps on its back, would be a
very cruel one, and a terrible state of suffering, if his flesh were con-
tinually mangled by thirty or forty large worms. But it is probable
they cause no suffering, or at least very little, to the large animal.

Fig 46. — Bumps produced on Cattle by the larvae of the Bot-fly

Besides," continues Reaumur, " those cattle whose bodies are the
most covered with bumps, not only show no signs of pain, but it does
not appear that they are prejudicial to them in any way."

Re'aumur tried to discover how the larva, when arrived at its full
growth, succeeds in leaving its abode, as the opening is smaller than
its own body.

" Nature," says Re'aumur, " has taught this worm the surest, the
gentlest, and the most simple of methods, the one to which surgeons
often have recourse to hold wounds open, or to enlarge them. They

DIPTERA.

65

press tents into a wound they wish to enlarge. Two or three days
before the worm wishes to come out, it commences to make use of
its posterior part as a tent, to increase the size of its exit from its
habitation. It thrusts it into the hole and draws it out again many
times in the course of two or three days, and the oftener this is re-
peated, the longer it is able to retain its posterior end in the opening,
as the hole becomes larger. On the day preceding that on which
the worm is to come out, the posterior part is to be found almost con-
tinually in the hole. At last, it comes out backwards, and falls to

I the ground, when it gets under a stone, or buries itself in the turf;
remaining quiet and preparing for its last transformation. Its skin
hardens, the rings disappear, and it becomes black. Thenceforth the
insect is detached from the outer skin, which forms a cocoon, or box.
At the front and upper part of the cocoon is a triangular piece, which
the fly gets rid of when it is in a fit state to come into the open air."
Fig. 47, taken from drawings in Reaumur's Memoirs, represents the
imago of the Gistrus leaving
the cocoon.

The reader is, most likely,
desirous to know with the aid
of what instrument the CEstriis
is able to pierce the thick skin
of the ox.

The female only is pos-
sessed of this instrument, which
is situated in the posterior ex-
tremity of the body. It is of
a shiny blackish brown colour,
and as it were covered with
scales. By pressing the abdo-
men of the fly between one's
two fingers it is thrust out.
Re'aumur observed that it was

; formed of four tubes, which

:: could be drawn the one into
the other, like the tubes of a telescope (Fig. 48). The last of these
appears to terminate in five small scaly knobs, which are not placed

: on the same line, but are the ends of five different parts. Three
of these knobs are furnished with points, which form an instrument
well fitted to operate upon a hard thick skin. United together, they
form a cavity similar to that of an auger, and terminating in the form

Tof a spoon.
i 60

- Fig. 47.
Imago of Bot-fly
emerging.

Fig. 48.

Ovipositor of the Bot-fly

{CEstrus bovis).

66 THE INSECT WORLD.

The Gad-fly, or Breeze-fly of the sheep, CEstrus {^Cephakmyia
oris), has obtained notoriety on account of its attacking these animals, j

Even at the sight of this insect the sheep feels the greatest terror, j
As soon as one of them appears, the flock becomes disturbed, the j
sheep that is attacked shakes its head when it feels the fly on its I
nostril, and at the same time strikes the ground violently with its
fore- feet ; it then commences to run here and there, holding its nose,|
near the ground, smelling the grass, and looking about anxiously to
see if it is still pursued.

It is to avoid the attacks of the Cephalemyia that during the

hot days of summer sheep lie down with their nostrils buried in
dusty ruts, or stand up with their heads lowered between their fore-
legs, and their noses nearly in contact with the ground. When these
poor beasts are in the open countr}-, they are observed assembled
with their nostrils against each other and very near the ground, so
that those which occupy the outside are alone exposed (Plate III.).
The Cephalemyia ovis (Fig. 49) has a less hairy head, but larger in
proportion to the size of its body than the Gad-fly {Gasterophih/s equi).
Its face is reddish ; its forehead brown with purple bars ; its eyes of
a dark and changing green; its antennae black, its thorax sometimes

DIPT ERA. 69

grey, sometimes brown, bristling with small black turbercles ; the ab-
domen white, spotted with brown or black ; and the wings hyaline.

The Cephakmyia ( CEstriis) ovis is to be found in Europe, Arabia,
Persia, and in the East Indies. It lays its eggs on the edges of the
animal's nostrils, and the larva lives in the frontal and maxillary
sinuses. It is a whitish worm, having a black transverse band on
each of its segments. Its head is armed with two horny black
hooks, parallel, and capable of being moved up and down and
laterally. Underneath, each segment of the body has several rows
of tubercles of nearly spherical form, surmounted by small bristles
having reddish points, and all of them bent backwards. "These
points," says M. Joly, " probably serve to facilitate the progress of
the animal on the smooth and slippery surfaces of the mucous
membranes to which it fixes itself to feed^ and perhaps also to
increase the secretion of these membranes by the irritation occasioned
by the brisdes with which they are furnished."''

Fixed by means of these hooks to the mucous membrane, which
it perforates, the larva nourishes itself
with mucus, and lives in this state,
according to M. Joly, during nearly a
whole year. At the end of this time
it comes out, following the same course
by which it entered, falls to the ground,
and burying itself to the depth of a
few inches, is transformed into a pupa.
The cocoon is of a fine black colour.
Thirty or forty days after its burial it
emerges in the perfect state, and de- Fig. 5o.-Conops.

taching the lid at the anterior end of
the cocoon by the aid of its head, which has increased considerably
in size, takes flight.

Notwithstanding the formidable appearance of their trunks, the
habits of the perfect Conopes (Fig. 50) are very quiet. In the adult
state they are only to be seen on flowers, of which they suck the
honeyed juice. But with their larvae the case is otherwise. These
latter live as parasites on the humble-bees {Bombi). Latreille saw the
Conops rufipes issue in the perfect state from the body of a humble-
bee, through the intervals of the segments of the abdomen.

* " Recherches sur les (Estrides en general, et particulierement sur les CEstres
! qui attaquent I'homme, le cheval, le boeuf, et le mouton." Par N. Joly, Pro-
I f(?sseur a la Faculte des Sciences de Toulouse. P. 63. Lyons, 1846.

70

THE INSECT WORLD.

The MuscidcE form that great tribe of Diptera commonly known
as flies, which are distributed in such abundance over the whole
world. Faithful companions of plants, the flies follow them to the
utmost limits of vegetation. , At the same time they are called upon-

by Nature to hasten the disso-
lution of dead bodies. They
place their eggs in the car-
cases of animals, and the
larvce prey upon the corrupt
flesh, thus quickly ridding the
earth of those fatal causes of
infection to its inhabitants.
The organs of these insects
are also infinitely modified, in
order to adapt them to their
various functions.

M. Macquart divides the
MuscidiC into three sections
■ — the Creophili, the Antho-
myidce^ and the Acalyptera.

The Crcophiii \\d,\'^ the
strongest organisation ; their
movements and their flight
are rapid. The greater |mrt
feed on the juices of flowers,
some on the blood or the ,
humours of animals. Some I
deposit their eggs on diflerent
kinds of insects, others on
bodies in a state of decom-
position, some again are
viviparous. The insects of
the genus Echinomyia^ for in-
stance (Fig. 51), derive their
nourishment from flowers. They deposit their eggs on caterpillars,
and the young larvae on hatching penetrate their bodies and feed on
their viscera. How surprised, sometimes, is the naturalist, who, after
carefully preserving a chrysalis, and awaiting day by day the ap-
pearance of the beautiful butterfly of which it is the coarse and
mysterious envelope, sees a cloud of flies emerge in place of it !

But there is another singular manoeuvre performed by some of
the species of the Diptera with which we are at present occupied, to

Fig. 51. — Echinomyia grossa.

DIPT ERA. yi

prepare an abundant supply of provision for their laivae as soon as
•hey are hatched. The following are the means they employ. It is
vitW known that certain fossorial Hymenoptera carry their prey —
Dther insects which they have caught, weevils, flies, &c., and which
they intend should serve as food for their own larvae — into their
subterranean abodes. These Diptera, spying a favourable moment, '
slip furtively into their retreats, and deposit their eggs on the very
food which was intended for others. Their larvae, which are
soon hatched, make great havoc among the provisions gathered
together in the cave, and cause the legitimate proprietors to die
o.f starvation.

" This instinct," says M. Macquart, " is accompanied by the
greatest agility, obstinacy, and audacity, which are necessary to carry
on this brigandage ; and, on the other hand, the Hymenoptera,
seized with fear, or stupefied, offer no resistance to their enemies, and
although they carry on a continual war against different insects, and
particularly against different Muscidce, they never seize those of
whom they have so much to complain, and which, nevertheless,
have no arms to oppose them with."

The Sarcophagce are a very common family of Diptera, and are
chiefly to be found on flowers, from which they steal the juice. The
females do not lay* eggs, but are viviparous.

Re'aumur, with his usual care, observed this remarkable instance
of viviparism proved in a fly, which seeks those parts of our houses
where meat is kept to deposit its larvae. This fly is grey, its legs are
black, and its eyes red.

When one of them is taken and held between the fingers, there
may often be seen a small, oblong, whitish, cylindrical worm come
QUt of the posterior part of the body, and shake itself in order to
disengage itself thoroughly. It has no sooner freed itself than the
head of another begins to show. Thirty or forty sometimes come out,
in this manner, and, on pressing the abdomen of the fly slightly, niore
than eighty of these larvae may sometimes be made to come out in a
short space of time. If a piece of meat be put near these worms,
they quickly get into it, and eat greedily. They grow rapidly,
attaining their full size in a few days, and make a cocoon of their
skin, from whicli in a certain time the imago issues. If the body of
one of these ovoviviparous flies (for the eggs hatch within the parent)
be opened, a sort of thick ribbon of spiral form is soon seen. This
ribbon appears at first sight to be nothing but an assemblage of
worms, placed alongside of and parallel to one another.
. Each worm has' a thin white membranous envelope, similar to

72

THE INSECT WORLD.

those light spiders' webs which float about in autumn, which the
French callyf/s- de la vierge, and we dtnominditQ gossamer.

The fecundity of this fly is very great, for, in the length of a
quarter of an inch, the envelope in which these small worms are
enclosed contains 2,000 of them. Therefore this ribbon, being two
inches and a half long, contains about 20,000 worms.

The members of the genus Stof?ioxys, though nearly related to
the house-fly, differ from it very much in habits. They live on the
blood of animals. The Sto?noxys calcitrans is common in northern
climates. Its palpi are tawny yellow, antennae black, thorax striped
with black, abdomen spotted with brown, and its trunk hard, thin,
and long. It deposits its eggs on the carcases of large animals.

The Golden Fly, Lucilia Ccesar, lays its eggs on cut-up meat, or

Fig. 52.— Lucilia hominivorax.

on dead animals. It is only three or four lines in length, of a
golden green, with the palpi ferruginous, antennae brown, and feet
black.

A species of this genus, the Lucilia hominivo7'ax, has obtained a
melancholy notoriety. We are indebted to M. Charles Coquerel,
surgeon in the French Imperial navy, for the most exact information
concerning this dangerous creature, and the revelation of the
dangers to which man is liable in certain parts of the globe. But
let us first describe the insect, which is very pretty and of brilliant
colours.

Fig. 52, taken from M. Charles Coquerel's Memoir, represents
the larva and the perfect insect, as well as the horny mandibles with
which the larva is provided. It is rather more than the third of an
inch in length, the head is large, downy, and of a golden yellow.

DIPTERA.

73

The thorax is dark blue; and very brilHant, with reflections of purple, -
as is also the abdomen. The wings are transparent, and have rather
the appearance of being smoked ; their margins, as well as the feet,
are black.

.This beautiful insect is an assassin. -M. Coquerel has informed
us that it sometimes occasions the d^ath of those wretched convicts
whom human justice has transported to the distant penitentiary of
Cayenne.

When one of these degraded beings, who live in a state of sordid
filth, goes to sleep, a prey to intoxication, it happens sometimes that
this fly gets into his mouth and nostrils ; it lays its eggs there, and
when they are changed into larvae,. the death of the victim generally
ifollows.''

These-larvae are of an opaque white colour, a little over half an
inch in length, aiid have eleven segments. /'They are lodged in the
interior of the nasal orifices and the fron.tafl sinuses, and their mouths
are armed with two very sharp horny'mandibles. They have been
known to reach the ball of the eye, and to gangrene the eyelids.
They enter the mouth, corrode and devour the gums and the
entrance of the throat, so as to transform those parts into a mass
of putrid flesh, a heap of corruption.

Let us turn away from this horrible description^ ;ioti observe that
this hominivorous fly is nqt-, properly speaking, a parasite of man, as
it only attacks him accidentally, a^'i't would attack any animal that
was in a daily state of uncleanliness.

In many works on medicine may be found mentioned a circum-
stance which Occurred many years ago at the surgery of M. J.
Cloquet. The story is perhaps not very agreeable, but is so inte-
resting as regards the subject with which we are occupied, that we
think it ought to be repeated here. One day a poor wretch, half
dead, was brought to the Hotel-Dieu. He was a beggar, who,
having some tainted meat in his 'wullet, had gone to sleep in the sun^
under a tree. He must have slept long, as the flies had time enough
tQ deposit their eggs on the tainted meat, and the larvae time enough
to be hatched, and to devour the beggar's meat. It seems that the
larvae enjoyed the repast, for they passed from the dead meat to the
living flesh, and after devouring the meat they commenced to eat the

. - * " The majority of convict^ attacked by the Lticilia hominivorax,"' says M. F.
^C)uyer, captain of the frigate, in " Un Voyage a la Guyane Fran(;aise,'' "have
succumbed, despite the assistance of science. Cures have been the excej^fion : in
k' dozen <:ases three or four are reported." — Tour dii Mondc^ 1866, ur Semestre^

60*

74

THE INSECT WORLD.

owner. Awoke by the pain, the beggar was taken to the H6tel-
Dieu, where he expired.

Who would suppose that one of the causes which render the
centre of Africa difficult to be explored is a fly not larger than the
house-fly? The Tsetse fly (Fig. 53) is of brown colour, with a few
transverse yellow stripes across the abdomen, and with wings longer
than its body. It is not dangerous to man, to any wild animals, or
to the pig, the mule, the ass, or the goat. But it stings mortally the

Fig- 53- — The Tsetse Fly {Glossina morsitans).

ox, the horse, the sheep, and the dog, and renders the countries of
Central Africa uninhabitable for those valuable animals. It seems
to possess very sharp sight. " It darts from the top of a bush as
quick as an arrow on the object it wishes to attack," writes a tra
veller, M. de Castelnau.

Mr. Chapman, one of the many travellers who have explored
the middle region of Southern Africa, relates that he covered
his body with the greatest care to avoid the bites of this nimble
enemy ; but if a thorn happened to make a nearly imperceptible
hole in his clothing, he often saw the Tsetse, who appeared to know
that it could not penetrate the cloth, dart forward and bite him on

DIPT ERA. 75

the uncovered part. The sucker of blood secretes — in a gland placed
at the base of his trunk — so subtle a poison, that three or four flies
are sufficient to kill an ox.

The Glossma morsitans abounds on the banks of the African
river, the Zambesi, frequenting the bushes and reeds that border it.
It likes, indeed, all aquatic situations. The African cattle recognise
at great distances the buzzing of this sanguinary enemy, and this
fatal sound causes them to feel the greatest fear.

Livingstone, the celebrated traveller, in crossing those regions of
Africa that are watered by the Zambesi, lost forty-three magnificent
oxen by the bites of the Tsetse fly, notwithstanding that they were
. carefully watched, and had been very fittle bitten.

" A most remarkable feature in the bite of the Tsetse is its perfect
harmlessness in man and wild animals, and even calves so long as
they continue to suck the cows. We never experienced the slightest
injury from them ourselves personally, although we Hved two months
in their habitat, which was in this case as sharply defined as in many
others, for the south bank of the Chobe was infested by them, and
the northern bank, where our cattle were placed, only fifty yards
distant, contained not a single specimen. This was the more
remarkable, as we often saw natives carrying over raw meat to the
opposite bank with many Tsetses settled on it.

"The poison does not seem to be injected by a sting, or by ova
placed beneath the skin, for, when one is allowed to feed freely on
the hand, it is seen to insert the middle prong of three portions, into
which the proboscis divides, somewhat deeply, into the true skin. It
then draws it out a little way, and it assumes a crimson colour,
as the mandibles come into brisk operation. The previously-
shrunken belly swells out, and, if left undisturbed, the fly quietly
departs when it is full. A slight itching irritation follows, but not
more than in the bite of the mosquito. In the ox this same bite
produces no more immediate eflects than in man. It does not
startle him, as the gad-fly does ; but a few days afterwards the
following symptoms supervene : the eyes and nose begin to run,
the coat stares as if the animal were cold, a swelling appears under
the jaw, and sometimes on the navel ; and, though the animal
continues to graze, emaciation commences, accompanied with a
peculiar flaccidity of the muscles, and this proceeds unchecked until,
perhaps months afterwards, purging comes on, and the animal, no
longer able to graze, perishes in the state of extreme exhaustion.
Those which are in good condition often perish, soon after the bite
is inflicted, with staggering and blindness, as if the brain were

76 . THE INSECT WORLD.

affected by it. Sudden changes ot temperature produced by falls of
rain seem to hasten the progress of the complaint ; but in general the
emaciation goes on uninterruptedly for months, and, do what we will,
the poor animals perish miserably.

"When opened, the cellular tissue on the surface of the body
beneath the skin is seen to be injected with air, as if a quantity of
soap bubbles were scattered over it, or a dishonest awkward butcher
had been trying to make it look fat. The fat is of a greenish-yellow
colour, and of an oily consistence. All the muscles are flabby, and
the heart often so soft that the fingers may be made to meet through
it. The lungs and liver partake of the disease. The stomach and
bowels are pale and empty, and the gall-bladder is distended with
bile. These symptoms seem to indicate, what is probably the case,
a poison in the blood ; the germ of which enters when the proboscis is-
inserted to draw blood. The poison-germ contained in a bulb at tlie^
root of the proboscis, seems capable, although very minute in quantity,-,
of reproducing itself. The blood after death by Tsetse is very small Ij
in quantity, and scarcely stains the hands in dissection. . . .

"The mule, ass, and goat enjoy the same immunity from die
Tsetse as man and game. Many large tribes on the Zambesi
keep no domestic animals except the goat, in consequence of th<
scourge existing in their country. Our children were frequenth
bitten, yet suffered no harm ; and we saw around us numbers o^
zebras, buffaloes, pigs, pallas and other antelopes, feeding quietl]
in the very habitat of the Tsetse, yet as undisturbed by its bite as
oxen are when they first receive the fatal poison. There is not so
much difference in the natures of the horse and zebra, the buftalo
and ox, the sheep and the antelope, as to afford any satisfactory
explanation of the phenomenon. Is a man not as much a domestic
animal as a dog ?

" The curious feature in the case, that dogs perish though fed on
milk, whereas the calves escape so long as they continue sucking,
made us imagine that the mischief might be produced by some plant
in the locality, and not by Tsetse : but Major Vardon. of the Madras
army, settled that point by riding a horse up to a small hill infested
by the insect, without allowing him time to graze, and though he only
remained long enough to take a view of the country and, catch some
specimens of Tsetse on the animal, in ten days afterwards the horse
was dead."'^ ■ . ' '. . '

* *' Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, "by David Livingslonc,
LL.D., D.C.L. V.%i,ctseq. London, John Murray, 1857. (The extract in the

DIPTERA.

77

The inhabitants of the Zambesi can, therefore, have no domestic
animal but the goat. When herds of cattle driven by travellers or
dealers are obliged to cross these regions, they only move them
during the bright nights of the cool season, and are careful to smear
them with dung mixed with milk ; the Tsetse fly having an intense
antipathy to the dung of animals, besides being in this season
rendered dormant by the lowness of the temperature. It is only by
such precautions that they are able to get through this dangerous
stage of their journey.

The large blue Meat-fly, the familiar representative of the genus
^ Ca/h'f/iora, is known to all by its brilliant
biue-and-white-reflecting abdomen. This fly,
which is common everywhere, is the Cai/i-
phora voinitoria on which Reaumur has made
many beautiful observations, which we will
make known to our readers.

If we shut up a blue meat-fly in a glass
vase, as Reaumur did, and place near the
insect a piece of fresh meat, before half a Fi§, 54 -Eggs of the Meat-fly.
day is passed, the fly will have deposited its iCaiupkora vomitoria).
eggs thereon one after the other, in irregular

heaps, of various sizes. The whole of these heaps consist of about
two hundred eggs, which are of an iridescent white colour, and four
or five times as long as they are brOad. In less than twenty-four
hours after the Qgg is laid the larva is hatched. It is no sooner born
than it thinks of feeding, and buries itself in the meat with the aid
of the hooks and lancets with which it is provided.

These worms do not appear to discharge any solid excrement,
but they produce a sticky liquid, which keeps the meat in a moist
state and hastens its putrefaction. The larvae eat voraciously and
continually ; so much so, that in four or five days they arrive at their
full growth. They then take no more nourishment until they are
transformed into flies. They are now about to assume the pupa
state. In this condition it is no longer necessary for them to remain
on the tainted meat, which has been alike their cradle and their
larder, and where until now they were so well ofl". They therefore
leave it and seek a retreat under ground.

The larva then assumes a globular form and reddish colour, loses

original of this work is from a French translation : "Explorations dans I'lnterieur
de I'Afrique australe, et voyages a travers le continent Sainte-Paul de Loanda a
rEmbouchure du Zanibeze, de 1840 k 1846, traduit de 1' Anglais." Pages 93— 95.
8vo. Paris, 1859. —Ed.

JS THE INSECT WORLD.

all motion, and cannot any longer either lengthen or shorten, or
dilate or contract itself. Life seems to have left it. " It would be
considered a miracle," says Reaumur, "if we were told there was
any kind of quadruped of the size of a bear, or of an ox, which at a
certain time of the year, the beginning of winter for instance, dis-
engages itself completely from its skin, of which it makes a box of
an oval form ; that it shuts itself up in this box ; that it knows
how to close it in every part, and besides that it knows how to
strengthen it in such a manner as to preserve itself from the effects of
the air and the attacks of other animals. This prodigy is presented
to us, on a small scale, in the metamorphosis of our larva. It casts
its skin to make itself a strong and well-closed dweUing."

If one opens these cocoons only twenty-four hours after the
metamorphoses of the worms, no vestige of those parts appertaining
to a pupa is to be found. But four or five days afterwards, the
cocoon is occupied by a white pupa, provided with all the parts of a
fly. The legs and wings, although enclosed in sheaths, are very
distinct ; these sheaths being so thin that they do not conceal them.
The trunk of the fly rests on the thorax ; one can discern its lips, and
the case which encloses the lancet. The head is large and welJ
formed, its large, compound eyes being very distinct. The wings
appear still unformed, because they are folded, and, as it were,
packed up. It is a fly, but an immovable and inanimate fly ; it is
like a mummy enveloped in its cloths.

Nevertheless, it is intended this mummy should awake, and when
the time comes it will be strong and vigorous. Indeed, it has need
of strength and vigour to accomplish the important work of its life.
Although its coverings are thin, it is a considerable work for the
insect to emerge, for each of its exterior parts is enclosed in them as
in a case, much the same as a glove fits tightly to all the fingers of
the hand. But that for which the most strength is necessary is the
operation of forming the opening of the cocoon, in which as a
mummy it is so tightly enclosed.

The fly always comes out at the same end of the cocoon, that is,
at the end where its head is placed, and also where the head of the
larva previously was. This end is composed of two parts — of two
half cups placed one against the other. These can be detached from
each other and from the rest of the cocoon. It is sufficient for the
fly that one can be detached, and in order to eflect this, it employs
a most astonishing means. It expands and contracts its head
alternately, as if by dilatation ; and thus pushes the two half cups
away from the end of the cocoon. This is not long able to resist the

DIPT ERA,

79

tattering of the fly's head, and the insect at length comes out
triumphant. This fly, which should be blue, is then grey ; it, how-
ever, comes quickly to perfection, at the end of three hours attaining
its ultimate colour; and in a very short space of time every part
of the animal becomes of that firmness and consistency which
characterise it. At the same time, the wings, which at the moment
it came into the world were only stumps, extend and unfold them-
selves by degrees. The meat-fly is represented in Fig. 55.

One of the features in the formation of this fly which most
attracted the attention of Reau-
mur, and which is likely to excite
the curiosity of all those who
take an interest in insects, is the
composition of its trunk. We
will, therefore, with that illus-
trious observer, take a glimpse
at the remarkable and compli-
cated apparatus by the aid of
which the fly can suck up
liquids, and can even taste solid

and crystalline substances, such Blue-bottle fly {Callipforl\omitoria\ magnified.

as sugar.

It is no difiicult matter to make a fly show its trunk extended to
its full extent. One has only to press between the finger and thumb
either the two sides of the upper and under part of the thorax. It is
thus forced at once to put out its tongue.

The trunk appears to be composed of two parts joined together,
and forming a more or less obtuse angle (Fig. 56). The first portion

Fig 56.— Trunk of the Meat-flr.

F'g 57.— Conical part of the trunk.

of the trunk, that which joins the head, is perfectly membranous and
in the form of a funnel. We will call it the conical part, and show it
separately (Fig. 57). The second portion terminates in a thick mass,
in part cartilaginous or scaly, and of a shiny brown colour. Alcove

80 THE INSECT WORLD.

the conical portion are two oblong antennae, without joints, of
chestnut colour, and furnished with hairs.

On ceasing to press the thorax, the membranous conical portion
may be seen to draw itself back within its sheath (Fig. 58). The
second portion is at the same time drawn into the cavity, but it
raises itself by forming a more and more acute angle, so that when
it reaches the opening of the cell it is parallel with, and its length is
equal to that of the cell, which is quite large enough to receive it.
The base lengthens and flattens a little, and conceals the trunk.

Let us cause the trunk to extend itself a second time, in order to
observe its tip minutely. Here the opening is placed, which may b^
looked upon as the mouth of the insect, and is provided with two
large thick lips (Fig. 59). These lips form a disc, perpendicular to

Fig. 58. _ Fig. 59.

Retractile prolioscis of Bhie-bottle fly. Extremity on the proboscis of a fly.

the axis of the trunk ; the disc is oval, and is divided into two equal
and similar parts by a slit. The hps have each a considerable num-
ber of parallel channels situated perpendicularly to the slit. These
channels are formed by a succession of vessels placed near each;
other. On pressing the trunk we see that these vessels are dis-
tended by a liquid. Reaumur, from whom w^e borrow these details,
discovered a few of the uses to which this trunk is applied. He
covered the interior of a transparent glass vase with a light coat oi
thick syrup. He then put in some flies, when it was easy to see
some of them proceed to fix themselves to the sides of the vase, and
regale themselves on the sugary liquid, of which they are very fond.
He observed them carefully, and in his admirable work he recom
mends those who are curious to try the experiment, with which, likf
himself, they will certainly be satisfied.

While the body of the trunk is stationary its end is mucl
agitated. It may be seen to move in diflerent ways, and with ar
astonishing quickness ; the lips acting in a hundred difierent ways
and always with great rapidity. The small diameter of the disi

nrPTERA. -8 1

which they form lengthens and shortens alternately ; the angle
formed by the two lips varies every instant; they become succes-
sively flat and convex, either entirely or partly. All these move-
ments, Re'aumur remarks, give a high idea of the organisation of the
part which performs them.

The object of all these movements is to draw the syrup into the
interior of the trunk. If we observe the lips (Fig. 60) attentively, it
will easily be seen that they touch each other about the
•centre of the disc, and leave two openings, one in front,
•the other at the back. The one in front is, one may
•say, the mouth of the fly, as it is to this opening that
the liquid is brought, which is intended to be and is
soon introduced into the trunk. Without occupying
ourselves for the present with the channel through which pig. 60.
it rises, we may first ask, whatever that channel may be, V^^ ?^ *r^^ i^''°"

1 ., •' , - ,,..,. .- •' ' boscis of a fly.

what IS the power that forces the liquid into it ?

It is nearly certain that suction is the principal cause of the
iiquid flowing up the trunk. It would thus be a sort of pump, into
-which the liquid is forced by the pressure of the external air. The
fly exhausts the air from the tube of its trunk, and the drop of liquid
^hich is at the opening penetrates and goes up this channel through
the influence of the atmospheric pressure. To this physical pheno-
menon must be added the numerous and multiplied movements
-which take place in the trunk, and which are intended to cause
suflicient pressure to drive the liquor which is introduced jnto^ the
■channel upwards. ;. , a^'

Reaumur wished to know how it was that very thick . syr,ups, and
■even solid sugar, can be sucked up by the soft trunk of the fly.
What he saw is wonderful. If a fly meets with too thick a syrup, it
.<:an render it sufficiently liquid ; if the sugar is too hard, it can dis-
•solve small portions of it. In fact, there exists in its body a supply
•.of liquid, of which it discharges a drop from the end of its trunk at
Tvill, and lets this fall on the sugar which it wishes to dissolve, or on
the syrup it wishes to dilute. A fly, when held between the fingers,
.X)ften shows at the end of its trunk a drop, very fluid and trans-
parent, of this liquid. "The water poured on the syrup," says
Re'aumur, " would not always insinuate itself sufficiently quick into
-every part of it ; the movement of the fly's lips hastens the operation ;
the lips turn over, work, and knead it, so that the water can quickly
penetrate it, in the same way as one handles and kneads with one's
hands a hard paste which it is wished to soften, by causing the water
by which it is covered to mix with it. This, again, is the same

^^ mE INSECT WORLD.

means the fly employs with sugar. When the trunk is forced to act
upon a grain of irregular and rugged form, on which it cannot easily
fasten, its end distorts itself to seize and hold it. It is sometimes
very amusing to see how the fly turns over the grain of sugar in
different ways ; it appears to play with it as a monkey would with
an apple. It is, however, only that it may hold it well in order to
moisten it more successfully, and afterwards to pump up the water
which has partly dissolved it."

Reaumur often observed a drop of water at the end of the trunks
of flies which were perfectly surfeited with food. This drop ascended
the trunk, then re-descended to the end, and this many times in suc-
cession. It appeared to him that it was necessary for these insects,
as for many quadrupeds, to chew the cud, as it were ; that, in order
the better to digest the licjuid they had passed into their stomachs,
they were obliged to bring it back into the trunk that it might return
again better prepared.

In order to assure himself directly of the reality of his supposition,
Reaumur tested the Water which a fly, that he says " had got drunk
on sugar," had brought back to the end of its trunk ; he found this
to be sugar and water. Also, having given a fly currant-jelly, he
observed, after it had sufficiently gorged itself, several drops of red
liquid in its tnmk, and having tasted it, found it had the flavour
which, from its appearance, he guessed it would have.

The illustrious observer, who had already made all these dis-
coveries on the formation and functions of the trunks of insects, often
reflected on the fact that the liquors of which flies are most fond are
enclosed under the skin of certain fruits, such as pears, plums, grapes,
&c., or even under the skin of some animals of which they suck the
blood. In order that the trunk of a fly may act under such circum-
stances, it is necessary for it to pierce and open the skin. If this is
the case, flies ought to be possessed of a lancet. He looked a long
time for this lancet, and at last found it. It is situated on the upper
side of the part of the trunk which is terminated by the lips ; it is
placed in a fleshy groove, and is enclosed in a case. It has a very
fine point, and is of light colour (Fig. 6 1 ). The point is situated in
the opening which is to be seen between the lips of the trunk, at its
anterior end, through which liquids may pass. That is the only
opening of the lips ; and the sucker which takes up the liquid is the
same part which we just now called the case of the lancet.

Reaumur is so interesting an author that it is difficult to cease
quoting him ; but we must continue our review of the principal kinds
of Diptera.

mPTRRA. 83

The genus Musca (fly), in which Linnaeus comprised the immense
eries of Diptera, with the exception of the Tipulida, the Tabanidce^
he A si/ idee, the Bombylidcs, and the Empidce, is now reduced to the
louse Fly and a few resembHng it. The habits of these trouble-
ome companions are in conformity with the two great principles of
.nimal Hfe, that is, eating and propagating their species.

Flies feed principally on fluids which exude from the bodies of
.nimals ; that is, sweat, saliva, and other secretions. They also seek
ege table juices ; and they may be seen in our houses to feed eagerly
m fruits and sweet substances.

The common flies deposit their eggs on vegetables, and particu-
arly on fungi in a state of decomposition, on dung-heaps, cow dung,
5cc. They are essentially parasites, settHng on both man and beast,
o suck up the fluid substances which are diftused over the surface of
heir bodies. In our dwellings they eat anything that will serve to

Fig. 61.— Lancet of the Meat Fly. Fig. 62, -House ¥\y {Musca domestica).

nourish them. Generation succeeds generation with the greatest
apidity.

The House Fly {Musca domestica, Fig. 62) is about three lines in
length, ash-coloured, with the face black, the sides of the head
yellow, and the forehead yellow with black stripes ; the thorax is
marked with black lines ; the abdomen is pale underneath, and a
transparent yellow at the sides, in the males, and is speckled with
black. The feet are black ; the wings transparent, and yellowish at
the base. This species is extremely plentiful throughout the whole
of Europe. Every one knows how annoying it is towards the end of
the summer, and especially so in the South of France during the hot
season.

The Ox Fly {Musca bovina\ a near relation of the house fly, is
also very common. It setdes on the nostrils, the eyes, and the
wounds of animals.

The Executioner Fly {Musca carnifex), which is not rare m
France, also attacks oxen. It is of a dark metallic green colour

H

THE INSECT WORLD.

with a slight ash-coloured down. Its forehead is silvery at the front
and sides ; the abdomen is edged with black ; the wings hyaline, and
yellow at the base.

Section of the Antho?nyidce.—T\\Q section of AnthomyidcE com-
prises insects which appear to be Creophili whose organisation has
become weakened by almost insensible degrees. Their colours vary
very much — black, grey, and iron-colour are everlastingly shaded and
blended together. To that may be added reflections which are
above the ground colour, and which change the hues of the little
animal according to the incidence of the rays of light. The Antho-
myidii resemble the genus Musca very closely
in their habits as well as in their organisation.
In this group of Diptera we will first say
a few words about the Anthoviytcp. These
flies are to be found in most gardens, and on
all flowers, particularly on the heads of Com-
positae and Umbellifer^e. They often unite
in numerous bands in the air, and indulge in
the joyous dances to which love invites them.
The females deposit their eggs in the ground,
and their larvae are there quickly developed.
The latter suspend themselves to certain
bodies, the same as some lepidopterous chry-
salides, in order to transform themselves intc
pupae.

'W^ Anthomyia pluviaUs (Fig. 63) is from
two to four lines in length, and of a whitisJi
ash-colour. Its wings are hyaline, the thora>
has five black spots, and the abdomen thret
rows of similar spots.

AVe will stop a moment with the Pego
fnyicE, which are very interesting in the larva
state, and whicli excited the interest anc
sagacity of Reaumur.
The cradle of these Diptera is the interior of leaves. They work
as the miners of the vegetable world, in the parenchyma or cellulai
tissue of the leaf, between the two epidermal membranes Th(
henbane, the sorrel, and the thistle, especially nourish them. If ont
holds a leaf in which one of these miners has established itself againsl
the light, one sees the workman boring the vegetable membrane
Its head is armed with a hook, formed of two horny pieces, anc
with this hook it digs into the parenchyma of the leaf. The eftect Oi

Fig. 63.— Amhomyia pluvialis.

DIPTERA.

85

lis digging is visible, as those places become by degrees transparent.

-ach blow detaches a small portion of the substance of the leaf. It
thus that these miners hollow out galleries for themselves, in which

ley find shelter, food, and security. Some are changed into pupae in

le. gallery which they have hollowed out, others go out of the leaves

hen they are near their final transformation.
Section of Acalyptera. — The Ac'a/yJ>fera, which are^ the last of the

reat tribe of MuscidcE, comprehend the greater number of these-

isects. Their constitution appears

3 be pecuHar and slow. They live

rincipally in the thickest part of

foods^ on grasses, and aquatic plants.

''earing the lustre and warmth of the

nn, they never draw the nectar from

bwers. Their flight is feeble, and

hey never indulge in those joyous
rthereal dances which we have men-
ioned when speaking of the preceding
proups. Their life is generally melan-

holy, obscure, and hidden. Some
5f them seek decomposed animal and
^regetable substances, others living
vegetables.

: We shall only be able in this im-
mense group of Muscidce to mention
a few types which are interesting from
various reasons, such as the Helomyzce,
the Scaiophagce^ iheOrtalidce, the Dad,
and the Thyreophorce.

The Helomyzce (Fig. 64) live in
the woods. Their larvae are deve-
loped in the interior of fungi. Reau-
mur studied the larvae of the Truffle
Helomyza. The head of this fly is
ferruginous, its thorax is of a brownish
grey, its shoulders of a brownish yel-
low, its wings brownish, the abdomen
yellow -and brown, and the feet red. ^ - ^ . - •.

The larvae of these insects commit depredations for, which, gourmands-
will never forgive them, destroying, as they do, their truffles. . When
one presses between one's fingers a truffle that is in a too advanced
state, one feels certain soft parts, which yield under pressure.- - On

Fig. 64.— A species of Helomyza.

86 THE INSECT WORLD,

opening the truffle, the larvae of the insect of which we are speaking
will be found inside. These larvae are white and very transparent.
Their mouth is armed with two black hooks, by means of which they
dig into the truffle in the same way as other larvae dig into meat.
The excretions of these little parasites cause the truffle to become
decomposed and rotten. In a few days the larvae become full-grown.
They then leave their abode and go into the ground, there to change;
into pupae. j

The Ortalidd! form a tribe which is remarkable for the upright
carriage of the wings, which are generally speckled, by the vibratory
movement of these organs, and especially for the cradle chosen by
them for their progeny in fruits and grains. Nature seems to have
assigned to each species its own particular vegetable.

We will only mention here the Cherry-tree Ortalis, whose larva
lives on the pulp of that fruit. This fly is about a line and a half
long. It is of rather a metallic black colour, its head light yellow,
the edges of its eyes white, and the tarsi red. The wings have four
broad black stripes.

The Olive Dacus {Dacus oiece, Fig. 65) is a little fly, about half

the size of the house fly, of ashy
grey colour on the back, its
head orange-yellow, its eyes
green, and its forehead yellow,
marked with two large black
spots. The thorax is adorned
with four lightish yellow spots,
and its hind part, as well as its
antennae and wings, are of the
same colour. The wings are
transparent, reflecting green,
Fig. 65.-Dacus oies. gold, pink, and blue, according

as the rays of light fall upon
them, and are remarkable for having a small black spot at their ex-
tremity. The abdomen is of a fawn colour or orange-yellow, spotted
with black on each side. This fly performs sudden and jerking
movements ; it keeps its wings extended, and rather jumps than flies.
It is a destructive insect, a perfect scourge, which causes every two
or three years a loss of five or six millions of francs to French
agriculture.

M. Guerin-Meneville has made some valuable observations on
the Olive Dacus, and at the request of the Imperial Society ot"
Agriculture of Paris, has indicated the way to preserve the olive from

DIPTBRA.

87

these rumous larvae, which generally destroy two crops out of three.
We will borrow the following details from this learned entomologist :

Fig. 66. — Olives attacked by Dacus oleae.

" At the time when the olives are formed the Dacus proceeds to
place an egg under the skin of each of the fruits. By means of a
fetle horny instrument, with which the female is provided, and which

88- THE JNS.E€T WORLD.

contains a small lancet, she pierces the skin of_ the olive ; she nipves.
her wings and lays hex egg. She afterwards cleans and rests herself,
by passing her feet over her head, wings, and other parts of her
body. She then flies away, and seeks another olive, to deposit in it
another egg ; she repeats this operation until she has placed on as
many olives the three or four hundred eggs which she bears."

Fig. 66, taken from the Memoir published by M. Gue'rin-
Me'neville, in the "Revue Nouvelle '' of the 15 th July, 1847, shows
the Dacus laying its eggs on the olive, and the larvae that are already
hatched in another of the same fruit. The larvae which succeed
these eggs (Fig. 67) are whitish, soft, and without limbs. They pass
fifteen or sixteen days in boring a gallery in the pulp of the olive, at

Fig. 67.
Larvae of Dacus olese (magnified and natural size).

Fig. 68.
Gallery formed by larva of Dacus oleae.

first vertically, until they reach the stone, then on one side, and
along the side of the stone. When they have reached the term of
their development, they approach the surface, enlarging the first
channel and leaving between it and the exterior air only a thin
pellicle, in the middle of which may be perceived the first small
opening by which the mother had introduced her tgg in the com-
mencement.

Fig. 68, copied from a drawing in the Memoirs of M. Gue'rin-
Me'neville, shows the gallery bored round the olive by the larva of
the Dacus. The larva thus prepares an easy issue for the perfect
insect. Its skin then contracts, its body diminishes in length, and is
transformed into an ^val cocoon, which soon gets brown, and is the
chrysalis of the insect. At the side of the head it shows a curved
line, 'a thin suture which marks a sort of cap or door, ^yhich, at- the
time of its hatching, the insect will be easily able to force open with
its head. The fly is hatched; twelve days after its inetamorphosis

DIPTEKA, 89

from the larva to the pupa. It has thus taken the Dacus twenty-seven
to twenty-eight days to arrive at this state, from the time the egg was
laid ; besides which, this species, in the warm cUmates of Provence
and Italy, can reproduce itself several times from the beginning
of July, the period at which the first flies begin to lay, till the end
of autumn.

In order to save a considerable portion of the olive crop of these

countries, M. Guerin-Meneville has advised hastening the harvest

sufficiently for all the olives to be pressed at a time when the larvas of

the last generation, which would be preserved in the olives that are

left, or in the earth, according to the climate, are still in the fruit.

If a first operation were not sufficient to destroy them all, it should

be repeated the following year. The sacrifice entailed by this

practice would be amply compensated by a succession of good crops

and the certainty of a sure and permanent profit. In fact, by an

i early gathering at least half a crop of oil is still obtained ; whereas,

, by waiting for the usual period of gathering the olives, sufficient time

[ is left for the larvae of the Dacus to devour their parenchyma, which

\ deprives them of the little oil that they might have yielded if their

destruction had been accomplished earher. This early gathering has

the advantage of causing the destruction of a great number of larvae,

which will be so much towards diminishing the means of reproduction

of the flv.

9C

III.

H E M I P T E R A.

The Hemiptera are particularly distinguished from other kinds _
insects by the form of their mouth, which consists of a beak, more or
less long, composed of six parts : that is, of a lower lip, or sheath ;
four internal threads, representing the mandibles and jaws of the
grinding insects, and which are the perforating parts of the beaks ;.
and, lastly, of the upper lip or labrum. Owing to this apparatus,
these insects are essentially sucking ones, and chiefly nourish them-
selves with the juices of vegetables, which they draw up with their
beak. The wings of the Hemiptera are usually four in number ; in
some species they are membranous and similar to each other, and
in others the upper are of rather harder consistency than the lower
ones. In general, the former are quite different from the lower
wings, and are only membranous at the tip, whereas the other part is
thick, tough, and coriaceous.

The Hemiptera are divided into two very distinct sections, The
one is composed of insects whose beak grows from the forehead or
upper part of the head, and whose anterior wings are half coriaceous
and half membranous, having the base of a different texture from
the extremity : these are the Heteroptera (eVe^os, different ; Trreprff,
wing). The other section is composed of those whose beak grows
from the lower part of the head, and whose anterior wings are always
of the same consistency throughout : these are the Homoptera (ofjuis,
the same ; nrepdv, wing). We are about to give the history of these
two sub-orders.

Heteroptera.

The insects formerly known by the general name of Bugs have
been divided by Latreille into two large families, containing : the one
the GeocoriscB* or Land Bugs ; the other the Bydrocoris(r,\ or A\'ater
Bugs.

* From ytf, the earth, and Kopjs, a bug.
f From i/8wp, water, and K6pi.s, a bug.

HEMIPTERA. 9 1

The land bugs consist of a great number of kinds, which, for the
most part, are of Httle interest. We will only mention here the
Fenfafor/iid(E, commonly known as Wood Bugs ; the Lygm^ Bugs,
properly so called ; the Beduvii, and the Hydrometra.

The PaitatomidcE, which comprise many genera, include the wood
bugs of most authors. They are to be found on plants and trees.
I They fly quickly, but only for a short time.

The Ornamented Pcntatoma {Sirachia \Pentatomd\ ornata), known
as the Red Cabbage Bug, is very commonly found on the cabbage,
and on most of the cruciferous plants. It is variegated with red and
black, and its colours are subject to numerous variations. The Grey
Pentatoma {Raphigaster griseus), Fig. 69, is common throughout the
whole of Europe. In autumn these bugs are fre-
quently to be found on raspberries, to which they
impart their disagreeable smell. They are also to
be found in quantities on the mullein, when that
plant is in flower. The upper parts of the head
, are of a greyish brown, and are sometimes slightly
purple. The coriaceous part of the hemelytra is
of a purple tint, but the membranous part is brown.
All these parts are covered with black spots, which Fig. 69.

are only to be seen with a magnifying-glass. The {Raphlgl^ur^g^teus).
wings are blackish. The under part of the whole
body and the feet are of a light and rather yellowish grey, with a.
Gonsiderable number of small black spots. The abdomen is black
above ; and it is bordered with alternate black and white spots.

We have repeated here the description given of this bug by the
illustrious Swedish naturalist, De Geer, because our young readers
have most likely met with this insect, or will do so some day when
gathering raspberries.

The Grey Pentatoma, marked with black, yellow, and red, is to
be found throughout the whole of Europe in cultivated fields and
gardens, sometimes also on the trunks of large trees, especially
ielms. This species, in common with the greater part of those
which compose the group we are describing, emits a smell when
irritated or menaced by some danger. At other times no odour will
be noticed. Let us hear what M. Le'on Dufour says on this subject.

" Seize the Pentatoma with a pair of pincers and plunge it into
a glass of clear water ; look through a magnifying-glass, and you
will see innumerable small globules arising from its body, which,
bursting on the surface of the water, exhale that odour which is so
disagreeable. This vapour, which is essentially acrid, if it happens

92 THE INSECT WORLD.

to touch the eyes, causes a considerable amount of irritation. If
one of these insects is held between the fingers, so as not to stop
up the odoriferous orifices, and to cause this vapour to touch a
part of the skin, a spot, either brown or livid, will ensue on that part,
which lotions, though repeatedly applied, will at first fail to remove,
and which produces in the cutaneous tissue an alteration similar
to that which succeeds the application of mineral acids."

The disagreeable smell exhaled by different species of Pentatoma
is the result of a fluid secreted by a single pear-shaped gland, either
red or yellow, which occupies the centre of the thorax, and which
terminates between the hind legs.

With the Syromastes, which are bugs of this same section, the
secretion has, on the contrary, an agreeable smell, which reminds
one of that of apples. Many kinds of Pentatoma are destructive to
agriculture. Others, however, attack the destructive insects, and
ought therefore to be carefully spared. We will mention in this case
the Blue Pentatoma, which kills the Altica^ of the vine.

There may be observed, at the foot and about the lower part of
trees, or at the base of walls exposed to the mid-day sun, groups of
fifty or sixty small insects pressed close to each other, and often one
on the top of the other, their heads in the direction of a centre
point. They are red, spotted with black. In the neighbourhood of
Paris the children call them " Suisses," probably on account of the
red on their bodies, that being the colour of the uniform of the Swiss
troops formerly in the service of France. In Burgundy the children
call them ^^ petits cochons rouges.'' They will be found described in
Geofiroy's " Histoire des Insectes," under the name of the Red
Garden Bug. At the present day they are placed in the genus
LygcEus.^ When the bad weather comes, these little " Suisses " take
refuge under stones and the bark of trees to pass the winter. During
the whole of that season they remain in a sort of torpid state. But
in the first days of spring they revive, and resume their ordinary
habits. They suck the sap of vegetables, piercing the capsules of
divers kinds of mallows, and always keeping in the sunshine.

The Bug, popularly so called, or Bed Bug {Acajithia ledularia, or
Cifnex lectularius, Fig. 70), a most disagreeable and stinking insect,
abounds in dirty houses, principally in towns, and above all in those
of warm countries. It lives in beds, in wood-work, and paper-
hangings. There is no crack, however narrow it may be, into which
it is unable to slip. It is nocturnal, shunning the light. "Nocturnum

* This species is Ly^antis militaris.—'Eii. f A genua of beetles.

HEMIPTERA.

93

foetidiim animal,'* says Linnaeus. Its body is oval, about the fifth of

an inch in length, flat, soft, of a brown colour, and covered with

little hairs. Its head is provided with two hairy antennae, and two

round black eyes, and has a short beak, curved directly under its

thorax, and lying in a shallow groove when the animal is at rest.

This beak, composed of three joints, contains

four thin, straight, and sharp hairs. The

thorax is dilated at the sides. The abdomen

is very much developed, orbicular, composed

of eight segments, very much depressed, and

easily crushed by the fingers. The hemelytra

are rudimentary. It has no membranous

wings. The tarsi have three articulations, of

which the last is provided with two strong

hooks.

" These animals," says Moquin-Tandon,
in his " Zoologie Medicale," " do not draw

I up the sanguineous fluid by suction, properly

I so-called, as leeches do. The organisation

;of their buccal apparatus does not allow of

•j this. The hairs of the beak applied the one

.1 against the other exercise a sort of alternate

I motion, which draws the blood up into the

iJ oesophagus, very much in the same manner

I as water rises in a chain pump. This rising is assisted by the viscous

il nature of the fluid, and above all, by the globules it contains." The

I part of the skin which the Bug has pierced, producing a painful

, sensation, is easily recognised by a litde reddish mark, presenting in

i its centre a dark spot. Generally a little blister rises on the point
pierced, and sometimes, if the Bug-bites are numerous, these blisters
become confluent, and resemble a sort of eruption. These disgusting
insects lay, towards the month of May, oblong whitish eggs (Fig. 71),

i having a small aperture, through which the larva comes out. The
larva differs from the insect in its perfect state, in its colour, which is
pale or yellowish. This insect exists in nearly the whole of Europe,
although it is rare or almost unknown in the northern parts. The
towns of central Europe are the most infested by this parasite, but
those of the north are not completely free from its presence. The
Marquis de Custine assures us that at St. Petersburg he found them
numerous. It is found also in Scotland ; is very rare in the south of
Europe ; and seldom seen in Italy, where it is, however, replaced by
other insects more dangerous or more annoying.

Bed Bug {Acanthia lectularia)
magnified.

Fig. 71.
Egg of Bug, magnified.

94 I^HE INSECT WORLD.

It has been said that the Bug was brought into Europe from
America ; but Aristotle, PHny, and Dioscorides mention its existence.
It is certain that it was unknown in England till the beginning of the
sixteenth century. A celebrated traveller, a Spanish naturalist,
Azara, has remarked that the Bug does not infest man in his savage
state, but only when congregated together in a state of civilisation,
and in houses, as in Europe. From this he concluded that the Bug
was not created till long after man, when, after many centuries had
elapsed since his appearance on the globe, men formed themselves
into societies, into republics, or little states.

The bug is not a gluttonous insect, always bloodthirsty ; on the
contrary, its sobriety is remarkable. It is only after a prolonged fast
that it bites animals ; and Audouin has stated that it can live a year
and even two years without food.

From time immemorial a number of different means have been
employed for destroying these insects ; but in spite of all, nothing is
more difficult than to get rid of them from wood-work and i)aper-
hangings, when they have once infested them. In general, strong
odours cause their death. And so, to rid oneself of these disagreeable
guests, it has been recommended to use tobacco smoke, essence of
turpentine, the fumes of sulphur, &c. Mercurial ointment and
corrosive sublimate are also excellent means for their destruction ;
and for the same purpose the merits of a plant belonging to the
order Cruci ferae, Lepidimn ruderale, have been much vaunted ; and
more recently still, the root of the Pyrethrum, a species of camomile,
reduced to powder, and blown into the furniture or wood-work.
This powder is known and employed at Paris under the name of
^^poudre insecticide ^

Tiiere are two other kinds of bugs [Acafithia) which attack men.
The one is the Acanthia ciliata, y^hich has been found in the houses-
of Kazan, and which differs from the bed bug not only in its form,
but also in its habits. It does not live in companies, in the narrow
cracks of furniture, but moves about alone, at a slow pace, over'
walls or the counterpanes of beds. Its beak is very long, and its bite
is very painful, and produces obstinate swellings.

The other species is the Acanthia rotimdata, which is found in the
Island of La Reunion, and attacks men in the same way as does the
European bug. Two species of the same genus live as parasites on
swallows and domestic pigeons. There is another species, which is
peculiar to the bats of northern climates.

The Reditz'ius pcrsondlus, called also Fly Bug, by Geoffroy, the
old historian of the insects of the environs of Paris, is common

HEMIPTERA. 93

enough in France. It keeps to the houses, and is found especially
near ovens and chimney-pieces. It is about three-quarters of an inch
in length, oblong, flat on its upper side, brownish, has horizontal
hemelytra crossed over each other, and very fully developed wings,
•which serve for flight. Its head, narrow, supported by a well-defined
neck, is provided with two composite and two simple eyes. It
requires, no doubt, to see very clearly, as it flies by night. It should
not be caught without great caution. If you desire to examine it
closely, when, in the hottest part of the summer, it comes in the
evening and flutters round the lights, you must be careful how you
seize it, for it wounds. The wounds inflicted by it are very painful —
more painful than those of the bee— and they immediately cause a
numbness.

As the Reduvius kills different insects very rapidly, by piercing
them with its long beak, it is probable that it secretes some kind of
venom. But as yet the organ that produces this poison has not been
discovered. However that may be, its beak is curved, and about the
tenth of an inch long, the surface bristling with hairs. It is composed
of three joints, and contains four stiff, lanceolate, and very pointed
squamose hairs.

This insect often seeks its prey in places where spiders spin their
webs. When they walk on, or are caught in, the spiders' webs, the
spiders take care not to seize them, for they fear their beak. They
prudently allow them to stniggle about the nets, where they very
soon die of hunger. The Reduvius is often seen, either a prisoner
jor dead, in the midst of a spider's web.

" This bug," says Charles de Geer, " has, in the pupal condition,
or before its wings are developed, an appearance altogether hideous
and revolting. One would take it, at the first glance, for one of the
ugliest of spiders. That which above all renders it so disagreeable
to the sight is that it is entirely covered, and, as it were, enveloped
with a greyish matter, which is nothing else but the dust which one
sees in the corners of badly-swept rooms, and which is generally
mixed with sand and particles of wool, or silk, or other similar
matters which come from furniture and clothes, rendering the legs of
this insect thick and deformed, and giving to its whole body a very
singular appearance."

What instincts ! what habits ! Under this, borrow^ed costume,
under this cloak, which is no part of itself, the insect, as it were,
masked, has become twice its real size. What becomes of its
disguise, and how does it manage to walk ? Of what use to it is this
dirty and grotesque fancy dress ?

96

THE INSECT WORLD.

Let US listen to De Geer. '' It walks as fast, when it likes, as
other bugs ; but generally its walk is slow, and it moves with measured
steps. After having taken one step forward, it stops a while, and
then takes another, leaving, at each movement, the opposite leg in
repose ; it goes on thus continually, step after step in succession,
which gives it the appearance of walking as if by jerks, and in
measure. It makes almost the same sort of movement with its
antennae, which it moves also at intervals and by jerks. All these
movements have a more singular appearance than it is possible for
us to describe."'"'

By means of this disguise, it can approach little animals, which
become its prey, such as flies, spiders, bed bugs.

I

Fig. 72. — Pupa of Reduvius personatus, covered Fig. 73.— Pupa of Reduvius personatus, denuded
with its cloak of dust (magnified). of its cloak of dust (magnified).

To see what a curious appearance the Reduvius presents, one
should take off its borrowed costume. Then you will observe an
entirely different animal, one which has nothing repulsive about it.
With the exception of the hemelytra and wings, which it has not
yet got, all its parts have the form which they are to have later, after
the wings are developed.

Fig. 72 represents, from Charles de Geer's Memoir, the pupa of
the Reduvius personatus covered with dust, and resembling a spider ;
Fig. 73 the same insect cleaned, freed from the cloak of dust which
served to disguise it.

The HydrometrcB (from i/'S«p, water, and ucToeTj/, to measure)

* "Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire des Insectes." Tome ui., p. 28^^. 410.
Stockholm, 1773.

HEMIPTERA,

97

Fig. 74. — Hydrometra stagnorum.

have linear bodies. The head, which forms nearly the third of the
entire length, is furnished with two long antennae, and armed with a
thin, hair-like beak. The legs are long, and of equal lengtli. The
reader may have often seen the Hydro met ni stagnorum walking by jerks
on the surface of the water (Fig, 74). The body and legs •are of a fer-
ruginous colour, the hemelytra
a dull brown, and the wings
hyaline, or glassy, and slightly
blackish. Geoffroy says that it
resembles a long needle, and
calls it the Needle Bug.

The HydrocoriscE, or Water
Bugs, have the antennae shorter
than the head, or scarcely at-
taining to its length, and inserted and hidden under the eyes, which
are in general of remarkable size. All these Hemiptera are aquatic
and carnivorous. We will mention the two principal types, the JVepce,
or Water Scorpions, and the Noionectce^ or Boatmen.

The Nepa cinerea (Fig. 75), which Geoffroy calls the Oval-bodied
Water Scorpion, and which he also designates by
the name of the Water Spider, is very common in
the stagnant waters of ponds and ditches. Its body,
oval, very flat, of an ashy colour, with red on the
abdomen, is four-fifths of an inch long. The
hemelytra are horizontal, coriaceous, and of a dirty
grey colour. Its front legs, with short haunches,
and very broad thighs, are terminated by strong
pincers, which give to the insect a strong resem-
blance to the scorpion. It is by folding back the
leg and the tarsus under the thigh, that the animal
holds its prey, and sucks it with its rostrum or beak.

This rostrum is composed of three joints, and
contains four pointed bristles. Two present on one
side a sort of narrow sharp blade, and have teeth
towards their base. Of the two others, the one
is^a.thin smooth needle, the other is provided with Fig. 75.- Nepa cinerea.
h^irs directed backwards and forwards.

It is with this rostrum, which resembles a case of surgical instru-
ments, that the Nepa pierces and sucks little aquatic insects, not even
sparing its own species. Its wound is painful to man, but not in the
least dangerous. With its four hind legs the Nepa swims, but at a
very slow pace. It generally drags itself along the bottom of th^

q8

THE INSECT WORLD.

water, on the mud, and does not avoid the hand put out to seize it.
Its body is terminated by a tail, composed of two grooved threads,
which, when appUed together, form a tube, capable of being moved
from side to side. Through this canal it breathes the outer air ; it
puts the end of it out of the water, and the air enters it by inspiration.
Some very small hairs, with which the interiors of the grooves are
lined, interlace each other, and prevent the water from penetrating
into the canal. It is probable that this same canal serves also for
depositing the eggs. These last resemble small seeds, covered with
points, and are buried in the stalks of aquatic plants.

Next to the NeJ)a comes the Ranatra^ with a cylindrical, elon-
gated, linear body, with very long and very thin hind legs, and of

which one species, which Geoffroy
calls the "aquatic scorpion with an
elongated body," is common every-
where in stagnant waters in spring.
It is brownish, carnivorous, and very
voracious.

We must now mention the genus
Corixa, of which one species, the
Corixa striata^ is very common. This
insect walks badly and slowly on land,
but swims and cuts through the water
with a prodigious rapidity (Fig. 76).

However, it is not to delay over
this last species that we have here
mentioned the name of this genus. Some insects which belong to
it, and which are found in Mexico, deserve to be alluded to, on
account of certain peculiarities which their eggs present. A natu-
ralist, M. Virlet d'Aoust, has published the following details on this
subject : —

" Thousands of small amphibious flies," he says, '' flit about in
the air on the surface of lakes, and diving down into the water many
feet, and even many fathoms, go to the bottom to lay their eggs, and
only emerge from the water probably t-o die close by. We were
fortunate enough to be present at a great fishing or harvest of the
eggs, which, under the Mexican name of hautle {haout/e\ serve foi
food to the Indians, who seem to be no less fond of them than the
Chinese are of their swallows' nests, which they resemble somewhal:
in taste ; only the hautle is far from commanding such high prices
as the Chinese pay for their birds' nests, which for that reason are
reserved entirely for the tables of the rich; while, for a few small i

Fig. 76,— Corixa striata.

HEMIPTERA. 99

coins, we were able to carry away with us about a bushel of the haiitle^

a portion of which, at our request, Mme. B was kind enough to

prepare for us.

" They dress these in different ways, but generally make a sort of
cake, which is served up with a sauce, to which the Mexicans give a
zest, as they do indeed to all their dishes, by adding to it chilie,
which is composed of green pimento crushed. This is how the
natives proceed when they are fishing for hautle : they form with
reeds bent together a sort of fasces, which they place vertically in the
lake at some distance from the bank, and as these are bound together
by one of the reeds, the ends of which are so arranged as to form an
indicating buoy, it is easy to draw them out at will. Twelve to fifteen
days suffice for each reed in these fasces to be entirely covered with
eggs, which they thus fish up by millions. The former are then left
to dry in the sun, on a cloth, for an hour or more ; the grains are then
easily detached. After this operation, they are replaced in the water
for the next hautle harvest."

M. Virlet had attributed to flies the eggs of which we have been
-speaking. But in 185 1 M. Guerin-Meneville having received,
transmitted to him by M. Ghiliani, eggs of which haiitle is made, and
some of the insects said to produce them, stated that the latter
belonged to two different species. The one had been known a long
time since under the name of Corixa mercenaria; M. Guerin-
Meneville called the other Corixa feinorata.

The same entomologist discovered, among the eggs of these two
species, other eggs of a more considerable size, which he attributed
to a new species of the genus Notonecla, about which we are now
going to say a few words.

The Notoneda glauca, which Geoffroy calls the Large Bug with
Oars (" Grande punaise a avirons "), is very common in ditches,
reservoirs, and stagnant waters. Its body is oblong, narrow, con-
tracted posteriorly, convex above, flat below, having, at its sides and
its extremities, hairs which, when spread out, support the animal on
the water. Its head is large and of a slightly greenish grey, and has
on each of its sides a very large eye of a pale brown colour. Its
thorax is greyish, the hemelytra of a greenish grey, the membranous
wings white. Of its legs, the front four are short ; but the hind legs,
Almost twice as long, are furnished with long hairs, and resemble
oars. It is with the aid of these that the animal moves through the
water ; and it does so in a singular manner, placing itself on its back,
and generally in an inclined position, as in Fig. 77.

^Vhen this insect, on the contrary, drags itself along on the mud,

TOO THE INSECT WORLD.

the front legs are those which it employs, the hind legs being idle,
and merely drawn along behind it. It is generally towards the
evening or during the night that it comes out of the water, to walk
and to fly, if it wishes to pass from one marsh to another.

This bloodthirsty insect lives entirely by rapine ; it is one of the

most carnivorous of insects.
^^^ Those which it attacks die very

soon after they have been hurt
by it. De Geer thinks that
the water bug drops into the
wound a poisonous humour.
It seizes upon insects much
bigger, and apparently much
stronger, than itself, and does
not spare its own species.
Fig. 77.— Notonecta giauca. The instnuiient with which

the Notonecta attacks its prey
is composed of a very strong and very long conical beak, formed of
four joints. The sucker is composed of an upper piece, short and
pointed, and of four fine pointed hairs.

The female of the Notonecta giauca lays a great number of eggs,
white, and of elongated shape, which it deposits on the stems and
leaves of aquatic plants. The eggs are hatched at the beginning of
spring, or in May, and the young ones at once begin to swim about
like their mother, on their backs, belly upwards. M. Leon Dufour
says on this subject : —

*' A dorsal region, raised like a donkey's back, or like the rounded
keel of a boat, and covered with a velvety substance, which renders
it impermeable, numerous fine fringes which garnish either the hind
legs, or the borders of the abdomen and thorax, or lastly in a double
row form a crest or comb running down the surface of the belly, and
which spread themselves out or fold themselves in at the will of the
insect, just like fins, favour both this supine attitude and the accuracy
of the swimming movements of the Notonecta. Since Nature — which
seems often to delight in producing extraordinary exceptions to her
ordinary rules, thus bearing witness to the immensity of her resources-
had condemned this animal to pass its life in an inverted position, it
was necessary, for the maintenance of its existence, that it should
provide it with an organisation in harmony with this attitude. It is
also for this object that its head is bent over its chest ; that its eyes,
of an oval shape, can see below from above ; that the front as well as
the middle legs, agile and curved, solely destined for prehension, car

HEMIPTERA, TOr

to a certain extent become unbent by means of the elongated
haunches which fix them to the body, and clutch firm hold of their
prey with the strong claws which terminate the tarsi."

HOMOPTERA.

We come now to the second group of the order Hemiptera,'
; namely, Homoptera.

The insects which compose this division are numerous. They
may be arranged into three great families, of the most remarkable
members of which we shall give some account. These are the
Ckadce, the Aphides or Plant Lice, and the Coccidce.

The Cicada is the type of the first of these families. It has a
deafening and monotonous song ; as Bilboquet says, in the " Saltim-
banques," "those who like that note have enough of it for their
money." Virgil pronounced a just criticism on the song of the.
Cicada : he saw in it nothing better than a hoarse and disagreeable
sound .

''At mecum raucis, tua dum vestigia lustro, •
Sole sub ardenti resonant arlDusta cicadis,"

says the Latin poet in his " Eclogues," and repeats the same opinion
in a verse in his " Georgics : " —

** Et cantu querulce vumpent arbusta cicadoe."

The song of the Cicada, so sharp, so discordant, was, however, the
delight of the Greeks.

Listen to Plato in the first lines of " Phaedo " : " By Here," cries
the philosopher-poet, " what a charming place for repose ! . . . .
It might well be consecrated to some nymphs and to the river
Achelous, to judge by these figures and statues. Taste a little the
good air one breathes. How charming, how sweet ! One hears as
a summer noise an harmonious murmur accompanying the chorus of
the Cicada."

The Greeks, then, had quite a peculiar taste for the song of the
Cicada. They liked to hear its screeching notes, sharp as a point of
steel. To enjoy it quite at their ease they shut them up in open
wicker-work cages, pretty much in the same way as children shut up
the cricket, so as to hear its joyous cri-crt. They carried their love
for this insect with the screaming voice so far as to make it Ihe,
symbol of music. We see, in drawings emblematical of the musical,
art, a Cicada resting on strings of a cythera. A Grecian legend

rX)T THE mSECT WORLD.

relates that one day two cythera players, Eunomos and Aristo, con--
tending on this sonorous instrument, one of the strings of the former's
cythera having broken, a Cicada settled on it, and sang so well in
place of the broken cord, that Eunomos gained the victory, thanks
to this unexpected assistant. Anacreon composed an ode in honour
of the Cicada. " Happy Cicada, that on the highest branches of the
trees, having drunk a little dew, singest like a queen ! Thy realm is
all thou seest in the fields, all which grows in the forests. Thou art.
beloved by the labourer ; no one harms thee ; the mortals respect
thee as the sweet harbinger of summer. Thou art cherished by the
muses, cherished by Phcebus himself, who has given thee thy har-
monious song. Old age does not oppress thee. O good little
animal, sprang from the bosom of the earth, loving song, free from
suffering, that hast neither blood nor flesh, what is there prevents
thee from being a god ?''

It was in virtue of the false ideas of the Greeks on natural history
in general, and on the Cicada in particular, that this little animal
symbolised, among the Athenians, nobility of race. They imagined
that the Cicada was formed at the expense of the earth, and in its
bosom, on which account those who pretended to an ancient and
high origin, wore in their hair a golden Cicada. The Locrians had
on their coins the image of a Cicada. This is the origin which fable
assigns to the custom : —

The bank of the river upon which Locris was built was covered
with screeching legions of Cicadas ; whereas they were never heard
(so says the legend) on the opposite bank, on which stood the town
llhegium. In explanation of this circumstance, they pretend that
Hercules, wishing one day to sleep on this bank, was so tormented
by the "sweet eloquence" of the Cicadas, that, furious at their
concert, he asked of the gods that they should never sing there for
evermore, and his prayer was immediately granted ! This is why
the Locrians adopted the Cicada as the arms of their city.

The Greeks did not only delight, as poets and musicians, in the
song of the Cicada ; they were not content with addressing to it
poems, with adoring it, and striking medals bearing its image ;
obedient to their grosser appetites, they ate it. They thus satisfied
at the same time both the mind, the spirit, and the body.

The Cicadas are easily to be recognised by their heavy, very
robust, and rather thick-set bodies, by their broad head, unprolonged,
having very large and prominent oce//i, or simple eyes, three in
number, arranged in a triangle on the top of the forehead, and short
antennae. The immature anterior and posterior wings have the.

HEMIPTERA.

103

shape of a sheath, or case, enveloping the body when the insect is at

rest ; these are transparent and destitute of colour, or sometimes
■ adorned with bright and varied hues. The legs are not in the least

suited for jumping. The female is provided with an auger, with

which she makes holes in the bark of trees in which to lay her eggs.

The male (Fig. 78) is provided with an organ, not of song, but of

stridulation or screeching, which is very rudimen-
tary in the female. We will stop a moment to

consider the apparatus for producing the song, or
. rather the noise, of the male Cicada, and the

structure of the female's auger. We are indebted

to Re'aumur for the discovery of the mechanism

by the aid of which the Cicada produces the sharp
' noise which announces its whereabouts from afar.

We will give a summary of the celebrated Memoir

in which the French naturalist has so admirably
'. described the musical apparatus of the Cicada.*
It is not in the throat that the Cicada's organ

of sound is placed, but on the abdomen. On
; examining the abdomen of the male of a large
j species of Cicada, one remarks on it two horny
jj plates, of pretty good size, which are not found
*ion the females. Each plate has one side straight ;
(the rest of its outline is rounded. It is by the Fig. 78. -Cicada (Male),
iside which is rectilinear that the plate is fixed
li immediately underneath the third pair of legs. It can be slightly
[(raised, with an effort, by two spine-like processes, each of which
ij presses upon one of the plates, and when it is raised, prevents it from
!| being raised too much, and causes it to fall back again immediately.
I If the two plates are removed and turned over on the thorax, and

[the parts which they hide laid bare, one is struck by the appearance
which is presented. " One cannot doubt that all one sees has been
made to enable the Cicada to sing," says Reaumur. " When one
compares the parts which have been arranged so that it may be able
to sing, as we may say, from its belly, with the organs of our throat,
one finds that ours have not been made with more care than those

jiby means of which the Cicada gives forth sounds which are not

}j always agreeable."

' We here perceive a cavity in the anterior portion of the abdomen

jand which is divided into two principal cells by a horny triangle.

* "Memoires," tome V. 4to.

104 T'/^^ INSECT WORLD,

" The bottom of each cell offers to children who catch the Cicada
a spectacle which amuses them, and which may be admired by men
who know how to make the best use of their reason. The children
think they see a little mirror of the thinnest and most transparent
glass, or that a little blade of the most beautiful talc is set in the
bottom of each of these little cells. That which one might see if
this were the case would in no way differ from what one actually
sees ; the membrane which is stretched out at the bottom of the cells
does not yield in transparency either to glass or to talc ; and if one
looks at it obliquely, one sees in it all the beautiful colours of the
rainbow. It seems as if the Cicada has two glazed windows through-
which one can see into the interior of its body."

The horny triangle of which we spoke above only separates in two
the lower part of the cavity. The upper part is filled by a white,
thin, but strong membrane. This membrane is only drawii tight
when the body of the Cicada is raised. But with all this, where is
the organ of song? What parts produce the sound ? Reaumur will
enlighten us on this point.

He opened the back of a Cicada, and laid bare the portion of the
interior which corresponds with the cavity where the mirrors are, and
was immediately struck with the size of the two muscles which meet
and are attached to the back of the horny triangle, and to that one
of its angles from which start the sides which form the cavities in
which are both the mirrors.

"Muscles of such strength, placed in the belly of the Cicada, and
in that part of the belly in which they are found, seem to be only so
placed in order that they may move quickly backwards and forwards
those parts which, being set in motion, produce the noise or song.
And indeed, whilst I was examining one of these muscles, in moving
it about gently with a pin, slightly displacing it, and then letting it
return to its proper place, it so happened that I made a Cicada that
had been dead for many months sing. The song, as might be
expected, was not loud ; but it was strong enough to lead me on to
the discovery of the part to which it was due. I had only to follow
the muscle I had been moving, to search for the part on which it
abutted."

In the large cavity, in which are the mirrors and the other parts
mentioned above, there are besides two equal and similar compart-
ments, tw^o cells, in which are placed the instrument of sound. This
is a membrane in the shape of a kettledrum, not smooth, but, on the
contrary, crumpled and full of wrinkles (Fig. 79). When it is touched
it is more sonorous than the driest parchment. If the furrows on its

HEMIPTERA. 10^

fconvex surface are rubbed with a small body, such as a piece of
rolled-up paper, incapable of piercing or tearing it, it is easily made
to sound ; and the sound is occasioned by the portions of the kettle-
drum which are depressed by the friction of the
small body, returning to their former position as
soon as it has ceased to act upon them. It is
here that the two strong muscles act whose exis-
tence and use were discovered by Reaumur.

"It is clear," says this naturalist, "that when the
muscle is alternately contracted and expanded with
rapidity, one convex portion of the kettledrum
will be rendered concave, and will then resume
its convex form by the force of its own spring.
Then this noise will be made, this song of which
we have been so long seeking an explanation,
because we wished to find out all the parts by
means of which He, who never makes anything

without its use, willed that it should be produced." Musical iJpaJatus of the

Let us add, to complete what we have already Male cicada.
said on this subject, that if the kettledrums are
the essential organs of the insect's song, the mirrors, the white and
wrinkled membranes, and the exterior shutters which cover in the
whole apparatus, contribute largely, as Re'aumur pointed out, to
modify and strengthen the sound.

We have said above that the female Cicada does not sing ; and
so her singing organs are quite rudimentary. This fact, moreover,
has been known for ages. Xenarchus, a poet of Rhodes, says, with
little gallantry : —

** Happy Cicadas ! thy females are deprived of voice !"

Nature has indemnified the female Cicada for this privation, by
giving her an instrument less noisy indeed, but more useful. This is
a sort of auger, destined to penetrate the bark of the branches of
trees, and lodged in the last segment of the abdomen, which, for this
purpose, is hollowed out groove-wise. By the aid of a system of
muscles the auger can be protruded or retracted at pleasure. It is
furnished with three implements. In the middle there is a piercer,
or bodkin, which when run into a branch supports the insect, and
two stylets^ whose upper edges, having teeth like a saw, resting back
to back, on the middle implement, move up and down it. With this
admirable instrument the female Cicada incises obliquely the bark
and wood until she has almost reached ' the pith (Fig. 80). The
61*

io6

THE i INSECT WORLD,

male sings while she is at work. When the cell is sufficiently deep

and properly prepared, the
female lays at the bottom of
it from five to eight eggs.

From these eggs come very
small white grubs (Fig. 8i),
which leave their nest, descend
by the trunk, and bury them-
selves in the ground, where
they devour the roots of the
tree. They then become pui)ce,,
and hollowing out the earth
with their front legs, which
are very much developed, con-
tinue to live at the expense
of the roots. At the end of
spring these pupae (Fig. 82)
come out of the earth, hook
themselves on to the trunks of
trees, and strip themselves one
fine evening of their skin,
which remains whole and dried,
Very weak at first, these meta-
morphosed insects drag thenv
selves along with difficulty.
But next day, warmed by tlie
first rays of the sun, ha^•in^
liad, no doubt, time to reflect
on their new social position,
and less astonished than they
were on the preceding evening,
they agitate their wings, they
fly, and the males send forth into the air the first notes of their
screeching concert. The Cicadas remain on trees, whose sap they
suck by means of their sharp-pointed beak. It is difficult enough
to catch them, for owing to their large, highly-developed wings,
they fly rapidly away on the slightest noise.

They inhabit the south of Europe, the whole of Africa from north
to south, America in the same latitudes as Europe, the whole of the
centre and south of Asia, New Holland, and the islands of Oceania.
The Cicada, which in hot climates always exposes itself to the ardour
of the most scorching sun,, is not found in temperate or cold regions.

Fig. 80. — Female Cicada laying hei eggs in the
groove she has bored in the branch of a tree.

MEMTPTERA. lO/

The consequence is that the southern nations know it very well,
whilst in the north the large grasshopper, which is so common in those
regions, and whose song closely resembles that of the Cicada, is
commonly taken for it. There was to be seen at the Exhibition of
Fine Arts in 1866 a picture by M. Aussandon, "La Cigale et la
Fourmi," which showed, under an allegorical shape, the subject of La
Fontaine's fable. The painter here represented the Cigale, or Cicada,
under the form of a magnificent apple-green grasshopper. The artist

Fig. 81.— Larva of the Cicada. Fig. 82.— Pupa of the Cicada.

materialised here, as we may say, the common mistake of the inhabi-
tants of the north, which makes tliem confound the Cicada with the
great green grasshopper.

For the rest, we may, by-the-by, say that La Fontaine's fable of
" La Cigale et la Fourmi " is full of errors in natural history. Nothing
is easier than to prove the truth of this assertion. From the very
fii'st verges, the author shows that he has never observed the animal
of which he speaks.

* * La Cigale ayant chante
Tout I'ete."

No Cicada could sing " tout I'ete," since it lives at the utmost for
a few weeks only.

** Se trouva fort depourvue
Quand la bise fut venue."

' Quand la bise fut venue " means without doubt the month of
November or December. But at this season of the year the Cicada
has a long time since passed from life to death. When one wanders
along the outskirts of woods as early as the month of October, in the
south of France, one finds the soil covered with dead Cicadas. La
Fontaine's Cigale then could not have found itself " fort depourvue,"
for the simple reason that it was already dead.

" Elle alia crier famine
Chez la Fourmi, sa voisine,
La priant de lui prefer
Quelque grain pour subsisted"

f&^ THE INSECT WORLD.

The ant is carnivorous, and although it likes honey, it has nothing to
do with grains of wheat, nor with any other grain, of which, according
to the fabulist, it had laid up a stock. On the other hand, the Cicada,
which he blames for having

** Pas un seul petit morceau
De mouche ou de vermisseau,"

\

never dreamt of such victuals, for it lives entirely on the sap of large
vegetables. The fables of the poet, who is called in France, one
never knows why, " Le bon La Fontaine," teem with errors of the same
kind as those we have just pointed out. The habits of animals are
nearly always represented as exactly the contrary to what they really
are. To initiate himself into the mysteries of the habits of animals.
La Fontaine certainly had neither the works of Buffon nor the
memoirs of Reaumur, which had not then been written ; but had he
not the book of Nature ?

But it is time to mention the principal species of the Cicada. We
will describe two : that of the Ash, which lives on those trees in the
south of France ; and that of the Manna Ash, which is very common
in the south-east of France. It is particularly plentiful in the forests
of pines which abound between Bayonne and Bordeaux. It is on
these two species of Cicada that Re'aumur made the beautiful
observations of which we gave a summary above.

The Cicada plebeia or Tdtigonia /raxi?ii, very common in Pro-
vence, is found, though rarely, in the forest of Fontainebleau,
occasionally in La Brie. It is of a grey yellow below, black above ;
the head and thorax are marked or striped with black.

M. Solier, in a Memoir inserted in the " Annales de la Societe Ento-
mologique de France," says that its song, very loud and very piercing, :
seems to consist of one single note, repeated with rapidity, which in-
sensibly grows weaker after a certain time, and terminates in a kind
of whistle, which can be partly imitated by pronouncing the two con- .
sonants j-/, and which resembles the noise of the air coming out of a
little opening in a compressed bladder. When the Cicada sings, it
moves its abdomen violently, in such a manner as alternately to
move it away from, and to bring it near to, the little covers of the
sonorous cavities ; to this movement is added a slight trembling of
the mesothorax.

The same entomologist relates a very interesting observation
made on this species of Cicada by his friend, M. Boyer, a chemist at
Aix, and which he himself verified. The Cicadas, in general, are
very timid, and fly away at the least noise. However, when a

HEMIPTERA. IO9

Cicada is singing, one can approach it, whistling the while in a
quavering manner, and imitating as nearly as possible, its cry, but in
such a manner as to predominate over it. The insect then descends
a small space down the tree, as if to approach the whistler ; then it
stops. But if one presents a stick to it, continuing to whistle, the
Cicada settles on it and begins again to descend backwards. From
time to time it stops, as if to Hsten. At last, attracted, and, as it
were, fascinated by the harmony of the whistle, it comes to the
observer himself

M. Boyer managed thus to make a Cicada, which continued to
sing as long as he whistled in harmony with it, settle on his nose.
Charmed by this concert, the insect seemed to have lost its natural
timidity.

The Cicada orni is of a greenish yellow, spotted with black.
The abdomen is encircled by the same colours. The elytra and the
wings are hyaline, or glassy, and their veins alternately yellow and
brown. The legs are yellow throughout. The song of this species
is hoarse, and cannot be heard at any great distance.

M. Solier, in the work we quoted just now, says that the song of
this Cicada is of a deeper intonation, but that it is quick and is sooner
over. It does not terminate in the manner which characterises that
of the other species.

Next the genus Cicada comes Fulgora^ whose type is the Fulgora
lanternaria, or Lantern Fly (Fig. 83).

Belonging to South America, these insects are above all remark-
able and easy to recognise, by their very large elongated head, which
nearly equals three-quarters of the rest of the body. This prolonga-
tion is horizontal, vesicular, enlarged to about the same breadth as
the head, and presents above a very great gibbosity. The antennae
are short, with a globular second articulation, and a small terminal
hair. The species represented in Fig. 83 is yellow varied with black.
The elytra are of a greenish yellow, sprinkled with black ; the wings,
of the same colour, have at the extremity a large spot resembling an
eye, which is surrounded by a brown circle very broad in front. It
inhabits Guiana. This remarkable insect enjoys a great renown
with the vulgar, by a peculiarity which might be called its speciality
— the property of shining by night or in the dark. Hence its name
of Fulgora lanternaria.

The knowledge of the Fulgora lanternaria has been spread and
popularised in Europe by a celebrated book, which has for its title,
"Metamorphoses des Insectes de Snrinam." This book, which
•contains the result of patient study of the natural history of Dutch

no

THE INSECT WORLD.

Guiana. (Government of Surinam), was written and published in thre^
languages, by a woman whose name this work has rendered immortal
— Mile. Sybille de Merian — and who won the admiration and respect

IIRMIPTRRA. Iir

of her contemporaries by her love of the Idealities of Nature, and lier
perseverance in making them known and admired. Sybille de
Me'rian was born at Bale, Daughter, sister, and mother of celebrated
engravers, herself an excellent tlower-painter, she had worked a long
time at Frankfort and at Nuremberg; and had read with the greatest
attention the " The'ologie des Insectes,""' and with admiration Mab
pighi's book on the silkworm. Full of enthusiasm for the study of
natural history, she left Germany, to visit the magnificent collection
of plants which were kept in the hot-houses of Holland, and made
admirable reproductions of them with her pencil.

This attentive study of the vegetable world suggested to her the
idea, which soon became an ardent desire, of observing these marvels
of Nature in those parts of the globe in which they display themselves
with the greatest magnificence and splendour. At the age of fifty-
four, Sybille de Me'rian set out for equatorial America. From the
very first days of her arrival she hazarded her life, sometimes without
a guide, in the swampy plains or burning valleys of Guiana During
the two years she sojourned in those dangerous parts, she made a
large collection of drawings and paintings, which were destined to
inaugurate in Europe the introduction of art into natural history.

In the plates to her work, Sybille de Merian represents always
the insect she wishes to describe under its three forms of larva,
pupa, and perfect insect. With this drawing she gives another of
the plant which serves the insect for food, as also of the animals
which prey on it. Each plate is a little drama. Near the insect is
seen the greedy lizard opening its dreadful mouth, or the ferocious
spider watching for it. The short life of insects is shown here in its
entirety, with its continual struggles, its infinite artifices, its rapid end,
and all the episodes of its existence, which is almost always nothing
but a long and painful struggle.

Such was the work, such was the noble devotion and the worthy
career of Sybille de Merian. Let women, let young girls, who are
martyrs to the ennui of a life devoid of occupation, peruse her
beautiful book, and learn from it how much a woman may do with
the time which is now either utterly unoccupied or only devoted to
useless employments. To study Nature in any of its phases ought,
it seems to us, to give satisfaction to the soul, strength to the mind,
and cause unbounded admiration of and gratitude to the supreme
Author of the Universe.

* " Theologie des Insectes, ou Demonstration des Perfections de Dieu dans
tout ce qui concerne les Jixs^ctes, par Lesser, traduit en Fran<jais." La Haye,,
1742.

112 THE INSECT WORLD.

It is, as we have already said, in the work of Sybille de Merian,
" Metamorphoses des Insectes de Surinam," that one finds mentioned,
for the first time, the luminous properties of the Fiilgora lanteniaria.
The author thus relates her observations, which were the result of
chance : —

" Some Indians having one day brought me a great number of
the Lantern Flies, I shut them up in a large box, not knowing then
that they gave light at night. Hearing a noise, I sprang out of bed
and had a candle brought. I very soon discovered that the noise
proceeded from the box, which I hurriedly opened ; but, alarmed at
seeing emerging from it a flame, or, to speak more correctly, as many
flames as there were insects, I at first let it fall. Having recovered
from my astonishment, or rather from my fright, I caught all my
insects again, and admired this singular property of theirs."

Since the time when Mile, de Me'rian visited Guiana, different
travellers have said that they could not observe, as she did, this
phosphorescent phenomenon. It is, then, probable that this pro-
perty only exists in the male or female insect, and then only at cer-
tain seasons.

What a marvellous spectacle must the rich valleys of Guiana
present, when, in the stillness of the night, the air is filled with living
torches ; when, the FulgorcB flying about in space, the flashes of fire
cross each other, go out and blaze up again, shine brightly and then
die out, and present, on a calm evening, the appearance of those
lightning flashes which are usually seen only in the midst of a
tempest !

Let us now go on to another interesting insect of the order of
which we are treating, the Aphrophora, without being frightened by
its disagreeable name, for there are many other names we may give it
if we choose among those by which it is popularly known. In the
months of June and July one sees on nearly every tree, and on
plants of the most different kinds, a sort of white froth, composed of
air bubbles, deposited on the leaves and branches. It is produced
by an insect, and the peasants in France call it Crachat de Coucou, or
Eciime prififanihe (spring froth), but in England it is known as
Cuckoo's spittle. De Geer carefully studied the metamorphoses of
this insect. The Aphrophora (from acpphs, foam, and ^ep(a, I bear or
carry) is lodged in the froth of which we have just been speaking.
It lives in it, only leaving it when it has its wings. De Geer wondered
why this insect confines itself during the whole of its life in liquid,
and concludes that the froth has the effect of protecting the insect
from the burning heat of the sun. This covering seems also to pro^

I

HEMIPTERA.

^13

tect it from the attacks of carnivorous insects and spiders. On the
other hand, its skin is without doubt so constituted that it would
perspire too freely if it were exposed to the air, and the insect would
very soon die dried up. Whatever explanation may be given of the
necessity for this semi-aerial, semi-liquid medium, it is easy to verify
the fact that the larva of the Aphrophora cannot live long out of its
frothy envelope. If withdrawn from it, the volume of its body
diminishes perceptibly, and the poor animal dies, like a fish taken
out of its natural element.

The insects which live in this froth are six-legged grubs (Fig. 84),
which, when the froth is cleared from them, walk
quickly enough on the stalks and leaves of plants.
They are green, with the belly yellow.

De Geer wished to know how they produced
this singular froth, and found out in the following
manner : — He took one of them out of its frothy
dwelling, wiped it dry with a camel's-hair pencil, and
placed it on a young stalk, recently cut from the
honeysuckle, which he put into water in a glass, in
order to preserve its freshness, and this is what he ¥\g.'&A

observed : Larva' of the

" It begins," says the Swedish naturalist, " by fixing (^///^,/5z°m
itself on a certain part of the stalk, in which it inserts spuvmria).
the end of its trunk, and remains thus for a long
time in the same attitude, occupied in sucking and filling itself
with the sap. Having then withdrawn its trunk, it remains there,
or else places itself on a leaf, where, after different reiterated move-
ments of its abdomen, which it raises or lowers and turns on all
sides, one may see coming out of the hinder part of its body a
little ball of hquid, which it causes to shp along, bending it under
its body. Beginning the same movements again, it is not long in
producing a second globule of liquid, filled with air like the first,
which it places side by side with, and close to, the preceding one,
and continues the same operation as vong as there remains any sap
in its body. It is very soon covered with a number of small globules,
which, coming out of its body one after the other, tend towards the
front part, aided in this by the movement of the abdomen. It is all
these globules collected together which form a white and extremely
fine froth whose viscosity keeps the air shut up in the globules, and
prevents its froth from easily evaporating. If the sap which the
larva has drawn from the plant is exhausted before it feels itself suf-
ficiently covered with froth, it begins to svick afresh, until it has got

1 14 THE INSECT WORLD.

a, new and sufficient quantity of froth, which it takes care to add to
its first stock. "'^

It is in the froth that the larvai change into pupae, and they do not
leave their habitation to undergo their final metamorphosis. They
have then, says De Geer, the art of causing the froth inside to
evaporate and dry up, in such a manner as to form a space inside the
mass of froth, in which their bodies are entirely free. The exterior
froth forms a roof closed in on all sides, under which the insect lies
quite dry.

In this vaulted cell the pupa disengages itself little by little from
its skin, which first splits up along the head, and then on the thorax.
This opening is sufficiently large to enable it to come out of its
envelope. It is in the month of September that these insects are
particularly abundant, and then the trees and plants are covered with
them. Sometimes the froth drips off, like a sort of small rain, from
branches which are covered with it. Towards the autumn the females
are pregnant. They are then so heavy that that they can hardly jump
or fly. The males, on the contrary, make prodigious bounds ; they
throw themselves forward to a distance of more than two yards.
They are very difficult to catch, and still more difficult to find again
when one has once let them escape. And so Swammerdam calls these
insects Sauterelles-Puces (Flea-Grasshoppers),
because they jump like fleas.

All that we have said relates to the Aphro-
phora spitniarin, or Frogliopper (Fig. 85), an
insect common all over Europe, and which
Fig. 8s.-The Froghopper GeoffVoy calls the Cigak bedeaude.

{Aphrophora spnmaria). " It is of a brOWU COlour," SayS GcoftrOV,

" often rather greenish. Its head, its thorax,
and its elytra, are finely dotted ; on these last one sees two white
oblong spots. The lower part of the insect is light brown, "f

We will mention, as it belongs to the group with which we are
now occupied, a noxious insect, lassus dei^astans, which since 1844
seems to have taken up its quarters in the commune of Saint Paul, in
the department of the Basses-Alpes. It sucks the leaves and stalks
of cereals, causing them to wither, and may be found even in winter
on young corn, but principally in the spring. According to M.
Guerin-Meneville, its head is of an ochrey yellow, with the apex.

* " Memoires pour servir a THistoire des Insectes," tome iii.
t " Histoire abregee des Insectes, dans laqaelle ces animaux sont ranges dans
un ordre methodique." In 4to. Tome L, p. 416. An VII. de la Republique.

HEMIPTERA,

115

marked with black spots; the forehead yellow, elongated, striped with
black, as are the legs. The elytra are straw-coloured and spotted
with brown. The wings are transparent, and slightly blackened at

1. Hypsauchenia balista.

2. Membracis foliata.

Fig. 86.
3, Centrotus cornutus.
4; Umbonia Spinosa.

S- Bocydium globulare.
6. Cyphonia furcata;

the extremities. This remarkable insect, which is not more than the
twelfth of an inch in length, jumps and flies with great ease.

A small brownish insect, whose strange appearance struck
Geoffroy, the historian of the insects of the environs of Paris, may

Il6 THE INSECT WORLD.

be seen springing over the fern stalks and thistles, in the damp parts
of most of the woods of Europe.

Geoffroy calls this insect "le Petit Diable." '' Le Petit Diabie,"
he writes, "is of a dark blackish-brown. Its head is flat, projecting
but slightly, and, as it were, bent downwards. Its thorax, which is
rather broad, has two sharp horns, which terminate in pretty long
points on the sides. In the middle of the thorax is a crest or comb,
which, prolonged into a sort of sinuous and crooked horn, terminates
in a very sharp point, reaching to within one quarter of the extremity
of the wing-cases. These — viz., the wing-cases — are dark, with brown
veins ; and the wings, shorter than their cases, are rather transparent.
The insect jumps very well, and is not readily caught.*

The Petit Diabie of Geoffroy is the Centrotiis coniutus of modern
naturalists. This curious little insect belongs to a strange and re-
markable group, whose thorax takes the most extraordinary and most
varied forms, as may be seen in Fig. 86, which represents somewhat
magnified, many of these insects. Nearly all inhabit Guiana, the
Brazils, and Florida.

We will now proceed to examine one of the most interesting
groups of insects — that of the Plant-lice. These insects have for a
long time attracted the attention of naturalists. They are so abun-
dant that all our readers have seen them, and there are few plants in
our fields or gardens which do not nourish some species. How often
does one hesitate in gathering a rose or a bit of honeysuckle, for fear
of touching the unattractive guest of those charming flowers !

During the whole of the summer one sees on the branches, on
the leaves, but principally on the young shoots of the rose-tree, large
companies of green plant-lice, which subsist on the sap of the tree.
Some are provided with wings (Figs. 87, 88), others are wingless
(Figs. 89, 90). The last-named are the largest, and are a line and a
half long. They are entirely green, except two parts, of which we
will speak immediately. The body is oval ; the head is small, and
furnished with two brown eyes. The skin is smooth, and tightly
drawn over the body. The antennas, which are very long and slender,
almost equal to the body in length. The six legs are long and slim,
and the short feet terminate in two hooks. On the upper part of
the body are two small cylindrical horns, surmounted by a small
knob. The antennae and these horns are black.

The winged individuals are of the same size as these, but are of a

* " Histoire abregee des Insectes, dans laquelle ces animaux sont ranges dans
unordre methodique." In 410. Tome i., p. 434. An VII. d" U Republique,

HEMIPTERA.

117

dark green colour, mixed with black. The wings are transparent,
Ij and the upper ones are as long again as the body. The young shoots
1 of the elder-tree, all round their circumference for the length of
i\ from a foot to a foot and a half, are often covered with black plant-
i lice, or with those of a greenish-black colour. They are crowded one
j against the other, and sometimes there are two layers of them.

Fig. 87, 88. — Winged Aphides, or Plant-lice (magnified).

If observed without moving the plant about, they appear to be
tranquil and inactive. They are, however, then absorbing from the
plant the nourishment it should have ; piercing with the point of their
trunks the epidermis of the leaves or stalks, and drawing from them
a nourishing liquid.

But this occupation is confined to those which are on the plant
itself Those which, on account of the enormous agglomeration of

, 90. — Wingless Aphides, or Plant-lice (magnified).

these insects, walk, not on the branch, but on other plant-lice, and
cannot therefore suck the sap of the plant, are employed entirely in
preserving and multiplying their species.

Reaumur often saw the latter, easily recognised by their great
size, giving birth to little plant-lice, which are quite alive when they
leave their mother. The young ones set off and mount or descend
till they reach one end of the crowd, and there each takes up its
position, hke a cardboard capuchin {capucin de carte), in such a manner

1 1 8- THE INSECT WORLD.

that the head is just behind the plant-louse which precedes it. There
they bury their trunks in the vegetable tissue, and set to work to
imbibe the sap.

Small as is the trunk of the plant-louse, yet when there are
thousands of those little beings fixed to the stalk or the leaves of a
plant, it is evident that it must suffer. And so the plant-louse is, in
truth, one of the most terrible enemies of our agricultural and
horticultural productions, and the exact list of the ravages which it
occasions would be indeed interminable. We will confine ourselves to
a few examples. For some years the lime-tree aphis has seriously
attacked the lime-trees of the public promenades of Paris. The
peach-tree plant-louse causes the blight of the leaves of that tree. It
is to these prolific little parasites that are due, in a great number of
cases, the contortions of leaves and of the young shoots of trees of
all sorts.

These insatiable depredators cause sometimes a still more re-
markable alteration. On the leaves of elms are often seen bladders
round and rosy, like little apples. On opening these bladders one
finds that they are inhabited by a species of aphis. On the black
poplar galls of different kinds grow, some from the leaf stalks, and
others from the young stems. They are rounded, oblong, horned,
and twisted into a spiral. Other galls show themselves on the leaf
itself. They are all inhabited by plant-lice, differing from those of
which we have given a description above, in the extremity of their
abdomen not presenting the two remarkable horns to which we shall
have later to call the attention of the reader. The body is generally
covered with a long and thick down.

Of this genus, the species, alas ! so unfortunately celebrated is
the Apple-tree Aphis (Myzoxy/e mali), which attacks that tree. This
insect is of a dark russet brown, with the upper part of the abdomen
covered with very long white down. Its presence was announced for
the first time in England in 1789, and in France, in the department
of the Cotes du Nord, in 181 2. In 1818 it was found in Paris, in the
garden of tlie Ecole de Pharmacie. It had become common in 1822
in the departments of the Seine, the Somme, and the Aisne. Iii 1827
its presence in Belgium was announced.

The apple-tree aphis, according to M. Blot, can only exist on that
tree. Carried away and placed on any other, it very soon perishes.
It does not attack the blossom, the fruit, or the leaves, but fixes
itself on the lower part of the trunk, whence it propagates itself down-
wards as far as the roots, underneath the graftings, &:c. It also likes
to lodge in cracks of the trunk and large branches. But it always

HEMIPTERA. Iiq

looks out for a southern, and avoids a northern aspect. It is not
active, walks very Httle, and its dissemination from one place to
another can only be explained by the facility with which so small an
insect can be transported by the wind, its lightness being still more
increased by the down which covers it.

The Myzoxyk 7?iali renders the wood knotty, dry, hard, brittle,
and brings on rapidly all the symptoms which characterise old age
and decay in attacked trees. M. Blot recommends the following
means for preserving the apple-tree from this insect : Employ for the
seed-beds the pips of bitter apples only ; give to the nursery and to
the plants only as much shelter as is absolutely necessary ; avoid
those sites which are too low and too damp ; encourage the circulation
of air, and the desiccation of the soil ; surround the foot of each
apple-tree with a mixture of soot or of tobacco and fine sand.

As for the manner of freeing a tree once invaded by this insect,
the most simple plan is to rub the trunk and the branches, in order
to crush the insects, or to employ a brush or broom.

We spoke above of the reproduction of the aphis, but without
entering into any particular details; we will now touch upon this
question, one of the most interesting in natural history.

It was at the time when Reaumur was writing his immortal
" Histoire des Insectes," when Trembley was publishing his admirable
researches on the freshwater Hydra, whose wonderful vitality we have
mentioned in our work on Zoophytes and Molluscs,''^ that another
naturalist astonished the learned world by his experiments on the
reproductions of plant lice. This naturalist, whose name will live
I quite as long as those of Reaumur and of Trembley, was Charles
Bonnet, of Geneva.

Charles Bonnet made the extraordinary discovery that aphides
can increase and multiply without the intervention of the sexes. An
isolated specimen can produce a series of generations of its kind.
We will relate the curious experiments of the Genevese naturalist.
He placed in a flower-pot, filled with mould, a phial full of water,
and put into this phial a little branch of spindle, having only five or
six leaves, and perfectly free from any insect. On one of these
leaves he placed a plant-louse, which was born under his own eyes,
of a wingless mother. He then covered the branch with a glass
shade, whose rim fitted exactly into the top of the flower-pot. Having
taken these precautions, Charles Bonnet was perfectly certain of being
able to observe his prisoner at his ease. He could keep it under his

* "The Ocean World."

I20 THE INSECT WORLiy.

eye and under his hand, with more certitude and security than was
the mythological Danae, shut up, by order of Acrisius, in a tower of
bronze.

" I took care," says Charles Bonnet, " to keep a correct journal of
the life of my insect. I noted down its least movements ; nothing it
did seemed to me indifferent. Not only did I observe it every day
from hour to hour, beginning generally at four or five o'clock in the
morning, and only leaving off at about nine or ten at night ; but I
even looked many times in the same hour, and always with the
magnifying glass, to render my observation more exact, and to learn
the most secret actions of my little lonely one. But if this continual
application cost me some trouble, and bored me not a little, in
amends I had some cause for self-applause and for having subjected

myself to all this trouble My plant-louse changed its skin

four times : on the 23rd, in the evening ; on the 26th, at two in
the afternoon ; on the 29th, at seven o'clock in the morning ;

and on the 31st, at about seven o'clock in the evening

Happily delivered from these four illnesses through which it was
obliged to pass, it at last reached that point to which, by my care,
I had been trying to bring it. It had become a perfect plant-louse.
On the I St of June, at about seven o'clock in the evening, I saw,
with great satisfaction, that it had given birth to another ; from
that time I thought I ought to look upon it as a female. From
that day up to the 20th inclusive, she produced ninety-five Httle
ones, all alive and doing well, the greatest number of which were
born under my own eyes !" *

He very soon made some other experiments on the aphis of the
elder-tree, so as to assure himself if the generations of plant-lice,
reared successively in sohtude, preserved the same property of pro-
creating without copulation.

"On the 1 2th of July," says he, "about three o'clock in the
afternoon, I shut up a plant-louse that had just been born under my
eyes. On the 20th of the same month, at six o'clock in the morning,
it had already produced three little ones. But I waited till the 22nd
towards noon before I shut up a plant-louse of the second generation,
because I could not manage earlier to be present at the birth of one
of those produced by the mother I had condemned to live in solitude.
I always continued to observe the same precaution. I shut up only
those plant-lice which were born under my very eyes. A third

* "Traite d'Insectologie, ou Observations sur les Pucerons," pp. 28—38.
ire partie, i8mo. Paris, 1745.

HEMIPTRRA. 121

generation began on the ist of August ; it was on this day that the
plant-louse I had shut up on the 22nd of July gave birth to this genera-
tion. On the 4th of August, about one o'clock in the afternoon, I
put into solitary confinement a plant-louse of the third generation.
On the ninth of the same month, at six in the evening, a fourth
generation, due to this last one, had already seen the light : it had
given birth to four little ones. On the same day, towards midnight,
all intercourse with its own species was forbidden to the plant-louse
of the fourth generation born at that hour. On the i8th, between
six and seven o'clock in the morning, I found this last in the com-
pany of four little ones to which it had given birth.""*

In this case, the want of food caused the death of the isolated
individual of the fifth generation, and the experiment was brought to
a close.

Bonnet then tried experiments on the plantain aphis, following
them up during five consecutive generations, which succeeded each
other without interruption, in the space of three months.

After having stated the extraordinary facts, which he relates with
the most perfect simplicity, Charles Bonnet, examining at the end of
the fine season specimens of the winged oak-tree aphis, was able to
be present at their nuptials. He preserved the females with great
care, and saw, not without profound astonishment, that they gave
birth, not to small living insects, as was the case in the first ex-
periments, but to eggs of a reddish colour, which were stuck fast to
6ach other, on the stem or stalk of the plant.

A short time afterwards, this illustrious observer was able to
convince himself that the oak-tree plant-lice, whose nuptials he had
witnessed in the autumn, present the same phenomena of solitary and
viviparous propagation, already so often mentioned by him.

At last some new observations permitted him to establish beyond
all doubt the connection of these facts, in appearance so contra-
dictory. He discovered that, during the whole of the fine season,
the plant-lice are solitary and viviparous, but that towards the autumn
these creatures return to the ordinary course of things, and are
propagated by eggs, whose development requires the co-operation
of a male and female individual. These eggs are hatched in Spring,
ind produce only viviparous plant-lice. In the autumn the males
and females show themselves, and from that moment ovipositing
i'ecommences. These curious facts, seen and published more than
a century ago, have been verified many times since.

* ''Traite d'Insectologie," &c., pp. 67— 69.

122- THE INSECT WORLD.

In 1866 M. Balbiani asserted that the plant-hce are herma-
phrodite, or of both sexes at the same time, which would explain the
facts observed by Charles Bonnet. But the anatomical proofs
appealed to by Balbiani in support of this idea are far from establish-
ing the existence of this arrangement of sexes among them. The
observations of Charles Bonnet produced profound astonishment
among naturalists, and, in this respect, 1743 may be considered as a
memorable year.

The simple statement of the few experiments which he made, and
which we have cited, has sufficed to show how rapid is the multipli-
cation of aphides. A single female produced generally 90 young
ones ; at the second generation these 90 produce 8, 100 ; these give
a third generation, which amounts to 729,000 insects ; these, in their
turn, become 65,610,000 ; the fifth generation, consisting of
590,490,000, will yield a progeny of 53,142,100,000 ; at the seventh,
we shall thus have 4,782,789,000,000 ; and the eighth will give
441,461,010,000,000. This immense number increases immeasurably
when there are eleven generations in the space of a year. Fortunately
a great many carnivorous insects wage fierce war against the plant-
lice, and destroy immense numbers of them. Thus they are kept in
check, and prevented from multiplying inordinately. To show with
what prodigious abundance the reproduction of these little but
formidable parasites must go on, we will relate a fact which was made
known to us by M. Morren, Professor in the University of Lie'ge.

The winter of 1833 — 34 had been extremely warm and dry;
whole months had passed without any rain. A well-known savanf,
Van Mons, had foretold, as early as the 1 2th of May, that all the
vegetables would be devoured by plant-lice. On the 28th of
September, 1834, at the moment when the cholera had begun to
spread its ravages over Belgium, all of a sudden a swarm of plant-
lice showed themselves between Bruges and Ghent. They were
to be seen the next day at Ghent, hovering about in troops, in such
quantities that the daylight was obscured. Standing on the ramparts,
one could no longer distinguish the walls of the houses in the town,
so covered were they with plant lice. The whole road from Antwerp
to Ghent was rendered black by innumerable legions of them. They,
appeared everywhere quite suddenly. People were obliged to protect
their eyes with spectacles and their faces with handkerchiefs, to keep
off the painful and disagreeable tickling caused by them. The
progress of these insects was interrupted by mountains, hills, even by
undulations of land of \'ery slight elevation, but sufficient to have an
influence on the wind. M. Morren thinks that they came from

hemipterA. t23

a great distance, and that they arrived in Belgium by the sea-coast.
Whatever be the explanation of the phenomenon, it establishes
sufficiently the prodigious multiplication of these little insects.

There is another trait, and without doubt the most curious in the
history of the aphides, to which we have still to call the attention of
the reader : we mean the relations which exist between them and the
ants.

No one can have failed to observe ants frequenting those places
where plant-lice are gathered together in great numbers. Are ants
simply friends of the plant-lice, as thought the ancients ? or have
their visits some selfish object?

Linnaeus, Bonnet, and Pierre Huber thought that the ants did not
pay these visits for nothing, and that they had some object in view.
But what could they want of the plant-lice ? It is to Pierre Huber
we owe the solution of this mystery. This naturalist has made the
most beautiful observations on the relations which exist between
plant-lice and ants. They are detailed in a chapter of his admirable
work, entitled " Recherches sur les Moeurs des Fourmis Indigenes."

The plant-lice have, as we have said, at the extremity of their
abdomen, two small movable horns. These are in communication
with a little gland which produces a sugary liquid. When one care-
fully observes plant-lice attached to the stem of a plant, one sees a
little syrup droplet oozing out of the extremity of these tubes.

M. Morren, who has made some interesting observations on the
anatomy and generation of the aphis, says that, having shut up
females in wide-mouthed glass bottles, he saw the yoang, a little time
after their birth, suck the sweet juice which exudes from the litde
tubes at the extremity of the mother's abdomen. This secretion
seems, then, destined for the nourishment of the young in the first
mom.ents of their existence, before they are able to nourish them-
selves on vegetable juices. The saccharine fluid produced by the
mother must be, then, a sort of milk intended for the nourishment of
her young. This being settled, attend to what follows. In all places
where plant-lice are assembled in great numbers it is easy to observe
how excessively fond ants are of the sugary liquid destined for
suckling the young. But how do the ants manage to get the plant-
lice to allow themselves to be, as we may say, milked ?

" It had been already noticed," says this celebrated observer,

that the ants waited for the moment at which the plant-lice caused

this precious manna to come out of their abdomen, which they

immediately seized. But I discovered that this was the least of their

talents, and that they also knew how to manage to be served with

124- THE INSECT WORLD. '

this liquid at will. This is their secret. A branch of a thistle was
covered with brown ants and plant-lice. I observed the latter for
some time, so as to discover, if possible, the moment when they
caused this secretion to issue from their bodies ; but I remarked that i
it very rarely came out of its own accord, and that the plant-lice, •
which were at some distance from the ants, squirted it out with a:
movement resembling a kick.

" How did it happen, then, that the ants wandering about on the
thistle were nearly all remarkable for the size of their abdomens, and
were evidently full of some liquid ? This I discovered by narrowly
watching one ant, whose proceedings I am going to describe minutely.:
I saw it at first passing, without stopping, over some plant-lice, which
did not seem in the least disturbed iDy its walking over them ; but it
soon stopped close to one of the smallest, which it seemed to coax
with its antennae, touching the extremity of its abdomen very rapidly,',
first with one of its antennae and then with the other. I saw with:
surprise the liquid come out of the body of the plant-louse, and the
ant forthwith seize upon the droplet and convey it to its mouth. It
then brought its antennae to bear upon another plant-louse, much
larger than the first ; this one, caressed in the same manner, yielded
the nourishing fluid from its body in a much larger dose. The ant
advanced and took possession of it. It then passed to a third, which
it cajoled as it had the preceding ones, giving it many little strokes
with its antennae near the hinder extremity of its body ; the liquid

came out immediately, and the ant picked it up A

small number of these repasts are sufficient to satisfy the ant's
appetite. (See Fig. 91.)

" It does not appear that it is out of importunity that these insects
obtain their nourishment from the plant-lice.

" The neighbourhood of ants is agreeable to plant-lice, since those
which could get out of the way of their visits, viz., the winged plant-
lice, prefer to remain amongst them, and to lavish upon them the
superabundance of their nourishment." *

What we have just related applies not only to the brown {Formica
brunnea), but also to the tawny ant {For7nica flava)^ to the ashy black
{Formica ?iigra), to the fuliginous {Formica fiiliginosa), and to a great
many more.

The Red Ant {Formica rufa) is singularly adroit in seizing the
droplet left it by the plant-louse. According to Pierre Huber, it

* "Recherches sur les Mceurs des Fourmis Indigenes," pp. 181 — 186. 'iso.
Paris, 1 810.

HEMIPTERA. 125

employs its antennae, which swell somewhat towards their extremities,
in conveying this droplet to its mouth, and causes it to enter it by
pressing it first on one side, then on the other, using its antennae as
if they were fingers. The greater number of ants seek them on those
plants on which they usually fix themselves— the lowest herbs, as
well as the highest trees. There are some, however, which never
leave their place of abode, and never go out to the chase. These
are the little ants, of a pale yellow colour, rather transparent, and
covered with hairs, which are extremely numerous in our meadows
and orchards. These subterranean creatures are very noxious to the
farmer. Pierre Huber often wondered how they subsisted, and with
what food they could provision themselves, without quitting their
gloomy habitations. Having one day turned up the earth of which
a habitation was composed, in order to discover if any treasure were
to be found stowed away there, he found nothing but plant-lice. Of
these the greater number were fixed to the roots of the trees which
hung down from the roof of their subterranean nest ; others were
wandering about among the ants. These latter, moreover, set about
milking their nurses, as usual, and with the same success. To verify
his discovery, he dug up a great number of nests of the yellow ant,
and invariably found aphides in them. So as to study the relations
which must exist between these insects, he shut up ants with their
friends, the plant-lice, in a glazed box, placing at the bottom of the
box, earth, mixed with the roots of some plants, whose branches
vegetated outside the box. He watered this ant-hill from time to
time, and thus both the animals and the plants found in his apparatus
sufficient nourishment.

" The ants," he says, " did not endeavour in the least to make
their escape. They seemed to want for nothing, and to be quite
content. They tended their larvae and females with the same
affection they would have shown in their usual ant-hill ; they took
great care of the plant-lice, and never did them any harm. These,
on the other hand, did not seem to fear the ants ; they allowed
themselves to be moved about from one place to another, and when
they were set down they remained in the place chosen for them by
their guardians. When the ants wished to move them to a fresh
place, they began by caressing them with their antennae, as if to
request them to abandon their roots or to withdraw their trunk from
the cavity in which it was inserted ; then they took them gently
above or below the abdomen with their jaws, and carried them with
the same care they would have bestowed on the larvae of their own
species. I saw the same ant take three plant-lice in succession, each

126 THE INSECT WORLD.

bigger than itself, and carry them away into a dark place

However, the ants do not always act so gently towards them. When
they fear that they may be carried off by ants of another kind, and
living near their habitation, or when one opens up too suddenly the turf
under which they are hidden, they seize them up in haste and carry
them off to the bottom of their little cavern. I have seen the ants
of two different ant-hills fighting for their plant-lice. When those
belonging to one ants' nest could enter the nest of the others, they
took them away from their rightful owners, and often these took
possession of them again in their turn ; for the ants know well the
value of these little animals, which seem made on purpose for them,
— they are the ants' treasures. An ants' nest is more or less rich,
according as it is more or less stocked with plant-lice. The plant-
lice are its cattle, its cows, its goats. One would never have thought
that the ants were a pastoral people ! "*

Their hiding in the ants' nest is not voluntary ; they are prisoners
of war. The ants, after having hollowed out galleries in the midst
of roots, make a foray upon the turf, and seize upon plant-lice
scattered about here and there, bringing them with them, and collect
them together in their nests. The captive insects take their wrongs
with patience, and behave like philosophers under this new kind of
life. They lavish on their masters, with the best grace in the world,
the nutritious juices with which their bodies superabound. Charles
Bonnet has stated some real wonders of the cleverness and industry
of other ants which also make a provision of plant-lice.

" I discovered one day," says he, "a Euphorbia, w^hich supported
in the middle of its stem a small sphere, to which it served as the
axis. It was a case which the ants had constructed of earth. They
issued forth from this by a very narrow opening made in its base,
descended the stem, and passed into a neighbouring ants' nest. I
destroyed one part of this pavilion, built almost in the air, so that I
might study the interior. It was a little room, the vault-shaped walls
of which were smooth and even. The ants had profited by the form of
the plant to sustain their edifice. The stalk passed up the centre of
the apartment, and for its timber-work it had the leaves. This
retreat contained a numerous family of plant-lice, to which the
brown ants came peacefully, to make their harvest, sheltered from
the rain, the sun, and from other ants. No insect could disturb
them ; and the plant-lice were not exposed to the attacks of their
numerous enemies. I admired this trait of industry ; and I was not

* " Recherches," &c., pp. 192 — 194.

HEM I PT ERA. 12/

long in finding it again, in a more interesting character, in ants of
different species.

" Some red ants had built round the foot of a thistle a tube of
earth, two inches and a half long by one and a half broad. The
ants' nest was below, and communicated directly with rfie cylinder.
1 took the stalk, with what surrounded it, and all that the cylinder
contained. That portion of the stem which was inside the earthen
lube was covered with plant-lice. I very soon saw the ants coming
out at the opening I had made at the base ; they were very much
astonished to see daylight at that place, and I saw that they lived
there with their larvae. They carried these with great haste to the
liighest part of the cylinder which had not been altered. In this
retreat they were within reach of their plant-lice, and here they fed
their young.

" In other places many stalks of the Euphorbia laden with plant-
lice rose in the very centre of an ant-hill belonging to the brown ants.
These insects, profiting by the peculiar arrangement of the leaves
of this plant, had constructed round eacli branch as many little
elongated cases ; and it was here they came to get their food.
J Having destroyed one of these cells, the ants forthwith carried off
j into their nests their precious animals ; a few days afterwards it was
I repaired under my eyes by these insects, and the herd were taken
back to their pens.

" These cases are not always at a few inches from the ground. I
saw one five feet above the soil, and this one deserves also to be
described. It consisted of a blackish, rather short tube, which was
built round a small branch of the poplar at the point where it left the
trunk. The ants reached it by the interior of the tree, which was
excavated, and without showing themselves, they were able to reach
their plant-lice by an opening which they had made in the base of
this branch. This tube was formed of rotten wood, of the vegetable
earth of this very tree, and I saw many a time the ants bringing little
bits in their mouths to repair the breaches I had made in their
pavilion. These are not very common traits, and are not of the
number of those which can be attributed to an habitual routine.^""^

One day, Pierre Huber discovered in a nest of yellow ants a cell
containing a mass of eggs having the appearance of ebony. They
were surrounded by a number of ants, which appeared to be guarding
them, and endeavouring to carry them off

Huber took possession of the cell, its inhabitants, and of the

■ P. '* Tr^ite d'Insectologie," &c., pp. iq8- 201,

%2S

THE INSECT WORLD.

Fig. 91.— Aphides and Ant (magnified).

little treasure it contained, and placed the whole in a box lid, covered
with a piece of glass, so as to be more easily observed. He saw the

HEMIPTERA.. J 29

ants approach the eggs, pass their tongues in between them, c'e-
positing on them a Hquid. They seemed to treat these eggs exactly
as they would have treated those of their own species ; they felt them
with their antennae, gathered them together, raised them frequently to
their mouths, and did not leave them for an instant. They took
them up, and turned them over, and after having examined them with
care, they carried them with extreme delicacy into the little box of
earth placed near them.*

These were not, however, ants' eggs. They were the eggs of
aphides. The young which were soon to be hatched were to give to
the provident ants a reward for the attentions they had lavished upon
them. How wonderful are the life and the habits of the plant-lice,
and their relations to ants ! But we should be led on too far, if we
were to pursue these attractive details.

We pass on now to the history of another family — namely, the
Gaiiinseda, as Re'aumur calls them, or Cocci. They pass the greatest
part of their lives — that is to say, many months — entirely motionless,
sticking to the stalks or branches of shrubs ; remaining thus as devoid
of movement as the plant to which they are attached. One would
say that they were part and parcel of it. Their form is so simple,
that nothing in their exterior would make one guess them to be
insects. The larger they become the less they resemble living things.
When the coccus is in a state for multiplying its species, when it is
engaged in laying its thousands of eggs, it resembles only an ex-
crescence of the tree.

The Gallinsecta are found on the elm, the oak, the lime, the alder,
the holly, the orange-tree, and the oleander. Some of the species are
remarkable for the beautiful red colouring matter which they furnish.
Such are the Coccus cacti, the Chermes [or Kermes\ variegatus, or Oak
Tree Cochineal, and the Coccus poloniciis.

The Common Cochineal, Coccus cacti, is found in Mexico, on
the Nopal, or prickly pear \Opuntia), particularly on the Opuntia
vulgaris, the Opuntia cocci/era, and the Opuntia una, plants which
belong to the family of Cactaceae.

These insects are rather remarkable, in that the male and female
are so unlike that one would take them for animals of different
genera.

The male presents an elongated, depressed body, of a dark-brown
red. Its head small, furnished with two long feathery antennae, has
only a rudimentary beak. The abdomen is terminated by two fme

* " Recherches, " &c., pp. 205, 206.
62

130 THE INSECT WORLD.

hairs, longer than its body. The wings, perfectly transparent, reach
beyond the extremity of its abdomen, and cross each other horizontally
over its back. It is lively and active. The female presents quite a
different appearance. It is in the first place twice as large as the
Xnale (Fig. 92), convex above, flat below. It resembles a larva, and
has no wings. Its body is formed of a dozen
segments, covered with a glaucous dust. The
beak is very fully developed, and the two hairs
or bristles on the abdomen are much shorter than
in the male.

The weight of the body, combined with the
shortness of the legs, prevents these creatures
from being active. The lego only serve, in fact,
for clinging to the vegetable from which they draw
their nourishment. The circumstances attending
the birth of the cochineal insect are very curious.
Fig. 92. The larv?e are born in the dried-up body of their

^°S"/»i^Sr' ^^^^ mother, the skeleton of their mother serving
male and female. them as a cradlc. This happens thus : — The eggs
are attached to the lower part of the mother's
body. When the abdomen of the mother is empty, its lower side
draws up towards the upper side, and the two together form a pretty
large cavity. When the mother dies, which is not long in happening,
her abdomen dries up, her skin becomes horny, and forms a sort
of shell. It is in this membranous cradle that the larvae of the
cochineal insect are born. The cochineal insect in its wild state
lives in the woods. But it can without difliculty be reared artificially.
Every one knows that the little insect called the cochineal,
furnishes, when its body has been dried and reduced to powder, a
colouring matter of a beautiful red, peculiar to itself. This circum-
stance has saved the cochineal from the persecution to which so
many other kinds of insects have been devoted by the hand of man.
In hot climates, in which the cochineal insect delights, it has been
preserved,* and is cultivated as an article of commerce. This is
how the cochineal is reared in Mexico : — An open piece of land is
chosen, protected against the west wind, and of about one or two
acres in extent. This is surrounded with a hedge of reeds, planted
in lines, distant from each other about a yard, with cuttings of cactus
at most about two feet apart. The cactus garden made, the next
thing is to establish in it cochineals. With this object in view they |
are sought in the woods, or else the females of the cochineal insect
which are pregnant are taken off plants which have been sheltered

HRMIPTRRA.

t:J3

during the winter, and placed in dozens, in nests made of cocoa-nut
fibres, or in little plaited baskets made of the leaves of the dwarf
palm, and hung on the prickles of the cactus. These are very soon
covered with young larvse. The only thing now required to be done
is to shelter them from wind and rain. (Plate IV.)

The larvae are changed into perfect insects, which take up their
abode permanently on the branches of the cacti, as Fig. 93 repre-
sents. The Mexicans gather them as soon as they have reached the
perfect state. The harvest cannot be difficult, considering the
immobility of these little creatures. When collected, the cochineals
are killed, packed in wooden boxes, and sent to Europe, to be used
in dyeing.

Such is the method, very simple, as we see, of rearing the cochi-
neal^a method which has been followed for centuries in Mexico.
Towards the end of the year 1700, a Frenchman named Thierry de
Menouville, formed the project of taking this precious insect away
from the Spaniards, and of bestowing it upon the French colonies. He
landed in Mexico, and concealed so well the object of his voyage,
that he managed to embark and carry to St. Domingo several cases
containing plants covered with living cochineals. Unfortunately, a
revolution which had broken out at St. Domingo prevented him from
succeeding in his praisewortliy endeavours. The cochineals died,
and the Spaniards preserved their monopoly in the rearing of this
insect.

In 1806 M. Souceylier, a surgeon in the French navy, succeeded
in bringing from Mexico into Europe some live cochineals. He
gave them to the professor of botany at Toulon ; but this attempt to
preserve them was unsuccessful.

In 1827 the naturalisation of the cochineal was attempted in
Corsica, but widiout success. During the same year the cochineal
was introduced into the Canary Islands, but the inhabitants did not
understand the importance of the experiment. They counted the
cochineal among the number of noxious insects, and tried in all
ways to rid themselves of it. It was only after results obtained by
some more intelligent farmers, that the inhabitants of the Canary
Islands perceived the profits they might derive. From that time its
cultivation was extended, and after the year 1831 it increased
rapidly. Thus, the cochineal imported from the Canary Isles in that
year amounted to only 4 kilogrammes. In 1832 the amount was 60
kilogrammes, in 1833 it was 660 kilogrammes, in 1838, 9,000 kilo-
grammes, and in 1850, 400,000 kilogrammes. The French colonists
in Algeria also tried to raise it. In 1831, M. Limonnet, a chemist of

IM

THE INSECT WORLD.

Algiers, collected some cochineals, and had the merit of first intro-
ducing the insect into the colony. On account of bad weather

Fig. 93. — Branch of the Cactus, with Cochineal Insects on.

these first essays were fruitless, but it was not long before they were
repeated.

flEMlPTERA. 135

M. Loze, surgeon in the navy, undertook to introduce the insect
again, and, with M. Hardy, director of the central garden of Algiers,
gave himself up, with great intelligence, to the naturalisation and
rearing of the cochineal in Algeria.

In 1847 the French Minister of War, for the purpose of having
the value of the Algerian cochineal fixed by commerce, caused to be
sold publicly on the market-place of Marseilles a case of cochineal,
the produce of the harvests of 1845 and 1846, from the experimental
garden of Algiers, which contained 17 kilogrammes of this com-
modity. Since that time the cultivation of this insect, the beginning of
which was due to M. Limonnet, has rapidly developed. In 1853, in
the province of Algiers alone, there were fourteen nopaleries^ or
cactus gardens, containing 61,500 plants. The Government at that
time bought the harvests for fifteen francs the kilogramme.

We have only pointed out in a general way how the cochineal
harvest is conducted. We will now enter into some details on the
subject. These insects are gathered when the females are about to
lay, that is, when a few young are hatched. It is when the females
are pregnant that they contain the greatest amount of colouring matter.
When the harvest time has arrived, the rearers stretch out on the
ground pieces of linen at the foot of the plants, and detach the
cochineals from them, brushing the plants with a rather hard brush,
or scraping them off" with the blade of a blunt knife.

If the season is favourable, the operation may be repeated three
times in the course of a year in the same plantation. The insects
thus collected are killed, by dipping into boiling water, by being put
into an oven, or by being placed on a plate of hot iron. The
cochineals, when withdrawn from the boiling water, are placed upon
drainers, first in the sun, then in the shade, then in an airy place.
During their immersion in water they lose the white powder which
covers them. In this state they are called in Mexico roiiagridas.
Those which have passed through the oven they call jaspeadas^ and
are of an ashy grey ; those that are torrefied are black, and are called
negras. In commerce three sorts of cochineal are recognised ; first,
the mastique {mesteque), of a reddish colour, with a more or less
abundant glaucous powder ; secondly, the 7ioire, which is large and of
a blackish brown ; thirdly, the sylvestre, which is, on the contrary,
smaller and reddish. The last is the least esteemed, and is gathered
on wild cacti.

Each year there are imported into France 200,000 kilogrammes
of cochineals, which represents a value of about three millions of
francs. Every one knows that it is from cochineal that carmine is

1^6 THE INSECT WORLD.

made, a magnificent red frequently employed by painters. Lake
carmine is another product obtained from the cochineal. And,
lastly, scarlet is the powder of the cochineal precipitated by a salt of
tin.

Before the Mexican cochineal was known in Europe, the kcrmes^
or Coccus ilicis^ known still in commerce and by chemists under the
names of An'unal kermes, Vegetable kermes, and Scarlet seed, was used
for the preparation of the carmine employed in the arts. This
cochineal lives by preference (at least, so it is supposed) on the ever-
green oak ( Quercus ilex), whence its specific name.

The Coccus ilicis develops itself almost exclusively, not on the
evergreen oak, but on the Quercus coccijera, or kermes oak, a shrub
common in dry, arid places on the Continent, which vegetates on
a great number of spots in the Mediterranean, particularly on the
garrigues, or waste land, of Herault.

The females of this insect, which, dried, bear the name of graines
(le kermes, are of the size of an ordinary currant, without any trace of
rings, nearly spherical, of a violet and glaucous colour. They adhere
to the boughs of the shrub Quercus cocci/era, and form dry brittle
masses, which the peasants of the south of France collect, and sell at
a tolerably high price.

Before we possessed the cochineal of Mexico and of Algeria, tliis
cochineal was very much employed in the south of Europe, in the
East, and in Africa. It furnishes a beautiful red colour. This last-
named and the Mexican cochineal are somewhat used in pharmacy.
They enter into alkermes, a sort of liquor served at dinner in Italy,
chiefly at Florence and Naples.

Another species of cochineal is the Coccus polonicus, which is met
with in Poland and Russia, more rarely in France, on the roots of a
small plant, the Sclcranthus pcrennis. This cochineal is gathered in
the Ukraine towards the end of June, when the abdomen of the
female is swollen, and filled with a purple and sanguineous juice.

The Polish kermes ( Coccus polonicus) was formerly used very much
in Europe. This product has not indeed lost all its importance in
those countries where it is met with in abundance.

We have now only to point out among the insects of this group
the Coccus lacca, which lives in India on many trees, among others
on the Indian fig-tree, the Pagoda fig-tree, the Jujube tree, on the
Croton, &c.

These last-mentioned insects produce a colouring matter known
under the name of Lac Dye. They fix themselves on the little
branches, getting together in great numbers, forming nearly straight

HemipterA. 137

lines. The bodies of many fecundated females, united together by a
resinous exudation which is caused by the piercing of the bark,
constitutes the matter called in commerce and by dyers by the name
of Lac Dye, Shell-lac, Gum-lac, &c.

Resinous lac is found in commerce under four forms : — First, the
stick-lac, such as it is found concreted at the extremity of the
branches whence it exudes — it is an irregular brownish crust;
secondly, the seed-lac, picked off the branches and pounded;
thirdly, shell-lac in scales melted down and run into thin plates,
which vary in quality according to the proportion of colouring matter
they contain ; fourthly, thread-lac, which resembles reddish threads,
and is prepared thus in India.

One more word about the cochineal. The Coccus mamiiparus^
which lives on the shrubs {Tamarix mannifera) on Mount Sinai,
causes to exude from the branches it has pierced a sort of manna.
The Coccus sinensis produces a kind of wax which is employed in
China in the manufacture of candles.

62*

138

IV.

LEPIDOPTERA.

This order of insects is known popularly by the names of Butterflies
and Moths. Linnaeus gave them the name of Lepidoptera, meaning
insects with scaly wings {xiiris, a scale ; and irT(p6v, a wing). They
are to be found in great numbers in all parts of the world. All the
insects contained in the order are, in their perfect state, remarkable
for the elegance of their shape, the rapidity and airiness of their
flight, and the multiplicity and beauty of their colours. Before they
arrive at this perfect state, the Lepidoptera have to undergo three
complete transformations. They leave the egg in the larva or
caterpillar state ; they pass next to the state of pupa, or chrysalis:
they then assume, after a variable time, their final or perfect form.
We will study them in their three difterent states in succession.

The Larva, or Caterpillar.

When the winter has stripped the leaves ofl" the trees, the
Lepidoptera are seen no more ; but as soon as the leaves begin to
show themselves on the trees and shrubs, this tribe of the insect race
again makes its appearance. Caterpillars of all kinds are gnawing at
the leaves, even before they are fully developed. Many of them
have just emerged from the eggs which the perfect insects had laid at
an earlier period ; others have passed the winter in this state.

When they come out of the egg the young caterpillars are in
shape more or less elongated and cylindrical. Their body is
composed of twelve segments, or rings. In front is the head ; then
come three segments, on which are the front legs, and which
constitute the thorax ; the other segments constitute the abdomen.
The head is formed of two scaly parts. It is often very deeply
hollowed out on its upper side, and divided into two lobes, which
contain in the angle formed by their separation the different parts of
the mouth. The head is uniform, rarely having, so far as our cater-

LEPIbOPTERA, 130

pillars are concerned, any protuberance ; but in the tropical species
it is often armed with prickles, spikes, and extraordinary appendages.
They are provided with six small simple eyes, isolated from each
other. The mouth is armed laterally with a pair of very solid horny
mandibles, articulated by means of vigorous muscles, and moving
horizontally. It is the function of the mandibles, as with the jaws, to
divide the creature's food. On the middle of a broad under-lip one
may perceive a little elongated tubular organ, pierced with a micro-
scopic orifice. This organ is the spinning apparatus, which the
animal uses in fabricating the threads which it will one day require.
It is a tube composed of longitudinal fibres. It presents only one
orifice, cut obliquely, and capable of applying itself exactly to the
body on which the larva is placed. From the contractile nature of

Fig. 94.— Scaly legs of the Caterpillar of the Gipsy Moth {Liparis dispar).

this organ and the form of its orifice, combined with the faculty the
insect possesses of moving it in all directions, result the great
differences we observe in the diameter and form of the threads.

The external organs of the trunk and abdomen are the legs, the
spiracles, and various occasional appendages. The legs are of two
different kinds. One set, to the number of six, attached by pairs to
the trunk, are covered with a shiny cartilage, and armed with hooks.
These are the true legs. Fig. 94 represents, after Reaumur's "Memoire
sur les Differentes Parties des Chenilles,"* the scaly legs of the
caterpillar of the Gipsy Moth. The others are membranous, fleshy,
■generally conical or cylindrical, contractile, and taking, according to
the will of the animal, very different forms. Fig. 95 represents, after
the same Memoir of Reaumur's, the different forms of the membranous
legs of the silkworm caterpillar. This plate gives a sufficiently good

* Tome i., p. 164; Plate III., Figs, i, 2.

140

THE INSECT WORLD.

idea of the shape of these organs, and of the hooks, circular or semi-
circular, with which they are furnished.

In Fig. 96 are represented, after the same author, two mem-

Fig- 95- — Membranous legs of the Silkworm {Bombyx mart).

branous legs of a large caterpillar, of which the hooks of the feet are

fastened into a branch of a shrub.

Caterpillars have from two to ten false legs, the scaly legs being

always six in number. The pro-legs,
as the fleshy ones are called, are
divided into hinder and intermediate.
The former are two in number ; the
intermediate are rarely more than
eight in number.

In the caterpillars which have the
full number of legs — that is to say,
sixteen — there are two empty spaces,
where the body has no support : the
one between the legs and the pro-
legs, formed by the fourth and fifth
segment ; the other, between the
intermediate pro-legs and the anal
legs, formed by the tenth and
eleventh ring.

The variations which caterpillars
present, so far as the number and
situations of their pro-legs are con-
cerned, are the following ; —
The greatest number among them have ten pro-legs ; others have

only eight ; others only six — these may be called semi-loopers ; others

Fig. 96.— Membranous legs of a large
Caterpillar embracing a twig.

LEPIDOPTRRA.

[41

only four, one pair being situated on the last ring, and the other on
the ninth, as in the case of looper caterpillars. And, lastly, there are
others which have only two pro-legs.

The various forms, numbers, and positions of these organs,
produce great differences in the mode of locomotion of caterpillars.
Those provided with ten or eight membranous legs have in walking
only a very slight undulating motion. Their bodies are parallel
to the plane which supports them. They can walk very quickly;
but their steps are short and quickly repeated. Others, on the
contrary, in proportion as the number of their false legs diminishes,
and the spaces between the legs increase, walk in a more irregular
and quaint manner.

If the reader will glance at Fig. 97, taken from Re'aumur's
" Memoire sur les Chenilles en
ge'neral,"* which represents a
looper caterpillar, with four
membranous legs, he will see
that there is a considerable
space between the posterior
legs and the first pair of pro-
legs, along which the body has
no points of support. If one of
these caterpillars, lying quiet and at full length, determines to walk,
in order to take its first step (Fig. 98) it begins by humping its back,
curving into an arch that part which has no legs, and finishes by
assuming the position seen in Fig. 99. In the former position it has

Fig. 97. — Looper Caterpillar.

Fig. 98.— Caterpillar curved into an arch.

Fig. 99. Caterpillar at full length.

its two intermediate legs against the posterior legs, and, in con-
sequence, it has brought forward the hinder part of its body, a distance
equal to the interval of the five segments which separate them.
There it hooks on by its intermediate and hind legs. Then it has
only to raise and straighten the five rings which had formed the loop,
' and to advance its head to a distance equal to the length of five

* Tome i., p. 49, Plate I., Fig. 6.

142 THE INSECT WORLD.

segments. The step is thus made, the caterpillar making the same
movements in taking the second and following steps.

This sort of gait has gained for them the name of Geometers,
because they seem to measure the road over which they travel.
When they make a step, they apply the part of their body which
they have just curved up to the ground, in exactly the same way as
a land surveyor applies his chain to it.

These looper caterpillars cannot shorten or lengthen their seg-
ments at will, as other caterpillars, but only bend their bodies.

Fig. TOO. — Caterpillar of the Canary-shouldered Thorn {Eugonia alniaria).

There are many species whose bodies are cylindrical, stiff, and of the
same colour as bark. Their attitudes deceive even the close observer.
They embrace the stem of a leaf or twig with their hinder and
intermediate legs, whilst the rest of their body, vertically elevated, "
remains stiff and immovable for hours together. Fig. loo shows the
caterpillar of the Canary-shouldered Thorn {Eugo?iia alniaria) in this
strange position. Now, this is a feat of strength which the most
skilful of our acrobats, ordinary and extraordinary, which all the
Leotards of the present day, and those who are to succeed them, can
never accomplish. With such a persistency, this caterpillar can

LEPIDOPTERA,

143

sustain its body in the air for a considerable time, in all the positions
imaginable, between the vertical and the horizontal, and downwards
again in any incline from the horizontal to the vertical. '' If one
considers," says Reaumur, " how far we are from having in the
muscles of our arms a force capable of supporting us in such
attitudes as these, we must own that the power of the muscles in
these insects is prodigious/'

We will not dwell now on the variableness of the length of the
body of caterpillars ; on the fleshy appendages which are to be
observed on them ; on the hairs which either beautify or render them
hideous, according to the fancy of the observer \ nor on the various
colours with which they are decorated. We will notice these various
characteristics when giving the history of some species of remarkable
Lepidoptera.

Many caterpillars are solitary ; others live in companies more or
less numerous, either when young, or during the whole of their
existence.

With the exception of a great number of moths, which live at
the expense of our furs, or woollen stuffs, and leather or fatty
matters, all caterpillars feed on plants. From the root to the seeds,
no part of the vegetable is safe from their attacks. The greatest
number of the species, however, prefer the leaves. Those of the
most acrid and poisonous are no more spared than those of the
most harmless plants. There are caterpillars which eat the leaves
of the Euphorbia, or spurge, for instance.

" I wished to try," says Re'aumur, *' the milk of this plant on my
tongue. It produced hardly any effect upon it at first ; but after a
quarter of an hour I found my mouth on fire, and it was a heat
which reiterated garglings with water during many hours in succession
could not quench. This continued till the next day. The heat
passed successively from one part of my mouth to another. I,
however, saw many of my caterpillars drinking greedily the great
drops of milk which were at the end of the broken stem I had
presented to them."'

Is it not extraordinary that there are caterpillars which live on
the nettle? — that they eat the leaves of this plant, armed as it is
with stinging bristles, which cause such smarting and itching to the
skin, and produce blisters upon it.

It has often been said that each plant has its own peculiar species
of caterpillar. All we can say is, that a certain number of vegetables
only suit certain caterpillars. The species which eat roots are few ;
those which live in the interior of stalks or stems which they feed on

144

THE INSECT WORLD.

are numerous, and those which nourish themselves on the pulp of
fruits are rare. In general, after the leaves, the caterpillars prefer the
flowers : in this they certainly do not show bad taste. Their growth
is more or less rapid, according to the species, according to the
nourishment they take, and according to the season of the year.
Those whose food is succulent grow more rapidly than those which
have for their food dry gramineous plants and coriaceous lichens.
Most of them eat at night, and remain during the day motionless,
and as it were in a state of torpor ; others are so voracious that they
are constantly eating. Tliis voracity is indeed sometimes surprising.
Malpighi has observed that a silkworm often eats in a day mulberry
leaves equal to its own weight. How could we provide our horses
and oxen with provender, if they required each day their own weight
of hay and grass ? There are even some caterpillars which are still
more voracious than that. Reaumur weighed several caterpillars of
a species which lives on the cabbage, and gave them bits of cabbage-
leaves which weighed twice as much as their bodies. In less than
twenty-four hours they had entirely consumed them. In this space
of time their weight increased one-tenth. Fancy a man whose
weight is i8o lbs. eating in one day 360 lbs. of meat, and gaining

18 lbs. in weight ! Caterpillars
eat by the aid of two jaws or
mandibles so broad and solid
that, considering the smallness
of the insect, they are equi-
valent to all the teeth with
which large animals are fur-
nished. It is by the alternate
movement of these mandibles
that the caterpillars devour the
leaves with so much greedi-
ness and ease.

" A caterpillar, when it
wants to gnaw the edge of a
leaf," says Reaumur, "twists
its body in such a way that at
least one portion of the edge
of this leaf is passed between its legs. These legs hold fast that
portion of the leaf which is to be cut by the insect's jaws (Fig.
101). To give the first bite the caterpillar elongates its body, and
carries its head as far forward as possible. The portion of the leaf
which is between the open jaws is cut through the instant the teeth

Fig. loi.

-Looper Caterpillar eating the leaves of the
Apricot (after Rdaumuri.

LEPIDOPTERA. I45

meet each other \ the bites succeed each other quickly ; there is not
one, or scarcely one of them, that does not detach a bit, and each
bit is swallowed almost as soon as cut off. At each fresh bite the
head approaches the legs in such a way that during the succession of
bites it describes an arc ; it hollows out the portion of the leaf in a
segment of a circle, and it is always in this order that it gnaws it."

But there is a phenomenon in the life of caterpillars which we
ought to point out, and which has attracted the attention of the most
illustrious observers. All caterpillars change their skins many times
during their life. It is not, indeed, enough to say that they change
their skins ; the skins or cases they cast are so complete that they
might be taken for entire caterpillars. The hairs, the case of the
legs, the claws with which the legs are provided, the hard and solid
parts which cover the head, the jaws — all these are found in the
skin which the insect abandons. What an operation for the poor
little animal ! This labour is so enormous, so troublesome, that one
cannot form a just idea of it. One or two days before this grand
crisis, the caterpillar leaves off eating, loses its usual activity, and be-
comes motionless and languid. Their colour fades, their skin dries
Httle by little, they bow their backs, swell out their segments. At
last this dried-up skin splits below the back, on the second or third
ring, and lets us have a glimpse of a small portion of the new skin,
easily to be recognised by the freshness and brightness of its colours.
" When once the split has been begun," says Reaumur, " it is
easy for the insect to extend it ; it continues to swell out that part
of its body which is opposite the slit. Very soon this part raises
i itself above the sides of the split ; it does the work of a wedge, which
I elongates it ; thus the split soon extends from the end or the cora-
I mencement of the first ring as far as the other side of the end of the
fourth. The upper portion of the body which corresponds to these
j four rings is then laid bare, and the caterpillar has an opening suf-
I ficiently large to serve it as an egress through which it can entirely
I leave its old skin. It curves its fore part, and draws it backwards ;
by this movement it disengages its head from under its old envelope,
and brings it up to the beginning of the slit ; at once it raises it, and
puts it out through this slit. The moment afterwards it stretches
out its fore part and lowers its head. There now remains for the
I caterpillar nothing but to draw its hinder part from the old case."
I This excessively laborious operation is finished in less than a
I minute. The new livery which the caterpillar has just put on is fresh
and bright in colour. But the animal is exhausted by its fast, and
the efforts which it has made. It requires a few hours in which to

146 THE INSECT WORLD.

regain its equilibrium, and at the same time its former activity and
voracity.

The Chrysalis, or Pupa.

Having attained its full development, the caterpillar ceases to eat,
as at the approach of a moult, it empties its intestinal canal by
copious ejections ; it loses its colours, and becomes dull and livid,
and thus prepares itself to enter a new phase of its existence.

Some, when about to transform themselves into chrysalides,
suspend themselves to foreign bodies. Others spin a cocoon,
composed of silk and other substances, which secures them against
the attacks of their enemies and the action of the atmosphere.
Those which suspend themselves can be divided under two heads,
according to the mode of their suspension : — i. Those which suspend
themselves perpendicularly by the tail. 2. Those which, after having
fixed themselves by the same part, suspend themselves horizontally,
by means of a silk thread passed round the body.

To understand the difficulty which the first of these operations
presents, we must consider the problem which the caterpillar has to
solve. In this problem there are two unknown quantities to be dis-
covered. Firstly, the caterpillar must suspend itself firmly ; and
secondly, the pupa, having no communication with the object which
supports it, must be suspended in the same manner. This problem is.
difficult, apparently impossible, to solve. It is only by watching these
insects at work that one can discover the wonderful mysteries of
their lives. Swammerdam, Vallisnieri, and other observers who have
studied insects, had not, however, observed the manoeuvres of
caterpillars in this curious phase of their existence. It is to
Reaumur again that science is indebted for the most charming and
valuable observations on this point. He got together a great
number of caterpillars of the small Tortoise-shell Butterfly ( Vanessa
urticce)^ black prickly caterpillars which are common on the stinging-
nettle, where they live in companies, and suspend themselves by the
tail. When the time approaches at which the caterpillars of this
species ought to undergo their transformations, they usually leave the
plant which had up to that time served them as food. After having
wandered about a little, they select some convenient spot, where they
hang themselves up head downwards (Figs. 102, 103).

In order to hang itself in this way, the caterpillar begins by cover-
ing, with threads drawn in different directions, a pretty large extent
of the surface of the body against which it wishes to fix itself. After
having covered it thus with a kind of thin cobweb, it adds different

LEPIDOPTERA.

H7

Caterpillars of the small Torfofse-shell
Butterfly {Vanessa urticce) undergoing their
metamorphoses.

layers of threads on a small portion of this surface, in such a manner
that the upper one is always smaller than that upon which it is laid.
In this manner a small hillock
of silk is formed, the tissue of
which is not at all compact.
It resembles an assemblage
of loose or badly interwoven
threads. The membranous
feet of the caterpillar are armed
with hooks of different lengths,
with the aid of which it sus-
pends itself. By alternately
contracting and elongating its
body, it pushes its hindermost
legs against the hillock of silk,
presses against it the hooks of
its feet, so as to get them better
entangled, and lets its body Figs. jo2, 103
fall in a vertical position.

It remains hanging thus,
often for twenty-four hours,
during which time it is oc-
cupied in a difficult task, that
of splitting its skin. In order
to effect this, it incessantly
curves and recurves its body
(Fig. 102), until at last a split
appears on the skin of the
back, and through this split
emerges a part of the body of
the chrysalis. This acts as a
wedge, and little by little the
split widens from the head to
the last of the true legs, and
beyond them. Then the open-
ing is sufficient to allow of
the chrysalis drawing out its
anterior portion from the en-
velope, which it immediately does. To set itself entirely free, the
chrysalis lengthens and shortens itself alternately (Fig. 105). Each
time that it shortens itself, and when it consequently distends the
part of its body which is outside the old skin, that parts acts against

Figs. 104, 105. — Chrysalides of the small Tortoise-
shell Butterfly freeing themselves from the
Caterpillar skin.

148 THE INSECT WORLD.

the edges of the slit, and gradually pushes the old skin upwards.
Thus the caterpillar skin ascends, its plaits are pushed nearer and
nearer together, and it is soon reduced to a packet so small that it
covers only the end of the tail of the chrysalis (Fig. 106).

But here comes the culminating point, the most difficult part of
the operation. The chrysalis, which is shorter than the caterpillar,
is at some distance from the silky network to which it must fix itself ;
it is only supported by that extremity of the caterpillar's skin which
had not been split open. It has neither legs nor arms, and yet it
must free itself from this remaining part of the skin, and reach the
threads to which it is to suspend itself

The supple and contractile segments of the chrysalis serve for the
limbs which are wanting to it. Between two of these segments, as

Fie. 106. — Chrysalis of the small Tortoise-
shell Butterfly completing the operation Fig. 107.— Chrysalis divested of the larva
of casting its larval skin. skin.

with a pair of pincers, the insect seizes a portion of the folded skin,
and with such a firm hold that it is able to support the whole of its
body on it. It now curves its hinder parts slightly, and draws its tail
entirely out of the sheath in which it was enclosed. It then reposes
for an instant only, for it has not yet finished the laborious operation
of its deliverance. It must free itself entirely from the dry skin
which surrounds the extremity of its body.

The insect curves the part which is below its tail in such a
manner that that part can embrace and seize the packet to which it
holds on. It then gives to its body a violent shock, which makes it
spin round many times on its tail, and that with great rapidity.
During all these pirouettes the chrysalis acts against the skin ; the
hooks of its legs fray the threads, and break them or disentangle

LEPIDOPTERA. 1 49

themselves from them. Sometimes the threads do not break at once.
Then the animal re-commences its revolutions in an opposite direction,
and this time it is almost certain to succeed. Reaumur, however,
saw a chrysalis which, after having tired itself in vain in its endeavours
to get entirely free of its old skin, despairing of ever being able to
, manage it, abandoned it where it was so soHdly fixed. We represent
^-(Fig. 107), rather magnified, the chrysalis arrived at its final state, and
suspended to a branch of a tree by a network of silk.*

We come now to the mode of suspension employed by those
caterpillars, which, after having fixed themselves by the tail, strengthen
the support by means of a small silk cord passed round their body.

It is again to Reaumur, that indefatigable observer of the habits
of insects, that we go for the details of this manner of suspension.
According to Re'aumur, these caterpillars make and put on this belt
in three different ways. But of these three ways the simplest, and
the least liable to meet with accident, is that employed by the larva
of the Cabbage Butterfly {Fieris brassicce). When the time for its
metamorphosis is only a few days distant, one may observe this
caterpillar engaged in stretching threads on different parts of the case
in which it is confined. It then chooses a spot, which it covers
entirely with threads, some more compact than the others, and
disposed in layers, which cross each other in different directions.
These threads form a thin white cloth, against which the belly of the
caterpillar and later that of the chrysalis are applied. Very soon we
see a small hillock of silk rising. The caterpillar hooks itself on to
this by the claws of its hinder feet, and sets to work to secure itself

To understand this process, it suffices to know that after having
lengthened its body to a certain point, this caterpillar can turn back
its head on to its back, and reach to the fifth ring, having its three
pairs of true legs in the air. But without putting the caterpillar into
such an unnatural position, let us take it in a position in which it is
simply bent sideways in such a manner that its head, with the thread-
spinning apparatus, which is below, can be applied opposite and
pretty near to one of the legs belonging to the first pair of mem-
branous legs. Our caterpillar begins by fixing on this point a
thread, which is the first of those that are intended to tie it up
securely.

" This thread," says the illustrious author of "Memoires pour servir
h. I'Histoire des Insectes," " must pass over the caterpillar's body,

* It has been remarked that only those whose continuance in the pupal state is
short, undergo their metamorphosis in this apparently inconvenient position. — Ed.

iqo

THE INSECT WORLD.

and be attached by its other end near the leg corresponding to that
near which the first end was fastened. To spin the thread the proper
length, and at the same time to fix it in its proper place, the cater-
pillar has only to bring round its head to the fifth segment.
The thread will be drawn ft-om the spinning apparatus as the
head advances over half the circumference of the circle which
it has to describe \ and when it has described this, there will only

Fig. io8.— Caterpillars of the Cabbage Butterfly {Pietis brassiccr).

remain for it to secure the second end of the thread agamst the
support. Thus the head, which was at first placed against one of
the legs, advances little by little on the outline of the fifth ring as far
as to its middle (Fig. io8). It is the facility the caterpillar has of
reversing its body that enables it to make its head perform this
journey; in proportion as it moves it over the circumference of the;
ring, it twists its body. And at last, when it has brought it over the
top of the segment, its body is exactly folded in two ; it draws it.
litde by little from this situation by bending towards the other side, |
and by causing its head to pass gently over the last quarter of the!
circle. At last the. caterpillar finds itself bound on the second side;;
the head rests on the thread-covered plane, and the insect fixes the!
second end of the thread."

It has only to repeat the same manoeuvre as many times as there

LEPIDOPTERA.

151

Fig. 109. — Caterpillar of the Pieris brassicse.

are threads wanted to make a strong band. But each thread
embraces the head, or rather the lower part of the head, for it knows
how to make each thread
it spins ghde into the
bend or crease of its
neck by a Uttle move-
ment of its head. It
must disengage its head
from under the band, not
a difficult operation. It
causes it to slide along

the threads near one of the places where they are fixed, and it is
then in the position indicated by the foregoing engraving (Fig. 109).

About thirty hours after the caterpillars have
succeeded in making themselves fast, they have
completed their transformation into chrysalides.
In Fig. no the chrysalis of the above-mentioned
caterpillar is seen in two different positions, and
held by the same band which first supported the
caterpillar.

Those caterpillars which construct cocoons
make them of^silk and other substances. These
cocoons are, for the most part, oval or elliptical,
sometimes boat-shaped, and ordinarily white,
yellow, or brown in colour. The threads may
very slightly adhere together, or be closely united
by a gummy substance with which the caterpillar
lines the interior of the cocoon, and which it
expels from the anus. Some cocoons are com-
posed of a double .envelope, others are_ of a
uniform texture. Some are of a tissue so close
that they entirely hide the chrysalis ■ contained
within ; others form a very light covering, through
which the chrysalis can be easily perceived
(Fig. III).

Among caterpillars that make a very slight
cocoon, some, as the Caiocalas (Fig. 112), gather
two or three leaves into a ball, to protect them.
Others strengthen their cocoons, and render them Pupae o/rferis brassicse.
opaque by adding earth or other substances, often
obtained from their own bodies. Some, after having spun their
cocoon, cast forth through the anus three or four masses of a matter

Fig. no.

152

THE INSECT WORLD.

resembling paste, which they apply with their head to the inside of
the cocoon, and which, drying quickly, becomes pulverulent Others
employ for the same purpose the hairs with which
their bodies are covered.

The larva of Acronyda aceris (Figs. 113-115)
is covered with tufts of yellow hair. Reaumur
made these caterpillars work under his eye in glass
vases. They make the layer which is to form the
exterior surface of their shell, or cocoon, of pure
silk, and when it is thick enough, tear out their
hair, now from one place, now from another. But
we will leave the illustrious observer to relate this
operation himself, which must without doubt be
painful to the poor animal : —

''Its two jaws are the pincers the caterpillar
uses in seizing a portion of one or other of the
tufts of hair ; and when it has seized it, it tears it out without much

Fig. III.
Cocoon, after Reaumur,

Fig. 113.— Larva of Acronycta aceris.

difficulty. It at once places this against the tissue it has already
commenced, in which it entangles it at first simply by pressure ; it

LEPIDOPTERA.

153

fixes it then more securely by spinning over it. It does not leave
off tearing out its hairs till it has entirely stripped them off. When
the caterpillar has taken between
its jaws and torn out a whole
tuft of hair, the head carries it
and deposits it on some part of
the lower surface of the cocoon ;
but it does not leave the hairs
of such a large parcel together.
The next moment one sees its
head moving about very quickly ;
then taking a portion of the hairs
■from the little heap, it distributes
them about on the neighbouring
parts of the cocoon. If one opens
one of these shells before the cater-
pillar has become a chrysalis, the
larva, which is quite naked, and
which was only known by its hair,
can be no longer recognised."

The caterpillar of the Tiger
Moth, or Woolly Bear, called
by Reaumur Marte or Herisson
{Chelonia caja^ Fig. 116), is
covered with long inclined hairs.
This caterpillar also makes use

of its hairs for strengthening the tissue of its cocoon ; but whether it
feels the pain more acutely than the former, or whether it would

Fig.

-T^arva of Acronycta aceris taken out
of its cocoon.

Fig. 116. — Larva of Chelonia caja.

suffer more, it does not tear out its hairs. It adopts another system ;
it cuts them. The caterpillar is then enveloped on all sides in its
hair, which is to serve in the construction of its cocoon (Fig. 1 17).

154

THE INSECT WORLD.

Another species uses its hairs in the composition of its cocoon ;
but it adopts an entirely pecuHar way of tearing them out, when the
tissue of its cocoon has become a species of network of pretty closely
packed rings. Reaumur one day saw one part of the cocoon
bristling with hairs. These were the hairs of a part of the back of

the caterpillar, which it had pushed
through the rings of its cocoon.
The caterpillar then moved about
as if rubbing this part of its back
successively in opposite directions
against the interior surface of the
cocoon. In this way the hairs were
very soon torn out and kept retained
in the rings of the cocoon. This
cocoon is then bristly inside, and
does not at all suit the future
chrysalis, which does not like to be
touched by any but smooth sur-
faces. The caterpillar then works
with its head, to lay the hairs along
the interior surface, and to keep
them down by threads, which it
draws over them. At another time Reaumur saw a small hairy
caterpillar, which appeared to live on lichens, using its hair in another
way. It tore them out to make its cocoon, but it was not to lay
them down and work them into a tissue. It set them straight up

Fig. 117.
Larva of Chelonia caja forming its cocoon.

Small Caterpillar of the Pimpernel.

Fig. 119.— Cocoon of the same.

like the stakes of palisades, On the circumference of an oval space
in which it was placed. Shut up within this palisade, it spun a ligh
white web. This web supports the hairs, causing the greater part 0

LEPIDOPTERA.

155

them to curve at their upper extremity, in such a manner as to form
a sort of cradle.

It remains for us now to speak of the caterpillars that make their
cocoons of silk, together with other materials. Reaumur saw the
Pimpernel caterpillar arranging and sticking together the leaves of
that plant, and spinning underneath them a thin cocoon of white
silk (Figs. 119, 120).

Some caterpillars make their cocoons on the surface of the earth,

Fig. 120. — Larva of CucuIHa verbasci.

and even with earth. These cocoons are spherical or oblong. Their
exterior is more or less well shaped, but their interior is always
smooth, polished, shining like moistened earth, v/orked up together
into a kind of paste, and carefully
smoothed out. This cocoon is besides
lined with a covering of silk of vari-
able thickness. The shell is not made
of earth alone ; threads of silk may
be seen in it, crossing each other, and
binding together the particles of earth.
These subterranean workers do

not allow their proceedings to be pig. 121. -Cocoon of the Cucullia verbasci

easily observed. Reaumur was for-
tunate enough to be able to notice their skill in the construction
.of their shells or cocoons. The Cucullia verbasci (Fig. 120) makes
itself a thick and very compact cocoon of the form of an egg (Fig. 121).
Reaumur took one of these out of the ground before it is fortified.
He tore it partially open, and placed it in a glass vase containing
sand, but the poor insect was not long in repairing the disorder
caused by the rough hand of our naturalist. It only took four hours
to restore its cocoon to its former state.

'' It began," says Reaumur, " by coming almost entirely out, and

156 THE INSECT WORLD.

left only its hinder part within. It moved its head forwards as far as
was necessary to enable it to seize a particle of earth. As soon as it
had got its load, it re-entered the interior of the cocoon. It deposited
the grain of earth, and came out again immediately, as it did at first,
to pick up another grain, which it carried likewise into the interior
of the cocoon. This operation it continued for more than an hour.
. . . The provision of materials being got together, the caterpillar
now devoted his whole attention to working them up. It began by
spinning over one part of the edges of the opening. After having
put over this a small band of very loose web, the caterpillar's head
left the opening, the insect went right back again into its cocoon, and
the head returned to the opening loaded with a little grain of earth,
which it entangled in the silky threads. It then entangled in them
two or three, or a greater number of grains, according to the quantity
of threads it had spun. It bound them into these with other threads,
after which it drew threads over the edges of another part. By thus
going round the whole rim of the opening, and by carrying and
fixing the grains of earth in the threads which were the last stretched
over the opening, it rendered its diameter smaller and smaller."
. . It was by working with its head that our mason gave to the new
wall of its cocoon the necessary curvature. It was interesting to
know how, as it could no longer put out its head, it could stop up
the orifice.

" It knew how to change its manoeuvres. Wh^n the opening was
reduced to a circle of only a few lines in diameter, it drew threads
from a point on the circumference to another on the other side.

Thus the opening was covered in with a rather open

net-work As soon as this web was finished, it got a

grain of earth (which it had laid by until it was wanted), brought it up,
placed it against the web, and by pushing and pressing it, made it
pass through the web until it reached the exterior, and so in succes-
sion the whole of the web was covered with grains of earth. . . . " .
It was not satisfied with rendering the exterior of this place exactly
like the rest of the shell ; it fortified it thoroughly ; it added to it, one
after another, layers of grains of earth, till it was as solid and as thick
as the rest."

The larva of Pyralis corticalis, which is found on oak trees in the
month of May, shows to what a point these little insects carry their
industry in the construction of their cocoons, in the choice of their
materials, in their manner of working them up, and in the forms thfcy
cause them to assume. Reaumur one day saw this caterpillar on a
small branch, between two triangular appendages (Figs. 122, 123).

LEPIDOPTERA.

157

This was the beginning of a cocoon. Each triangular blade was
composed of a great number of small, thin, rectangular plates, taken

I

ii

Figs. 122, 123.— Cocoon of Pyralis corticalis (magnified, proper size § inch).

from the bark of the twig. The caterpillar detached with its jaws a
small band of bark, and fitted it on, and adjusted it with admirable
precision against the edge already formed. It then fixed it securely

158 THE INSECT WORLD.

with silk threads. Reaumur saw this caterpillar work and erect in
this way a large blade during an. hour and a half.

"When one sees," he says,* "an insect which, to construct a
cocoon, begins by collecting together an infinite number of small
plates of bark in order to compose of them two flat triangular blades ;
which, to gain its end, takes means that seem so roundabout,
although they are the most suitable and the quickest it could adopt,
one is very much tempted to consider such an insect, when one sees
it thus acting, possessed of reason."

These two blades are at last transformed into a regular cocooi
The little animal, which is at the same time architect, cabinet-makei
and weaver, arranges it in such a way as to form a hollow cone, whicl
it only remains for it to shut. Re'aumur calls this sort of cocoon orl
shell, la cogue en bateau, the boat-shaped cocoon. Some caterpillars
weave cocoons of the same form with pure silk.

To bring this subject to an end, we will mention the industry of
the Puss Moth (Dicranura vinula), and that of a small Tmea, which
eats the barley stored away in our granaries.

The larva of the puss moth employs in the construction of its shell
the wood of the tree on which it has lived. It bites it up, and mixing
it with a glutinous fluid which it secretes from its mouth, reduces it to
a sort of paste, which it then uses in the formation of an envelope, of
such hardness that a knife can hardly cut into it.

The Tinea lines the interior of a grain, of which it has previously
devoured the contents, with a coating of silk, and divides it thus into
two different chambers. In one of these it is to change into a pupa ;
in the other it places its excrement. And so the little careful
architect constructs its house in such a manner as to find in it
tranquillity, cleanliness, and comfort.

When caterpillars have not within their reach the materials they
are in the habit of employing, like good workmen, they content them-
selves with what they can get. Re'aumur reared a caterpillar which
formed its cocoon of pieces of the paper of which the box was made
in which it was imprisoned.

What an extraordinary condition ! what a strange phase of vitality
does the chrysalis present to us — a being occupying the middle state
between the caterpillar and the perfect insect ! How little does it
resemble that which it previously was, and what it will become ! In
appearance it is scarcely a living being ; it takes no nourishment, and
has no digestive organs ; can neither walk nor drag itself along, and

• Mem. 12, vol. i., p. 487.

LEPIDOPTERA.

159

hardly bends the joints of its body. The outside skin of the
chrysalis appears to be cartilaginous ; it is generally smooth, although
some species have hairs scattered over their bodies.

We distinguish in chrysalides two opposite sides. The one is
the insect's back, the other its under side. On the upper part of the
latter (Fig. 124) we perceive various raised portions, formed and
arranged like the bands round the heads of mummies ; the back is
plain and rounded in a great number of pupae ; but a great many
others have on the upper part, along the edges which separate the two

Fig. 124.
A conical pupa.

Fig. 125. Fig. 126.

Pupa having angular projections. Angular pupa of a Butterfly.

sides, little humps, eminences broader than they are thick, ending in
a sharp point (Fig. 125).

The head of the angular pupae terminates sometimes in two
angular parts, which diverge from each other like two horns
(Fig. 126). In some other cases they are curved into the form of a
crescent. These appendages sometimes give to the pupa the appear-
ance of a mask, especially as an eminence placed on the middle of
the back is rather like a nose, and the small cavities may represent
the eyes (Fig. 125).

The colours of angular pupae attract our attention. Some are
superbly tinted ; they appear to be wrapped in silk and gold. Others
have only spots of gold and silver on their belly or their back. All,
however, have not this remarkable splendour, not these metallic spots.
Some are green, yellow, and spotted with gold. Generally they are
brown. Re'aumur has shown that this golden colour is not due, as
was thought for a long while, to colouring matter, but to a little
whitish membrane, placed under the skin, which reflects the light
through the thin outer pellicle, in such a manner as to produce the

loo THE INSECT WORLD.

optical illusion which imparts to the robe of the chrysalis the golden
hues of a princess in grand costume. Ail is not goid that giittersy
Reaumur proves literally, in the case of chrysalis.*

Let us add that the chrysalis remains thus superbly dressed as
long as it is tenanted, but loses its colour as soon as the butterfly
has quitted it.

The cone-shaped pupae belong to the twilight and night-flying
Lepidoptera, and to those butterflies whose caterpillars are onisci-
form, or in shape resembling a wood-louse. They are generally oval,
rounded at the head, and more or less conical at the lower end.
Their colour is generally of a uniform chestnut brown.

What a mystery is that which is accomplished in the transition
from the chrysalis to the perfect state ! Those great changes from
the larva state to that of the pupa, and from the pupa to that of the
imago, are accomplished with such rapidity, that the phenomena
were looked on as sudden metamorphoses, like those related in
mythology. It has been thought also that there was in these changes
from one state to another a sort of resurrection. There is here
neither sudden metamorphosis, nor, as we will show, resurrection.
In fact, the chrysalis is a living being ; it indeed shows its vitality by
exterior movements. Under the old skin of a caterpillar about to
moult, under the envelope which is soon to be cast oif, the new
integuments are being prepared.

Some days before the moult, split the caterpillar's skin, and you
will find the skin which is to take its place already beneath. If,
some days before the transformation of the caterpillar into a chrysalis,
it is dissected, the rudiments of wings and antennae may be dis-
covered. If a chrysalis is examined on the outside, all the parts of
the future insect can be distinguished under the skin : the wings, the
legs, the antennae, the proboscis, &c. ; only, these parts are folded
and packed away in such a manner that the chrysalis can make no
use of them. It could not, moreover, make use of them on account
of their incomplete development. Fig. 127 shows, after Reaumur,t;
a chrysalis magnified and seen from its lower side, on which we
observe : — a, the wings; l?b, the antennae ; /, the trunk or proboscis.

There is a moment when these parts, pressed one against each
other, and as it were swathed up like a mummy, are very easily seen,
for they are, as we may say, laid bare. This moment is that in

* The word is derived from XP^^^^^ go^^ 5 fo"^ ^li^t reason pupa is a better
word than chrysalis, as this only strictly applies to a very small number ; for the
same reason aurelia is a bad word. — Ed.

f Tome i., p.. 382, planche 26, Fig. 6.

LEPIDOPTERA.

i6i

which the pupa has just quitted the caterpillar's skin. It is then still
soft and tender. Its body is moistened with a liquid, which, drying
rapidly, becomes opaque, coloured, and of a membranous consistency.
The result is that the parts which did not cohere
in the least when the chrysalis made its first
appearance, are fastened together, so that al-
though they could at first be seen, through a
layer of transparent fluid, they are now hidden
under a sort of veil or cloak. It is necessary,
then, to seize the moment of the birth of the
chrysalis, to observe it accurately.

On examining the pupa before the liquid
which pervades these parts has had time to dry,
it resembles the perfect insect. All the exterior
parts which belong to the imago can be dis-
tinguished. One recognises the head, which is
then resting on the thorax ; the two eyes and
the antennae (Fig. 128), which are brought for-
ward like two ribbons ; the wings also brought
over the thorax, but these are separated arti-
ficially in the drawing we have given after
Reaumur ;''^ and lastly in the space left between
the wings, the six legs, and the body of the
insect.

To sum up : the pupa, when it approaches
the period for being hatched is only a swaddled
butterfly. Directly it has strength enough to rid
itself of its wrapping, the insect frees itself from
its fetters ; it flies away, brilliant and free, and
its many-coloured wings glitter in the sun.

The duration of the pupa state is variable, according to the species
and the temperature. Re'aumur placed in a hot-house, in the month
of January, some pupae which, in the ordinary course of things,
would not have been hatched till the month of May, and a fortnight
afterwards the imago had appeared in each case. On the other
hand, he shut up some pupae in an icehouse during the whole of a
summer, and thus retarded their being hatched by a whole year.
The influence of the temperature on the period of emerging, and,
consequently, the influence of the seasons on the length of this
period, are completely brought to light *by these experiments.!

Fig. 127.

Chrysalis of the large

Tortoise-shell Butterfly

( Vanessa polychloros),

magnified, seen from the

lower side.

* Tome i., p. 382, planche 26, Fig. 7.

t They hardly seem from later experiments to be so fully explained.

63

It is a

l62

THE INSECT WORLD.

We will now see how the insect delivers itself from the last skir».
To quit the pupa case is not so laborious an operation as it was for
the same insect to quit the caterpillar's skin. This is because the
pupa case is drier ; it does not adhere to every part of the body, and
is brittle. Those insects which are enclosed in a cocoon free them-
selves of the pupa envelope in the cocoon itself. To witness the
last operation, the cocoon may be opened, and the pupa drawn out

Fig. 128.— Chrysalis of the Large Tortoise-shell Butterfly [Vanessa polychlo
parts have been opened before they were fastened down.
{a, wings ; bo, antennae ; /, trunk, or proboscis.)

whose different

of it with care. If it is then placed in a box, the metamorphosis
may be observed. To study this last evolution more at his ease,
Reaumur covered a large extent of the wall of his study with pupas
of the Vanessa polychloros and other species.

When the parts of the body of the insect have attained a certain
degree of solidity within the envelope, it has no great difficulty in
making the thin and friable membrane which surrounds it split in
diiferent places. If it even distends itself or moves, a small opening
will be made in the dried skin. If the movements persist, the

s^rell-known fact that many insects remain in this state a variable time— the Small
Eggar {Bombyx lanestris) sometimes as many as seven years, — Ed.

LEPIDOPTERA.

163

Moth just ernerged.

opening increases in size, and very soon allows the imago to
emerge.

It is on the middle of the upper part of the thorax that the
envelope begins to split. The split extends over the middle of the
forehead and back. The pieces of the thorax
open, separate themselves from the other parts to
which they were fixed, and the insect can take
advantage of the opening which is made, and
escape. Little by little also it advances its head.
The head is the first out of the old skin, and the
insect sets itself entirely free.

This occupies rather a long time ; for we must
remember that, under the pupal envelope, its legs,
its antennge, its wings, and many other parts, are
enclosed in special cases. These peculiar circum-
stances show that the animal has much trouble and
must employ some time in setting free all the parts.

At last our prisoner has come out of its narrow
cell, and is delivered from its old covering. What
poet can describe to us the sensations of this
charming and frail creature which has just risen
from the tomb, and for the first time is enjoying
the splendid light of day, the radiant sky, and the
flowers redolent with delicious perfumes, which are
inviting it to kiss and caress them !

The wings strike one most. They are very
small at the time of birth.

Fig. 129 represents, after Re'aumur,'^ a moth
at the moment in which it has just emerged from
the pupa. But at the end of a short period the
wings become developed ; only they are wrinkled,
as Fig. 130, given by Reaumur, represents.

Re'aumur having taken between his fingers a
very short wing of a butterfly which was just
hatched, drew it about gently in all directions.
He succeeded thus in giving it the whole extent it would have
assumed naturally. According to Reaumur the wing of a butterfly
just born, which appears so small, is really already provided with all
its parts, only it is folded and re-folded on itself. He supposes that
what his hands did to lengthen the butterfly's wings, is done naturally

* Tome i., p. 654, plaiiche 46, Fig. i.

Y'vg. 130.

Moth whose wings are

folded up.

1 64

THE INSECT WORLD.

by the liquids which are contained in the insect which has just
emerged, and whose wings are no longer confined in their cases. At
the time of its birth the wings are flat and thick ; as they grow, little
by little they spread themselves out and become curled up. When
they are completely developed and flattened the wings become firm
and hard imperceptibly, and this firmness extends at the same time
to the whole of the body.

Figs. 131 and 132, borrowed, like the preceding, from the 14th

k

Fig, 131. — Moth whose wings are developing. Fig. 132. — Moth whose wings are developed.

Memoir of Re'aumur {sur la transformation des chrysalides en papillons),
show the states through which the wings of the same moth pass,
before they are thoroughly developed.

Those pupos enclosed in cocoons free themselves entirely or in
part from their old skin, in the shell itself; but the imago is still a
prisoner. It has broken through a first enclosure ; it must open
itself a way through the second. How does it manage to bore
through the often very solid walls of this second prison, so as to
regain its liberty ? Re'aumur states that in the Lackey Moth {Bombyx
neustrid) the head is the only instmment of which the insect makes
use in opening a passage, the compound eyes then acting like files.
These files cut the very fine threads of which the cocoon is composed,
and as soon as the end of the cocoon is pierced through, the insect
uses its thorax like a wedge, to enlarge the hole. It very soon
manages to get its two front legs out, fixes itself by them on to the
outside, and little by little emerges from its prison.

LEPIDOPTERA.

i6s

The Perfect Insect.

Who does not admire the extraordinary splendour, the vivacity,
the prodigious variety of colours of these brilliant inhabitants of the
air ? Some amateurs have devoted to the purchase of certain butter-
flies large sums of money. " Diamonds,'' says Reaumur on the
subject, " have perhaps beauties no more real than those of a butter-
fly's wings ; but they have a beauty which is more acknowledged by
the world in general, and which is more recognised in commerce."

Fig. 133. — Different forms of the scales of Butterflies, after Reaumur.

The essential character of butterflies and moths makes them very

easily recognisable among all other insects. All have four wings,

which are covered with scales, that communicate to them the brilliant

colours with which they are decorated. It is these scales which

adhere to the fingers when we seize one of these charming creatures.

For a long time this dust was thought to be formed of very small

1; feathers, but Reaumur showed that it is composed of Httle scales.

I Their form varies singularly, as we may see in Fig. 133, borrowed

(i'from the Memoirs of Reaumur,'"' which represents the different forms

J, jof the scales which cover the wings of Lepidoptera. M. Bernard

* Tome i. j planche 7, Figs. I a 23.

1 66

THE INSECT WORLD.

Deschamps has closely studied them. According to this naturalist,
they are composed of three membranes, or plates, superposed one on
the other, of which the first is covered with granulations of a rounded
form, which give to these scales their splendid and varied colours ;
the second plate is covered with silk, forming sometimes curious
designs ; the third plate, viz., that which is applied to the membrane
of the wing, has the peculiar property of reflecting colours the most
brilliant and the most varied, although the surface of the scales
visible to the eye is often dull and colourless.

"Supposing," says M. Bernard Deschamps, "that a painter was

possessed of colours rich
enough to represent on can-
vas with all their splendour,
gold, silver, the opal, the
ruby, the sapphire, the eme-
rald, and the other precious
stones which the East pro-
duces, that with these colours
he formed all the shades
which could result from their
combination, one might af-
firm without the chance of
contradiction, that he would
have none of these colours
and of their various shades,
whatever might be the num-
ber, which could not be
discovered by the microscope on part of the scales of the Lepidoptera,
which Nature has been pleased to conceal from our gaze."

Each of these scales adheres to the membrane of the wing by a
small tube, which is solidly fixed to it. Reaumur has called our
attention to the admirable arrangement of these scales, which are
disposed like those of fish, that is to say, in such a manner that those
of a row shall partially overlap those in the following one.

In Fig. 134, representing a portion of the wing of the Satuniia
pavofiia major^ magnified, which we borrow from Reaumur's Memoir,
the scales are arranged in rows ; isolated scales, and the points
where other scales were fixed before they were taken ofi", are repre-
sented.

The membranous frame which supports the coloured scales of
butterflies and moths is well worth a moment's consideration. It
consists of two membranes intimately united by their interior surfaces,

Fig. 134-

-Portion of the wing of a Moth {Satutnia
pavonia major i, magnified.

LEPIDOPTERA. iGj

and divided into many distinct parts by horny, fistulous threads, more
or less ramified, which seem intended to support the two membranes
mentioned above, and which branch out from the base to the edge
of the wing. Their number, counting from the exterior edge, is not
always the same in the upper and lower wings. It varies from eight
to twelve.

With its large and light wings, the butterfly can fly for a long
tim.e. But this flight is not in the least regular ; it is not made in a
straight line. When the insect has to go some distance, it flies
alternately up and down. The line it takes is composed of an
infinity of zig-zags, going up and down, and from right to left. This
irregularity of flight saves the little insect from falling a prey to birds.
" I saw one day with pleasure," says Reaumur, " a sparrow which
pursued in the air a butterfly for nearly ten minutes without being
able to catch it. The flight of the bird was nevertheless considerably
more rapid than that of the butterfly, but the butterfly was always
higher or lower than the place to which the bird flew, and where it
thought it would catch it."

But let us leave the wings to pass on to the other parts of the
butterfly. These other parts are the thorax or chest, the body or
abdo7nen^ and the head.

The thorax is solidly put together, so as to bear the movements
of the wings and legs. These latter are composed, as in other insects,
of five parts : the coxa, the trochanter, the thigh, the shank, and the
tarsus.

Many butterflies have all their six legs of equal length. In

Fig. 135 —Leg of Butterfly nrmed with hooks. Fig. 136.— Leg not suitable for waiking.

' others, the two fore legs are very small, and are not suited for
walking. In others, again, they are rudimentary, being deprived of
hooks, very hairy, and applied on to the front of the breast.

This difference of structure may be seen in Figs. i35 ^"^ ^.S^*
one of which represents, after Reaumur, a leg unsuited for walkmg,
very hairy, and terminated in a sort of brush resembling the tail on a
tippet ; and the other a leg fiirnished with hooks.

l6S THE INSECT WORLD.

The abdomen has the form of an elongated, or — in the majority of
species — an ahnost cyHndrical oval. It is composed of five segments,
each formed of an upper and a lower ring, joined together by a
membrane. The first are larger than the others, and generally
overlap the edges, which gives to this part of the body the power of
dilating considerably.

We must dwell longer on the head. It is generally rounded,
compressed in front, longer than it is broad, and furnished with fine
or scaly hairs. The important organs of which this part is the seat
are the eyes, the antennae, the palpi, and the proboscis or trunk.

The eyes are more or less spherical, surrounded by hairs, and
composed of innumerable facettes. Colours are seen on these as
various as those of the rainbow. But the colour which serves as
a base to all, is black in some, grey in others ; then again there are
different gold or bronze colours of the greatest splendour, inclining
sometimes to red, sometimes to yellow, sometimes to green. On the
compound eye of a butterfly as many as 17,325 facettes have been
counted. Simple eyes, or stemmata, are moreover observed in
certain species, and are generally more or less hidden by scales.

The antennae are situated near t*he upper rim or border of each
eye. Reaumur has pointed out six principal shapes. One termi-
nates in a little knob^ and belongs to the butterflies. The others are
variously shaped, and belong to the moths. Some are prismatic, or
like beading. And lastly, others are shaped like feathers. We re-
present, in Fig. 137, the different forms of the antennae, which
Reaumur collected together in plates 8 and 9 of his fifth Memoir.*

The palpi are four in number, two maxillary and two labial. The
first are generally excessively small ; one can only ascertain their
existence by the aid of a strong magnifying glass : the second are in
general very apparent, straight, cylindrical, covered with scales, and
formed of three joints, of which the last is often very small and some-
times very pointed. They also sometimes bristle with stiff or silky
hairs.

The trunk is placed exactly between the two eyes. As long as
the butterfly does not want to take nourishment, the trunk remains
rolled in a spiral. Some are so short, that they scarcely make one
turn and a half or two turns ; some larger-sized make three turns
and a half or four turns ; lastly, some very long are curled as many
as eight or ten times.

'I'his is how the butterfly makes use of its trunk : when fluttering

* " Sur les j)ailies exteiieuies cles papilions," tome i., p. 197.

LEPIDOPTERA.

169

around a flower, it will very soon settle on or quite close to it. The
trunk is then brought forward entirely or almost entirely unrolled ;
very soon afterwards it is almost straightened, then directed down-
wards, and plunged into the flower. Sometimes the insect draws it
out a moment after, curves it, twists it a little, and sometimes even

Fig- 137. — Antennae of Lepidoptera.

curls it partially up. Immediately it straightens it again, to plunge it
a second time into the same flower. It repeats the same manoeuvre
seven or eight times, and then flies on to another flower.

This tmnk. of which the butterfly makes such good use, is com-
posed of two filaments more or less long, horny, concave in their
interior surfaces, and fastened together by their edges. When cut
63*

170 THE INSECT WORLD.

transversely, one sees, according to Reaumur,* that the interior is
composed of three small rings. Consequently, there are three canals
in the trunk : one central, the other two lateral (Fig. 138). Are all
these three used to conduct the juice of flowers into the butterfly's
body ? Reaumur has made some very interesting observations on
this subject, by observing a moth which was sucking a lump of
sugar whilst its portrait was being taken.

" 1 held in one hand," says Re'aumur, " a powerful magnifying
glass, which I brought near to that part of
the trunk I wished to examine ; I was some-
times half a minute, or nearly a minute,
without perceiving anything, after which I
saw clearly a little column of liquid mounting
quickly along the whole length of the trunk.
Often this column appeared to be intersected
by little balls, which seemed to be globules of
air which had been drawn up with the liquid.
"This liquid ascended thus during three or
four seconds, and then ceased. At the end
of an interval of a greater number of seconds,
or sometimes after an interval as short, I saw
Fig. 138. some fresh liquid mounting^ up alon^ the trunk.

Section of a Butterfly s Irunk, . i . i • i n r i i

after Re'aumur (magnified). But it WaS Straight Up the middle 01 the trUHlC

that it seemed to ascend.

"The Author of Nature has given to insects means of working,
which, though very simple, we cannot divine, and which often we
are not able even to perceive. AVhilst I was observing the trunk of
our butterfly, between the columns of liquid which I saw ascending,
there were, but more rarely, times when I saw, on the contrary,
liquid descending from the base of the trunk to the point. The
descending liquid occupied half or two-thirds of the tube. It was
no longer diflicult to perceive how the butterfly is able to nourish
itself on honey, the thickest syrup, and even the most solid sugar.
The fluid it sends down is probably very liquid ; it drives against the
sugar, moistens, and dissolves it. The butterfly pumps this^liquid up
again when it is charged with sugar, and conducts it along as far as
the base of its trunk, and beyond it."

The life of the perfect insect is generally very short. Like nearly
all other insects, they die as soon as they have propagated their
species. The female lays her eggs, which vary in shape, on the i)lant

* Planche 9, Fig. 10, 5e Memoire, *' Sur les parties exterieures des papillons."

I

lEPlDOPTERA. 171

which is to nourish her progeny. The colour is also very various,
and passes through all sorts of shades. At the moment they are
laid, many are covered with a gummy substance, insoluble in water,
which serves to stick them on the plant.

In some species the mother lays her eggs on the trunks of trees,
and covers them with down or with the hairs which clothe her
abdomen, so as to preserve them from cold and damp. She may
also hide them entirely under a v/hitish foamy substance. Some do
not lay more than a hundred eggs ; others lay some thousands.

To bring the history of the Lepidoptera to an end, it only remains
for us to give a sketch of their classification, and to point out some
species remarkable, either on account of their beauty or their utility.

We see during the day butterflies flying in our gardens, in mea-
dows full of flowers, or in the alleys of woods. Towards evening,
at the sombre hour of twilight, t'.ie stroller is sometimes surprised to
see pass near him large moths, with a heavy and unequal flight ; or,
if we go into a garden on a beautiful calm summer's night, bearing a
a light, we see a crowd of moths flying from all parts towards it.

It is on account of these different hours at which the Lepidoptera
show themselves, that naturalists for a long time divided them into
diurnal, crepuscular, and nocturnal. This division was simple, con-
venient, and seemed founded on Nature. Unfortunately, the 7iight
fliers of the old authors do not all fly by night : some species, classed
by the old naturalists among the crepuscular, or nocturnal, show
themselves in the very middle of the day, seeking their food in the
hottest rays of the sun. In the regions near the poles they appear
during the day, and in other countries they are more or less friends
of the twilight.

So as not to multiply methodical divisions, we will confine our-
selves to classing the Lepidoptera into two sections.

The first section contains those ivhichfiy diirim^ the day, which
have club-shaped aniennie, and which have their four wings entirely
free, and standijig perpendicularly '^ when the insect is at rest. They
are called Butterflies, or Rhopalocera. This section is divided into a
number of families, which comprise many genera. We will content
ourselves with calling the attention of the reader to some of the most
remarkable of these groups, and to those species which, either on
account of their beauty or abundance, strike, or ought to strike, the
attention of every one.

In the family of the Papilionidce, we will mention the genera

* There are exceptions to this. —Ed.

1/2 THE INSECT WORLD.

Papilio^ to which belong the Swallow-tailed Butterfly [FapiHo machaon)^
Papilio podalirius, &c., and Farnassius, of which we will notice Far-
nassius Apollo^ and Farnassius Mneviosyiie.

Fig. 139.— Swallow-tailed Butterfly [Papilio machaon).

The swallow-tailed butterfly is found plentifully in the fens of
Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk and Suffolk, and very commonly in the

Fig. 140.— Lanra and Chr>'salis of Papilio machaon.

environs of Paris. It is seen from the beginning of May till towards
the middle of June ; then from the end of July till September. It
frequents gardens, woods, and, above all, fields of lucerne. It is
easily taken when settled, particularly at sunset (Figs. 139, 140).

I

LEPIDOPTERA.

173

This is one of the largest and the most beautiful of the European
butterflies. The wings are variegated with yellow and black ; the
eyes, antennae, and trunk are black. The body is yellow on the
sides and underneath, and black above. The front wings have
rounded edges ; the hind ones, on the contrary, are notched, and one
of these notches is prolonged into a sort of tail. The first are black,

Fig. 141, — Papilio Alexanor. '

spotted and striped with yellow ; the second have their upper part
and middle yellow, with some touches only of black. Near the
margin is a broad black band, dusted with blue ; lastly, six yellow
spots in the form of a crescent run along the border, and end in a
magnificent eye of a reddish colour, bordered with blue.

The caterpillar of this species is large, smooth, and of a beautiful
light green, with a transverse black band on each ring. These
bands are sprinkled with orange spots. It lives on the fennel, carrot,
and other Umbellifer^. If teased, it thrusts from the first ring after

174 '^HE INSECT WORLD.

the head a fleshy, orange-coloured tentacle. The chrysalis, attached
to a grass stalk, is sometinnes light green, sometimes greyish (Fig. 140).
In the Basses-Alpes, on the plains near the environs of Digne
and Barcelonnette, is found in May and July the Papilio Alexanor
(Fig. 141), and in Corsica and Sardinia is found the Papilio

Fig. 142.— The scarce Swallow-tailed Y>\xX.\.t^v^y {^Papilio podalirius).

hospifon, a rare species, nearly related to the swallow-tailed butterfl}^,
but which we will here content ourselves with mentioning.

The Papilio podalirius (Fig. 142) is in form very analogous to
Papilio viachaon. It is of a rather pale yellow colour, marked with
black, as if singed. The lower wings have tails longer and narrower
than those of tlie latter, and are magnificently ornamented with blue
crescent-shaped spots and an orange-coloured eye bordered below
with blue. This beautiful species is not rare at Montmorency, at
lyisle-Adam, and at St. Germain. It is said to have been taken in
England, and is called the scarce Swallow-tail, but its capture is con-
sidered as very questionable. It appears for the first time at the end

LRPIDOPTERA. 1^5

of April, and for the second in July and August. The Paniassius
Apollo (Fig. 143), is a beautiful butterfly, which appears in June and
July, and is found commonly enough in the Alps, the Pyrenees, and
and the Cevennes. Its wings are of a yellowish white. The upper
part of the fore wings presents five nearly round black spots ; the
base and the costa, or front edge, of these wings are sprinkled with
black atoms. The upper part of the hind wings presents two eyes of
a vermilion red, the inner border furnished with whitish hairs amply
dotted with black, and marked towards the extremity with tw^o black
spcHs. The under part of the fore wings is very similar to the upper.

Fig. 143. — Parnassius Apollo.

-But the under part of the hind wings presents four red spots bordered
by black, forming a transverse band near the base. The body is
black, furnished with russety hairs, and the antennae are white, with
the club black.

The larva of the Apollo lives on saxifrages. To effect its trans-
formation it surrounds itself with a slight network of silk in which are
confined one or more leaves. This caterpillar is thick, smooth,
cylindrical, and covered with small slightly hairy warts, and orna-
mented on the first ring with a fleshy tentacle in the shape of a Y.
The chrysalis is conical, sprinkled over with a bluish efflorescence
resembling the bloom on a plum. Hie Faniassins Mnemosyne is
found in the month of June in the mountains ot Dauphine, in
Switzerland, Sicily, Hungary, Sweden, and in the Pyrenees.

In the family of the Pieridi we will mention many species
remarkable in different ways, such as Piei'is cratcegi, the black-veined
White, Pieris brassiccE, the Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris napi, Picric

176 THE INSECT WORLD.

callidice. Anthocharis carda/nines, the Orange-tip, Rhodocera {Gonep-
teryx) rhamni^ and Colias ediisa, or Clouded-yellow. Pieris cratcegi is
white both above and below ; the veins only of the wings are black,
and become a little broader at the edge of the upper wings. These
black veins on a rather transparent white ground make this butterfly
resemble a gauze veil, hence its French name, le gaze. It flies in
sprmg and summer in meadows and gardens, but is not generally
common in England. In the first volume of his "Travels in the
North of Russia," Pallas relates that he saw insects of this species
flying in great numbers in the environs of Winofka, and that he at
first took them for flakes of snow. The Piei'is cratcegi fixes itself at

Fig. 144. — Pieris brassicae.

sunset on flowers, where it is easily taken by the hand. During the
day, on the contrary, it is difficult to catch. The larva, black at first,
afterwards assumes short yellow and white hairs, but it varies much.
They live in companies, under a silky web, in which they pass the
winter. The leaves of the hawthorn, the sloe, the cherry tree, and
of many other fruit trees, serve them for food. The pupa, yellow or
white, and sometimes of both colours with little stripes and spots of
black, is angular and terminated in front by a blunt point.

The Pieris brassicce (Fig. 144), or Cabbage Butterfly, is perhaps
the commonest of all butterflies. From the beginning of spring till
the end of autumn one sees it flying about everywhere, in the gar-
dens, sometimes near and almost in the interior of towns. It is
of a dull white, spotted and veined with black, and it can be seen
at a long distance, when flitting from flower to flower, in a meadow
or garden. And so children wage desperate war against this flying
prey. The pursuit of the cabbage butterfly through the alleys of

LRPIDOPTERA.

177

parks, along the outskirts of woods, or on the green turf of meadows,
is the first joy and the first passion of children in the country.

The caterpillar (Fig. 145) is of a yellowish green, or rather greenish
yellow, with three yellow longitudinal stripes separated by little black
points, from each of which springs a whitish hair.
It lives in groups on the cabbages in gardens, and
on many other Cruciferse. It is so voracious that it
consumes in a day more than double its own weight,
and, as it multiplies very quickly, commits great
ravages in the vegetable garden. Its pupa (Fig. 145)
is of an ashy white, spotted with black and yellow.

The Pie7'is rapce^ or Small White Butterfly, differs

but little from the preceding except in size. The

caterpillar, which lives on the cabbage, turnip,

' mignonette, nasturtium, &c., is green, with three

I yellow lines. It does not do these much harm.

I In France it is called le ver du cceur (the heart-

I worm), because it penetrates in between leaves

pressed closely together.

The Fief'is napi (Fig. 146), the Green-veined
White, is very like the two preceding, but the wings,
the lower one especially, have underneath broad
veins, or bands, of a greenish colour. The Pieris
callidice^ the wings of which are white spotted with anJfchry^Us^ofTierL
black, is common in the Alps of France, in Savoy brassicse.

and Switzerland, and in the Pyrenees. Its caterpillar lives near the
regions of perpetual snow, on small cruciferous plants.

The Orange-tips have, in the males, the extremity of the upper

Fig. 146. — Pieris napi.

Fig. 147. — Anthocharis cardamines.

wings of a beautiful orange yellow. The rest of the wings is white in
the only British species (P'ig. 147), which is to be seen in meadows

78

THE INSECT WORLD.

from the end of April till the end of May, and sulphur-coloured in
some other species.

One species, extremely common, which appears with but short
interruption from the beginning of spring till the end of autumn, is
the Brimstone Butterfly {Rhodocera \Gonepteryx\ rhamni). The wings
are a lemon yellow, with an orange-coloured spot in the middle of
each, and the front border terminated in a series of very small iron-
coloured spots. The body of the butterfly is black with silvery hairs.

Fig. 148. — Thecla betula;.

The Colias edusa^ or Clouded-yellow, so called from the colour of
the upper part of its wings, is not uncommon in meadows and fields
in early autumn throughout Europe. The upper side of the wings is
of a marigold yellow ; the upper ones having towards the middle a
large spot of black. At the extremity of each wing is a broad black
band, continuous in the case of the male, interrupted by yellow spots
in the female. The back of the body is yellow ; the legs, as well as
the antennae, rosy.

The family of the LyciBuidce comprises a great number of species,
some of which we will mention.

The Thedce, or Hair-streaks, which the French call Petits Forte-
queues^ on account of the tails which grace the hind margin of the hind
wings, inhabit woods, their larvae feeding, according to the species, on
the birch, the oak^ the plum-tree, the bramble, &c.

The Thecla betuhe (Fig. 148), or Brown Hair-streak, is somewhat
rare in Great Britain.

LEPIDOPTERA.

179

The Purple Hair-streak (Theda qnercus^ Fig. 149), which Geoffroy
calls the " Fortc-qucue bleu a une bande blanche,'^ is not rare in woods ;
but it is very difficult to catch, as it flies nearly always by couples at

Fig. 149.— Thecla querciis.

the tops of trees. We still further represent here the Black Hair-
streak (Thecla primi^ Fig. 150), and the Green Hair- streak {Thecla
rubi, Fig. 151).

In the meadows are found the Copper Butterflies ; butterflies with

Thecla pruni.

wings of a bright, tawny colour, with black marks on the upper side.
Such is the Polyom7natus {LyccBua) phlc^as (Fig. 152), which is very
common from the end of May until late in the autumn. The upper

i8o

THE INSECT WORLD,

part of the wing is coppery, spotted with black, the under side of
a grey colour^ sprinkled with small eyes, and bordered by a zone

Fig. 151. — Thecla rubi.

of tawny spots. Linnaeus counted forty-two little black eyes on the
under side of the wings.

We also figure PoIyo?nmatus {LyccBiid) virgaurecB (Fig. 153), and

Fig. 152. — Small Co'pT^&r {PolyommatusiLyccsnd] phla-as).

Polyommatus {Lyccpjid) gordius (Fig. 154), neither of which occurs in
Great Britain.

In the meadows, the gardens, and the lucerne and clover fields,
are found the charming Blue Butterflies, the wings on the upper side,
in the majority of instances, blue in the case of the males, brown in
the females.

. They comprise the genus Lyccefia, or, as it is frequently called,

LEPIDOPTERA. 1 8 I

Polyomniatus* though that name is now generally given to the

F'S' '53- — Polyommatus (Lycsena) virgaureae.

preceding. We will content ourselves here by giving drawings of a
few species of the genus, namely, the Lyccena {Polyonunatus) Corydon,

Fig. 154. — Polyommatus (Lycsena) gordius.

or Blue Argus (Fig. 155), which is not uncommon wherever there
is chalk, in May and August; the Lyccena {Polyommatus) bathis, or

* It may not be out of place to remark that although both these generic names
ire applied, sometimes to the one, sometimes to the other of these genera, the

l82

THE INSECT WORLD.

Brown Argus (Fig. 156), which does not occur here; the LyccEiia
{Polyomniatus) cegon^ which flies about sandy heaths.

Fig. 155. — Lycsena (Polyommatus) Corydon.

The caterpillars of this genus, as also those of the preceding, are'
broad and flat, resembling wood-lice, with very short legs, and are
very slow in their movements.

Fig. 156.— Lycaena (Polyommatus) battus.

Fig. 157. — Lycaena (Polyommatus) segon.

In the numerous family of the Vancssidcc are placed the beautiful

species known as the large and small Tortoise-shell, the Peacock, &c.

The large Tortoise-shell Butterfly (yVanessa polychloros, Fig. 158)

genus named in the text Polyommatus and that called Lycana are never considered
identical. When either name is applied to the one, it is not at the same time
applied to the other. — Ed,

LEPIDOPTERA.

183

has the wings of a tawny colour above, and of a blackish brown
below, with darker spots, bordered by a black brand, with a stripe of

Fig. 158. — Large Tortoise-shell 'QxxiiQr^y {Vanessa />olychloros).

yellowish colour running down the middle. It is found in July and
September on the oak, the elm, the willow, and many fruit trees.

Fig. 159. — Larva and chrysalis of the large Tortoise-shell l^utterfly {Vanessa polychloros).

The larva (Fig, 159) is bluish or brownish, with an orange-
Icoloured lateral line, bristling with yellowish hairs. The chrysalis,
Iwhich is angular, and of a red tint, is ornamented with golden
Imetallic spots.

1 84

THE INSECT HORI.D.

Fig. i6o. — Small Tortoise-shell Butterfly {l^anessa 7i)tuie).

Fig. i6i.— Peacock Butterfly {Vanessa lo).

Fig. 1 60 is a drawing of the small Tortoise-shell Butterfly
{Vanessa urticce), which resembles the preceding, but is smaller. Its

LEPIDOP TERA , 1 8 5

caterpillar, bristly, blackish, with four yellowish lines, lives in com-
panies on the nettle. The Peacock Butterfly ( Varies s a Jo, Fig. 161)
is very easily recognised by the peacock's eyes — to the number of
four, one on each wing — which have gained for it the name it bears.
The eye on the upper wings is reddish in the middle and surrounded
by a yellowish circle. That on the lower ones is blackish, with a
grey circle round it, and contains bluish spots. The upper part of
the wings is of a russety brown, the under part blackish. This
Vanessa is met with in the woods, in lucerne fields, and in gardens.
Its spiny caterpillar is of a shiny black with white dots, and lives
in companies on nettles. The chrysalis, at first greenish, then
brownish, is ornamented with golden spots.

Fig. 162.— Camberwell Beauty ( f^^w^'^Jrt: Aiitiopa).

The Vanessa Antiopa (Fig. 162), one of the greatest of entomo-
logicrd rarities in England, is not very common in the woods about
Paris, but it is frequently found in the environs of Bordeaux, and,
above all, at the Grande Chartreuse (in the department of Isere).
The Parisian collectors go as far as Fontainebleau in pursuit of this
beautiful species, with angular wings, of a dark purple black, with a
yellowish or whitish band on the hind border and a succession of
blue spots above it. The caterpillar is black, and bristly, with red
spots. It lives in companies on the birch, the aspen, the elm, and
different kinds of willows. The pupa is blackish, sprinkled with a
bluish powder, and has ferruginous-coloured dots. The butterfly,
which emerges from the chrysalis in July and August, is found, after
hibernation, at the end of February and until May. It flies very
rapidly, and is very difficult to catch.

i86

THE INSECT WORLD.

Fig. 163.— Red Admiral Butterfly [Vanessa A talania).

Fig. 164.— Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa [^Cynthia'] cardui).

The Red Admiral Butterfly ( Vanessa Atalanta, Fig. 163) bas bands
of vermilion colour on the upper side of its wings, which are black
above, and variegated beneath with different colours. The cater-
pillar is bristly and blackish, with a succession of spots of lemon-

LEPIDOPTERA. 1 87

colour on its sides. It lives in solitude on the stinging-nettle ( Urtica
dioica). Its chrysalis is blackish, with golden spots. This mag-
nificent insect is common at the end of summer, and easy to catch.
If missed once it comes back again almost immediately, and almost
alights on the net of the collector. .

The Painted Lady {Vanessa \Cynthia\ carditis Fig, 164) owes its
vernacular name to the beauty of its colours. The upper wings are
covered above with tawny spots, rather cerise -coloured towards the
interior, and with white spots on the hind margin towards the tip of
the wing ; the whole on a lightish ground. The lower wings are of a
reddish tawny colour with many black spots, a circular row of which
borders the wing. The caterpillar is bristly, brownish, with yellow
lateral broken lines. It lives in solitude on many species of thistle,
on the artichoke, the milfoil or yarrow, &c. It makes for itself a
web, rather like a spider's nest,
and lives therein. The chrysalis
is greyish, with numerous golden
dots. The perfect insect shows
itself almost without interruption,
from spring till autumn. It flies
rapidly, and in certain seasons is
abundant.

The Vanessa {Grapta) C. album
(Fig. 165), or Comma Butterfly, is
common in parts of England.
Above, its wings are tawny, spotted
with black. Below, they are more The Comma Butterfly (tw^^^ c. album).
or less brown, with different tints,

and sometimes a little blue. On the under side of the lower wings is
a white spot of the form of a C. " This spot," says old Geoffroy,
''caused this butterfly to have the name oi gamma given to it, and its
colour of Viable enr/iufne (sic), as also the singular cut of its wings,
has caused it to be called by others Robert le Diabk:' Its caterpillar
lives on the nettle, the honeysuckle, the currant, the hazel, and the
elm. It is of a reddish brown, with a white band on the back.
Reaumur calls it the Beadle, comparing it to the church beadles,
who usually dress in glaring colours.

The brilHant Vanessce, of which we have just briefly described
some remarkable species, have been the cause of superstitious terror.
This must at first sight seem incredible, but it has arisen thus : When
they have just quitted the pupa, a red-coloured liquid drops from
them. If a great many butterflies are hatched at the same time, and

1 88 THE INSECT WORLD.

in the same place, the ground becomes, as it were, sprinkled with
drops of blood. Hence the origin of some of those pretended showers
of bloody which, at different periods, have terrified the ignorant, too
much imbued with religious superstitions.

At the beginning of the month of July, 1608, one of these
supposed showers of blood fell on the outskirts of Aix, in Provence,
and this 7'ain extended for the distance of half a league from the
town. .Some priests of the town deceived themselves, or, desirous
of turning to account the credulity o'f the people, did not hesitate to
attribute this event to Satanic agency. Pbrtunately, a learned man,
M. de Peiresc, who was not only well versed in the knowledge of ancient
literature, but who was, moreover, familiar with the natural sciences,
discovered that a prodigious multitude of butterflies were flying about
in the places which were thus miraculously covered with blood. He
collected some chrysalides and put them into a box, and letting them
hatch there, observed the blood-like liquid, and hastened to make it
known to the friends of the miraculous. He established the fact that
the supposed drops of blood were only found in cavities, in interstices,
under the copings of walls, &:c., and never on the surface of stones
turned upwards ; and proved by these observations that they were
drops of a red liquid deposited by the butterflies.

However, in spite of the reassuring remarks of the learned Peiresc,
the people in the outskirts of Aix continued to ^el a genuine terror
at the sight of these tears of blood which stained the soil. Peiresc
attributes to this same cause some other showers of blood related by
historians, and which took place about the same season. Such was
a shower which was supposed to have fallen in the time of Childebert,
at Paris, and in a house in the territory of Senlis. Such again was a
so-called bloody shower which showed itself towards the end of June,
during the reign of King Robert of France. Reaumur points out
the large Tortoise-shell as being the most capable of spreading these
sorts of alarms, founded on a deplorable ignorance and the spirit of
superstition.

''Thousands," says he, "change into pup^ towards the end of
May or the beginning of June. Before their transformation they
leave the trees, often fastening themselves to walls, and, making their
way into country-houses, they suspend themselves to the frames of
doors, &c. If the butterflies which come out of them towards the
end of June or the beginning of July were all to fly together, there
would be enough of them to form little clouds or swarms, and con-
sequently there would be enough to cover the stones in certain
localities with spots of a blood-red colour, and to make those who

LEPIDOPTERA,

189

only seek to terrify themselves, and to see prodigies in everything,
believe that during the night it had rained blood."

In the family of Nymphalidm^ we will first mention the White
Admiral (Fig. 166). The
upper side of its wings is of
a dark brown, almost black,
traversed in the middle by a
white band divided into spots
very close to each other. The
lower part of the wings is
ferruginous, with a band and
spots of white, as on the
upper, besides which it has
a double hinder transverse

r u 1 1 J . riM Fig. 166. — V^Vxte. KAm\x2\{Liineiiitis sibtlla).

row of black dots. Ihese

dots are followed on the hind wings by some white spots, and the

whole of the inner margin is of a glossy ashy blue, with the base

Fig. 167 — Limenitis Camilla.

spotted with black. This butterfly is not rare in the month of July
in woods in the south of England, where it flies round and settles
lipon the branches of the underwood. The caterpillar is of a delicate

IQO

THE INSECT WORLD.

green, with a lateral white stripe, and rather bristly. It feeds on
honeysuckle. The pupa is angular, of greenish colour, with golden
spots.

The Limeiiitis Camilla (Fig. 167), of which the black on the wings
is shot with blue, is not found in England.

In the month of July the Apatii7'a ilia (Fig. 168) and the Purple
Emperor (Apatura iris), sylvan insects of strong flight, whose wings
are beautifully shot with violet blue when examined in certain lights —

Fig. 168. — Apptura ilia.

the latter resembling Ilia, but wanting the eye-like spots on the front
wings — are met with, /m only is found in Great Britain. Both
species occur in the environs of Paris.

The Char axes jasius (Fig. 169) which is found along the whole of
the Mediterranean coast, has its lower wings terminated in two points,
whence the peasants call this buttei-fly the Pacha "ivith tiao tails. The
upper part of its wings is of a brown colour of changing hues. The
hind margin of the fore wings has along it a tawny band with a fine
black line running round. The hind wings have their hinder margin
black, and garnished with a little white fringe. The two tails are
black, and the groove of the inner margin is of an ashy grey. The

LEPIDOPTERA.

191

underneath of the wings is ferruginous, with spots of an oHve brown
set in a framework of white towards the base.

The caterpillar is green, and flat like a slug, with four yellow

Fig. 169.- Charaxes jaslus.

horns bordered with red (Fig. 170). It lives on the arbutus, a shrub
common enough on the hills and mountains of the coast of the
Mediterranean.

To the family of the Satyridi belong the Erebia Euryak

ot

e(

Til

Fig. 170. — Larva of Charaxes jasius
about to change to a pupa.

Erebia Euryale.

!(Fig. 171), which is found in the month of July in sub-alpine regions ;
jthe Chiofwbas aello (Fig. 172), which is found in the Alps of Switzerland,

1'of Tyrol, and of Savoy, and is common enough, in the month
of July, on the summit of Montanvers, near the Mer de Glace ;
I

192

THE INSECT WORLD.

the Satyrns janira, or Meadow Brown (Fig. 173), which is very com-
mon, in the months of June and July, in vvoods and fields.

Fig. 172. — Chionobas aello, .]

We now pass on to the second section of Lepidoptera. |

It contains those 7uJiosc flight in the majority of species is nocturnal
or by twilight^ but by day in some species. The ajitennce are more or less
swollen ont in the middle or before their extremities, and, independently of

Fig. 173. — Meadow brown {Satyrus \HiJ>parchia\janira).

that, sojneiitnes prismatic, sometimes cyli?idrical, sometimes pectinated or
indented. The body — ivhich was stnall in comparison to the 7uings, and
7vhich was remarkably thiii between^ the thorax and the abdomen in the
first sectiofi of Lepidoptera— is in this section very nmch larger in propor-
tion to the wifigs, and is not drawn tightly in. betzveeti the thoi-ax auj
the abdomen. The 7vings are horizontal or slightly inclined when tlu
insect is at rest ; the upper then cover the lower, 7vhich are generally
comparatively short and kept back by a bridle 07i the first, in the case oj
the males only.

LEPIDOPTERA,

193

We will take the genus Sesia as the representative of the Sesiidce.
These singular insects have membranous wings, and resemble various

Fig. 174. — Sesia apiformls.

Fig. 175. — Six-spot Burnet Moth
{Zygcenajllipendulce) .

species of Hymenoptera. The largest species is the Sesia apifonnis
(big. 174), that is, bee-hke, which is found in Britain, resting on
the trunks of willows and poplar-trees, from the end of May till the
middle of July. It resembles a hornet, and is of the
same size and has the same colours ; only they are not
quite so bright. When this moth is just hatched its
wings are ferruginous ; but its scales, light and ca-
ducous, fall as soon as the insect begins to fly. The
caterpillar, which lives in the trunks or roots of willows
and poplar-trees, is of a yellowish colour. The pupa
is long, of a brownish colour, enclosed in a cocoon
composed of agglutinated saw-dust, the product of the
caterpillar's erosions.

In the middle of summer the meadows are fre-
quented by moths, with brilliant black and velvety
wings, marked with red, which fly heavily, and only
for a short time together. They remain motionless
during the great heat of the day. These are the
Zyg(Ence, or Burnets, of the family of the ZygcBuidce.
The Ram Sphinx of Geofifroy, or the Six-spot Burnet
Moth {ZygcBua jilipeiididce^ Fig. 175), is common from
the end of June till the beginning of August. Its legs,
antennae, head, and body are black and rather hairy ; its upper wings
are of a brilliant bluish green, with six spots of a beautiful red on
each, bordered by a little green. The caterpillar is yellow, spotted
with black ; its cocoon is boat-shaped, with longitudinal furrows, and
is straw colour (Fig. 176).
64

Fig. 176. — Cocoon

of the Zyga;na

filipenduia;.

194 ♦ THE INSECT WORLD,

Next to Zygcena comes Frocris, the species of which fly during the
day in damp fields. We will mention particularly the Frocris statices
(Fig. 177), which is plentiful enough where it occurs between the
middle of June and the middle of July, on the sides of hills. Its
fore wings, antennae, and the whole of its body, are of a blue green
above. The same wings are of the same colour below, and the sur-
faces of the lower ones are of an ashy brown.

The Sphinges, that is, those species that form the family of the
Sphiiigidce^ have received this general name from the atdtude which
their caterpillars often assume. Raising the fore part of the body, which
attitude resembles the Sphinx of mythology, they keep for a very long
time this state of immobility. They fly very rapidly and briskly, and

Fig. 177.— The Forester {Proeris [/no] statices).

only make their appearance for the most part after sunset. The
caterpillars, which in this group are without hair, and have almost
always a horn on the eleventh segment of the body, metamorphose
themselves in the earth, without forming hard cocoons. The chrysalis
is sometimes enveloped in a very slight shell, or cocoon, which
when it exists is formed of particles of earth or of vegetable debris
bound together by threads. This family comprises species generally
remarkable for their size and beauty.

The genus Macroglossa contains some species which fly rapidly
and for a long time together during the day. We will mention
particularly the Humming-bird Sphinx [Macroglossa sfel/afarum).
This moth (Fig. 178) has attracted the attention of all who have ever
spent much time in a flower garden. In Burgundy the children call
it bird-fiy. In passing from one flower to another it hasbrisk and
rapid movements, but it remains suspended in the air before each ;
it does not alight upon any, it is always flying, thrusting its long

LEPIDOPTERA,

195

trunk the while into the corollas of flowers, counterbalancing the
action of its weight by the continuous vibration of its wings.

We will describe in a few words this robust inhabitant of the air,
this charming bird-fly. The Macroglossa stellatarum shows itself
during the whole of the fine season, and till the middle of autumn, in
our climate. It often penetrates in the middle of the day into our

Fig. 178. — Humming-bird Hawk-Moth {Macroglossa stellatarunt).

houses, and knocking itself against the window-panes, falls an easy
prey to children. Its front wings are of an ashy brown, of changing
hues above, with three black, transverse, undulating lines. The
lower, shorter than the others, are of a rusty-yellow colour. All the
wings are yellowish below near the body, ferruginous in the middle,
and of a dark brown at their extremities.

The body is long, brown, hairy^ and terminating in a tuft of

T96

THE INSECT WORLD.

divergenc hairs, reminding one of a bird's tail. It is for this reason
that it has been called by the French Sphinx Moineau^ or Sparrow
Sphinx. This resemblance is so great, that
Mr. Bates, in his book on the Amazons,
says he often shot species of this genus in
mistake for humming-birds. The cater-
pillar of this remarkable Lepidopteron
(Fig. 179) is of a pale green, with eight
transverse rows of small white dots and
four longitudinal rows, of which two are
white and two yellowish. It has a dark
blue horn, with an orange-coloured tip.
It lives on different species of led-straw,
but by preference on the Galium inollugo.
Before its metamorphosis, it encloses itself
in a shapeless cocoon, made of the debris of leaves held together
by threads, and placed on the surface of the ground. The pupa
(Fig. 180) is of a light grey, sprinkled over with brown dots, and
striped with black. Its skin is so thin and transparent that one can
follow it through all the phases of transformation to the imago.

Fig. i79.--CaterpilIar of
Humming-bird Hawk-Moth
(Macroglossa stellatarurn).

Fig. 180. — Pupa of Macroglossa stellatarum.

The genus Deilephila is composed of species whose flight is rapid,
and after sunset. Such are the Deilephila euphorbice, the Oleander

nerii)^ and the large Elephant
?lpenor).

Hawk-Moth [Deilephila \ Cheer oca??ipa
Hawk-Modi {Deilephila [Chcerocanipa

The Deilephila euphorbice (Fig. 181) has the upper wings of a.
reddish grey, with three spots of greenish or olive colour along the^
costa, or front margin, and a broad black obHque band along the
hind margin. The lower wings are red, with the base black, and a
transverse black band towards the edge j they have, moreover, a

LBPIDOPTERA.

f97

large round white spot on the inside ; beneath the wings are red, as
also is the body, which is covered above with greenish hairs. This

I

Deilephila euphorbise.

species is exceedingly rare in Great Britain, but is plentiful on the
Continent during the months of June and September.

The larva (Fig. 182) is one of the most remarkable of the genus
on account of the splendour and the vividness of its colours, and

Fig. 182. — Larva of Deilephila euphorbise.

L

dots very close to each other on a glossy black ground, which are
ranged in circles. On each side of the body are two longitudinal
rows of spots generally of the same colour as the dots, and a narrow
band of carmine runs down the middle of the back, and a similar

igS

THE INSECT WORLD.

band, which is intersected by yellow, is to be seen above the legs.
This caterpillar is almost always found on the Cyprus-leafed spurge.
It is found first at the end of June. Generally the chrysalis passes
through the winter, and the moth emerges in the following year.

The Deilephila {Cheer oca jnpa) nerii (Fig. 183), or Oleander
Hawk-Moth, is a charming species almost peculiar to hot countries,

y /

Fig. 183. — Deilephila (Chaerocampa) nerii.

where the shrub from which it derives its name grows spontaneously
— that is to say, in Africa, in the southern parts of Asia, in Greece,
in Spain, &c. Carried forward by its rapid flight, and assisted by
atmospheric currents, these beautiful insects sometimes come acci-
dentally into the countries of Central Europe. They have been met
with many times in Paris, in the garden of the Luxembourg, where
the oleander is cultivated under glass, But those which are hatched

\

LEPIDOP TERA, 1 99

in the environs of Paris never reproduce their species, on account of
the coldness of the cHmate. Both larva and imago — the former on
periwinkle — have been found in the same locality.

Fig. 184. — Larva of Dellephila (Chaerocampa) nerii.

The caterpillar of this species (Fig. 184) is one of those called
by the French Cochonnes^ because their first two rings, which are
retractile and drawn back under the third when the insect is at rest,
taper in such a way as to resemble the snout of a pig, hence the

Fig. 185. — Pupa of Deilephila (Chserocampal nerii.

EngHsh name " Elephant," when they change their place or are en-
gaged in eating. It is of a beautiful green, with white stripes and
dots on the sides, and marked on the third segment with two large
spots hke eyes, of an azure blue, encircled with black, and having
white pupils. A short orange-coloured horn rises at the extremity of
ihe body. A few days before its transformation, this caterpillar

200

THE INSECT WORLD.

entirely loses its rich livery, it becomes brown on the back, and of a
dirty yellow on the rest of its body, and constructs for itself a cocoon
at the foot of the shrub on which it lived, with the debris of leaves
fastened together with threads.

The cocoon contains a chrysalis (Fig. 185) of a hazel brown,
delicately streaked with a darker brown, and with a very conspicuous
black spot on each of its stigmata.

The Elephant Hawk- Moth {Deikphihi \Chffrocampa\ elpejwr^
Fig. 186) is not rare during the month of June. Its fore wings are

Fig. t86.— Deilephila (Chaerocampa) clpenor.

purple red, glossy above, with three bands of a light olive green, having
at the base a small black spot. The inner margin is garnished with
white hairs. The hind wings are of a dark rose colour above, with
the base black, and the hind margm bordered with white. The four
wings are rose-coloured below, with the costa and the middle of an
olive green ; the upper ones have their interior border tinged with a
blackish colour. The body is rose colour, with two longitudinal
bands of an olive green over the abdomen, and five diverging lines of
this colour on the thorax. The sides of the abdomen have along
Ihem a double series of yellowish points.

The caterpillar of this sphinx (Fig. 187) is of a dark brown,

L^PtbOPTERA.

20 i

delicately striped with black. Two grey lines run down each side of
its body, and on the fourth and fifth segments are two black eyes
bordered by light violet. This caterpillar is found most often on

Fig. 187.— Larva of Deilephila (Chserocampa) elper.or,

certain kinds of Epiiobiuin, but will also eat of the vine, fuchsia, and
bed-straw. It must be sought in damp places, by streams and ponds,
from the end of July till September. It constructs on the surface of
the soil a shapeless cocoon with moss and dry leaves, which it fastens
together with some silky threads. Its pupa (Fig. 188), of a yellowish

Fig. 188. — Pupa of Deilephila (Charocampa) elpenor.

r-own, has short bristles on the rings of the abdomen. The cater-
pillar possesses in the highest degree the retractile power which has
gained for certain species of this genus their popular names. The
Privet Sphinx ( Sphinx ligustri, Fig. 189) has its upper wings rather
narrow, about two inches long, of a reddish grey, and veined with
black above, with the middle of a dark brown, the inner margin with
rose-coloured hairs, and the hind margin having two whitish flexuous
64*

202

THE INSECT WORLD.

lines running along it. The hind wings are of a rose tint, with three
black bands. The wings are of a reddish grey below with a common
black band The abdomen has black and rose-coloured rings above,
and in the middle a brownish band wholly divided by a black line.

This species is very common in all parts of Europe. One finds
it in gardens from June to September. Of all the caterpillars
of the genus Sphinx, this is the one which, by its attitude when in

Fig. 189.— Privet Hawk-Moth {Sphinx ligtcsirt).

a state of repose, most resembles the sphinx of fable, from which the
genus has derived its name. It is of fine apple green, with seven
oblique stripes, half violet and half white, placed on each side of its
body, and three or four small white spots beyond these stripes. The
stigmata are orange, the head is green, bordered with black. The
extremity of the body is surrounded by a smooth horn, black above,
yellow below (Fig. 190). This beautiful caterpillar is not rare. It
lives on a great number of trees and shrubs, but it is principally on
the privet, the lilac, and the ash tree, that it must be looked for.
Three or four days before it buries itself in the earth to change itself
into a chrysalis, its colours grow dim (Fig. 191). During the month

LEPIDOPTERA,

203

of June and September is found the Convolvulus Sphinx {Sphinx
convolviili, Fig. 192), with brown wings, and with the abdomen striped

Fig. 190.— Larva of the Privet Hawk-Moth {Sphinx ligvstrt).

with transverse bands alternately black and red. The caterpillar of
this species, which presents a great number of varieties, lives on many

Fig. 191.— Pupa of Sphinx ligustri.

kinds of CoftvolviiH, but particularly on the field species. It is gene-
rally rare in Great Britain, but occasionally abundant.

It is to the genus Acherontia that a well-known moth belongs.
We refer to the Death's-head Moth {Acherontia atropos). It is the
largest species of hawk-moth. This insect presents, roughly marked
out in light yellow, on the black ground of its thorax, a human skull.

204

THE INSECT WORLD,

This funeral symbol, joined to the plaintive cry which this moth
emits when frightened, has sometimes inspired terror into the whole
population of a country. The appearance of this moth in certain
countries having coincided with the invasion of an epidemic disease,
some thought they saw in this doleful sylph of the night the messenger
of death. The Acherontia atropos plays a great part in the super-
stitions which are believed in by the country folk in England. One

Fig. 192. — The Convolvulus Sphinx {Sphinx convolvult).

hears it said in country places that this ominous inhabitant of the air
is in league with the witches, and that it goes and murmurs into their
ears with its sad and plaintive voice the name of the person whom
death is soon to carry off. In spite of its ominous livery, the Atropos
does not come from Hades ; it is no envoy of death, bringing sadness
and mourning. It does not bring us news of another world ; it tells
us, on the contrary, that Nature can people every hour ; that it was
her will to console them for their sadness, to grant to the twilight and

LEPIDOPTERA.

205

to the night the same winged wanderers which are at once the deHght
and ornament of the hours of hght and of day.

This is the mission of science, to dissipate the thousands of preju-
dices and dangerous superstitions which mislead ignorant people.

Fig. 193.— Death's-head'Hawk-Moth (^Ac/ierontia atro/>os).

This moth has the front wings of a blackish brown colour, having
lighter irregular bands varied with brown and grey, above and below.
On the middle of the front wing there is a well-defined white dot.
The hind wings have two black bands, the upper narrower than the
lower one ; the rest of the wing is a fine yellow. The abdomen has
likewise from five to six yellow and as many black bands ; in the
middle is a long blackish longitudinal band. This moth is not very
rare, and may be found in autumn. Its flight is heavy, and, as we
have said, the insect never flies till after sunset. If caught, or when
teased, it utters a cry which is very audible (Fig. 193).

206

THE INSECT WORLD,

The death's-head hawk-moth would be a very inoffensive being if
it did not make its way into beehives, in order to steal the honey, of
which it is excessively fond. It is to no purpose that the bees dart
their stings at the intruder, they only blunt them against its thick skin,
and soon, terrified at its presence, disperse on all sides.

rig. 194. — Larva of the Death's-head Hawk-Moth {Acherontia airopos).

The caterpillar of the Acherontia atropos (Fig. 194) is the largest
of all European caterpillars. It attains to as much as four and a half
inches in length by eight lines in diameter. Its colour is lemon yellow,
which changes into green on the sides and belly. From the fourth to
the tenth ring inclusively it is ornamented laterally with seven oblique
bands of an azure blue, which are tinted with violet, and bordered
with white on the side. These bands joining together over the back
of each segment resemble so many chevrons placed parallel to each

LEPIDOPTERA,

107

other. The body is, moreover, dotted with black. At its extremity-
is a yellow horn, curved back like a hook, and covered with tubercles.

Fig. 195. — Chrysalis of the Death's-head Hawk-Moth.

The head is green, and marked laterally with a black stripe. It lives
chiefly on the potato, and the Lycium barbariim^ sometimes called the

Fig. 196.— Lime Hawk-Moth {Smerinthiis tilice).

lea-tree, a shrub belonging to the Solanacece. It buries itself in the
^rth to change into a chrysalis (Fig. 195) of a bright chestnut brown.

2o8

THE INSECT WORLD.

%*nWV.^

Fig. 197.— Larva of the Lime Hawk-Moth (SmcrintJui% tilice).

Fig. 198 —Eyed Hawk-Moth [Svterinthiis ocellatus).

We will mention still further, in the family of the Sphiiigid(z, three
species of the genus Smeriiithiis, which fly heavily and by twilight

LEPIDOPTERA.

209

The Lime-tree Hawk-moth {Smerinthus tilice, Fig. 196) has its
upper wings grey with some shades of green, and moreover, in the
middle of the wing an irregular band of a brownish green colour.
The thorax, covered with hairs, is grey, with three green longitudinal
bands. The abdomen is also grey. The moth flies heavily after
sunset, and is found on the trunks of trees during the months of May
and June. The larva (Fig. 197) is glaucous green dotted with yellow,
and marked on each side with seven oblique lines of the same colours.

Fig. 1 99. — Poplar Hawk- Moth {Smerin th us popu li) .

Its wrinkly horn is blue above and yellow below. It is found on the
lime and the elm. It buries itself at the foot of the tree on which it
has fed to change into a chrysalis without making a cocoon.

We will content ourselves by here giving drawings of two other
species of the same genus : the Eyed Hawk-Moth {Smerifithus ocellatus,
Fig. 198), which is not rare during the months of May and some-
times August, the caterpillar of which lives on the leaves of willows,
poplars, and fruit-trees ; and the Poplar Hawk-Moth {Stnerinthus
populi, Fig. 199), whose caterpillar (Fig. 200) lives on the poplar,
the aspen, and sometimes on the willow and birch.

The division oi Bombyc'ma contains the largest of moths, and at

2IO

THE INSECT WORLD.

the same time species of a middle and small size. These moths take
no nourishment, and live only for a short time — long enough to
propagate their species. They rarely fly during the day, only showing
themselves in the evening. The group is dispersed over nearly all
parts of the world, and may be recognised by the antennae generally
being cut like the teeth of a comb in the males, by their thick, strong
bodies, and, in the m.ajority of cases, by their large head, by their
wings more or less large, and by their heavy flight.

Fig. 200. — Larva of the Poplar Hawk-Moth {innerinthus populi).

In the Bombycina are found the genera Sericaria, Attacus^ Bombyx,
Orgyiay Liparis, &c.

It is to the genus Bombyx that the silkworm belongs, that
celebrated insect called by Linnaeus Bombyx niori, a name which
reminds us at the same time of its most ancient denomination, and of
the mulberry tree, on which these caterpillars feed.

M. Guerin-Meneville has called the silkwomi " the dog of insects,''
for it has been domesticated from the most ancient times, and has
become deprived of great part of its strength in the process. The
moth of the silkworm can no longer keep its position in the air, or on
the leaves of the mulberry when they are agitated by the wind. It
can no longer protect itself, under the leaves, from the burning heat
of the sun and from its enemies. The female, always motionless^

LRPIDOFTERA. 2 1 1

seems to be ignorant of the fact that she has wings. The male no
longer Hies ; he flutters round his companion, without quitting the
ground. It ought, however, to be possessed in the wild state of a
sufficiently powerful flight. M. Ch. Martins found that after three
generations reared in the open air, the males recovered their lost
power.

Before speaking of the different phases of the life of the silkworm
and the rearing of this precious insect, we will notice the origin and
progress of the silk trade, one of the most important branches of
commerce in the South of Europe and in the East.

The native country of the silkworm is not better known than that
of the greater number of plants and animals which form the staple of
agricultural industry. Probably, however, it was China. It was
certainly in this vast empire that long since the business of fabricating
silk began. One reads the foUowing in " UHistoire gene'rale de la
.Chine,"by M. Mailla:—

" The Emperor Hoang-ti, who lived 2,600 years before our era,
wished that Si-Ung-chi, his wife, should contribute to the happiness
of his people ; he charged her to study the silkworm, and to try to
utiHse its threads. Si-ling-chi caused a great quantity of these insects
to be coUected, which she fed herself in a place destined exclusively
for the purpose ; she not only discovered the means of rearing them,
but still furdier the manner of winding off their silk and of employing
it in the manufacture of fabrics."

It may be asked, however, if the learned men vdio composed this
recital did not collect under the reign of the emperor Hoang-ti all the
events and all the discoveries whose dates were lost in the obscurity
of the most remote periods of history. Is not the Empress Si-ling-chi
a mythical person ? a sort of Chinese Ceres, to whom, under the title
of goddess of the silkworm, they then raised altars ?

Here, at any rate, is how Duhalde * analyses the recital of .the
Chinese annalists on the remarkable fact of the introduction of the
silkworm and its rich products into the Chinese empire : —

" Up to the time of this queen (Si-ling-chi)," says he, " when the
country was only lately cleared and brought into cultivadon, the
people employed the skins of animals as clothes. But these skins
were no longer sufficient for the multitude of the inhabitants ; neces-
sity made them industrious ; they applied themselves to the manu-
facture of cloth wherewith to cover themselves. But it was to this
princess that they owed the useful invention of silk stuffs. Afterwards,

* ** Description de la Chine," tome ii., p. 205.

212 THE INSECT WORLD.

the empress, named by Chinese authors, according to the order of
their dynasties, found an agreeable occupation in superintending the
hatching, rearing, and feeding of silkworms, in making silk, and
working it up when made. There was an enclosure attached to the
palace for the cultivation of mulberry trees.

" The empress, accompanied by queens and the greatest ladies of
the court, went in state into this enclosure, and gathered with her own
hand the leaves of three branches which her ladies in waiting had
lowered till they were within her reach ; the finest pieces of silk which
she made herself, or which were made by her orders and under her
own eye, were destined for the ceremony of the grand sacrifice offered
to Chang-si. (Plate V.)

" It is p'obable," adds Duhalde, " that policy had more to do
than anything else with all this trouble taken by the empresses.
Their intention was to induce, by their example, the princesses and
ladies of quality, and the whole people, to rear silkworms : in the
same way as the emperors, to ennoble in some sort agriculture, and to
encourage the people to undertake laborious works, never failed, at
the beginning of each spring, to guide the plough in person, and
with great state to plough up a few furrows, and in these sow some
seed.

" As far as concerns the empresses, it is a long time since they
have ceased to apply themselves to the manufacture of silk ; one
sees, nevertheless, in the precincts of the imperial palace, a large
space covered with houses, the road leading to which is still called
the road which leads to the place destined for the rearing of silkworms,
for the amusement of the empresses and queens. In the books of
the philosopher Mencius, is a wise police rule, made under the first
reigns, which determines the space destined for the cultivation of
mulberry trees, according to the extent of the land possessed by each
private individual.^'

M. Stanislas Julien^' tells us of many regulations made by the
Emperor of China, to render obligatory the care and attention requisite
to rearing silk.

Tchin-iu, being governor of the district of Kien-Si, ordered that
every man should plant fifty feet of land with mulberry trees.! The
Emperor (under the dynasty of Witei) gave to each man twenty acres

* "Resume des principaux Traites Chinois sur la Culture des Miiriers et
I'Education des Vers a Soie, traduit par Stanislas Julien." Paris, imprimerie
royale, 1837.

t *' Annales de la Dynastie des Liang."

V. — ^The Empress Si-ling-chi gathering Mulberry Leaves

LE PIDOP TERA. S 1 5

of land on condition that he planted fifty feet with mulberry trees.*
Hien-tsang (who ascended the throne in 806) ordered that the inhabi-
tants of the country should plant two feet in every acre with mulberry
trees.f The first Emperor of the dynasty of Song (who began to
■reign about the year 960) published a decree forbidding his subjects
to cut down the mulberry trees.f

By all these means, according to the testimony of M. Stanislas
Julien, the business of the fabrication of silk became general in
China. This great empire soon furnished its neighbours with this
precious textile material, and created for its own profit a very
important branch of commerce.

It was forbidden, under pain of death, to export from China the
silkworm's eggs, or to furnish the necessary information in the art of
obtaining the textile material. The manufactured article only could
be sold out of the empire. It was thus that the Asiatic nations very
soon understood silk \ and that in many of their cities they applied
themselves to weaving stufis of this precious substance. The carpets
and dyed stuffs of Babylon, mixed with gold and silk, enjoyed in
ancient times an unparalleled renown. China was not, however, the
only country that then furnished silk to the towns of Asia Minor.
At a very distant period India sent by her caravans very considerable
quantities of it. M. Emile Blanchard (of the Institute) remarks,
however, that the tissues of India must be made of a different silk
from that of China, that is to say, of a silk of some of those Bovibyces
of which the public has been told so much of late years, and of which
we shall have soon to speak.

Silk commanded for centuries a prodigiously high price. In the
time of Alexander its value in Greece was exactly its own weight in
gold, and so it was very parsimoniously employed in silk tissues.
These were so transparent that women who wore them were scarcely
covered.

Silk was unknown to the Romans before Julius Csesar. It was
to him that Rome owed its acquaintance with this new material.
He introduced it, moreover, in a singularly magnificent manner.
One day, at a fete given in the Colosseum — a combat of animals and
gladiators — the people saw the coarse tent of cloth, intended to keep
-off the rays of the sun, replaced by a magnificent covering of Oriental
silk. • They murmured at this gorgeous prodigality, but declared

* " Annales de la Dynastie des Wei."
t " Annales de la Dynastie des Thang,"
X " II istoire de la Dynastie des Song."

2l6 THE INSECT WORLD.

Caesar a great man. The introduction of silk among the Romans
was the signal for luxurious expenditure. The patricians made a
great display with their silk cloaks of incalculable value ; so that,
from the time of Tiberius, the Senate felt itself called upon to forbid
the use of silk garments to men. Examples of simplicity are some-
times set in high places ; thus, the Emperor Aurelian refused to the
Empress Severina so costly a dress.

The commerce in silk bore doubly hard upon Europe, both on
account of the value of the material and of the great use which was
made of it. Persia was the emporium, and had the monopoly of this
merchandise. The Emperor Justinian I., who reigned at Constanti-
nople from A.D. 527 to 56^, tried all the means within his power of
freeing his States from this ruinous tyranny, when a circumstance
occurred, very fortunately for the national commerce, which brought
about the introduction into Europe of sericulture, or the cultivation
of silk.

Two monks of the order of St. Basil, in their ardour for the
propagation of the faith, had pushed forwards into China. There
they had been initiated into the operations which furnished the fabric
so highly prized. On their return to Constantinople, and hearing of
the project that Justinian entertained of depriving the Persians of the
monopoly in silk, the two monks proposed to the Emperor to enrich
his state by introducing the art of fabricating this material. The
proposition was greedily accepted, and the two monks returned again
to China, with the object of procuring the eggs of the insect. Having
arrived at the end of their journey, they succeeded in getting
possession of a quantity of silkworms' eggs. They hid them between
the knots of their sticks, and started back to their native country,
without being once interfered with. Two years afterwards they
re-entered Constantinople with their precious booty.* The larvae
were fed on mulberry leaves. Immediately afterwards began the
rearing of the worms and the preparation of the silk, according to the
instructions given by these courageous travellers. The first broods
succeeded perfectly, and so plantations of mulberry trees were seen
to multiply and spread through the whole extent of the Eastern
Empire. It was, above all, in Southern Greece that this branch of
industry assumed an immense importance. It was then the Pelopon-

* According to M. de Gasparin, author of an excellent "Essai sur I'Histoire
de I'Introduction des Vers a Sole en Europe" (Paris, in 8vo, 1841), it was not
into China, but only into Tartary, to Serinda, that the two monks went in search
of the silkworms' eggs (pp. 37 — 39). It must be supposed that the eggs did not
hatch for two years, being in such interesting company.

LnpiboPTERA. 2\y

nesus lost Its old name, and was called the Morea, from the Latin
name for "mnlbeny," morns. '^

Constantinople and Greece, during centuries, furnished the whole
of Europe with silkworms. This diffusion, however, was effected
very slowly. The Greeks attached great importance to retaining the
•monopoly, and the emperor Justinian had caused to be established
at Constantinople itself silk manufactories, where the most skilful
artificers of Asia, who were forbidden to reveal the various processes
to strangers, worked.

Towards the beginning of the eighth century the Arabs introduced
'the silkworm into Spain. But this industry remained confined within
narrow limits. It was in fact not till after the twelfth century that
sericulture began to spread throughout Europe. Roger, King of
the Two Sicilies, possessing a navy that commanded the Mediter-
ranean, employed it chiefly in making excursions and conquests. He
ravaged Greece, and, not satisfied with the booty he carried away
from that unfortunate country, wished still further to deprive them,
for the good of his own kingdom, of the silk monopoly, the source
of their riches. Roger carried away into Sicily and Naples a great
number of prisoners, amongst whom were some weavers and men
who had devoted themselves to the rearing of silkworms. He
established these workmen in houses adjoining his own palace at
Palermo. There they dyed the silk of different colours, and mixed
it with gold, pearls, and precious stones.

From Sicily the art of preparing silk spread over the rest of Italy.
In 1204 the workers in silk constituted themselves into a syndicate
at Florence. It is not, however, till 1423 — more than two hundred
years after the introduction of this branch of industry into Italy — that
we find the first mention of the cultivation of the mulberry tree in
Tuscany. In 1440 each Tuscan peasant was forced to plant at least
five mulberry trees on the land he cultivated. In 1474 the com-
merce in silk fabrics with all parts of the world had become extremely
prosperous at Florence. In 13 14 the Venetian manufactures began
to assume much importance. Three thousand workers in silk were
then established in Venice.

Without dwelling longer on the propagation of the silk trade in
Italy, let us pass on to its establishment in France. It was in 1340
that some French gentlemen, who had stayed some time in Naples,
planted in Avignon the first mulberry trees.t According to Olivier

* Others derive the name from more, the Slavonic word for the sea. See "On
he Study of Words ;" by Abp. Trench.— Ed.

t De Gasparin, "Essai sur rintroduction des Vers a Soie en Europe," p. 70.

2l8 THE INSECT WORLD.

de Serres, it was not introduced till much later into Dauphine. It
was not introduced into Alan, near Montelimar, till 1495, t>y the
Seigneur Guyape de Saint-Aubain.* Louis XL made great efforts
to develop the silk trade in France, by inviting over Italian workmen ;
and they began under his reign to fabricate silks in Touraine and
Lyons. Francis L greatly developed the trade of Lyons. In 1554,
under Henry IL, the masters and men employed in the manufacture
of gold, silver, and silk in Lyons were twelve thousand in number.
Under Henry 1 1, were planted the mulberry trees of Bourdeziere,
Tours, Chenonceaux, Toulouse, and Moulins. These plantations,
howevei-, were of very small extent. They were not the result of a
general and truly popular effort ; moreover, civil war came very soon,
and turned men's minds away from the isolated attempts of some
few private individuals. Sericulture, in fact, did not assume any
great importance in France till the reign of Henry IV.

This king saw with grief considerable sums of money leaving
France each year for the purchase of raw silk or of silk stuffs. Two
men marvellously furthered his project of encouraging the silk trade.
One of these men was Barthelemy Laffemas, called Beausemblant.
For a long time he had been writing memoir upon memoir, to de-
monstrate the advantages to be derived from the plantation of the
mulberry tree in France ; and he tells us that silkworms were then
raised with success at Nantes, at Poissy, and even at Paris. The
second supporter whom Henry IV. found in the propagation of
sericulture was a man distinguished in a very different way from
that of M. Laffemas. This was Olivier de Serres, tlie author of the
" The'atre de I'Agriculture ;" he whom Henry IV. called his lord and
master in agriculture. Olivier de Serres was the first among his
countrymen who had published instructions regarding the cultivation
of mulberry trees and the rearing of silkworms. Henry IV., who
had noticed his writings, called him to Paris ; and, on his solicitation,
caused twenty thousand mulberry trees and a great quantity of silk-
worms' eggs, of which a distribution was made over the whole of
France, to be imported from Italy. From that moment, sericulture
was propagated rapidly in the Cevennes, in Provence, in Languedoc,
in Touraine, and many other provinces. Mulberry trees were
planted at Fontainebleau, in the royal park of Tournelles, and even
in the Tuileries, where an Italian lady, named Julie, reared silk-
worms for Henry IV.

Notwithstanding this great impulse, sericulture dwindled away

* *' Theatre d' Agriculture d'Olivier de Serres," tome ii., p. 158. In 8vo.

LEPWOPTERA. 2\()

On the death of that king. It received a fresh impulse under Colbert,
the great minister, who succeeded in creating the spirit of commerce
and trade in France. New manufactories were established, and
plantations of mulberry trees formed in many of the provinces. All
this progress was suddenly brought, to a standstill by the iniquitous
revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which deprived France of her
leading commercial men. Driven from their own country, the
Protestant families of the Cevennes established abroad silk manufac-
tories, the fabrics of which rivalled those of French production.

In the eighteenth century the intendants of the provinces tried,
but with very slight success, to give a fresh impetus to sericulture
in France. The Abbe Boissier de Sauvages published, about 1760,
some works, which prove him to have been a patient observer, an
accurate reasoner, and a clever rearer of silkworms. Boissier de
Sauvages is the father of modern silk-culture. During the first
Revolution, men's minds were occupied with graver subjects than the
cultivation of the mulberry tree. But, on the return of peace, they got
to work again on all sides. In 1808, the minister Chaptal estimated
the weight of the cocoon harvest at between five or six thousand
kilogrammes ; whilst the invention of the Jacquard loom gave an
immense impulse to the weaving of silk stuffs. Amongst those who
introduced and benefited the art of sericulture, we must not forget
Dandolo. Dandolo, who was born at Venice in 1758, and died in
18 19, was the first who, at the beginning of this century, applied
himself seriously to the amelioration of the processes employed in
the cultivation of silk. He endeavoured to regulate the temperature,
to introduce more order into the distribution of the food to the
worms, to have more spacious premises, and to have these properly
ventilated.

Now we are on this subject, we must mention the names of those
who at the present day have rendered important services to seri-
culture— such as M. Camille Beauvais, who raised silkworm rearing
from the inactivity into which it had been plunged ; M. Eugene
Robert, who founded in the south of France the first successful silk-
worm nursery; M. Guerin-Meneville, who devoted his life to the
study of the same question, and to whom Europe owed the intro-
duction and the acclimatisation of some species ; and lastly, M.
Robinet, who elucidated several practical questions in the art of
sericulture.

In bringing to a close this historical epitome, we will state that
silk, the raw material of which France supplies herself in part, is
chiefly manufactured in the districts of Lyons, Dauphine, and the

220 THE INSECT WORLD.

Department of Ardeche. That country possesses some 1,400
manufactories of raw silk, and over 1,200 spinning or weaving works,
with more than 100,000 spindles, 40,000 power-looms, and 60,000
hand-looms. The imports of silk yarns and pieces amount to
close upon ;^i, 7 50,000 per annum in value, and the yearly value
of the exports of the same approach ;^9,ooo,ooo. This enormous
trade shows how popular this beautiful fabric still is, an estimation
that is to be explained by the consistency of the stuff, its smooth-
ness, its softness of surface, the manner in which it receives colours,
its brightness, fineness, power of reflecting, its rustle, and other
qualities.

The Bombyx mori has, however, nothing alluring in its appear-
ance. Other caterpillars of the genus Bo?nbyx have brilliant liveries;
they are adorned with spots, blue as sapphires, green as emeralds, red
as rubies, but produce threads without brightness and fineness. The
humble silkworm, in a white blouse, like a workman, has nothing
brilliant in its dress, and yet it gives to the whole world its most
beautiful and gorgeous array. The body of the silkworm is composed
of thirteen distinct segments. In front are three pairs of articulated
legs, which will become later those of the moth. In the middle and
towards the posterior i)art, are five i)airsof membranous legs, furnished
with a circle of very fine bristles, which assist the animal to hook
itself on to leaves and stalks. On the two sides of its body are
eighteen stigmata, or respiratory mouths.

The head of the silkworm is remarkable ; it is scaly, horny, and
formed of one single piece. The mouth is provided with six small
articulated pieces. Below is a simple blade, the upper lip, having in
its middle a hollow, into which the animal causes the edge of the
leaf it is gnawing to enter, and holds it thus without any exertion.
Underneath the lip are inserted t\YO large jaws, which cut the leaf as
a pair of scissors. Underneath, some weaker jaws divide the
fragments, and a little organ, articulated on to each jaw, that is tO|
say, a palpus, pushes them back towards the mouth, and prevents thej
smallest particle of the leaf from falling. And lastly, in the space;
comprised between the two jaws, is an under-lip, which completely
closes the mouth below. At the extremity of this piece may be seen
a little prolongation, a sort of papilla, pierced with a hole, which
the orifice that gives issue to the silky thread.

The organs which serve for the elaboration and emission of the
silk have a peculiar interest for us. If we dissect a silkwonn undei
water, we succeed, sooner or later, after having removed the outei
parts, in laying bare a double apparatus, placed along the two sidi

LEPIDOPTERA.

221

of the intestinal canal and below it. This is the apparatus which
secretes the silk ; it is the double silk -bearing gland. Each one of
. these glands is composed of a tube formed of three distinct parts
(Fig. 201). The part which is nearest to the tail of the worm is a
bent tube, a b c, of a thirtieth of an inch in
diameter, and about nine inches in length, twisted
a great many times into irregular zigzags. This
part of the silk-producing organ is continued in an
enlarged portion, d e, which is the reservoir of
the silky matter. To the extremity, e, of this
reservoir, is attached another capillary tube, e f.
These two capillary tubes, proceeding from the
two glands, unite together like two venous trunks,
as the diagram shows, in one single, short canal, f,
which opens in the mouth of the worm, at its
under-lip.

It is in the narrow hinder tubes that the silky
matter is formed. It collects in the swollen part
D E, which is, properly speaking, the reservoir;
and remains there in the glutinous state. Having
reached the capillary tubes, it begins to assume
consistency, and forms two threads, which are
united together at the point of junction of the
tubes, and come out through the orifice, with the
appearance of a single thread, to be conducted
and directed by the animal to those points it has
selected.

It was hoped that by taking from the body siik-secrVtlng^apparatus
of the worm the viscous matter contained in the
glands, silk could be formed. But this hope was disappointed. It
was found possible, it is true, to take the silk out ; to draw it out
into threads more or less fine ; but up to this time it has only been
possible in this way to obtain a matter which, when dried, more or
less resembles catgut, and is easily enough spoilt by water.

The viscous substance contained in the glands must then be
elaborated by the insect itself When it arrives in the conduit
common to the capillary tubes, under the form of a thread, it is
impregnated with a sort of varnish, which is poured into them from
two neighbouring glands. The varnish unites the two threads into
one single thread, and imparts to it the brilliancy of silk, and the pro-
perty of resisting the action of water. It is during the last phases of the
worm's development that the silky matter becomes abundant in the

!

222 THE INSECT WORLD.

glands. At this period the animal eats much ; and it is certain that
the substance to be converted is furnished by the leaf of the tree on
which the insect feeds.

In consequence of this having been remarked, some manufacturers
have attempted to obtain their silk directly from the mulberry leaf;
but they only get a bad floss or refuse silk. This is because the silk
is not formed in the mulberry leaf. The organs of insects are labora-
tories, in which manipulations unknown to man are carried on,
manipulations which he has not been able to imitate.

After this rapid glance at the fundamental parts of the organism
of the silkworm, we will occupy ourselves with the natural history,
properly so called, of this insect, and with its rearing, carried on with
a view to the production of silk.

As belonging to the first part of this programme, we have to speak
of the moult, of the ages of the silkworm, of its maturity, of its

Fig. 202. Fig. 203.

Head of the Silkworm during moulting. Position ot Silkworm while moulting.

mounting or ascending season^ of the formation of the cocoon, of the
chrysalis, of the moth, and the eggs.

The name moult has been given to a sort of crisis during which
the renewing of the skin of larvae takes place. When it approaches,
the silkworm changes its colour. Its robe, which was white or grey,
and opaque, becomes yellow and somewhat transparent. The head
swells considerably, especially above, and the skin becomes wrinkled
(Fig. 202). The worm then fasts, and prepares to cast its skin. It
places here and there some silk threads on the surrounding objects.
It then slips under these threads, so that during its movements the
old skin which it will abandon is, so to speak, gathered up. It then
assumes a peculiar position, that represented in Fig. 203, and remains
in it in a state of immobility which has been called sleep {sommeil).

During this sleep the new skin is formed under the old. A liquid
oozes forth between the two membranes which separates them, and
aliows the silkworm to leave its old skin. To effect this, the worm
begins by raising its head, and by making contortions. The old skin
spHts round the muzzle, or snout, on the head and back ; then by

LEPIDOPTERA. 223

different movements the animal emerges from its skin, which remains
held up by the silken threads. The duration of the time occupied
in moulting varies with the degree of the heat or humidity of the
atmosphere ; but in general the state of sleep lasts from twelve to
twenty-four hours. One hour after the crisis the worm begins again
to eat.

The ages of the silkworm are the periods of time which elapse
between one moult and another. If we observe some silkworms
when the temperature is favourable, we shall find that there
are four moults, and consequently five ages. At the first *°^ ®
age (Fig. 204), the silkworm is black and hairy ; then of a ^^^
nut colour at the moment when the first moult is going to ^^'^''^
take place. " The appearance presented by these worms Fig. 204.
collected together on a leaf," says Dandolo, "is that of a ^^^rge/''*
downy surface of a dark chestnut colour, in the midst of
which one sees nothing but a movement of little animals having
their heads raised, working them about, and presenting black, shiny
muzzles. Their bodies are completely covered with hairs arranged

Fig. 205. Fig. 206. Fig. 207.

Second age. Third age. Fourth age.

in Straight lines, between which one perceives along the whole
length of the body other longer hairs." *

The first age lasts for five days. At the second (Fig. 205), the
worm is grey, almost without down, then of a yellowish white, and
one sees the crescents making their appearance on the second and
fifth segment. At the third age (Fig. 206), there is not a single hair
remaining, and the worm becomes whitish, and is always becoming
lighter. The third age lasts six days, as does also the fourth(Fig. 207).
At the fifth (Fig. 208), the worm has very nearly reached the end of
its career in the caterpillar state, and now is the time of its greatest
voracity. This age is the longest ; it lasts nine days.

At each of these periods in the life of the silkwonn may be

• <' L'Art d'elever les Vers a Sole," par le Comte Dandolo. In 8vo. 2e edi-
tion. I^yon, .182^.

224

THE INSECT WORLD.

remarked a physiological fact to which has been given the name of
freze. When the silkworm has just moulted it eats little, but the
time very soon arrives when it does so with extraordinary avidity.
It is indeed insatiable. T\\q freze of the last age is called i\\Q grande
freze. It takes place about the seventh day. During this day worms,

Fig. 208.— Fifth age.

the produce of thirty grammes* of eggs, consume in weight as much
as four horses, and the noise which their little jaws make resembles
that of a very heavy shower of rain. It is at the end of this stage
that the insect prepares the shelter in which is to be brought about
its metamorphosis into a chrysalis.

A little while before this it ceases to eat, turns yellow, and
becomes as transparent as a grape. It is now said to have reached
its maturity. Up to this moment the worm had never tried to leave
its litter. It lived a sedentary life, and never thought of wandering
away from its food. Now it is seized with an imperious desire for
changing its quarters. It gets up, it roams about, and moves its
head in all directions to find some place to cling on to. It walks
over everything within its reach, particularly over those obstacles
which are placed vertically. It aspires, not to descend, like the
heroes of classic tragedy, but to rise. It is for this reason that this
period of the silkworm's life has received the name of the moiiutiug
or ascending season. It now looks for a convenient place in which to
establish its cocoon. Every one has remarked how the animal sets
to work to accomplish its task. It begins by throwing from different j
sides threads destined for fixing the cocoon ; this is what we call ;
refuse silk. The proper space having been circumscribed by this
means, the worm begins to unwind its thread — a continuous thread
of about a thousand metres long.

It has been calculated, let us say by the way, that forty thousand
cocoons would suffice to surround the earth at the equator with one
thread of silk. Folded on itself almost like a horse-shoe, its back

* One gramme = I5'4325 gr. troy.

LEPIDOPTEkA. 225

(Vitliin, its legs without, the worm arranges its thread all round its
body, describing ovals with its head. It approximates gradually
the points of attachment of the thread. As long as the cocoon
is not very thick one can watch it through the meshes of the web
applying and fixing its thread, still to a certain degree soft, in such
a manner as to make it adhere closely to the parts already formed.

"We can state," says M. Robinet, "that the silkworm makes every
second a movement extending over about five millimetres. The
length of the threads being known, it follows that the worm moves
its head three hundred thousand times in making its cocoon. If it
employs seventy-two hours at its work, it is a hundred thousand
movements every twenty-four hours, four thousand one hundred and
sixty-six an hour, and sixty-nine a minute, that is to say, a little more
than one a second."

About the fourth day, after having expended all its silk,* the
worm shut up in the cocoon becomes of a waxy white colour, and
swollen in the middle of its body. The abdominal legs wither away ;
the six fore legs approach each other and become black. The parts
of the mouth tend downwards ; the skin wrinkles. Very soon it is
detached and pushed down towards the hinder part, and the chrysalis
appears under the rents in the skifi. It is at first white, but speedily
becomes of a brown red.

The silkworm remains in general from fifteen to seventeen days
in the pupa state. At the moment of hatching, the moth begins by
breaking the skin in which it is shut up, and which is pretty thin.
But how can it come out of the silky prison which it has itself built ?
To efi"ect this it makes use of a peculiar liquid contained in a Htdc
bladder with which its head is provided, and which was discovered
by M. Guerin-Meneville. It moistens the cocoon with this liquid \
which soaks through and penetrates the whole thickness of the silken
wall which confines it. The threads of silk of which it is composed
are moistened and disunited, but not broken. The moth opens
a passage for itself through the threads thus separated, and makes its
appearance in the light of day. Its wings are folded back on
themselves, and it is still quite wet, but it seeks immediately for a
good place in which to dry itself, and in a litde time assumes its
final appearance (Figs. 209, 210). The female (Fig. 210) has
whitish wings, the antennae only slightly developed and pale, the
abdomen voluminous, cylindrical, and well filled. It is quiet, heavy,
and stationary. The male is smaller ; its wings are tinged with grey

g5 * ** Manuel «ic I'Educateur du Ver » Soie," p. 37.

226

THE INSECT WORLD.

Fig. 209. — Silkworm Moth (Bomhyx

male.

its antennae blackish ; it moves about, beats its wings together, and
is Uvely and petulant.

Before laying her eggs, the female looks out for a place suitable

for this purpose. When she
has found this place, she
ejects an egg covered with a
viscous liquid, which causes
it to adhere to the body upon
which it falls. Very soon
she lays a second egg by the
side of the first, then a third
by the side of the second,
and so on. She very rarely
piles them up on each other. The laying lasts about three days ;
the number of eggs is from 300 to 700 for each female. The.sc
eggs are generally tentacular and flattened towards the centre. At
the moment at which they are laid they are of a bright yellow. In

a week they become brown.
The colour changes then to
a reddish grey ; lastly it
becomes of a slaty grey,
remaining this colour during
the autumn, winter, and a
great part of the spring.
Then as the temperature
rises, the colour of the eggs
passes successively through
bluish, violet, ashy, and yel-
lowish shades. And, lastly,
they become more and more \
whitish every day as tlie '
hatching time approaches.
If looked at closely, one
remarks a black spot and a brownish crescent extending along the |
circumference. ■ The black spot is the head of the worm, which '
closely touches the shell ; the crescent is the body, which is already
covered with little hairs. ^Vhen it leaves the egg, the silkworm gnaws
through the shell on its side, never on its flat surface. When the
opening is large enough, it breaks out through it, head foremost,
and immediately fixes a thread of silk to any object it can reach, |
no doubt in order to prevent itself from falling. Sometimes the
opening is too small to allow of the head passing out, ajid the larva

Fig. 210. — Silkworm Moth {Bomhyx ntori), female.

— ...fe^

LEPIDOPTERA. 229

Is forced to come out backwards, that is to say, tail foremost. At
times, not being able to get its head free, the poor animal very soon
dies of fatigue and hunger.

We will now give a summary of the rearing of the silkworm, that
is to say, of the attention which must be paid to this insect tliat it
may construct its cocoon advantageously. We will call to our aid in
this very rapid summary the works or notices of MM. Robinet,
Gue'rin-Meneville, Eugene Robert, and Louis Leclerc, and we must
not forget the excellent and classical Dandolo.*

When it is desired to rear silkworms — uiagnans^ as they were
called in old French, and as they are still called in the patois of
Languedoc — the hrst thing to do is to obtain good eggs, good gi-ain^
to use the technical word, and then to choose suitable premises.
The essential, the fundamental point, in the rearing, is to possess
premises in which the air is easily renewed. The worms should
have as much air as possible given to them without ever being
allowed to be chilled. There is no better means of attaining this
end than by keeping a constant open fire in a room, and by letting
air into the room from another chamber which separates it from the
open air. One has, in this way, the best workroom for a small
rearing.

In the workshop are arranged racks, by the aid of which are placed,
at the distance of 50 centimetres from each other, frames made oi
reeds. These frames, or canisses, as they are called in the Cevennes,
may be from i metre to i J metre in breadth. They should be placed
in such a manner that one can easily pass round them to place and
remove the worms, and to distribute their leaves to them uniformly.
They should be protected by a small border of a few centimetres in
height, to prevent the worms from falling. And lastly, they should
be covered at the bottom with large sheets of paper. (Plate VI.)
A provident silkworm-rearer has always at his disposal a cellar or
cool room, so as to be able to stow away his leaves as soon as they
are brought in from the country.

What we have just said applies especially to a small rearing. In
large establishments, or even those of second-rate importance, every-
thing is in advance of this, and mathematically regulated : aspect and
arrangement of rooms, furniture of these rooms, warming, ventilation,

* **L'Art d'elever des Vers a Sole, par le Comte de Dandolo, trnduit par
Philibert Fontaneilles." In 8vo. Lyons, 1825. Robinet, *' Manuel de I'Education
des Vers a Soie." In 8vo. I'aris. Guerin-Meneville et Eugene Robert,
*♦ Manuel de I'Education des Vers a Soie." In i8nio. Paris. Louis Leclerc,
." Petite Magnanerie." In iSmo. Paris.

230 THE INSECT WORLD.

&c. So, for a rearing-house for 300 grammes of eggs, the building
should be constructed in such a manner that its front and back look
east and west, to avoid any inequality in the heat derived from the
sun. It ought to consist of a ground-floor, a very lofty first-floor, and
of a rather low roof. The ground-floor comprises the chamber of
incubation, the store-room for leaves, and the air-chamber with the
grate intended for warmth and ventilation. The first-floor constitutes
the rearing-room properly so called.

But let us leave these grand industrial establishments, to return to
our rearing -houses on a small scale, such as are found among the
peasants of the Cevennes. They generally receive the silkworms'
eggs before the end of the winter. In order to preserve them till the
hatching season, they are placed in thin layers, in a piece of folded
woollen stuff, which must be hung up in a cool, but not a damp place,
exposed to the north. As soon as the buds of the mulberry tree
begin to be partially open, they proceed to the incubation of the eggs.
They are spread out on sheets of paper, in very thin layers, placed on
a table in a room having a southern aspect, and left thus during three
or four days, taking care to prevent the rays of the sun from touching
them. It is necessary also, from lime to time, to open the windows.
After three or four days, the fire is lighted, taking care not to have
more heat than 13^ Centigrade round about the table which supports
the eggs, and which should be placed as far as possible from the fire.
Each day the room is warmed a little more, in such a way that the
temperature is raised 1° to 2° a day, until 25° Centigrade of heat
have been attained, at which temperature it is to be maintained when
the eggs have reached the last stage, and till the hatching is termi-
nated. On the first day few worms are hatched ; but the hatching of
the second day is very abundant, as also that of the third. Of these
newly-born worms two divisions are made, separated by an interval oi
twenty-four hours. The worms which are born afterwards are thrown
away, unless they are so abundant that they can be made a third
batch of, which is to be mixed up with the second at the period of
the moult.

In the large rearing-houses there is a special chamber for the
incubation. Various simple, convenient, cheap apparatuses, whose
main object is to create a permanent warm and damp atmosphere,
whose degree of heat can be regulated at will, have been proposed.
M. Louis Leclerc, in his pamphlet entitled " Petite Magnanerie," has
given a description and drawing of a little box which is very useful
for facilitating the hatching of eggs. We refer those of our readers
who wish for farther information on the subject to that work. As

LRPIDOPTERA. 23 1

soon as the worms are hatched, the eggs are covered with net, and
over this are placed mulberry boughs, covered with tender leaves, on
which all the little worms congregate. They are then lifted up with a
hook made of thin wire, and the worms are placed on a table covered
with paper, leaving a proper space between each. They are given, as
their first meal, tender leaves cut into little pieces with a knife. These
are the operations gone through for the two raisings of worms on the
second and third day of the hatching. During this first age they give
them from six to eight meals a day, taking care to distribute their
food to them as equally as possible. The first meal is given at five
o'clock in the morning ; the last at eleven or twelve o'clock at night.

When the moult is approaching, the young ones are made to climb
on to boughs having tender leaves, so that they can be moved to
litters as thin and clean as possible, and there sleep in a good state
of health. When the mass of worms is well awake again, the next
thing to do is to take them off the litter on which they moulted, and
to give them food. If this problem were proposed to a person strange
to the operation which is now occupying our attention — to separate
the worms from the faded and withered food upon which they are
reposing, without touching them — he would certainly be very much at
a loss what to answer. The solution of this problem presented for
long time great difficulties, and occasioned numerous reverses in
the rearing. Now-a-days, thanks to the employment of a net, the
delitemeftt, or taking them off their bed, has become an easy operation.

Over the worms, placed on a table, is spread a net, the meshes
of which are broad enough to allow them to pass through. On this
net are spread the leaves which are to compose a meal. The worms
at once leave the old food, and get on to the new leaves. Attendants
then lift the litter with the worms, and throw away the old leaves,
now unoccupied, clean the table, and replace the net with the
worms. At the next delitement the first net is found under the litter.
Figs. 211 and 212 show two forms of these nets made of thread.

Thread nets, which were of great use, have been supplanted
with great advantage by paper ones, which were invented by
M. Eugene Robert. These are leaves of paper, of a peculiar
manufacture, pierced with holes proportioned to the size of the
worms which are to pass through them. The paper net can be used
advantageously also for separating the worms that are too near
together, or, as they say, for the dedoublement. Formerly, the
delitement and the dedoublement were done by hand — a tedious work,
and one that presented serious disadvantages. Now-a-days, as we
have seen, the worms themselves perform these two perilous operations.

232

THE INSECT WORLD,

At the second age they still cut the leaves for the worms, but
into larger pieces, and proportioned to their size. During the day
the temperature of the room ought to be kept to 21" Centigrade,
but it may be lowered by i^ or 2° during the night. Towards the

Lozenge-shaped net.

Fig. 212 — Square net.

end of this age they have only four meals. When the worms are on
the point of going to sleep, their meals are decreased.

During the third age the number of the meals is kept to four, the
first being given towards five o'clock in the morning, and the last
between ten and eleven o'clock at night. The leaf is cut into mucli
larger pieces, and distributed as equally as possible. The delitcnicnt
and the dedoublaticut are proceeded with as in the preceding age. One
begins to find pretty often during this period of the life of worms,
some luisettes — that is to say, worms which have not strength enougli
to moult. They are larger than those just woke up, and that have
not as yet eaten, and are shiny. They must be carefully removed,
for they will not be long before they die, and infect the air of the
room.

During the fourth age the rearers no longer cut the leaves, but
give them a great deal more at once. The result is the litters increase
in thickness, and the delitement must be performed oftener ; for the
rest, four meals are always necessary. Many luisettes may be seen
during the fourth age. The moult which follows the fourth age is
the most critical phase in the life of the silkworm. During their
sleep they are a prey to acute suffering, and are plunged into a stat

I

LEPIDOPTERA. 233

of lethargy which resembles death. The dryest and cleanest litters
diffuse very soon a sickly smell. This moult lasts irom thirty-six to
forty-eight hours. During this time the room should be kept to at
least 22^ Centigrade.

When they awake out of this last sleep the attendant should con-
tinually be on his guard, as it is then that diseases break out. The
worms suffering from these different diseases have received different
names., There are besides the hUsettes the arpians — that is to say,
worms that have exhausted all their energy in the work of the last
moult, and have not even strength to eat — the yelloiv^ or fat worms,
which are swollen, of a yellowish colour, and which very easily die ;
the flats or mous^ the soft or indolent ones which, after having eaten
a great deal and become very fat, die miserably, and enter into a
state of putrefaction. And lastly, it is at this age that the mtiscardine,
which hardly shows itself at any other age of the insect, appears with
great intensity.

The muscardhie is a terrible scourge to the rearers of silkworms.
The losses which result from this disease in France are estimated at
ac least one-sixth of the profits. No particular symptom allows of
our recognising the existence of this disease in worms which, how-
ever, contain its germ; only, the worm, which has eaten up to that
time as usual, appears almost in a moment to change to a duller
white ; its movements become slower, it grows soft, and is not
long before it dies. Seven or eight days after its death it becomes
reddish and completely rigid. Twenty-four hours afterwards a white
efflorescence shows itself round the head and rings, and soon after
the whole body becomes floury. This flour is a fungus called Botrytis
bassiajia, of which the mycelium develops itself in the fatty tissue of
the caterpillar, attacks the intestines, and fructifies on the exterior.
This fungus has been considered as the immediate cause of the mus-
car dine, and has been also regarded as the last symptom or end of
the disease. The communication of the disease by contagion has
alternately been admitted and denied. As its true cause, and any
efiicacious means of opposing it, are still unknown, the breeders of
silkworms must be content to apply — so as to prevent or struggle
against this dreadful scourge — the precepts of hygiene : good ventila-
tion, excessive cleanliness, frequent delitements^ and good food pro-
perly prepared.

After the muscai^dine, we must mention another epidemic disease

still more terrible, the gattine. This disease shows itself from the

very beginning of the rearing, and increases in intensity at each age,

so that the number of worms able to enter regularly into the moult

65*

234 THE INSECT WORLb,

becomes smaller and smaller. We are still in a state of utter igno-
rance as to the cause of this last affection, which has occasioned, at
various periods, incalculable losses in the rearing-houses, which
threatens the silkworm with complete destruction, and which
threatened to ruin the unfortunate countries of the Cevennes, the
principal seat of sericulture in France.

During the fifth age, the worms become large so quickly that on
the fifth or sixth day they are obliged to be moved away from each
other on the litter. The dtliteinent must be made every two days, or
indeed, every day now, on account of the enormous amount of the
excrement ; and, at the same time, a good ventilation must be con-
stantly maintained. The temperature of the room should now be
kept to 24^^, without ever exceeding this degree of heat. When it is

Fig. 213. — Sprigs of heather arranged so that Silkworms may mount into them.

perceived that the worms wish to ascend, or vioiint^ there are placed
on the tables, at certain distances from each other, little sprigs of
heather or very dry branches of light wood.

When the worms begin to mount into the heather, one must
encabajier — that is to say, form with these branches little hedges,
curved back like a hut or cradle, the openings of which are, on an
average, seventeen inches or so (Fig. 213). At the expiration of
twenty-four hours all the good worms have mounted. The laggards
who remain under the cabcvies are taken off by hand, and placed on a
table, which is vmxxx^^x^i^Xy cncabanca.

The cocoons spun on these branches of heather ought to be
large, heavy, and well-shaped. The good cocoons are regular ; their
ends are rounded and not pierced ; and they are hard, especially at
their extremities, and have a fine grain (Fig. 214). They are
cylindrical. The best are drawn in towards the middle, or have a
concavity on either side of it (Fig. 215). Every one knows that there
are white and yellow cocoons, the produce of different races of worms.

LEPIDOPTERA.

235

Commerce recognises two kinds of white silk : theyfrj-/ white and
the second white. The silk of the first white is produced by the race
Sina, the cocoons of which are of a perfect and azured white. They
produce the most beautiful and most precious silk, and serve for the
fabrication of light and delicate-coloured tissues. The silk of the secotid
white is furnished by two races : the Espagnolet and the Roquemaiire.

The races that produce yellow cocoons are more numerous than
the white ones. The yellow races are divided into three groups :

"^w^y

Fig. 214. — Spherical cocoon
of the Bombyx mori.

Fig. 215. — Cocoon of Bombyx mori,
drawn in towards the middle.

those that have small, middle-sized, or large cocoons. The first and
second are stronger, and more esteemed than the last.

The greater number of the races of silkworms have, let us here
mention, white and yellow cocoons ; there are some, however, whose
cocoons are of a greenish white, or even quite green, or of a reddish
green. One race, raised in Tu-scany, near Pistoja, has cocoons of a
pale rose colour ; and, lastly, mention has been made of cocoons of
a purple colour.

When the cocoons are completed, the people in charge of the
rearing- establishments separate them from the heather and sell them
to the silk-spinners. But they must manage to get these cocoons
into a state in which they will remain entire during a long time. They
must, in other words, kill the chrysalis, to prevent the cocoons being
pierced by the moth. To kill the chrysalis so as to prevent the

2.^,6

THE INSECT WORLD,

Fig. 2i6.— Larva, pupa, cocoon, and moth of Bombyx mori.

development of the Imago is an operation which is called the etouffage,
or stifling.

To effect this stifling, the cocoons are exposed to a high tem-
perature. Formerly, in the C^vennes, the cocoons were placed m a

LEPIDOPTRRA.

2?>7

baker's oven, heated for baking bread. But they ran -the risk thus of
l)eing burnt, or of a certain number of chrysahdes remaining' aUve.
Now, to kill the chrysalides, they use steam at too°, produced by
water boihng in a vessel, and
passing through wicker baskets
filled with cocoons (Fig. 217).

The rearer must also take care
at the time he gathers them, ,to
separate the cocoons which are to
provide eggs for the next year. As
the female cocoons are heavier
than the male cocoons, they are
easily separated by weighing them
in a pair of scales.

To obtain the, eggs, or grain,
the cocoons are fixed on sheets of
brown paper, covered with a slight
coating of paste made of flour.
They are arranged in such a man-
ner that the moths shall find no
obstacle when they come out of
them, head foremost ; and, more-
over, so that they may be able to
reach with their legs the cocoon
which is opposite them, so as to
hang on to it, and to facilitate
their exit from their own cocoon
(Fig. 218). The male and female
cocoons are pasted on separate
sheets.

It is from fifteen to twenty days after the montce^ or mounting, and
when the temperature of the rooms has been kept between 20*^ and
25^, that the moths begin to be hatched. As they appear, they are
seized by the wings and placed^ on cloths stretched out for the
purpose, where they are left for about an hour, till their wings have
fallen flat on their bodies. As soon as they have evacuated a red
liquor, the males and females, which up to that time have been
apart, are put together.

They then stick sheets of paper on to screens, putting from
twenty-five to thirty females on each sheet (Fig. 219). It is here the
moths lay their eggs. The sheets of paper, covered with eggs, are
then hung on wires, at a small distance from the ceiling of a room

Fig. 217.

Apparatus for stifling the chrysalides
in the cocoons.

238

THE INSECT WORLD.

piifnpW! riiiiiiiiiiiniii!iiiii!!iP"'''^"'MliiWBiiifiii

miUMuiuMinxL
CillliiijLUiOJiittt) I

cittjUiiiittfiiaia]
itiMiiittttaxiitiij
CiitiiMitiittxlti^

Fig. 218.— Sheet of p;iper with rows of cocoons prepared for
the exit of the moths destined for laying eggs.

having a northern aspect, which is never warmed. They remain
thus, exposed to all variations of temperatrure, till the return of the

warm weather. We will

F|i|[|«friPW!r|^^ ^^y ^ '^^^^' Tt^o an^end^ on

the windmg of cocoons
and the spinning of silk.
The winding of co-
coons is an operation
which at first sight ap-
pears very simple, but
M'hich is in reality a diffi-
cult and delicate process.
It requires unremitting

,^^_^_^^ attention, great experi-

I , ence, and a delicacy of

touch which can only be
found in the fingers of
woman, or rather, in the
fingers of certain women.
The woman who is spmning, stands before a sort of loom which
is called /our (Fig. 220). Under her hand is a copper containing

water, which she heats to
the required degree by
opening the tap of a tube,
which brings a current of
steam. She plunges the
cocoons into the hot
water, and moves them
about in it, to soften the
gummy substance which
sticks the silken threads
of the cocoon together.
Then she beats them,
with a light hand, witli a
small birch-broom. The
threads of the cocoons
get caught in the ex-
tremities of the twigs of
which the little broom is made, and the workwoman seizes with her
fingers the bundle of threads, and shakes them about till she per-
ceives that thoy arc all single, and in a tit state to be joined togetlier.

Fig. 219. — Sheets of paper stuck into screens, and incHned
for the reception of moths.

240 THE INSECT WORLD.

Let us suppose that it is wished now to make up a b?-in, or staple,
by uniting together the ends of five cocoons. Slie chooses five ends
in the mass, makes of these a bundle, and introduces it into the hole
of 2.filiere. She makes two staples {brifis) at once, one on her right,
the other on her left hand. She then brings them together, she
crosses them, rolls them, and twists them, the one on the other,
several times ; after which, she separates them from above and keeps
them well apart, making each of them pass into a hook at a distance,
i^from which they are going to twist round into a hank, separately, on
jta wheel. The two threads thus twisted are drawn close together,
com])ressed, and become one, getting round by rolling on each other,
and being kept in continual motion, drawn out as they are by the
rapid motion of the wheel.

The difficulty which the emptying the cocoon of its silk thread
I jj- presents, makes us understand what difficulties those manufacturers
' '"'must have met with who have lately attempted to extract from the
stalks of mulberry leaves a sort of silk. We will enter into no
details of the attempts which have been made to accomplish this
object in our time, attempts which have, however, been crowned with
no success whatever. We will confine ourselves to reminding the
reader that these attempts are far from being of recent origination,
since they date as far back as to Olivier de Serres, the father of
French sericulture.

In a little work published by Olivier de Serres, in 1603, under
the title of Cueillette de la Soie, " The Gathering of Silk," we find a
memoir entitled : La seconde richesse du juurier, qui se trouve en son
escora\ pour en /aire des ioilcs de ioute sorte, non moifis utile que la sole
proveuaut d'iaiui, " The seco'.id v»'calth of the mulberry tree which is
found in its bark, how to make of it cloth of all sorts, not less useful
than the silk derived from this tree." Olivier de Serres proves in this
memoir that the second bark, or liber^ of the mulberry tree contains
a fibre capable of replacing hemp or flax, and he describes the
processes by which this may be obtained. The processes which had
been proposed by Olivier de Serres in 1603, were resumed in the
Ce'vennes several years ago by M. Duponchel on the one hand, and
on the other by M. Cabanis,"^ who operated on die bark instead of
taking the whole of the wood of the mulberry tree. But none of
these attempts gave any good results.

The various diseases which^ during so many years, were so
fatal to the mulberry silkworm, suggested the idea of acclimatis-

* See the " Annee scientifique," ye annee, p. 432.

LEPIDOPTERA.

241

ing in Europe other silk-producing Bombyces, if not with the view of
superseding, at least as auxiliaries to the mulberry species. The
genus Attacus has furnished these auxiliaries. Among the species
which have, in this respect, the greatest claims to our attention, we
must place in the first rank those which feed upon the leaves of the
oak tree. Indeed, the trees which can be made use of for their
cultivation are very numerous in Europe, and, moreover, the silk
produced by these worms appears to possess superior qualities.

There are three oak-feeding species of the genus Attacus. They
are Yama-Mm, Fentyi, and Mylitta.

Fig. 221,— Larva of Attacus (Bombyx) Yama-MaT.

The silk of Yama-Mdi is as bright as that of the mulberry silkworm,
but a little less fine and strong, and occupies the first rank after it. If
we could succeed in acclimatising this species it v/ould supply any
deficiency there might be in our crops of ordinary silk.

The eggs of the Attacus Yama-Ma'i were brought from Japan —
where this worm is reared — conjointly with the mulberry silkworm, in
1862. The larvae hatched at Paris, in 1863, were green, of a great
size, remained in that state eighty-two days, and were easily reared.
Their cocoon resembles that of the mulberry species. It is compo.sed
of a beautiful silk of a silvery whiteness in the interior, and of a more
or less bright green on the exterior. The moth is very large and
beautiful, of a bright yellow colour, approaching orange.

242

THE INSECT WORLD.

We give a drawing of the Aitacus Yania-Mai\ taken from the
plates which accompany M. Guerin-Me'neville's memoir.'^

Fig. 223. — Attacus (Bombyx) Yama-Mai.

Fig. 221 represents the larva, or caterpillar, two-thirds natural
size ; Fig. 222, the cocoon, drawn on the same scale ; and Fig. 223,
the moth.

* Sur le Ver a Soie du Chene, et son Introduction en Europe. Extrait du
Magasin de Zooiogie, 1855, No. VI.

[For an account of experiments conducted in England by Dr. Wallace, which.

LEPIDOPTERA.

243

In 1866 M. Camille Personnat published a very interesting
monograpli of Ya7na-Afai, which may be consulted with profit by both
cultivators of silk and naturalists."^

Attaais pernyi yields a remarkably beautiful silk, fine, strong, and
brilliant, which can be spiun and dyed with great ease. The tissues
obtained from it partake of the qualities of ordinary silk, of wool,
and of cotton. This species of Attacus, which is reared on the
oak in Manchooria, has given rise to great hopes in France. The
cocoons and moths of this worm were exhibited for the first time at
the Universal Exhibition of 1855. They were reared by M. Jordan,
of Lyons, from some cocoons sent from China by missionaries.
It will be easily understood, however, that great difficulty attends the
acclimatisation of several of these moths in European countries.

Figs. 224 and 225 represent, after drawings in the Memoir of

Fig. 224. — Cocoon of Attacus (Bombyx) pernyi.

M. Guerm-Meneville, already referred to, the cocoon and moth ot
the Attacus periiyi.

The silk which Attacus Mylitta produces is perhaps superior to
that of Pernyi. When the cocoons are properly prepared, the silk
can with ease be wound off from one end of them to the other.
This worm is found in various parts of Bengal and of Calcutta, and
also at Lahore, and its silk is exported in considerable quantities
under the name of tusseh. Brownish stuffs are made of it in India of

unfortunately were complete failures as far as rearing the moth went, see an essay
by that gentleman in The T7'ansactio7is of the Entomological Society of London,
3.rd series, vol. v., pt. 5 ; Longmans and Co. The results of an experiment which
gave the greatest hopes of success, will be found in **The Entomologist " for
October, 1867.— Ed.]

* Le Ver a Soie du Chene {Bombyx Yama Mm), son histoire, sa description, ses
moeurs. 8vo, avec planches colorees. A Laval, a I'ecole de sericulture.

244

THE INSECT WORLD.

firm and bright texture, which are used for summer clothing, or for
covering furniture.

Fig. 225.— Attacus (Bombyx) pernyi.

Figs. 226 and 227 represent the moth and the cocoon of Attacus
Mylitta after M. Guerin-Me'neville.

Fig. 226.— Attacus (Bombyx) Mylitta.

In 1855 M. de Chavannes reared this species in the open air,
near Lausanne, in Switzerland. This treatment succeeded perfectly,

LEl'IDOPTERA. 245

without any degeneration, for many j^ears. It, hovv'ever, died out a<-
last, from the effects, perhaps, of too great a difference in the cHmate,
or from those accidents, still so little understood, to which even the
insects of our own country are subject. This was unfortunate, as
this species is one of those whose acclimatisation in Europe is the
most to be desired, for it would render grccit service to the cultivators
of silk.

It remains for us to speak of two other species, which are very
important, inasmuch as their domestication in Europe is now an
accomplished fact. We mean the Attacus or Bombyx of the Ailanthus,
and also that of the Castor-oil plant.

Every one has heard of the Ailanthus silkworm {Aitacus \Bombyx\

Fig. 227. — Cocoon ot Attacus (Bombyx) Mylitta.

Cynthia), whose acclimatisation in Europe was materially assiated by
the admirable and persevering efforts of M. Guerin-Me'neville.

The Ailanthus worm is a native of Japan and of the north of
China. It was brought over in 1858 by Annibale Fantoni, and sent
to M. Gue'rin-Meneville by MM. Griseri and Colomba, of Turin.
When it is nearly full-grown it is emerald green, with the head, the
feet, and the last segment of a beautiful golden yellow, and has black
spots on each segment. This worm, in its full-grown state, is
represented by Fig. 228 ; in the same figure are also represented the
eggs and the cocoon. The moth has the abdomen yellowish under-
neath, with little white tufts. Its wings are traversed by a white
band, which is followed exteriorly by a line of a bright rose ; each
wing is also marked by a lunula or crescent-shaped spot.

In 1858 M. Guerin-Me'neville presented to the Academic des
Sciences of Paris the first moths and the first eggs laid in France of
the Attacus Cynthia. This able entomologist demonstrated very
soon afterwards — ist, that the caterpillars of this insect can be reared
in the open air, and with scarcely any cost for management ; 2ndly,
that it produces two crops a year in the climate of Paris and the

246

THE INSECT WORLD.

north of France ; 3rdly, that the cultivation of the Ailanthus, or the
false Japan varnish tree, on which this insect lives, is easy even in
the most sterile soil.

M. Guerin-Meneville showed still further that ailaiitine, the

Fig. 228.— Eggs, larvae, and cocoons of Attacus (Bombyx) Cynthia.

textile matter furnished by the cocoon of the Cynthia, is a sort of
floss silk holding a middle place between wool and the silk of the
mulberry-tree worm, and which, as it can be produced at scarcely any
expense, would be very cheap, and would serve for the fabrication of
what are called fancy stuffs, for which ordinary floss silk is now used.
In 1862 M. Guerin-Meneville sent in a Report to the Minister of

LEPIDOPTRRA. 24/

Agriculture on the progress of the cultivation of the Ailanthus, and
of the breeding of the silkworm, which was reared in the open air on
this tree. He mentions, in his Report, the rapid development of the
cultivation of the tree in France, the great number of eggs of the
Ailanthus silkworm sold, the foundation of a model silkworm nursery
at Vincennes, and, this one great point gained, that they had found
out the way of unwinding the silk from the cocoons of the Cynthia in
one unbroken and continuous thread.

Till then European industry had only succeeded in drawing from
the cocoons of the Ailanthus silkworm a floss silk, composed of
filaments more or less short, obtained by carding, and unable to
produce, when twisted, anything better than floss, that is to say,
refuse silk. It is to the Countess de Vernede de Corneillan, on the
one hand, and to Doctor Forgemot on the other, that the merit is
due of having obtained an unbroken thread of silk from the cocoon
of Attacus Cyjithia.

A monograph on the Ailanthus silkworm appeared in 1866 under
the title, " L'Ailante et son Bombyx, par Henri Givelet."* It is a
complete account of the results obtained up to that date, both as
regards the rearing of the silkworm and also as regards the cultivation
on a large scale of the Ailanthus, or false Japan varnish tree.t

The Castor-oil Plant Silkworm (^Attacus \Bombyoc\ ricini) is a
species very nearly akin to the Ailanthus vzorm, perhaps only a
variety, and comes from India. The silk which it produces is very
similar in eveiy respect to that of the Cynthia. The rearing of this
worm could never attain to any great importance in France, on
account of the necessity there is of renewing the plantations of the
castor-oil plant each year. It would, however, afford an additional
source of income to the farmers in the south of France, who cultivate
the castor-oil plant with a view to selling its seeds, which are much
used in pharmacy.

Nearly allied to the genus Attacus, which furnishes us with all
these prec'ous auxiliaries to the mulberry silkworm, are a great
number of other species, both indigenous to Europe and exotic,
mostly remarkable for their great size, and a few of which are common
in Great Britain.

* In 8vo, avec plans et planches colorees. Paris, 1866.

t A work by M. Guerin-Meneville on the same subject, entitled, " Education
des Vers a Soie de FAilante et du Ricin," in i2mo., Paris, i860, may also be
consulted.

[For a full account of successful experiments carried on in England, see Dr.
Wallace's essay in The Transactions of the Entomological Society of London^
3rd series, vol. v., pt. 2 ; Longmans and Co. — Ed.]

248

THE INSECT WORLD.

Fig. 229 is the largest European moth, but never found farther
north than the latitude of Paris. Its wings are brown, waved, and
•variegated with grey. Each of them has a large black eye-shaped
spot, surrounded by a tawny circle, surmounted by one white semi-
circle, and by another of a reddish hue, the whole completely enclosed

Fig. 229 — Saturnia pavonia-major.

in a black circle. '' These moths," says Geoffroy, " are very Isrge ;
they look as if they were covered with fur, and, when they fly, one is
inclined to take them for birds."

Saturfiia pavonia-7najor comes from a very large caterpillar, which
is of a beautiful green, with tubercles of turquoise blue, each of
which is surmounted by seven stiff divergent hairs. This caterpillar
lives principally upon the elm, but it feeds also upon the leaves of the
pear, plum, and other trees. It spins a brown cocoon, formed of a
coarse silk of great strength. It is not until the following spring that
it becomes a moth.

I.HPIDOPTERA. 249

The Emperor Moth {Saturnia carpini, Fig. 230) much resembles
the above, except in size. This species is common in England, and
its green larva, covered with black or pink warts, from which spring
hairs, as in the last, is by no means rare on heath in the autumn. It
also feeds on bramble and other plants.

^ Among the Atiaci foreign to Europe, we must mention Atlas
(Fig. 231), the expanse of whose wings exceeds four and a quarter

Fig. 230.— Emperor Moth {Saturnia r.arpiui).

inches. This magnificent moth, one of the largest known, comes
from China.

The family Bomhycidce comprises many species which we must
not omit to mention.

The Lackey [Bombyx neustrid) derives its name from the colour
of the caterpillar, which has longitudinal lines of various colours, and
a blue head. These caterpillars live together on a great number of
our forest and garden trees, to which they do much damage. The
moth (Fig. 232) has a brownish body, and wings of a more or less
tawny yellow colour, with two darker lines on the front wings.

The Procession Moth {Bombyx processioned) is a small greyish
moth, the caterpillars of which live in numerous troops on oak trees,
and devour the leaves at the moment of their development. In the

2SO

THE INSECT WORLD.

evening these caterpillars come out of their common nest, and form a
sort of procession ; hence their name Procession Moth. " I kept

Fig. 231.— Attacus (Bombyx) Atlas.

Fig. 232. — The Lackey [Bombyx neiistria).

some for a little time in my house in the country," says Reaumur,
brought an oak branch which was covered with them into my stud)

LEPIDOPTERA.

251

where I could much better follow the order and regularity of their
march than I could have done in the woods. I was very much
amused and pleased at watching them for many days. I hung the
branch on which I had brought them against one of my window
shutters. When the leaves were dried up., when they had become too
hard for the jaws of the caterpillars, they tried to go and seek better
food elsewhere. One set himself in motion, a second followed at his
tail, a third followed this one, and so on. They began to defile and
march up the shutter, but being so near to each other that the head
of the second touched the tail of the first. The single file was
throughout continuous ; it formed a perfect string of caterpillars of
about two feet in length, after which the line was doubled. Then
two caterpillars marched abreast, but as near the one which preceded
them as those who were marching in single file were to each other.
After a few rows of our processionists who were two abreast, came
the rows of three abreast ; after a few of these came those which were
four abreast ; then there were those of five, others of six, others of
seven, others of eight caterpillars. This troop, so well marshalled,
was led by the first. Did it halt, all the others halted ; did it again
begin to march, all the others set themselves in motion, and followed
with the greatest precision. . , . That which went on in my study

goes on every day in the woods where these caterpillars live

When it is near sunset you may see one caterpillar coming out of any
of the nests, by the opening which is at the top, which would hardly
afford space for two to come out abreast. As soon as it has emerged
from the nest, it is followed by many others in single file ; when it
has got about two feet from the nest, it makes a pause, during which
those who are still in the nest continue to come out ; they fall into
their ranks, the battaHon is formed ; at last the leader sets oft
marching again, and all the others follow him. That which goes on
in this nest takes place in all the neighbouring nests ] all are evacu-
ated at the same time."

One part of Fig. 233 shows the aiTangement of the caterpillars on
coming out of the nest. These caterpillars are furnished with long
hairs, slightly tufted, which come off with the greatest ease, and which
if they penetrate into the skin, cause violent itching. In 1865 a
number of the alleys of the Bois de Boulogne were shut up from the
public in order to save them from this annoyance. These caterpillars
construct a covering common to them all, in which they live, and
transform themselves therein, each insect making for his own private
use a small cocoon. This insect is said to have been found in England,
but there is not sufficient evidence to admit it into our lists.

252

THE INSECT WOJ?LD.

Fig. 233. — LarvEe of the Processicn Moth (Bo}/. dyx processionea).

Fig. 234. — The Vapourer Moth {Orgyia antiand), male and female.

The Orgy las comprise a great number of small species, of a dark
colour, which do a great deal of damage to our forest trees. In Sep-

LEPIDOPTERA.

25-

tember and October the male of the Orgyia antiqua, with his tawny
wings, may often be seen flying about the streets of London. The
female (Fig. 234) is remarkable, as she has only the rudiments of
wings, and only goes as far as the side of her cocoon. The cater-
pillar of the Orgyia pudibunda, called also the Hop Dog, attacks
almost every sort of tree. When the state of the atmosphere favours
their propagation, they appear in fearful quantities, and cause the

Fig. 235. — Orgyia pudibunda.

greatest havoc. During the autumn of 1828, in the environs of
Pfalzburg, they were to be counted by millions. The extent of the
woods laid waste was calculated at over 3,000 acres. It is common
in Britain. Fig. 235 is a representation of Orgyia pudibunda.

Among the genus Liparis^ the species of which are also very
destructive to trees, we must mention the Brown-tailed Moth {Ltparis
chrysorrhcea, Fig. 236), a species by no means rare in England. The

254

THE INSECT WORLD.

caterpillars live in quantities, on apple, pear, and elm trees, and

destroy the plantations of the promenades of Paris.

The females of this genus tear off the fur from the extremity of

their abdomens to make a soft bed
for their eggs, and to preserve them
from the cold. And yet they are
never to see their young, for they die
after they have laid their eggs. An-
other tribe of Bombycina contains
species of a small size, which are
remarkable from the habits of theii
caterpillars, which make, with foreign
bodies, cases, in the interior of which

they live and undergo their metamorphoses.

The caterpillars of the genus Psyche live in a case composed of

Fig. 236. — Llpari.s chrysorrhoea.

Fig. 237. — Case of Psyche muscella.

iMf

Fig. 238. - Psyche muscella.

Fig. 239. — Case of Psyche rubicolella.

Fig. 240.— Case of Psyche graminellj

Fig. 241. — Larva of Psyche graminella.

^^^0

Fig. 242. — Psyche graminella.

fragments of leaves, of bits of grass and straw, of small sticks of
wood, or of litde stones, stuck together, and intermixed with silky
threads.

^ -^

\\

y

•X

k^

isi*^

VII.— Goat Moth {Cossrts ligniperdd). Larva, pupa, and perfect insect.
I, 2, Perfect insect. 3. Pupa. 4. Larva.

LEPIDOPTERA.

25;

We give a representation (in Figs. 237, 239, and 240) of the cases
of the caterpillars of three different kinds. The females of these
moths are completely destitute of wings, and resemble caterpillars.
As a general rule they hardly ever leave their case. The males
(Figs. 238, 242) are of a blackish grey, and fly very swiftly.

The caterpillars of the genus Hepialus are difficult to observe, as
they live in the interior of the roots of various vegetables. Such is
the common Ghost Moth {Hepialus hiwiuli), which sometimes causes
the greatest damage.

The type of the genus Zeuzeni is Zeuzcra lEsadi, or Wood

Fig. 243.— Zeuzera aesculi.

Leopard (Fig. 243). It has white wings with large blackish blue
spots on the anterior, and small black spots on the posterior wings.
The caterpillar, of a vivid yellow, spotted with black, lives in the
interior of the trunks of a great many trees, principally the chestnut,
the elm, the lime, and the pear tree. This moth, which is known
also by the name of Coquette, is to be seen in the evening flying
about the public gardens of Paris, and is not rare in England. The
most celebrated species of the allied genus Cossus is the Wood-
boring Goat Moth {Cossus ligniperda)^ figured in Plate VII. The
moth has a heavy brownish body and greyish wings streaked with
black. It is found in most parts of Europe. The caterpillar is of a
reddish colour, as if it had on a leathern jerkin, and disgorges a liquid
which is believed to soften ligneous fibres, and it Hves in the interior
68

258

THE INSECT WORLD.

of willows and other trees. It was on this caterpillar that Lyonnet
made his admirable anatomical researches.

Fig. 244. — Larva of Dicranura vinula.

Another tribe of Bombycina comprises some very strange cater-
pillars, whose hindermost feet are changed into forked prolongations,
which they move about in a threatening manner. These sort of Hy-

Fig. 245. — Dicranura vinula.

traps are perhaps meant to keep at a distance those insects which
would lay their eggs upon the caterpillars body. Ihe caterpillars

LEPIDOPTERA.

259

of Dicranura are of this kind. We give a representation of the
caterpillar and the moth of the Puss Moth {Dicranura vinula,
Figs. 244, 245), as also the moth of the Dicranura verbasci^ the
former of which is common in England, and the larva may be found

Fig. 246. — Dicranura verliasci.

during the late summer and early autumn feeding on poplars and
willows ; and of the caterpillar of Stauropus fagi, the Lobster Moth
(Fig. 247), rare in France, whose appearance is strange indeed. The
moths, on the contrary, have nothing about them remarkable.

The Noctuina are a group of Lepidoptera of middling size, and
generally found in woods, meadows, and gardens, where their eater-

Larva of the Lobbter Moth {Stauropus fagi).

pillars have lived. They seldom fly till about sunset, or during the
night. Their upper wings are of a dark colour, with spots in_ the
middle of a particular shape. Their lower wings are of variou«
colours, often whitish, sometimes red or yellow.

26o

THE INSECT WORLD.

We give representations of some of the species of this group : *
Noctua tegamoti, Fig. 248 ; Nodua mbulosa^ Fig. 249 ; Noctua inusiva,

Fig. 248.— Noctua tegamon.

Fig. 249. — Noctua nebulosa.

Fig. 250; Noctua brunnea, Fig. 251; Catocala fraxuii, Fig. 252;
Catocala Americana^ Fig. 253 ; Catocaia paranymp/ui, Fig. 254 ;

* In England it numbers about three hundred species. The larviv • are of
diverse habits, but the majority feed on low plants ; the moths are provided with
a trunk, and are very partial to bwects. —Ed.

LEPIDOPTERA.

261

Catocala nupta, Fig. 255, the Red Underwing; and Erebus strix.
Fig. 256.

The bodies of these moths are robust and sometimes massive,

Fig. 250. — Noctua mnsiva.

I

Fig. 251. — Noctua brunnea.

and are scaly rather than woolly. The thorax is sometimes bristling
with hairy tufts.

This genus includes 800 species, of which there are about
300 in France. The caterpillars of the Noctuina are smooth or

262

THE INSECT WORLD,

Fig. 252. — Catocala fraxini.

Fig- 253.— Catocala Americana.

} very slightly covered with hair, usually of a pale colour, and live on
low plants, of which they devour, some the leaves, others the roots ;

LliPIDOPTERA.

?.03

Fig. 254. — Catocala paranympha.

Fig. 255. — Catocala nupta.

then it is they are most destructive to agriculture. There are
some of them which eat any caterpillars they may chance to meet,

264

THE INSECT WORLD.

and even those of their own species, leaving nothing but the skin.
Some of them surround themselves with a Hght cocoon before be-
coming chrysahdes ; others bury themselves in soft, well-pulverised
soil.

The family of Geom^trmcB^ oi Geometers," comprises moths of a

Fig. 256. —Erebus strix.

middling size, and usually flying after sunset and during the night.*
They frequent the alleys of damp woods, where they become the
prey of the Libelhil(e\ and other carnivorous insects. Their bodies
and abdomens are slender, their wings large, thin, fragile, often of a
dark colour, with brilliant markings.

The caterpillars of the Geoinetrince are known by the name of I
loopers or geometers. We have previously described their singular

■* A few species fly in bright sunshine. — Eu.

t Dragon-flies. — Ed.

LEPIDOPTERA,

265

They are continually spinning a silken thread, which
keeps them attached to the plant on which they Hve. If )0U touch
the leaf which supports them they immediately let themselves fall.

"Nevertheless, they do not generally fall to the ground," say>s
Reaumur ; " there is a cord ready to support them in the air (Fig. 257),
and a cord which they can lengthen as they will ; this cord is

i

^

Hg. 257.~Looper

hanging by its

thread.

Fig. 258. — Seen
at the side.

Fig. 259 -
view.

■Front

Figs. 260 and 261. — Remounting its
thread.

only a very thin thread, but has nevertheless strength enough to
support the caterpillar (Figs. 258, 259). All that one seems to fear
is, that the thread may lengthen too quickly and the caterpillar fall,
rather than descend gently, to the ground. But what we must first
remark and admire is, that the caterpillar is mistress of its movements,
and is not obliged to descend too quickly ; it descends by stages , it
stops in the air when it pleases. Generally it only descends at most
about one foot at a time, and sometimes only half a foot or a few
inches, after which it makes a pause more or less long, as it pleases."

266 THE INSECT WORLD,

It is in this way that the caterpillars let themselves fall from the top
of the highest trees : they remount again with no less ease.

Let us listen to Reaumur's description of the means employed by
this caterpillar to ascend these heights. Figs. 260 and 261, drawn,
as the three preceding ones, from the plates in Reaumur's Memoir,
help us to follow the explanation given by the illustrious naturalist of
the evolutions of our little acrobat : — " To remount," says Reaumur,
" the caterpillar seizes the thread between its jaws, as high up as it
can ; as soon as it has done this it twists its head round, lays it over
on one side, and continues to do so more and more every moment
Its head seems to descend below the last of the scaly legs which are
on the same side as that to which it is inclined. The truth is, how-
ever, that it is not its head which descends, the part of the thread
which it holds between its jaws is a fixed point for its head and for
the rest of its body ; it is that portion of the back corresponding
with its scaly legs which the caterpillar twists upwards ; the conse-
quence is that the scaly legs and that part of the body to which they
belong then ascend. When the last pair of legs is just over the jaws
of the caterpillar, one leg, viz., that which is on the side towards
which the head is incHned, seizes the thread and brings it over to the
corresponding leg on the other side, which is advanced to receive it.
If the head is then raised, which is done immediately, it is in order
that it may seize the thread at a higher point than that at which it
was caught at first ; or, which is the same thing, the head, and con-
sequently the whole body of the caterpillar, is found to have ascended
to a height equal to the length of the thread which is between the
place where its jaws seized it the first time and that where they
seized it the second time. The first move in the upward direction is
thus made, and the second soon follows. ... If you were to
seize the caterpillar on its arrival at the end of its upward journey,
you would see a packet of threads huddled together between the
four hindmost of the scaly legs. The greater the height ascended
the greater is the size of this packet. All the turns of the thread
which compose it are entangled. So the caterpillar does not con-
sider it of any value. As soon as the insect can walk it gets rid
of the mass, sets its legs free, and leaves it behind before one or
at most two steps have been taken. The cord is wasted on each
ascent, but the caterpillar can afford to lose as many as it likes,
for it has in itself the source of the matter necessary for the com-
position of the thread, and it is a source from which that which was
drawn off is being continually re-supplied. Moreover, spinning the
thread costs the caterpillars but little ; indeed, the loopers economise

LEPIDOPTERA,

267

this thread so badly that most of them leave it behind them wherever

they go."

They are found on many trees, but particularly on the oak, the

foliage of which they often entirely
^^_^^-=. _ ^. devour. They burrow into the

ground to change into chrysalides,
and undergo all their metamor-
phoses in the course of the year.
Others do not become perfect in-
sects till the autumn, or sometimes
not even till the following spring.
A few assume the perfect state in
winter. There are, indeed, some
of these, such as the males of the
Hybernias (Figs. 262, 263), which
fly about on the foggy evenings of
November. The females of this
genus have either no wings at all,

or else only rudimentary ones. Two species, the Hybernia defoltaria,

or Winter Moth (Figs. 263, 264), and the Chimatobia brumata (Figs.

265, 266), abundant in England, are very common near Paris.

M. Maurice Girard says, in his work on the metamorphoses of

Fig. 262.— Hybernia leucophearia, male.

Fig. 263. — Winter Moth (^Hybernia
defoliaria), male.

Fig, 264. — Winter Moth [Hybernia
defoliaria), female.

insects, that the females of these moths can easily be found at the
beginning of November, in a very strange place, namely, on the gas
I lamps of the public promenades ; for instance, along the roads in the
Bois de Boulogne. No doubt they had climbed up to this height,
ilattracted by the light, or perhaps had been carried thither by the
|males, which fly, having wings.

In February and March appear other analogous species. " We
may find/' says M. Maurice Girard, "near Paris, in the meadows
which surround the confluence of the Seine and the Mame, at the

268

THE INSECT WORLD.

end of the month of March, the Nyssia zoiiaria (Fig. 267), the males
of which insect remain during the day motionless on the grass."*
There are some species of this family in which the wings of the

Fig. 265. Chlmatobia bnimata, male.

Fig. 266. — Chimatobia
bruniata, female.

females are developed like those of the males.t Such are the
Peppered Moth {Amphidasis hetularia) and the Currant Moth

Fig. 267. — Nyssia zonaria, male and female.

.>^&

{Abraxas grossulariatd), whose caterpillar lives on the red currant
and gooseberrv, and an immense number known as Thorns, Carpets
Waves, &c.

The section of the Pyralina contains the smallest nocturnal

* In England this insect has a very limited range, being found only at New
Brighton, near Birkenhead, where it is most abundant. — Ed.

f The exception is with those in which the wings are not developed in both
cases, and in England this peculiarity is confined to species appearing diTMig the
winter and early .spring. — Ed,

LEPIDOPTERA,

269

Lepidoptera, and nearly all those tiny species which flutter round our
lights in the evening.

Here are some drawings of a few of the numerous species of this
section, remarkable for their small size and beauty : — Penthiiia

Fig. 268. — Penthina pruniana.

priiniaiia, ^dia pusiella, Xylopoda fabriciana^ Foedisca autumtiana^
Tortrix roborana, Philobacera fagana, Toririx sorbiana, Aiitithesia

Fig. 269.— .^dia pusiella.

Fig. 270.— Xylopoda fabriciana.

saiicana, Poedisca occultana^ Argyrolepia cejieana, Sericoris Zmkemina^
Sarrothripa rev ay ana, Cocky lis francilana, C ho mites dolosana (Figs.
268 to 281).'^

* Many of these are placed by some authors among the Pyralina, and by others
among the Tortricina. — Ed.

270

THE INSECT WORLD.

In a book of this kind we can only mention some types among
these last insects, which claim our attention in what we might
almost call a tyrannical manner. We will, therefore, content our-

Fig. 271. — Poedisca autumnana.

Fig. 272. — Tortrix roborana.

selves by saying a few words about the Green Tortrix, the Pyralis of
the Vine, the Bee-hive Moth, some species of the Clothes Moth
family {Tineina)^ and finally of the CEcophorce.

Fig. 273. — Philobacera fagana.

Fig. 274. — Tortrix sorbiana.

The Green Tortrix ( 77;r/;xr 7'irida?i a) hdi?> wings of a green colour,
with the margin and fringe whitish on the anterior, and of an ashy
grey on the posterior wings. The under-side of the four wings is ot

LEPIDOPTERA.

271

a bright white, as if it had been silvered. This pretty moth comes
out in the month of May. It is so common everywhere, that at this
season it is only necessary to shake the branches of the oaks which

Fig. 275. — Antithesia salicana.

Fig. 276. — Poedisca occultana.

Fig. 277.— Argyrolepia
aeneana.

border the alleys of the woods to set in motion hundreds of them.
The caterpillar is green, with black warty spots, each having a hair of
the same colour. They are wonderfully lively, the moment they are

►

Fig. 278. — Sericoris Zinkenana.

Fig. 279. - Sarrothripa revayana.

disturbed taking refuge in a rolled leaf, which serves them as a
dwelling-place. If they are pursued, they let themselves fall by the
aid of a thread, and do not re-ascend till they think they can count

Fig. 280. — Cochyli.s francilana.

Fig. 281. — Choreutes dolosana.

on repose and security. This, and many kindred species, do a great
deal of damage to our trees. They strip them of their leaves, and
sometimes give them, during the first days of summer, the sad and
melancholy appearance which they present in the middle of winter.

We have just alluded to the tube formed of a rolled leaf, in which
the caterpillar takes refuge, and in which it lives. This tube it
constructs itself. Re'aumur has devoted a magnificent chapter of his

2/2

THE INSECT WORLD.

Memoirs to observations on the skill with which divers species of
caterpillars fold, roll, and bind the leaves of plants and trees,
especially those of the oak. Let us listen to the great observer : —
" If one looks attentively at the leaves of the oak tree towards the
middle of the spring, many of them will be seen to be rolled in
different ways. The exterior surface of the end of one of these leaves
has, it appears, been rolled back towards the interior surface, in order
to describe the first turn of a spiral, which is then covered by many
other turns (Fig. 282). Some leaves are rolled towards their exterior
surfaces, others are rolled towards their interior surfaces, but in a

Fig. 282. — Oak leaf rolled perpendicularly.

Fig. 283. — Oak leaf rolled sideways.

totally different 'direction. The length or axis of the first roll is
perpendicular to the principal rib and to the stalk of the leaf, the
axis of the latter parallel to the same rib (Fig. 283). Work of this
kind would not be very difficult to perform for those who had fingers ;
but caterpillars have neither fingers nor anything equivalent to fingers.
Moreover, to have rolled the leaves is only to have done half the
work : they must be retained in a position from which their natural
spring tends constantly to draw them. The mechanism to which the
caterpillars have recourse for this second part of their work is easily
perceived. We see packets of threads attached by one end to the
surface of the roll, and by the other to the flat surface of the leaf

LEPIDOPTERA.

273

They are so many bands, so many little cords which hold out against
the spring of the leaf. There are sometimes more than from ten to
twelve of these bands arranged nearly in the self-same straight line.
Each band is a packet of threads of white silk, pressed one against
the other, and yet we must remember all are separate." '^

Reaumur made the oak-leaf rollers work in his house. He has
admirably described all their little manoeuvres, but we lack the space
to convey to the reader the result of his minute. observations. In fact,
the leaf-rollers construct for themselves a sort of cylindrical cell, which
receives light only through the two extremities. The convenience of
this green fresh habitation is, that its walls furnish food to the animal
which inhabits it. The caterpillar, thus sheltered, sets to work to

Fig, 284. — Leaf of sorrel , a portion of which is cut and rolled perpendicularly to the leaf.

gnaw away at the end of the leaf which it rolled first ; it then eats all
the rolls it has made, up to the very last.

Reaumur found also rolls which had been formed of two or three
leaves rolled lengthwise, and he saw that the leaves which had
occupied the centre had been almost entirely eaten. He saw also
caterpillars which continued to eat while they were making their
habitation. Let us' add that one of the ends of the roll is the opening
through which the caterpillar casts its excrement ; that the caterpillar
can prepare itself a fresh roll if it is turned out of the first ; and,
lastly, that it is in a rolled leaf that the caterpillar undergoes its
metamorphoses into a chrysalis and into a moth.

Reaumur studied other leaf-rollers ; for instance, those which roll
the leaves of nettles and of sorrel. The last one works in a manner
which deserves to be mentioned. Its roll is of no particular shape,
but it is its position which is remarkable. It is set upon the leaf like

* Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire des Insectes, tome ii.,
Memoire).

page 210 (5e

274

THE INSECT WORLD.

a ninepin (Fig. 284). The caterpillar has not only to twist it up into
a roll, but also to place it perpendicularly on the leaf.

Next to the rolling caterpillars, let us mention those which are
contented with folding the leaves. These caterpillars then lie in a

Figs. 285 and 2S

Willow leaves rolled by a caterpillar, and section of a bundle of leaves
drawn together by a caterpillar

sort of flat box. Besides the rolling and folding caterpillars, there are
still those which bind up a good many leaves in one packet. These
pacicets are to be found on nearly every tree and shrub, and the cater- :
pillar, lying nearly in the middle of the packet, is w^ell sheltered, a'ld
surrounded by a good supply of food. We will content ourselves by

LEPIDOPTERA. 2/5

giving a drawing, after Reaumur, of the pretty arrangement of the
leaves of a species of willow (Figs. 285, 286). In the figures we see
the parcel bound together by the caterpillar. In that to the right we
see the transverse section of the packet of leaves magnified. At the
two edges are seen the threads which keep the leaves together, and
the cavity occupied by the caterpillar.

The Vine Pyralis is produced from a leaf-rolling caterpillar, which
deserves our attention on account of the ravages which it has for some
time committed, and which it still commits in vineyards. It was at
the end of the sixteenth century that this pyralis first showed itself in
the environs of Paris, in the territory of Argenteuil. " The inhabi-
tants of this commune," writes the Abbe I.eboeuf, " looked on the
insects which spoiled their vines in the spring of 1562 as a visitation
of God. The Bishop of Paris gave orders that they should offer up
public prayers for the diminution of these insects, and that they should
join to their prayers, exorcisms, without leaving the church." Prayers,
processions, exorcisms, were again had recourse to in 1629, in 17 17,
and in 1733, to stop the ravages of this insect among the vines of
Colombes, in the territory of Ai.

The country of the Maconnais and the Beaujolais became in
their turn the theatre of the ravages of the pyralis. These ravages
very soon increased and spread. In 1836, 1837, 1838, this plague
raged in the departments of the Saone-et-Loire, of the Rhone, of the
Cote-d'Or, of the Marne, of the Seine-et-Oise, of the Charente-
Inferieure, of the Haute-Garonne, of the Pyrenees-Orientales, and of
the Herault.

To give an idea of the losses which may be occasioned by the
pyrahs, in a period of ten years (1828-1837), twenty-three communes
comprised in the two departments of the Saone-et-Loire and- of the
Rhone lost 75,000 hectolitres of wine a year, which may be valued
at 1,500,000 francs. If we were to calculate the supply of articles
of all sorts which this great number of casks of wine would have
necessitated, the imposts on their transport, the duty, the taxes
i levied on their sale, the carriage by land and water, which would
have brought receipts into the treasury, and lastly the diminution
of taxes which had to be granted for seven years to the vine pro-
prietors in the department of the Saone-et-Loire, and in 1837 in
the department of the Rhone, and which amounted to a total of
more than 100,000 francs, we shall find that the ravages of the pyralis
caused in these two departments an annual loss of 3,408,000 francs,
and as the visitation lasted ten years, we get the enormous total
Df 34,000,000 francs lost by the ravages of one species of insect.

2/6

THE INSECT WORLD.

The moth of the pyraHs(Fig. 287) shows itself from the loth to the
20th of June. It is yellowish, more or less shot with gold. When at
rest, its wings are folded back one over the other like a roof Its

Fig. 287.— The Vine Pyralis.

J
Fig. 288. -Caterpillar of the VTne
Pyralis.

flight is of short duration ; it contents itself with going from one viui
stock to another.

It is at sunset mostly that you see the moths of the pyralis
fluttering about. They remain quiet during the day, particularly

when the sun is at its hottest. They
live on an average for ten days. The
females lay their eggs — which are at
first green, then yellowish, then brown
— on the lower surface of the leaves.

The caterpillar of the pyralis

(Fig. 288) is called, in vulgar parlance,

Fig. 289.— Chrysalis of the Vine Pyralis. according to the different places in

which it occurs, vine worm, summer
In the south of France it is called,
in the patois of Languedoc, habota. Almost immediately aftei
they leave the eggs, the little caterpillars hide themselves in the
fissures of the vine stocks or the props which support them. They
spin a small cocoon of a greyish silk, in which they remain curled up
ill the month of May. From the moment the leaves begin tc

worm, vintage worm, shell.

LEPIDOPTERA.

■71

Pig. 290.— The Vine Pyralis in its three states, i. Leaf with batches of eggs laid upon it.
2. Batches of recently laid eggs. 3. Eggs in which caterpillars can be perceived. 4. Batch
of eggs from which the caterpillars have already emerged. 5. Small caterpillars hangmg by
threads. 6. Leaf with the chrysaHs. 7. Caterpillar. 8. Moth.

develop they throw out threads here and there, entangHng all the
young shoots of the vine, which gives a desolate appearance to the

278 THE INSECT WORLD.

vineyards. The leaves of the vine are their favourite food, but they
attack the seeds of the grape also. As they increase in size every
day, the damage they do goes on increasing, and has not reached the
inaximum of intensity till the moment when the caterpillars are about
to change into chrysalides. They are then three-quarters of an inch
long and of a yellowish green colour.

From the 20th of June to the loth of July they seek shelter in
the dry and interlaced leaves which have already served them for
places of refuge and partly also for food, or else they make them-
selves a fresh nest.

At the end of two or three days, the caterpillar has become a
chrysalis (Fig. 289), which in a short time assumes a brown colour.
Shut up in the interior of the cocoon which the caterpillar had spun
before undergoing its metamorphosis, it changes into a moth at the
end of from fourteen to sixteen days.

The best way to diminish the ravages of the pyralis is to pluck off
the leaves which are laden with eggs, and burn them, or bury them in
deep holes.

Fig. 290, which we devote to the conspicuous insect whose
destructive history we have been here able to sketch only slightly,
gives all the particulars relating to this dangerous guest of the vine-
yards. On a branch of the vine may be perceived the pyralis in the
caterpillar state, the eggs which have been laid by the moths, the

chrysalides, and perfect insects. The
eggs are shown at two periods of their
development.

The Bee-hive or Wax Galleria is to
be met with in all countries where
bees are reared.

The moth (Fig. 291) hides itself
^ ''^"^^ during the day round about the bee-

Fig. 291.— Galleria cereiia. hivcs, and cndeavours to make its way

into them after sunset. The cater-
pillar is of a dirty white, with brown warty spots, each surmounted
by a fine hair. It lives on wax, twines its threads round the
honeycomb, and very soon causes the larvae contained in it to
perish.

When it emerges from the ^%g^ which the female has laid in the
honeycomb, the caterpillar makes for itself with the wax a round
tube, in which it is safe against the stings of the bees. This tube, at
first very small, is lengthened and enlarged as the caterpillar increases
in size. It is generally from three to five inches in length. It is in

LEPIDOPTERA. 21 Qi

the interior of this that the caterpillar constructs itself a hard cocoon,
resembling leather, and it changes into a brownish chrysalis.

A species of the genus Butalis, the Btitalis or Aliicita granella,
is, in certain cantons of France, one of the greatest pests to agri-
culture. The caterpillar of the Tinea granella undergoes its
metamorphosis in the interior of grains of barley
and of wheat, which it devours without being per-
ceived from without. The female lays her eggs on
the grains of corn before they are ripe. From
four to six days after, the eggs are hatched, and
the young caterpillars are hardly as thick as a hair. Tine?graneiia.
Each one takes possession of a grain of corn, and
penetrates into it by an imperceptible opening. They eat the flower
without injuring the teguments of the grain.

When it has attained its full size it spins itself a cocoon of white
silk in the interior of the grain, which, after having been its lodging
and its larder, becomes for some time its tomb. It has, however,
taken care beforehand to make at the extremity of the grain a circular
opening, through which the moth may come out when the grains have
been threshed and stored up in the granary.

It is important to mention the Tineina, not because these little
moths are beautiful — they are, on the contrary, very dingy — but
because it is in this group that are found those insects which do
the greatest damage to our crops. The moths of the genus Tinea
are very small. Their wings, which are greyish or brownish, are
generally marked with whitish and yellowish spots or lines. These
are the little moths which, in our houses, burn themselves so fre-
quently in the flames of the candles (Fig. 292).

Their caterpillars are small, voracious, and deserve, on account of
the damage which they cause, to be compared to rats and mice.
Furnished with powerful jaws, they destroy everything they find in
their way, such as woollen stufls, hair, furs, feathers, grain, &c.

The Tineina are divisible into three groups: ist, the species
hurtful to our stufls and furs ; 2ndly, the species which destroy our
corn crops ; srdly, the phytophagous species, that is to say, those
which feed on plants.

In the first sub-division must be classed the Fur Moth, the
Woollen Moth, and the Hair Moth.

The Woollen Moth is represented in the figure on next page. Its
caterpillar has the form of a worm, and is of a glossy whiteness, with
a few hairs thinly sprinkled over it and a grey line on its back. It is
enclosed in a tube, or sheath, open at both ends, in the interior of

2So

THE INSECT WORLD.

which is a sort of tissue of wool, sometimes bkie, sometimes green,

sometimes red, according to the colour of the stuft" to which the

insect attaches itself and which it despoils. The exterior of this

sheath is, on the contrary, formed of silk made

by the insect itself, of a whitish colour.

The caterpillars are hardly hatched before
they begin to clothe themselves. Reaumur ob-
served one of these worms during the operation
of enlarging its case. To do this it put its head
out of one of the extremities of its sheath, and
looked about eagerly, to the right and to the
left, for those bits of wool which suited it best for weaving in. In
Fig. 294, we see two larvae occupied in eating a piece of cloth.

Fig. 293.
The Woollen Moth
{7'ifU'ti tapezelld).

Fig, 294. — Larvae of the Woollen Moth {Tinea tapezclla).

" The larva changes its place continually and very quickly," says
Reaumur. " If the threads of wool which are near it are not such as
it desires, it draws sometimes more than half its body out of its case
to go and look for better ones farther off. If it finds a bit that pleases,
the head remains fixed for an instant ; it then seizes the thread with
the two mandibles which are below its head, tears the bit out after
redoubled efforts, and immediately carries it to the end of the tube
against which it attaches it. It repeats many times in succession a
similar manoeuvre, sometimes coming partly out of its tube, and then
again re-entering it to fix against one of its sides a new piece of wool."

LEPIDOPTERA. 28 1

After having worked for about a minute at one end of its tube, it
thinks of lengthening the other. It turns itself round in its tube with
such quickness, that you would imagine it could not have had time to
do so, and would think that its tail was formed in the same way as its
head, and possessed the same address in choosing and tearing out
the bits of wool.

Furthermore, when the moth which is working at elongating its
case does not find the threads or hairs of wool to its taste within
reach of its head, it changes its place. Reaumur saw this insect walk-
ing, at some speed even, carrying with it its case. It walks on its six
front legs (Fig. 295). With the

middle and hind legs it clings to 1 ■njiiiyV'i) IJlWr^^f^

the interior of its case. . ^^^^^^^Swuf^jj^;.,^

At the same time that the larva " • • ' ^^^Bs^^J^^^»^_"
becomes longer it becomes stouter.

Very soon its garment will be too ^'g- 295-— Larva of a Tinea walking.

narrow for it. Will it enlarge its

old coat, or will it make itself a new one ? Reaumur discovered that

it preferred to widen its old coat.

That is what our naturalist saw when he placed larvae with blue
cases, for instance, upon stuff of a red colour. The bands which
extended in straight lines from one end of the case to the other,
showed the part that had been added.

"From watching them at different times," says this admirable
observer, " I find that the means which they employ is precisely that
to which we should have had recourse in a similar case. We know of
no other way of widening a sheath, a case of any stuff that w^e find too
narrow, than to split it right up and to let in a piece of the proper size
between the parts which we have thus divided ; we should let m a
piece on each side if the shape of the tube seemed to require it.
This is also exactly what our larvae do, with an extra, and which with
them is a necessary, precaution, so as not to remain exposed while
they are working at the enlargement of their garment. Instead of two
pieces, which should each be as long as their case, they let in four,
each of which is not longer than half the length of their case ; and so
they never split up more than half the length of the case at the same
time, which has enough stuff left in it to keep it together while this
opening is being filled up."

The wools of our stuffs furnish the moths not only with clothing,
but also with food. Their excrements are little grains, which are the
'same colour as the wool they have eaten.

When they are full grown, and the time approaches for their

282 THE INSECT WORLD.

metamorphosis, the larvae abandon their food, and establish them-
selves in the angles of walls. They creep up to the ceilings and sus-
pend themselves to them by one extremity of their tube. The two
ends of the tube are now closed by a silken tissue
(Fig. 296). The larva thus enclosed very soon
changes its form ; it becomes a chrysalis ; then at
the end of about three weeks it is set free as a
moth.

The Fur or Skin Moth works like the car])et

moth : it makes itself a case of the same form, and

constructs it in the same manner. Only in this

Fig. 296. ^^se its covering is made of a sort of felt resembling

CaFeofthe Moth that of which our hats are made.

^^ ^ cloth. ^'^^^ ° While the Carpet Moth only detaches from the

various stuffs the wool it requires for clothing and

nourishment, the Fur Moth causes much more considerable and more

rapid damage. It cuts off all the hairs which are in its way right

down to the skin ; it seems as if it took a delight in cutting them

off. That which is necessar}^ for its wants is nothing in comparison

to the great quantity of hair one sees fall off a skin on which it has

established itself, when it is shaken. As it advances it cuts more

thorouglily than a razor could all the hairs which are in its way.

The Hair Moth (Fig. 297) shows itself in great numbers in the
perfect state, from the end of April till the beginning
of June. They appear again in September, and
generally stay behind cabinets and other pieces of
furniture.

Fig. 297.— Hair Moth. The Caterpillar, which is cylindrical, white, des-
titute of hair, and striped with brown, lives principally
in the hair with which furniture is stuffed, and sometimes in hair
mattresses. When it has reached its full size, it abandons its abode,
pierces through the stuff which covers the hair, and constructs for
itself with this stuff a case of silk, open only towards the end where
the head is. At the beginning of April it shuts its case, and changes
itself into a chrysalis.

We can only here mention some of the phytophagous species, as
the Cherry-tree Moth {Tinea cerasiella), the Hawthorn Moth {Tinea
cratcBgella)^ the Burdock Moth {Tinea laptlla), and the Rustic Moth
( Tinea rnsticella ) .

The caterpillars of the CEcophorcs resemble whitish worms. They
attack the leaves, the blossoms, the bark, and certain parts of the
fruit of trees. Some of these hollow out for themselves galleries in

LEPIDOPTERA. 283

eating the fleshy part ; others also make galleries, but only in the
cuticle of the tree, or in the tende^'est part of its bark. Some, again,
shut themselves up in one or many leaves rolled like a trumpet,
j while others keep at the summits of plants, whose leaves they bind
together in a parcel with threads. And, lastly, some devour the
stones of fruits, such as that of the olive.

The moths of these caterpillars are very small, and generally of
brilliant metallic colours, they are to be found in the woods, and still
more in the orchards, from the beginning of June till the month of
September.

The CEcophorcR are very slim and elegantly formed. Their
anterior wings, which are very narrow, are often ornamented with
silvery longitudinal lines, the posterior wings exactly resembling two
feathers.

The caterpillars live and metamorphose themselves in portable
cases, which they manufacture from the membranous portions of
leaves, whose flesh alone they eat. These cases are generally of a
brown colour, resembHng a dead leaf They are attached perpen-
dicularly under the leaves of many trees, but often under those of
fruit trees.

Certain species of CEcophorce have cases partly covered with loose
pieces only slightly attached, formed of portions of leaves, and ar-
ranged in such a way that Reaumur compares them to the furbelows
which ladies used formerly to attach to the bottom of their dresses.

284

V.

ORTHOPTERA.

Among the Orthoptera* we meet with some of the largest of insects,*
and particularly those which are of strange and extraordinary shapes.
The best known insects of this order are the Mantes^ Cockroaches,
Earwigs,! Locusts, Grasshoppers, Crickets, &c.

The Orthoptera have the anterior wings long, narrow, half-homy.
These are elytra, which serve as cases for their second wings, as is
the case with the Coleoptera. But the elytra of the Orthoptera are
less solid and less complete than those of the Coleoptera. Moreover,
they generally over-lap each other when the insect is at rest, which is
another distinctive characteristic. The second wings are membranous,
very broad, and veined ; and, when at rest, are folded up like a fan.
The mouth is composed of free pieces. The mandibles, the jaws,
and the two lips, always well developed, show them to be insects
which grind their food. Their voracity, and the rapid way in which
they multiply, sometimes make these insects the pest of the country.
Above all, they are to be met with in hot countries, where they cause
such great damage that all vegetation disappears on their passage.
There is not a great variety of species of Orthoptera. They are
insects whose metamorphoses are incomplete ; that is, they undergo
only trifling changes from the moment when the eggs are hatched to
the time when the insect is fully developed.

When it leaves the egg, the young one resembles its parents ; it
differs only in size and in having no wings. After moulting four or
five times it has almost reached its full growth, and its wings begin to
appear under a sort of membrane. This is the pupa state. A final
moulting sets free the wings also, and the insect, now perfect, launches
itself into the air with its congeners.

* From opQ6s, straight, and TrrepSv, wing, on account of the manner in which
the under-wings are folded under the upper. — Ed.

t Made a separate Order, Dermaptera^ by Kirby. — Ed.

ORTHOPTERA.

285

The Orthoptera are vegetable feeders, and frequently commit
great ravages on various crops. They are divided into two groups,
viz., those which riui^ and those which jump or leap. We will begin
with those which run, which contains the Earwig {Forfcu/a), the
Cockroach {Blattd), the genus Mantis^ or Leaf Insects, and the
genus Phasma.

The Forficula^ or Earwig, is represented in Figs. 298, 299, 300,
in its three different states. The lower wings are very broad,
and folded at the same time Hke a fan, and doubled up. Its abdomen
terminates in a sort of pair of pincers, resembling those which the
jewellers formerly used for piercing the ears of young girls as a
preparatory step to their wearing ear-rings. Hence, without doubt,

Figs. 298, 299, 300.— Common Earwig {Forficula aurkularia)-\a.xwa, pupa, and imago.

their French name of Perce-oreille, or ear-piercer ; for there is nothing
to justify the vulgar belief that these insects introduce themselves
into the ear, and bore a hole into its interior, through which they
may penetrate into the brain ; in fact, they are very innocent insects,
and do little harm. They live on vegetable matter, and more
especially the interiors of certain flowers.

" The ForficuIcE a-void the light. They are to be found in the
chinks of trees, under bark, and under stones. The female watches
over the eggs with maternal solicitude, and carries them away
elsewhere when they are touched. She also protects the larvae and
pupae till they are strong enough to dispense with all attention.

The Blatt(B, or Cockroaches, are very destructive insects, as the
name, derived from the Greek word, MaVreij/, to damage, implies.
They are omnivorous, attacking all sorts of dead substances, vegetable

286 THE INSECT WORLD.

and animal. Horace reproaches them with devom-ing stuffs, like the

moths : —

** Cui stragula vestis, j,

Blattariim ac tinearum epulae, ■

Putrescit in area." T

These disagreeable insects devour our eatables, abounding in
kitchens, in bakers' shops, on board merchant vessels, &c. Their
flattened bodies allow them easily to introduce themselves into the
cracks of cases or barrels \ so that, to be safe against their attacks, it
is necessary, on long voyages, to shut up the goods in zinc-lined
boxes, or cases made of sheet-iron well soldered together.

Chamisso relates that the sailors having opened some barrels
which should have contained rice and wheat, found them filled with
German Cockroaches {Blatta Gennanicd). This transubstantiation
was not very agreeable to the crew ! Other naturalists have seen this
insect invading by millions bottles which had contained oil. The
Cockroach is very fond also of the blacking on boots, and devours
leather and all. One pupa sometimes eats the skin cast off by
another pupa, but a Cockroach has never been known to attack
another with a view to eating him afterwards.

These Orthoptera have a flat broad body, the thorax very much
developed, the antennas very long, and the legs thin but strong, which
enable them to run with remarkable quickness. They diffuse around
them a sickening odour, which often hangs about objects they have
touched. Aristophanes, the Greek comic poet, mentions this
peculiarity in his comedy of "The Peace." They come out mostly
at night, and hide themselves during the day. They are the most
L-osmopolilan of all insects. Carried over in ships, they perpetuate
everywhere, just like weeds ! Persian powder, composed of pul-
verised pyret/ira^ is an excellent means to employ for their destruction.

Most of the species of cockroaches are black or brownish. Two
among them, the Blatta Gerinanica and the Blatta Lapp07iica, which
are to be met with in the woods round about Paris, have domesticated
themselves in dwellings of the northern countries. They are a
quarter of an inch in length. The Russians pretend that the former
was imported from Prussia by their army, on its return from Germany,
after the Seven Years' War (i 756-1 762). Till this period it was
unknown at St. Petersburg, where now-a-days it is met with in great
numbers. It lives in houses, and eats pretty nearly everything, but
prefers white bread to flour and meat. The Blatta Lapponica devours
the smoked fish prepared for the winter.

The German naturalist, Hummel, made some interesting obser-

ORTHOPTERA.

287

vations on the development and habits of the very proHfic Blatta
Gernumica. It lays its eggs in a silky capsule, which is in the form
of a bean, with two valves in the interior. This is drawn about for
some time appended to the extremity of the abdomen, and after a
time abandoned.

Hummel placed under a bell-glass a female cockroach and a
perfect egg-pouch, which had only just been abandoned by another
female. He saw the cockroach approach the bag, feel it, and turn it
about in all directions. She then took it between her front legs, and
made a longitudinal opening in it. As the opening grew wider, little
white larvae were seen to come from it rolled up and attached together.
The female presided at this operation. She assisted the larvae to set
themselves free, aiding them out gently with her antennae. In a few
seconds they were able to walk, when she ceased to trouble herself
about them.

The larvae change their skin six times before reaching the perfect
state. When they come out of
their skin they are colourless,
but the colour comes in a few
minutes. At the fifth moult,
which takes place three months

I after birth, they become pupae,

j with rudimentary wings, the

j whole shape of the insect being

i well marked. The sixth, or last
moult, takes place at the end of
six weeks. The pupa is now
changed into a perfect insect.

I The female is distinguished from
the male by the greater size of
her abdomen.

The most destructive of the
Blattce, or Cockroaches, are those

which have been imported into Europe by the ships coming from the
colonies. The Kaker lac Americana is from an inch to an inch and
a quarter long. It infests ships, running about at night over the
sleeping passengers, and devouring the food. They are to be met
with in all parts of the world. They abound particularly in the
warm parts of America. The Blatta orientalis is more commonly
met with than the above. It swarms in kitchens, in bakers' shops,
provision shops, &c., where it hides in the cracks of the vvalls, or
against the hinges of the doors. It is a small hideous animal, of

Fig. 301.— The Cockroach {Blatta orientalis).

288 THE INSECT WORLD.

a repulsive smell, and of a reddish brown colour. It is a little larger
than the Blatia Americana. In France it is called by various names,
such as Cafard, Panetiere^ Noirot^ Bete ftoir, &c. If in the middle of
the night you suddenly enter with a light into the down-stairs
kitchens, you will often see these little beasts running about on the
table, and devouring the remains of the food with astonishing
rapidity.

The largest species of the genus of which we are now treating is
the Kakerlac insigfiis, which inhabits Cayenne and Brazil, and in
length sometimes exceeds an inch and three-quarters, and in the
extent of its wings four inches and a half.

It is principally in hot countries that the cockroaches do the
greatest damage. In the Antilles, of which they are the pest, it is
affirmed that in one single night they can bore holes through trunks,
through cases, and through bags, and destroy objects which were
supposed to be in perfect safety. Sometimes the walls, the floors,
the beds, the tables, everything, in short, is infested by them, and it
is impossible to fmd a way of preserving the food from their repulsive
touch. One can, however, partially succeed in destroying them by
the aid of insect powders. They have, however, natural enemies.
Poultry and owls are very fond of them. A species of wasp, Chlorion
compressiim, lays up a stock of cockroaches, which it previously
renders insensible, for its larvae. Many species of Chalcidice, a family
of Hymenoptera, also live on the eggs of these Orthoptera. There
are also among the cockroaches certain brightly-coloured exotic
species. These colours show that they do not avoid the light. We
will mention as examples the Br achy cola robusta and the species of
Corydia.

The Maiitidoe. are pretty insects, of very difterent habits from the
preceding. They alone of the Orthoptera are carnivorous. They ;
eat live insects, seizing their prey as it passes by them. They rest
generally on shrubs, remaining for hours together perfectly motionless,
the better to deceive other insects which are to become their victims.

It is this fixed and as it were meditative attitude which lias j
gained for them the name of Mantis^ derived from the Greek word '
ftdvTis, or "diviner," as it was imagined that in this attitude they
interrogated the future. The manner in which they hold their long
front legs, raised Hke arms to Heaven, has also contributed to make
this superstitious notion believed, and sufficiently explains the names
given to divers species of Mantidce; such as Nun, Saint, Preacher,
Suppliant, Mendicant, &c. Caillaud, a traveller, tells us that in
Central Africa a Mantis is an object of worship. According to

dRtHOPT^RA. ' 5 §9

Sparrmann, another species is worshipped by the Hottentots. If
by chance a Mantis should settle oii a person, this person is con-
' sidered by them to have received a particular favour from heaven,
and from that moment takes rank among the saints !

In France the country people believe that these insects point out
the way to travellers. Mouffet, a naturalist of the seventeenth century,
says on this subject, in a description of the Mantis — "This little
creature is considered of so divine a nature, that to a child who asks
; it its way, it points it out by stretching out one of its legs, and rarely
or never makes a mistake."

In the eyes of the Languedoc peasants the Mantis religiosa is
almost sacred. They call it Prega-Diou {Prie-Dieu), and believe
firmly that it performs its devotions — its attitude, when it is on the
watch for its prey, resembling that of prayer. Settled on the ground,
it raises its head and thorax, clasps together the joints of its front
legs, and remains thus motionless for hours together. But only let an
imprudent fly come within reach of our devotee, and you will see it
stealthily approach it, like a cat who is watching a mouse, and with
so much precaution that you can scarcely see that it is moving.
Then, all of a sudden, as quick as Hghtning, it seizes its victim
between its legs, provided with sharp spines, which cross each other,
conveys it to its mouth, and devours it. Our make-believe Nun,
'i Preacher, our Prega-Diou, is nothing better than a patient watcher
kjand pitiless destroyer. The Mantis religiosa (Fig. 302), common
I enough in the south of France, comes as far north as the environs of
ilFontainebleau. The Mantis oratoria, rather smaller, is less commonly
met with.

These elegant insects are remarkable for their long slim bodies,
their large wings, and their colours, which are generally very
bright. In some species their green or yellowish elytra look so
exactly like the leaves of trees that one can hardly help taking
them for such.

! The Mantis lays its eggs at the end of summer, in rounded, very
fragile shells, attached to the branches of trees ; they do not hatch
till the following summer. The larvae undergo several successive
imoultings. Nothing equals the ferocity of these Orthoptera. If two
iof them are shut up together, they engage in a desperate combat ;
■they deal each other blows with their front legs, and do not leave off
i fencing until the stronger of the two has succeeded in eating otf the
other's head. From their very birth, the larvae attack each other.
The male being smaller than the female, is often its victim.

Kirby tells us that in China the children procure them as in

67

:^90

^ THE INSEXT WORLD.

Fig. 302. — Mantis religiosa and its larva (a). Blepharis inendica and its larva (b).

France they do cockchafers, and shut them up in bamboo cages, to
enjoy the exciting spectacle of their combats.

ORTHOPTERA. 29 1

Acaiithops, a genus of this family, inhabits the Brazils.

Akin to the Mantis are the Eroniaphilce, which live in the deserts
of Africa and Arabia. They drag themselves gently along on the
ground, and as they are the same colour as the sand on which they
are found, it is very difficult to distinguish them when at rest. The
traveller, Lefebvre, relates that he always found these Orthoptera in
places destitute of all vegetation, and where there were no other sorts
of insects which could have served them for food; it is therefore
probable that they live on microscopic insects.

The Empiisa^ which forms another genus of Mantidce, has the
antennae indented like a comb in the males, thread-like in the
females. The Empiisa gongylodes, which inhabits Africa, has cufis to
its arms and flounces to its robe.

The genus Blepharis, to which belongs the Bhpharis mendica^ is
met with in Egypt, Arabia, and in the Canary Islands. This insect,
which is of a pale green, is not rare in the south of France. It is
represented with the Alafitis religiosa in Fig. 302.

The Phasniata, or Spectres, are distinguished from the Mantida
by their very elongated bodies, straight and stiff as a stick, by their
having no prehensile legs, and by their food, which is exclusively
vegetable. Their eggs are laid uncovered, having no silky envelope.
As for the habits of these insects, they are little known, the greatest
number of the species being exotics, inhabiting chiefly South America,
Asia, Africa, and New Holland. It is in this tribe that we meet the
most extraordinary and the most monstrously shaped insects, as the
popular names they have received in different countries show : such
IS Spectres, Phantoms, Devil's Horses, Soldiers of Cayenne, Walking
Leaves, Animated Sticks, &c.

Among the Phasmata we also find the largest insects known, for

t'hey attain a considerable length, Phasma gigas nearly reaching a
bot. The most beautiful are those of New Holland and of Tasmania,
lUch as Cyphocrana {Phasma) gigas.
Some species are destitute of wings, and resemble so exactly dry
sticks that it is impossible to tell the difference. The best known is
he Bacillus (Phasma) Rossia (Fig. 303), which is found in the south
)f France. This inoffensive insect walks gently along the branches
)f trees, and likes to repose in the sun, its long antennae-like legs
htretched out in front. Others of the genus Phy Ilium are provided
Ivith wings, and have altogether the ap))earance of the leaves on
vhich they live ; such are the Walking Leaves of the East Indies.
According to Cunningham, all these insects are of solitary and
Deaceable habits. They are only to be met with alone or m pairs,

29-

THE INSECT WORLD.

Fig 303.— Phasma Rossia— male, female, and larva.

drawing themselves gently along on shrubs, on which they pass th<
h-oitest months of the year. Some of them, when they are seized
emit a milky liquid of a very strong and disagreeable odour.

ORTHOPTERA. 293

Those Orthoptera which we have already mentioned had all their
six legs adapted to running, and are called Ctirsoria. Those which
jump, to which we now come, have their hind-legs stronger and
thicker, which enables them to leap, and are on that account called
Saltafoiia. This section comprises three families, which have for
their principal types the Crickets, Locusts, and Grasshoppers.

All these insects resemble each other in the disproportion which
exists between their hind-legs and the other pairs. Another cha-
racteristic which is common to them consists in the song of the
males. This song, so well known, which seems to have for its object
to call the females, is nothing but a sort of stridulation or screeching,
produced by the rubbing together of the wing cases, or elytra. But
the mechanism by which this is produced varies a little in all the
three kinds. With the Crickets the whole surface of the wing esses
is covered w^th thick nervures, very prominent and very hard, which
cause the noise the insect produces in rubbing the elytra one against
the other. With the Locusts, there exists only at the base of the
elytra a transparent membrane called the mirror, which is furnished
with prominent nervures, and produces the screeching noise. And,
lastly, in the Crickets the thighs and elytra are pro voided with very
hard ridges. The thighs, being passed rapidly and with force over
the nervures of the elytra, produce the sound, in the same way as a
fiddle-bow when drawn across the strings of a violin. In all these
insects the male alone is endowed with the faculty of producing
sound.

The Crickets and Grasshoppers have very long and thin antennae,
whilst the Locusts have short antennae, and either flattened or fili-
form, or swelling out at one extremity like a club. The female
of the first two is provided with an ovipositor in the shape of an
auger.

We will study successfully the three types of these families, that is
to say, the Crickets, the Locusts, and the Grasshoppers.

The Field Cricket {Gryllvs campestris, Fig. 304) lives alone in a
fiole which it digs in the ground, and in which it remains during the
day. It only quits its retreat at night, when it goes in search of food,
[t is very timid, and at the least noise ceases its song. If it is
tationed on the side of its hole, it retreats into it the moment any
)ne approaches.

The holes of the crickets are well known to country children,
vho take these insects by presenting a straw to them. The
pugnacious cricket seizes it directly with its mandibles, and lets
tself be drawn out of its hole. It is this which has given rise to th^

294 THE INSECT WORLD.

saying, ^^ phis sot qtiun grilloii " (a greater fool than a cricket). It is
very susceptible of cold, and always makes the opening of its hole
towards the south. It lives on herbs, perhaps also on insects.

The House Cricket is about half an inch long, of an ashy colour,
and is to be met with principally in bakers' shops and country
kitchens, where it hides itself during the day in the crevices of the
walls or at the back of the fireplaces. It eats flour, and also, perhaps,
the little insects which live in flour.

If crickets are put into a box together, they devour each other.

,a\(||./^

Fig. 304. — Field Cricket {Grytlus cawpestris).

This does not prove conclusively that they are carnivorous, for there
are many species, eating nothing but vegetables, which would destroy
each other in a similar case. Some authors say that these insects
are always thirsty, for they are often to be found drowned in the
vessels containing any kind of liquid. Everything damp is to their
taste. It is for this reason that they sometimes make holes in wet
clothes, which are hung up before the fire to dry. They inhabit, by
preference, houses newly built; for the mortar, being still damp,
allows them to hollow out their dwelling-places with greater ease.

The habits of the House Cricket (G?-yI!us domcsticus) are noc-
turnal, like those of its congener of the fields. It is only at night
that it leaves its retreat to seek its food. When it is exposed against
its will to the light of day, it appears to be in a state of torpor.
This insect reminds one of the owl, among birds, not only from its
habit of avoiding the light, but also from its monotonous song, which
the vulgar consider, one does not know why, a foreboding of ill-luck

ORTNOPTERA.

295

to the house in which it is heard. Formerly this singular prejudice
was much deeper-rooted than it is at present. The song of the
I cricket has merely the object of calling the female. The Wood
Cricket {Gryllus \^Nt'inohins\ sylvestris) is much smaller than the
above, and is met with in great numbers in the woods, where its
leaps sometimes produce the noise of drops of rain.

Fig- 305.— Mole Cricket {Gryllo-tnlpn vvlgaris).

The female crickets have a long egg-layer, or ovipositor, with
'which they deposit their eggs, of which each one lays, towards the
middle of the summer, about three hundred, in the cracks and
crevices of the soil. The larvae pass the winter in that state, and
do not become pupae and perfect insects till the following summer,

Mouffet relates that, in certain regions of Africa, the crickets are
objects of commerce. They are brought up in little cages, as we do
Canary birds, and sold to the inhabitants, who like to hear their
amorous chant. It is said that some tribes eat these insects. In
France they are sought after as baits for fishing, and are used also in

296 THE INSECT WORLD.

menageries for feeding small reptiles. Next to Gryllus come the
genera CEcanlhus, insects of the south of Europe, which live on ]jlants,
and which one often sees fluttering about flowers ; Sphceria, which
live in ant-hills ; Piaty dactyl a s ; and, lastly, the Mole Cricket {Gry/lo-
talpa), whose habits deserve attention for a while (Fig. 305).

The Mole Crickets are distinguished from all other insects by the
structure of their fore-legs, which are wide and indented, in such a
manner as to resemble a hand, analogous to that of the mole. This
leg betrays the habits of the cricket much better than our hands
betray ours. They make use of them, indeed, as spades, with which
they hollow out subterranean galleries, and accumulate at the side of
the entrance-hole the rubbish thus drawn out. The French name
comes from the old French word courtillc^ which means garden. Such
places and vineyards are the favourite haunts of these destructive
insects.

If the Mole Crickets, or Courfilieres, have spades on their front
legs, their hind-legs are very little developed, so that it would be
perfecUy impossible for them to jump, particularly as their large
abdomen would hinder their so doing. The wings are broad, and
fold back in the form of a fan ; they make little use of them, and it
is only at night-fall that the mole cricket is seen to disport himself,
describing curves of no great height in the air. It is found princi-
pally in cultivated land, kitchen-gardens, nursery gardens, wheat
fields, &c., where it scoops out for itself an oval cavity communicating
with the surface by a vertical hole (Fig. 306). On this hole abut
numerous horizontal galleries, more or less inclined, which permit tlie
insect to gain its retreat by a great many roads, when pursued.

It i5 easy to understand that an insect which undermines land in
this way must cause great damage to cultivation. Whether the crops
serve it for food or not, they are not the less destroyed by its under-
ground burrowings. Lands infested by the mole cricket are re-
cognisable by the colour of the vegetation, which is yellow and
withered ; and the rubbish which these miners heap up at the side
of the openings leading to their galleries, resembling mole-hills in
miniature, betrays their presence to the farmer. To destroy them,
they pour water or other liquid into their nests, or else they bury,
at different distances, vessels filled with water, in which they drown
themselves. From the month of April the males betake themselves
to the entrance of their burrows, and make their cry of appeal. Their
notes are slow, vibrating, and monotonous, repeated for a long time
without interruption, and somewhat resemble the cry of the owl or
the goatsucker.

ORTHOPTERA,

297

Vvg. 306.— The nest ot the A](jle Cricket {(rrydo-talpa miif^nris).

The female lays her eggs, to the number of from two to three
hundred, m the interior of a sort of chamber scooped out in soil stiff
67=^

29S THE INSECT WORLD.

enough to resist the action of rain. The hatching takes place at the
end of a month.

It is not till the following spring that the larvae pass into the pupa
state, and that the organs of flight begin to be marked out.
According to M. Feburier, three years are required for the complete
development of the mole cricket, which is a fact that indicates
remarkable longevity in these insects. All authors agree, moreover,
in extolling the solicitude with which the mole cricket takes care 01
her little ones. She watches over them, and, they say, procures them
food.

The genus Tridactylus, which bears a great analogy to the mole
cricket, is the smallest genus of Orthoptera known ; the species are
not more than a sixth of an inch in length, and are found in the south
of France, on the banks of the Rhone and other rivers, where they
disport themselves in sand exposed to the sun. The Tridactyli leap
with remarkable agility, even on the surface of the water, for their
legs are provided with flat appendages much resembling battledores.

The Grasshoppers and Locusts take much longer leaps than the
Crickets, owing to the conformation of their hind-legs, and they
often make use of their wings also, which are very fully developed.
These insects are unable to walk, on account of the disproportion
which exists between their different pairs of legs. The female is pro-
vided with a curved ovipositor with two valves, which serves for
breaking up the ground for the reception of its eggs. The male pro-
duces a sharp stridulation or screeching sound, by rubbing the cases
of its wings — which are furnished with plates which might be compared
to cymbals — one against another.

The song of the grasshopper, known by everyone, is a monotonous
" zic-zic-zic," which can be heard during the day in grassy places. It is
on account of this song that the name of Cigale is sometimes given,
though wrongly, to the great green grasshopper. As we have already
said in speaking of the Cigale, it is the green grasshopper which La
Fontaine had in view in his fable of La Cigale et la Fourmi, for all
the plates which ornament the ancient editions of the fables of tliis
author represent a grasshopper, and not a Cigale. Grasshoppers are
spread over the whole surface of the earth, but are to be met with
chiefly in South America, which contains nearly three-fourths of the
species known. The European species, on the contrary, are few.

Their habits resemble those of the other herbivorous Orthoptera.
They live in meadows, on trees, devouring the leaves and stalks
of plants ; but they are never found in such great numbers as to cause
ciamage at all to be compared to that caused by the locust. They

ORTHOPTERA.

299

appear in the month of July and disappear at the beginning of the
cold weather. Towards the end of summer their song is heard in
the meadows and wheat fields. The females, summoned by the
males, are not long in coupling and laying their eggs, which do not
hatch until the following spring, in the ground. After four months
the larvae change into pupae, which already show rudimentary wings,
and which by a fifth month pass into the perfect state.

The Great Green Grasshopper [Loaista viridissimd) is very com-

a's- 307 — Decticus verrucivorus.

mon in Europe. It remains during the day on trees, and in the
evening disports itself in the fields.

I'he Decticus verrucivorus (Fig. 307) is a shorter and more thick-
set species, whose distinctive feature is a very broad head. Its
colour is grey of various shades, and it is to be heard singing during
the day in fields of ripe wheat. The name comes from the use
made of it by the peasants in Sweden and Germany as a cure for
warts.

" The peasants," says Charles de Geer, " make these locusts bite
the warts which they often have on their hands, and the liquid which
at the same time flows from the insect's mouth into the wound causes

300 THE INSECT WORLD.

the warts to dry up and disappear. It is for this reason they have
given them the name of Wart-bit or Wart-biter."

The Phaneroptera and the Copiphores are exotic Locusts. The
Ephippigerce are small species whose thorax, which is very convex,
resembles a saddle.

One often meets in the environs of Paris the Vine Ephippiger
{Ephippigera vitium), which is greenish, with four brown stripes on its
head. In this species the wing cases, or elytra, are also obsolete,
and the wings are reduced to mere arched scales, whose friction
produces a stridulation or screeching noise. The females are pro-
vided with a similar apparatus, so that they perform duets.*

The genus Gryllacris resembles the crickets. It contains the
Anostostomata of New Holland, which are said to be destitute of
wings, even in the perfect state.

We arrive now at the redoubtable tribe of Acridium, or Locust,
whose fearful ravages are so well known.

These are, among the Orthoptera, tlie best adapted for jumping.
The thigh and the leg, folded together when at rest, are stretched out
suddenly under the action of very powerful muscles. The body, rest-
ing then on the tarsi and on the flexible spines of the legs, is shot into
the air to a great height. They fly very well, but the power of walk-
ing and running is denied to them, as it is also to the other Saltatoria.
The females have no ovipositor. This peculiarity, and the formation
of their antennae, which are very short, distinguish the locusts from
the grasshoppers.

The males, as we have already said, make a shrill stridulation by
rubbing their thighs over their elytra. There is never more than one
thigh in motion at a time ; the insect using the right and the left by
turns. The sound is made stronger by a sort of drum filled with air,
and covered with a very thin skin, which is found on each side of the
body, at the base of the abdomen. The locust's song is less mono-
tonous than that of the grasshopper. It is capable of much variation ;
it is a noise just like that of a rattle, but with sounds which vary very
much, according to the species.

They move about by day, frequent dry places, and are very
fond of sitting on the grass in the sun. Certain species, which
inhabit the warm regions of the south, move their legs with scarcely
any noise ; it being only perceptible to a very fine ear.

* The species of genus .Sa^T/ sometimes reach extraordinary dimensions. Thus,
in 1863, there was found in Syria, after a shower of ordinary locusts, a specimen of
the Saj^a which was three inches and a quarter long. It was presented to the
Museum of Natural History of Paris, by M. I.,. Delair. r

ORTHOPTERA,

m

Locusts are very abundant in many parts of the world. In
northern countries, where they muUiply less rapidly, their ravages are
less disastrous, though still very considerable. But in the southern
portions of the globe they are a perfect pest — the eighth plague of
Egypt. Certain species multiply in such a prodigious manner, that
they lay waste vast spaces of land, and in a very short time reduce
whole countries to the very last state of misery. These insects inflate
themselves with air, and undertake journeys during which they travel

Fig. 308. — Locust {Acridiuni [CEiiiJ>ocia] migraiuriuvi).

more than six leagues a day, laying waste all vegetation on their
road.

The most destructive species is the Migratory Locust [Acridiian [or
CEdipoda] mignitorium^ Fig. 308), which is very common in Africa,
India, and throughout the whole of the East. Isolated specimens of
this insect are to be found in the meadows round about Paris,
especially towards the end of the summer, and, very rarely, in
England. This species is greenish, with transparent elytra of a dirty
grey, whitish wings, and pink legs. A second species, the Italian
locust, also does a great deal of damage in the south. All the species
undergo five moults, which take six weeks each. The last takes
place at the end of the hot weather, towards the autumn.

It is especially in warm climates that they become such fearful
pests to agriculture. Wherever they alight, they change the most
fertile country into an arid desert. They are seen coming in in-
numerable bands, which, from afar, have the appearance of stormy

302 fHE INSECT WORLD.

clouds, even hiding the sun. As far and as wide as the eye can reach
the sky is black, and the soil is inundated with them. The noise of
these millions of wings may be compared to the sound of a cataract.
When this fearful army alights upon the ground, the branches of the
trees break, and in a few hours, and over an extent of many leagues,
all vegetation has disappeared, the wheat is gnawed to its very roots,
the trees are stripped of their leaves. Everything has been destroyed,
gnawed down, and devoured. When nothing more is left, the terrible
host rises, as if in obedience to some given signal, and takes its
departure, leaving behind it despair and famine. It goes to look for
fresh food — seeking whom, or rather in this case, what it may
devour! (Plate VIII.)

During the year succeeding that in which a country has been
devastated by showers of locusts, damage from these insects is the
less to be feared ; for it happens often that after having ravaged
everything, they die of hunger before the laying season begins. But
their death becomes the cause of a greater evil. Their innumerable
carcases, lying in heaps and heated by the sun, are not long in
entering into a state of putrefaction ; epidemic disease, caused by the
poisonous gases emanating from them, soon breaks out, and deci-
mates the populations. These locusts are bred in the deserts of
Arabia and Tartary, and the east winds carry them into Africa and
Europe. Ships in the eastern parts of the Mediterranean are
sometimes covered with them at a great distance from the land.

It is related in the Bible, in the tenth chapter of Exodus, that
Jehovah commanded Moses to stretch forth his hand to make locusts
(Arbeth) come over the wliole land of Egypt as the eighth plague,
destined to intimidate Pharaoh, who had rebelled against Him.
These insects arrived, brought by an east wind, and covered the
surface of the country to such a degree that the air was darkened by
them.*

They ate up all the herbs of the field and all the fruit of the trees
which the hail (the seventh plague) had left. A west wind swept

* "And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord
brought an east wind upon the land all tliat day, and all that night ; and when it
was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all
the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt : very grievous were they ;
before them there were no such locusts as they, neither afrer them shall be such. For
they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened ; and they
did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left :
and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field,
through all the land of Egypt." — ExOD. x. 13 — 15.

OKTHOPTERA. 30$

them away again, when Pharaoh had at last promised to allow the
children of Israel to depart.

Pliny relates that in many places in Greece a law obliged the
inhabitants to wage war against the locusts three times a year ; that
is to say, in their three states of egg, larva, and adult. In the Isle of
Lemnos the citizens had to pay as taxes so many measures of locusts.
In the year 170 before our era they devastated the environs of
Capua. In the year of our Lord 181 they committed great ravages
in the north of Italy and in Gaul. In 1690 locusts arrived in Poland
and Lithuania by three different ways, and, as it were, in three
different bodies. "They were to be found in certain places where
they had died," writes the Abbe Ussaris, an eye-witness, " lying on
one another in heaps of four feet in height. Those which were alive,
perched upon the trees, bending their branches to the ground, so
great was their number. The people thought that they had Hebrew
letters on their wings. A rabbi professed to be able to read on
them words which signified God's wrath. The rains killed these
insects : they infected the air ; and the cattle, which ate them in the
grass, died immediately."

In 1709 locusts stopped the army of Charles XIL, King oi
Sweden, as it was retreating from Bessarabia, on its defeat at
Pultowa. The king thought that he was assailed by a hailstorm,
when a host of these insects beat violently against his army as it was
passing through a defile, so that men and horses were blinded by
this living hail, falling from a cloud which hid the sun. The arrival
of the locusts had been announced by a whistling sound like that
which precedes a tempest ; and the noise of their flight quite over-
powered the noise made by the Black Sea. All the country round
about was soon laid waste on their route. During the same year a
great part of Europe was invaded by these pests, the newspapers of
the day being full of accounts relating to this public calamity. In
1755 Portugal was attacked by them. This was the year of the
earthquake of Lisbon, and all sorts of plagues seemed at this time
to rage in that unfortunate country.

In 17 So, in Transylvania, their ravages assumed such gigantic
proportions that it was found necessary to call in the assistance of
the army. Regiments of soldiers gathered them together and en-
closed them in sacks. Fifteen hundred persons were employed in
crushing, burying, and burning them ; but, in spite of all this, their
number did not seem to diminish; but a cold wind, which fortunately
sprang up, caused them to disappear. In the following spring the
plague broke out again, and every one turned out to fight against it

306 fHR INSECT WORLb,

The locusts were swept with great brooms into ditches, in which
they were then burnt; not, however, before they had ruined the
whole country. Locusts showed themselves at the same time in the
empire of Morocco, where they caused a fearful famine. The poor
were to be seen wandering on all sides, digging up the roots of
vegetables, and eagerly devouring camels' dung, in hopes of finding
in it a few undigested grains of barley.

Barrcw and Levaillant, in their travels through Central Africa,
speak of similar calamities having happened many times between
1784 and 1797. They add that the surface of the rivers was then
hidden by the bodies of the locusts, which covered the whole
country.

According to Jackson, in 1739 they covered the whole surface of
the ground from Tangier to Mogador. All the region near to the
Sahara was ravaged, whilst on the other side of the river El Kos
there was not one of these insects. When the wind blew they were
driven into the sea, and their carcases occasioned a plague whicli
laid Barbary waste.

India and China often suffer from these destmctive insects. In
1735 clouds of locusts hid from the Chinese both the sun and moon.
Not only the standing crops, but also the corn in the barns and the
clothes in the houses were devoured.

In the south of France locusts multiply sometimes so prodigiously
that in a very short time many barrels may be filled with their eggs.
They have caused, at different periods, immense damage. It was
chiefly in the years 1613, 1805, 1820, 1822, 1824, 1825, 1832, and
1834, that their visits to the south of France were most formidable.

Me'zeray relates that in the month of January, 16 13, in the reign
of Louis XIII., locusts invaded the country around Aries. In seven
or eight hours the wheat and crops were devoured to the roots over
an extent of country of 15,000 acres. They then crossed over the
Rhine, and visited Tarascon and Beaucaire, where they ate the vege-
tables and lucerne. They then shifted their quarters to Aramon, to
Monfrin, to Valabregues, &c., where they were fortunately destroyed
in great part by the starlings and other insect-eating birds, which
flocked in innumerable numbers to this game.

The consuls of Aries and of Marseilles caused the eggs to be col-
lected. Aries spent, for this object, 25,000 francs, and Marseilles 20,000
francs. Three thousand quintals of eggs were interred or thrown into
the Rhone. If we count 1,750,000 eggs per quintal, that will give
us a total of 5,250,000,000 of locusts destroyed in the egg, which
otherwise would have very soon renewed the ravages of which tlie

'dktiioPTERA. 30;

country had so lately been the victim. In 1822 were spent again, in
Provence, 2,227 francs for the same object. In 1825 were spent
6,200 francs. A reward of 50 centimes was given for every kilo-
gramme of eggs, and half the sum for every kilogramme of insects.
The eggs collected were burnt, or else cruslied under heavy rollers.
The gathering was entrusted to women and children. The operation
consisted in dragging along the ground great sheets, the corners of
which were held up. The locusts came and settled on these, and
were caught by rolling the sheet up.

In the territory of Saintes-Maries, situated not far from Aigues-
Mortes, on the Mediterranean coast, 1,518 wheat sacks were filled
with dead locusts, amounting in weight to 68,861 kilogrammes; and
at Aries 165 sacks, or 6,600 kilogrammes. The rewards given
amounted to 5,542 francs; but, notwithstanding all this, the following
year the locusts caused still greater damage.

Locusts are always to be found in Algeria, in the provinces of
Oran, Bona, Algiers, and Bougia, but they never commit those terrible
ravages which change cultivated countries into deserts. There are
in Algeria years of locusts as there are with us years of cockroaches,
of blight, of caterpillars, &c. These plagues are fortunately rare. The
most terrible took place in 1845 and in 1866. In the former year a
formidable invasion of locusts took place. It lasted five months, from
March to July, each day bringing new bands of these devastating
insects ; and M. Henry Berthoud, then in Algeria, saw a column of
them, whose passage began before daylight, and had scarcely ended at
four o'clock in the afternoon. Dr. Guyon, doctor to the army, and
correspondent of the Institute, addressed to this learned body an
account of a few peculiarities of this invasion, of which he was a
witness. He speaks of a band which passed on the i6th of March
over the plain of Sebdon, going in the direction of the desert of
Angard. Their passage lasted three hours. The locusts, having
found nothing to devour in the desert, came back again, and next
day made a descent upon the plain of Sebdon, which is 30 kilometres
long, by 12 to 15 kilometres broad. In four hours all the crops were
devoured, and all vegetation destroyed. " The locusts," says the
Doctor, " left behind them an infectious odour of putrid herbs, pro-
duced by their excretions."

At Algiers, in the Faubourg Bab-Azoum, they penetrated in
masses into the barley stores, and there was the greatest difficulty in
driving them away, great barricades being raised before the stoni-
rooms to stop the invasion. In 1845 they penetrated into the pits
in which the natives preserve their wheat. According to the report

308 THE INSECT WORLD.

of the Commandant de la Place of Philippeville, M. Levaillant, a
column of locusts alighted in the country round about that town on
the 1 8th of March, 1845, which extended from 30 to 40 centimetres,
and the locusts were found heaped upon the ground to the height of
three de'cimetres.

In the environs of Algiers alone were destroyed, in 1845,
369 quintals of locusts. It is computed that 400 locusts go to a
kilogramme. This gives, then, a total of 14,760,000 insects
destroyed. As in this number half were probably females, and as
each female lays on an average seventy eggs, the result we arrive at is,
that this stopped the production of 516,600,000 larvae on the
territory of Algiers alone. The invasion of locusts which took place
in 1866 was as disastrous as that of 1845. It was in the month of
April, 1866, that the vanguard of these destructive insects appeared
Debouching through the mountain gorges and through the valleys,
into the fertile plains near the coast, they alighted first on the plain ot
Mitidja and on the Sahel of Algiers. Their mass, at certain points,
intercepted the light of the sun, and resembled those whirlwinds of
snow which, during the storms of winter, hide the nearest objects
from our view. Very soon the cabbages, the oats, the barley, the
late wheat, and the market-gardeners' plants, were partly destroyed.
In some places the locusts penetrated into the interiors of the houses.
By order of the government of Algiers the troops joined the colonists
in combating the plague ; and the Arabs, when they found that their
interests were suffering, rose to lend their aid against the common
enemy. Immense quantities of locusts were destroyed in a few days;
but what could human efitbrts do against these winged multitudes,
who escape into space, and only abandon one field to alight in the
next ?

It was impossible to prevent the fecundation of these insects.
The eggs quickly producing innumerable larvae, the first swarms
were very soon not only replaced, but nmltiplied a hundredfold by a
new generation. The young locusts are particularly farmidable on
account of their voracity. These hungry masses threw themselves
upon everything which was left by those which went before them.
They choked up the springs, the canals, and the brooks ; and it was
not without a great deal of trouble that the waters were cleared of
these causes of infection. Almost at the same time the provinces of
Oran and of Constantine were invaded. At Tlemcen, where within
the memory of man locusts had never appeared, the ground was
covered with them. At Sidi-bel-Abbes, at Sidi-Brahim, at Mos-
taganem, they attacked the tobacco, the vines, the fig-tree, and even

r

ORTHOPTERA. 309

the olive-trees, in spite of the bitterness of their foHage. At
Relizane and at UHabra they attacked the cotton-fields. The road,
80 kilometres long, which connects Mostaganem with Mascara, was
covered to the whole of its extent.

In the province of Constantine the locust appeared almost
simultaneously, from the Sahara to the sea, and from Bougia to La
Calle. At Batna, at Setif, at Constantine, at Guelma, at Bona, at
Philippeville, at Djidjelli, the inhabitants struggled with energy
against this invasion, but neither fire nor any obstacles opposed to the
advance of this winged army were able to stop their ravages. The
French Government, to alleviate as much as possible the ruin which
was thus brought upon the colony, opened a public subscription at
the end of the year 1866.

The negroes of Soudan endeavour to frighten the locusts in
their flight by savage yells. In Hungary they employed for the same
object the noise of cannon. In the middle ages, for the want of
cannon, they exorcised the locusts. A traveller of the sixteenth
century, the monk Alvarez, relates that he also employed exorcisms
against an immense host of these destructive insects which he met
with in Ethiopia. When he perceived them, he made the Portuguese
and the natives form in procession, and ordered them to chant
psalms. "Thus chanting," says he, ''we went into a country where
the corn was, which having reached, I made them catch a good
many of these locusts, to whom I delivered an adjuration, which I
carried with me in writing, by me composed the preceding night, sum-
moning, admonishing, and excommunicating them. Then I charged
them in three hours' time to depart to the sea, or else to go to the
land of the Moors, leaving the land of the Christians ; on their
refusal of which, I adjured and convoked all the birds of the air.
animals, and tempests, to dissipate, destroy, and devour them ; and
for this admonition I had a certain quantity of these locusts seized,
and pronouncing these words in their presence, that they might not
be ignorant of them, I let them go, so that they might tell the rest."
If one reflects that on their arrival in the land of the Moors, these
same locusts were perhaps received by prayers which had for their
object to send them back to the land of the Christians, they must
have been very much embarrassed by such contradictory adjurations.

The Arabs have also an infallible means of ridding themselves of
the locusts. Here is what General Daumas tells us on the subject.
According to Ben-Omar, the Prophet read one day, on the wings of
a locust, written in Hebrew characters : " We are the troops of the
Most High God; we each one lay ninety-nine eggs. If we were

310 THE INSECT WORLD.

to lay a hundred we should devastate the whole world." Upon which
Mahomet, greatly alarmed, made an ardent prayer, in which he begged
God to destroy these enemies of Mussulmans. In answer to this
invocation, the angel Gabriel told Mahomet that a part of his prayer
should be granted. Since that epoch, indeed, words of invocation to
the Prophet, written on a piece of paper, and enclosed in a reed,
which is planted in the middle of a wheat-field or orchard, have the
power of turning away the locusts.* This receipt is infallible, at least
so say the devout Mussulmans.

There exists another quite as efficacious. They take four locusts,
and write on the wings of each a verse of the Koran (four verses of
the Koran are appropriated to this purpose). They then let the
locusts thus marked fly into the midst of the swarm, and the flying
army immediately take another direction.

By what the Arabs say, the locusts possess a number of virtues.
When you see them in a dream, they announce the future ; if you
dream that you are eating them, it is a good omen ; if you dream that
it rains golden locusts, God will restore to you that which you have
lost ; &c. When Omar-ben-el-Khottal was Caliph, the locusts seemed
to have completely disappeared. There was great sadness in the
country in consequence. The Caliph especially was very much
afflicted at it. He sent carriers into Yemen, into Cham, and into
Irak, to see if they could not find a few. One of the envoyes succeeded
in his mission, and brought back a handful of locusts. " God is
great ! " cried Omar, who from that day had no more misgivings. In
order to understand first the despair and then the satisfaction of the
Caliph Omar, it is written, so say the Mussulmans, that the human
race will disappear from tlie earth after the extinction of the locusts ;
that these insects were formed of the rest of the clay out of which
man had been formed, and that they were destined to serve him as
food.

And so locusts and fish are the only creatures which God allows
the Mussulman to eat without being skinned. They must, however,
have been killed by one of the faithful, for otherwise their flesh is
impure ! The Arabs eat, and are very fond of locusts. When he was
asked his opinion on this article of food, the Caliph Omar-ben-el-
Khottal said, " I only wish I had a basketful of them, wouldn't I
scrunch them !"

According to General Daumas, locusts, fresh or preserved, are

* «' I e Grand Desert," par le General E, Daumas etE, de Chaucd- In iSma

1

ORTHOPTERA, 3U

good food for both men and camels. They are eaten grilled or
boiled, or prepared in the kous-koussou, after their legs, win-gs, and
heads have been taken off. Sometimes they are dried in the sun,
and reduced to powder, which is mixed with milk, and made into
cakes with flour, dripping, or butter and salt. Camels are very fond
of them ; and they are given to them after having been dried, or
roasted between two layers of ashes. Dried and salted, they are in
Asia and in Africa an object of commerce. At Bagdad they some-
times cause the • price of meat to fall. The taste of their flesh may
be compared to that of the crab. Eastern nations have eaten
locusts from time immemorial. The Greek comic poet, Aristophanes,
tells us, in the " Acharnians," that the Greeks sold them in the
markets. Moses allowed to the Jews four species, which are men-
tioned in Leviticus. St. John the Baptist, following the example of
the prophet Amos, made them his food in the desert, where he
found nothing but locusts and a little honey. The wholesomeness of
this food was, however, disputed among the ancients. Strabo relates
that there existed on the borders of the gulf of Arabia a people
called by him Acridophagi, or Locust-eating people; but they all
came to a miserable end. These people procured for themselves
locusts by lighting great fires, when the equinoctial winds brought
these hosts. Blinded and suffocated by the smoke, the locusts fell
to the ground, and were picked up greedily by them, and eaten,
fresh or salted. " These locust-eaters," says Strabo, *' are, it is true,
active, good runners ; but their life never exceeds forty years. As
they approach this age, a horrible vermin issues from their bodies,
which eats them up, beginning from the belly, and so they die a
miserable death." The same tale is to be met with in a description
of Admiral Drake's voyage round the world. This traveller speaks
of the natives of Ethiopia, who live on locusts, as dying eaten up by
winged insects bred in their own bodies.

It is difficult to explain the origin of such fables. Travellers who
have visited Arabia agree in declaring that the locust is a most whole-
some article of food ; that it is even fattening. At any rate, it is good
food for cattle and poultry. The ancients employed locusts in medi-
cine. Dioscorides asserts that the thigh of the locust, reduced to
\ powder, and mixed with the blood of the he-goat, is a cure for
leprosy \ and mixed with wine, is a specific against the bite of the
scorpion, &c.

It remains for us to describe some other species of grasshoppers
less destructive in their ravages than the Acridium migratorinm.

In the deserts of Egypt is to be met with the great Eremobia^

312 1-IE INSECT WORLD.

and in South America the Oinmexeca^ which walks rather than spring<5.
On the other hand, the Tetrix springs very well. A remarkable
feature about them is their thorax, which is prolonged into a point,
and covers the whole body. They are small insects of gay and
briUiant colours, and generally remain on the leaves of low plants,
and escape easily from the hand that tries to catch them. The
Tetrix subulata^ of a brownish colour, is common during spring, in
the environs of Paris, in the woods, and in dry and arid fields. The
Pneumorce are very strange insects. The males have a very promi-
nent abdomen, which resembles a bladder filled with air ; and their
wings are very much developed. The females have the abdomen of
the ordinary shape ; their wings are very short, or even quite rudi-
ment;'.ry. The former produce a sharp stridulation, by rubbing their
hind-legs against a row of small tubercles, which are to be seen on
each side of tlie abdomen. The sound is rendered still more pene-
trating by the vesiculous or bladder-like abdomen, the skin of which
is stretched as tight as a drum. The Fjieiimorce inhabit the South of
Africa, as also do the Trnxales, a few varieties of which, however,
are to be met with in Spain, Sicily, and the South of France.

We will pass in silence over a great number of other less interesting
species of Orthoptera, Those wliich we have described sufiice to
justify us in what we said above, namely, that this order contains
insects of the strangest and most anomalous forms.

3^3

VI.

HYMENOPTERA.

The Order Hymenoptera comprises those insects which have four
naked membranous wings, lying in repose horizontally upon the
body, and intersected by a network of nerves. The name is derived
from two Greek words — v/xt^u, a membrane, and wTipov, a wing. The
mouth is composed of two horny mandibles, jaws, and lips adapted
for suction.

It is amongst the Hymenoptera that we meet with the most
industrious insects, some of which seem to possess real intelligence.
These little animals offer the most admirable examples of sociability
Born architects, they construct dwelUngs marvellously contrived, S
which serve them, at the same time, as nurseries in which to rear I
their progeny, and storehouses in which to lay by their provisions. \
Nothing can equal the solicitude with which they watch over their^
young larvce, still incapable of motion. They form republics, governed 1
by immutable laws, and make war against their enemies in order of \
battle. They have predilections or antipathies for those who court
their society, on account of the material advantages they derive from
them.

The Bees, the Humble Bees, the Wasps, and the Ants, are the
best-known types of this order of insects. Among a great number of
the Hymenoptera the females are armed with a sting, or lancet, a
wound from which causes great pain. All these insects undergo
complete metamorphoses. In the larva state the aculeate species are
incapable of motion and of obtaining food ; but Nature has provided
in different ways for their preservation. They are often lodged and
fed by the workers of the tribe, unfruitful females, which, with a self-
denial very rare in Nature, seem to have no other vocation than to
sacrihce themselves to the welfare of the larvse. The workers con-
struct the nest and bring in the provisions. This is the case with
|ioney bees, wasps, and aiits,

314 THE INSECT WORLD.

Some deposit their eggs in the bodies of other insects, which die
immediately the larvae which live in them have attained their full
development. The larvae of the Chakididce and of the IchneumonidcB
furnish examples of Hymenoptera which inhabit the interior of the
body of another insect. Other parasitical species carry on their
depredations in a different way. They content themselves with
laying their eggs in the nests of other species of the order, which
have the advantage over them in being able to construct for them-
selves places of refuge. Their larvae Hve thus on their neighbours'
goods, nourishing themselves on the provisions which were laid up
for others. In this way live the C/eptes, the Chry sides ^ &c. Lastly,
others, such as the Gall-insects, and the Tenthredinetcz^ or Saw-flies,
live in their first state exposed on plants, and feed upon their leaves.

We shall only here describe the principal families of the Order
Hymenoptera, which contains a considerable number of species.
These families will be — ist. The Apiarice^ containing the Honey
Bees, the Melipodes^ and the Humble Bees. 2nd. The Vespiaria^ or
Wasps. 3rd. The Fortnicarice^ or Ants. 4th. The GaUicoIcE^ or
Gall-insects.

Bees. — Man, from the very earliest age, before any civilisation
existed, knew the value of bees, and took advantage of the products
of these industrious insects. The Bible makes mention of honey
bees. Their Hebrew name is Deborah. The Greeks called them by
the name of Melissa, or Melitta.

Their wonderful architectural powers, their economical fore-
thought, the wonderful combination of their reasonings, which denote
a real intelligence, their admirable social organisation, have in all
times fixed the attention of naturalists, as they have also that of poets
and thinkers. Virgil has celebrated them. In the fourth book of
his Georgics, the Latin poet has summed up all that the ancients
knew about bees. He paints with a good deal of truth many traits
in their history, points out their enemies, and sets forth with accuracy
all the care that should be taken of them. In the words of the
Mantuan poet, they are heavenly gifts, dona ccelestia, and their
intelligence excited his admiration : —

** His quibus signis atque haec exempla sccuti.
Esse apibus partem divinae mentis, et haustus
yEthereos dixere." ....

Let US hasten to say, however, that all which the ancients,
naturalists or poets, Greek or Latin, relate on the subject of bees, is
a^ mixture of truth and error, and rests generally on mere supposition.

H YMENOP TERA. 3 T 5

Aristotle knew well the three sorts of individuals which are comprised
flnder the title of bees, and some other principal facts relating to their
history ; but these facts are not stated accurately and precisely in his
account of tliem, and they are, above all, misinterpreted. The
Greek philosopher understood insects in general very badly. He
made them spring from the leaves of trees, and brought forward a
multitude of errors about them, which the most simple observation
would have sufficed to dissipate. Pliny tells us that Aristomachus of
Soles consecrated fifty-eight years to the observation of the habits of
the bee, and that PliiHscus of Thrace passed, for the same motive, all
his life in the forests. But this devotion to one object does not
appear to have produced much result, if one compares the discoveries
of our own age with the errors which Pliny, Aristotle, and Columella
have chronicled respecting them. Pliny says that bees occupy the
first rank among insects, and that they were created for man, for
whom their work procures honey and wax. He adds that they form
poHtical associations, that they have councils, chiefs, and even a code
of morality and principles.

One sees by this opinion of the Raman naturalist in what high
esteem the ancients held bees. But they had the most singular
ideas on the reproduction of these little beings ; and as no one had
ever seen their generation, they invented fable after fable to explain
their origin. Some pretended that bees sprang from an ox recently
killed, and buried in manure. Others added that they only sprang
into existence from the chest of a young ox killed with violence.
The most courageous bees came from the belly of a lion in a state of
putrefaction. It was from the head of this same animal, in a state of
corruption, that the kmgs (i.e., the queens) were formed. The carcases
of cows furnished the mild and tractable bees ; a calf could only
furnish small and weak ones. Other naturalists, or rather other
dreamers, made these insects spring from the calices of sweet-scented
flowers. Combined and separated in a certain manner, the flowers
engendered bees. They said, further, that the bees sought on the
blossoms of the olive trees and of the reed a seed which they
rendered fit for the formation of their larvae.

All these fables, which sprang from the imagination of the
ancients, were developed by a writer of the Renaissance, a certain
Alexander de Montfort, author of a work entitled " Printemps de
TAbeille." If we were to believe him, the king of the bees is formed
of the juice which the workers extract from plants. These latter
are created from honey ; and the tyrants, /.<?., the females, which do
not manage to become sovereigns of a hive, are formed only of guin.

3l6 THE INSECT WORLD.

It will be seen that he had profited only too well by what he had
read in Greek and Roman authors.

The bee was very much thought of in ancient Egypt, and is often
represented on their monuments, above the sculptured ornaments
which contain proper names, with two semicircles and a sort of sheaf,
or fasciculus. Champollion Figeac thinks that this group, taken
together, represents a title added to a proper name. According to
Hor-ApoUon, another commentator on Egyptian hieroglyphics, the bee
in the country of the Pharaohs was the emblem of a people sweetly
submissive to the orders of its king. Nothing can be better than
this comparison. It was for this reason, no doubt, that Napoleon I.
sprinkled the symbolical bees over the imperial mantle which bears
the arms of his dynasty.

All the fables, all the hypotheses, spread about and cherished by
the ancients respecting these industrious little insects, were dissipated
in a moment when, by the invention of glass beehives, first made
in the beginning of last century by Maraldi, a mathematician of
Nice, we were enabled to observe their operations and habits. It is
from this period only that our exact knowledge of the really wonderful
life of these insects dates. Before Maraldi, the Dutch naturalist,
Swammerdam, had written an excellent " History of Bees." He died
before he had published his work, and when, a long while after his
death, it was at length printed, other investigators had already pushed
on their observations further than he had. I'hanks to the invention
of Maraldi, Reaumur, John Hunter, Schirach, and Francis Huber,
had unveiled, by their admirable researches, the wonderful habits ol
these insects. The discoveries of Francis Huber seem to be almost
miraculous, when we remember that this observer was blind from the
age of seventeen.

Deprived of sight, Francis Huber did not the less wish to conse-
crate his life to the observation and the study of Nature. He caused
tlie best works of his day on natural history and physics to be read
to him, his usual reader being his servant, named Francis Burnens, a
native of the Pays de Vaud. The honest Burnens took a singular
interest in all he read, and showed by his judicious reflections the
true talent of an observer, and Huber resolved to cultivate his talent.
Very soon he could place implicit reliance on his companion, and
see with another's eyes as if they were his own.

Tne two naturalists (we do not hesitate to give this title to the
poor peasant of the canton of Vaud who so well seconded his master
in his long hours of study) conceived a host of original experiments,
which led them to discover truths which no one up to that time had

~ HYMEN OP TERA. 3 1 7

dreamt of. The results of their researches were published, in 1789,
in a volume which produced a profound sensation among naturalists. '••
Burnens was at a later period called back to the bosom of his family,
and invested by his fellow-citizens with important functions. Francis
Huber then continued his observations through the eyes of the
excellent wife he had married. A second volume was thus composed
by him twenty years after the appearance of the first. This volume
was published by his son, Pierre Huber, to whom we are indebted
for the admirable researches concerning ants, of which we shall have
to speak further on.

We will now speak of the habits of the bees. The labours of
Re'aumur, of Schirach, and of Huber, have perfectly revealed them
to us, and have initiated us completely into the habits of these
precious insects, which are for us to a certain extent domestic
animals. We will begin by describing the Common Bee {Apis
mdlificd).

During the greater part of the year the population of our hives is
composed exclusively of two sorts of individuals —
the female, or mother bee, called also the queen
bee ; and the working bees, or neuters, which are,
properly speaking, females incompletely developed.
A third kind of individuals, the males, called also
drones, are generally not met with except from
May to July. Workinf

The working bees are the people, the crowd, {Apis meiajka).
the servuvi pectis, the living force, the bee com-
munity. They are recognised by their small size, reddish brown
colour, and, above all, by the palettes and brushes with which the
hind legs are furnished (Fig. 309).

The three pairs of legs which are inserted in its thorax are its
tools. The two hind-legs are Jonger than the other pairs, and present
on the exterior a triangular depression, resembling 2. palette, which is
surrounded by stiff hairs, forming, as it were, the borders of a sort of
basket, in which the insect deposits the pollen of flowers. The
broadest part of the leg articulates with the tarsus, which is of a
square form, smooth on the exterior, and having hairs on its interior
surface, which has caused it to be named the brush. The joint is
used for gathering the pollen; it folds back on the leg (Fig. 310),
and forms with it a sort of small pair of pincers ; and, finally, the leg

* "Nouvelles Observations sur les Abeilles," par Fran9ois Huber. Paris et
Geneve, in 8vo, 2e edition. 1814.

see

318

THE INSECT WORLD.

is terminated by four smaller articulations, the last of which is armed
with hooks. The other tools of the workmg bee consist of a pair of
movable mandibles, which close the mouth on its two sides, and of a
trunk or proboscis (Fig. 311), which may be considered as a sort of
tongue.

With its mandibles the working bee seizes any hard substance.
The trunk serves it to collect the juice lying on the surface of the
petals, or at the bottom of the corolla of the flower. When a bee

Fig. 310.— Leg of a Bee (magnified).

Fig. 311. — Trunk of a Bee (magnified).

has settled on a full-blown flower, it is seen immediately to make for
the interior of the corolla, to put out its trunk, and apply it to the
petals ; it lengthens, shortens, and twists and bends it in all directions.
When the hairy surface of this organ is covered with vegetable juice,
the bee returns it to its mouth, and deposits the booty in a conduit,
whence the juice passes into the first stomach. This trunk is then,
in all respects, a tongue, with which the bee sucks, licks, and pumps
up the honey of flowers. But it also gathers the pollen. When it
enters a flower the bee covers itself with pollen from head to foot,
and then passing its brushes carefully over its whole body, removes
the dust which adheres to it in every part, and piles it up on the
triangular palettes of its hind-legs, in such a manner as to form balls
of greater or less size. If the flower is not quite full blown, the bee
makes use of its mandibles to open the anthers, in which case the

H y MEN OP TERA . 3 1 9

front pair of legs transmits the booty to the second pair, which stores
them in the baskets of the third. When it has gathered as much as
it can carry, the bee returns to the hive, its legs laden with pollen.

This complete set of tools which we have just described is only
to be met with among the working bees. The males, or drones

Fig. 312.— Male, or Drone {Apis mellifica). Fig. 313.— Female, or Queen {Apis mellifca).

(Fig. 312), larger and more hairy than the working bees, emitting a
sonorous and buzzing sound, have no palettes on their legs, the hairs
on their tarsi are not appropriated to the work of gathering, their
mandibles are shorter, and they have no aculeus, or sting, which is
the working bee's weapon.

The female, or-xpiefin (Fig. 313), is smaller than the male, and
has a longer body than the working bees, and the wings, shorter in
proportion, cover only the half of its body, whereas with the other
bees they cover it entirely. The only part she has to play is that of
laying eggs, and so she has no palettes and brushes. The sovereign
is, as suits her supreme rank, exempted from all work. She is always
escorted by a certain number of working bees, who brush her, lick
her, present honey to her with their trunks, save her every kind of
fatigue, and compose a train worthy of her feminine majesty. One
very remarkable fact is that only one queen lives in each hive.
Perfect sovereign of this tiny state, she rules over a people of some
thousands of workers. It is not rare to find 20,000 working bees in
a hive, and all submissively obey their sovereign. The number
of males is scarcely one-tenth part of that of the working bees ;
and they only live about three months. The workers represent the
active life of the community.

" The exterior of a hive," says M. Victor Rendre, " gives the best
idea of this people, essentially laborious. From sunrise to sunset,
all is movement, diligence, bustle ; it is an incessant series of goings
and comings, of various operations which begin, continue, and end,
to be recommenced. Hundreds of bees arrive from the fields, laden

3 20 THE INSECT WORLD,

with materials and provisions ; others cross them and go in their turii
into the country. Here, cautious sentineb scrutinise every fresh
arrival ; there, purveyors, in a hurry to be back at work again, stop at
the entrance to the hive, where other bees unload them of their
burdens ; elsewhere it is a working bee which engages in a hand-to-
hand encounter with a rash stranger ; farther on the surveyors of the
hive clear it of everything which might interfere with the traffic or be
prejudicial to health ; at another point the workers are occupied in
drawing out the dead body of one of their companions; all the outlets
are besieged by a crowd of bees coming in and going out, the doors
hardly suffice for this hurrying, busy multitude. AH appears disorder
and confusion at the approaches to the hive, but this tumult is only
so in appearance ; an admirable order presides over this emulation in
their work, which is the distinctive feature in bees."* A very simple
calculation may serve to give us an idea of this prodigious activity.
The opening of a well-stocked hive gives passage to one hundred
bees a minute, which makes, from five o'clock in the morning till
seven o'clock in the evening, eighty thousand re-entrances, or four
excursions for each bee, supposing there is a population of twenty
thousand workers.

Let us now folloAv their occupations from the moment in which
they establish themselves in a hive. The workers begin by stopping
up all the openings except one door, which is always to remain open.
A certain number set out to look for a resinous and sweet-scented
substance, known under the name of propolis^ which is destined to
cover the inner surface of the hive, as its name shows, which is
derived from a Greek word signifying outskirts, or suburb. Hubcr
asserts that it is gathered from the buds of plants. This substance-
has not yet been employed in the arts, although it possesses the same
qualities as wax, as M. de Frariere remarks in his work " On Bees and
Bee-keeping, "t The propolis is employed in Italy for making blistei
This gum is viscous and very adherent. The bee works it up ini
balls, and carries it in this form to the hive, where other labourers take
possession of it. They seize the pellet with their mandibles, and
apply it to cracks which they have to make air-tight. They use the
propolis for another purpose still, which deserves to be mentioned.

It happens sometimes that an enemy penetrates into their hive,
and that the bees are not strong enough to cast this intruder out of
their dwelling. What do they do ? As soon as they have discovered

• **L'IntelIigence des Betes." In i8mo. Paris, 1864.

t *' Sur les Abeilles et I'ApiculUire " In iSmo. 2e edition, laris.

HYMENOPTERA. 321

the invasion of their domicile, they set upon the impudent intruder,
and sting him to death. But how can they drag out the dead body,
which is often very heavy? such, for instance, as a slug. On the
other hand, it would be dangerous to abandon its carcase in the midst
of the hive. A Roman Emperor said that t-he dead bodies of our
enemies always smelt good. This is not the opinion of the bees.
They know that if they abandon the carcase in the hive it would
infect the place, to, the great danger of their health. They therefore
embalm it. They encase it in propolis, which preserves it from
putrefaction. It is said that the art of embalming was practised for
the first time by the ancient Egyptians. It is an error : the first
inventors of this art were bees.

If, instead of a slug, it is a snail whose evil genius has conducted
it into the interior of a beehive, the proceeding is more simple. The
moment he has received one sting, the snail retires under the
protecting roof of his movable house. The bees thereupon at once
wall him in by closing the opening to his shell with this material.
The shell is then cemented to the floor of the hive, and the house of
the poor mollusc, become its tomb, remains thus in the midst of the
hive, as a sort of decorative tumulus. When the sides of the hive are
well closed, the bees lay the foundations of their cells.

It was not formerly so easy to observe the details of the work done
by the bees as it is at the present day; for these insects, once in their
hives, have a great aversion to the light. If they are put into a
glazed hive, their first care is to shut up all the windows, either by
plastering them over with propolis, or by forming, by means of the
well-marshalled battalion of working bees, a sort of living curtain. In
order to be able to take them unawares, and study them at his own
convenience, Huber constructed a hive with leaves, which opened
like a book. Fig. 314, which represents the hive with leaves, which
is sometimes used, gives an idea of the plan adopted by Huber in
order to enable him at will to open the hive and surprise its inmates.
Huber had also recourse in certain cases to a glass cage placed in
the interior of the hive, and which he could easily move to the light.

Than-ks to his ingenuity, Huber was able to follow the working
bees in all the various phases of their labours. When they begin to
construct their hives they divide the work among themselves. A
first detachment is employed to gather the wax, which is the building
stone of our little architects. It was thought for a long time that wax
was solely the pollen of flowers, elaborated in the stomach of bees, and

ithen disgorged by the mouth. It was reserved for a peasant of Lusac
to be the first to discover the true nature of this secretion. This

322

THE INSECT WORLD

Fig. 314.— Beehive in Leaves.

Fig. 315. — Bee seen through a magnifying glass at the moment when the plates of wax appear
between the segments of the abdomen.

observer, who did not belong to any school, or at most belonged to
Nature's school, found the flakes of wax sticking between the lov/er
arches of the rings of the abdomen or belly of the working bee. The

HYMENOPTERA.

323

wax, then, is produced by the insect by exudation, and is not simply
the pollen gathered from flowers. Huber himself states that bees
exclusively nourished on pollen do not secrete wax, and that, on the
contrary, they do furnish it when they eat saccharine matter. It is

Fig, 316;— Clusters of Bees.

easy to perceive the little plates of wax by slightly raising the last
rings of the bee's abdomen. Fig. 3 1 5 represents a bee very heavily
lladen with this matter.

The working bees suspend themselves from the roof of the hive in

such a manner as to form festoons. The first clings to the roof with

his front legs, the second hooks himself on to the hind legs of the

.first, and so on, as is shown in Fig. 316. They in this manner form

324 THE INSECT WORLD.

chains, fixed by the two ends to the roof, which serve as a bridge or
ladder to the bees which join this assembly.

The result of all this is at last a cluster oi swarm of bees which
hangs down to the bottom of the hive. In this attitude they remain
at first motionless, waiting till the honey in then stomachs is changed
into wax. When the wax i. sufficiently elaborated in its organs, one
of them detaches itself from the group of which it forms a part. It
takes between its legs one of the flakes of wax adhering to the rings
of its abdomen, kneads it with its mandibles, moistens it with its
saliva, and gives it the appearance of a soft filament, which it sticks on
to a projecting point of the roof. To this first layer it adds others,
till it has exhausted 111 its wax. Then it leaves its post, and returns
to the fields; another worker — another mason, as they are sometimes
called — succeeds it, and continues the laying of the foundations.
Presently shapeless blocks of wax hang down from the roof. It is in
these blocks that other workers, with their mandibles, hollow out and
form the first cells. While the workers continue to prolong the
foundation-wall, and whilst the first cells are being shaped, new ones
are roughly sketched out or rough-hewn, and the work advances with
a marvellous rapidity.

Each cell forms a small hexagonal cup, closed on one side only by
a pyramidal base, produced by the meeting together of three rhombs.
The honeycombs are the result of two layers of cells placed back to
back, arranged in such a way that the bases of the one become the
bases of the other, the base of each little cell being formed by the
union of the bases of three opposite cells. The bees begin by form-
ing the base of the cell ; they then add the six sides, or walls, which
are to complete the hexagonal cup. At the same time others set to
work on the opposite side of the comb, and construct little cells back
to back with the cells of the front surface. They do not finish them
off at once. The walls are at first very thick : new workers, who
succeed those who merely mark out the work, being occupied in
planing down the rough-hewn cells, and in reducing the walls to the
desired thickness. This work is accomplished with an incredible
celerity, for the bees can build as many as 4,000 cells in twenty-
four hours. There is very good reason for the hexagonal form being
adopted by the bees in constructing their cells, as it involves a question
of economy, which these insects have solved in their most admirable
manner.

*• When one has well examined," says Reaumur,* " the true shape

* •■' Memoires pour scrvir i IHistoire des Tnsectes," tome v., p. 379.

HYMENOPTERA.

325

of each cell, when one has studied their arrangement, geometry seems
to have guided the design for the whole work, and to have presided
over its execution. One finds that all the advantages which could
have been desired are here combined. The bees seem to have had
to solve a problem containing conditions which would have made the
solution appear to be difficult to many geometricians. This problem

Fig- 317.— Cells constructed by Bees.

may be thus enunciated : — Given a quantity of matter, say of wax, it is
required to form cells which shall be equal and similar to each other,
of a determined capacity, but as large as possible in proportion to the
quantity of matter which is employed, and the cells to be so placed
that they may occupy the least possible space in the hive. To satisfy
this last condition, the cells should touch each other in such a manner
that there may remain no angular space between them, no gap to fill
up. The bees have satisfied these conditions, and at the same time
they have satisfied the first conditions of the problem in making cells
which are tubes having six equal sides, or in other words, hexagonal
tubes We see still further that the best thing the bees

326

THE INSECT WORLD.

pA-i

could do to economise their space and materials, was to compose
dieir honeycombs of two rows of cells turned in opposite directions."
This arrangement, it will be seen, enables them to economise the
half of the wax intended for making the bases of the cells. They
economise it still more by making the bases and the sides of the
tubes extremely thin ; the borders only of the comb being fortified
by an excess of wax. These two-sided combs descend from the
roof of the hive in parallel series, their thick-
ness being about half an inch. They are
fixed to the top by a sort of wax foot, and
fastened to the sides by numerous bands.
The bees pass between the rows, besides
excavating circular openings, which serve as
doors of communication. The form and
the general arrangement of these buildings
are otherwise very varied, according to cir-
cumstances. The bees always accommodate
themselves to the nature of the hive (Fig. 317).
In all these operations they exhibit great
judgment. It is impossible, when one has
once seen them at work, to look on them as
mere organised machines, whose instinct is
Fig. 318.— The cells of a Beehive, their Spring of action ; we are forced to con-
oVAi:SS'™B:iddli„V".:d /cede to them intelligence.
cells intended for the larvae of the / The cells are of three dimensions : the

males, c, small cells intended J ,, • . j j r .lI i r .lI

for the larvae of the 7t/^r/ivrr.f. /J Small oncs mtcndcd for the larvae of the
I workers, the middling-sized ones for the
larvae of the males, and the large ones for the larvae of the queens
(Fig. 318). These last — that is, the royal cells — are generally about
twenty in number, in a hive containing 20,000 bees. Constructed
of a mixture of wax and of propolis, resembling a rounded thimble,
they form tubes of half an inch long, turned towards the exterior,
and placed always vertically, in such a manner as to appear detached
from the comb.

The weight of a royal cell is equivalent to that of a hundred other
cells. The bees spare nothing to make it comfortable and spacious.
'* It is quite a Louvre," says Reaumur.

But independently of their use as cradles, these cells serve as
storehouses for honey.

A few of these are used in turn for both these purposes, but a
great number are reserved exclusively for stores of honey and pollen.
This is brought, as we have already said, in the form of pellets, in

HYMENOPTERA.

327

the baskets which the hind legs form. The working bee, when it has
gathered it, pushes it into the cell, pressing it with its hind-legs.
Another then arrives, and kneads up the mass to make it adhesive.
The bee brings the honey in its first stomach, and disgorges it into
one of the cells where it is to be kept. However, 'it is not always by

Fig. 319. — Interior of a Hive.

carrying its honey into a cell that the worker is relieved of it, often
finding an opportunity to deliver it on the way.

"When it meets," says Reaumur,* " any of its companions who
want food, and who have not had time to go and get any, it stops,
erects and stretches out its trunk, so that the opening by which the
honey may be taken out is a little way beyond the mandibles. It
pushes the honey towards this opening. The other bees, who know
fwell enough that it is from there they must take it, introduce the end
of their trunks and suck it up. The bee which has not been stopped
on its road, often goes to the places where other bees are working,

'•' "Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire des Insectes, ' tome v., p. 449.

528 tHH INJECT WO/eLD,

that is, to those places where other bees are occupied, either in con-
structing new cells, or in polishing or bordering the cells already-
built ; it offers them honey, as if to prevent them from being under
the necessity of leaving their work to go and get it themselves."
; The honey which fills the store cells is intended for daily con-
j sumption, and also intended as a reserve for the period when the
'iflowers furnish no more. The empty cells are left open, the workers
Imaking use of them when they want them, particularly during rainy
'days, which keep them at home. But the cells which contain the
honey put by in reserve are closed. "They are," says Reaumur,
" like so many pots of jam or jelly, each one of which has its cover-
ing, and a very solid covering it is too." This covering, composed
of wax, hermetically seals the pots containing this reserve of honey.
The object of this is to keep the honey in a certain state of liquidity,
by preventing the evaporation of the water it contains. It is a re-
markable fact that it does not run out of the cells which are open,
although their position is almost always horizontal. This is because
there are always in the sides of these narrow tubes points enough to
keep it in, and that besides this the last layer of honey is always of
greater consistency than the liquid in the interior, upon which it
forms a sort of crust. (Fig. 319 shows the interior of a hive.)

When the harvest has been abundant, many combs of closed cells
may be found in each hive, perfect storehouses of abundance, fur-
nished for the wants of the bad season. When the construction of
the cells goes on well — often on the day after the bees have installed
themselves in their hive — the queen goes out to meet the males. At
the hour when these are accustomed to disport themselves in the sun,
that is to say. from noon till five o'clock, she leaves the hive, whirls
about for a few seconds, and disappears into the air. At the end of
half an hour she returns, pregnant.
, When the female returns to the hive, she is ^/le object of every
attention, the workers pressing round her, and forming quite a train.
Many approach her, and lick the surface of her body ; others brush
her, caress her, and present her their trunks full of honey. Forty-
eight hours after her return to the hive the mother bee generally
begins laying.* Running over the honeycomb, she deposits an egg
in each empty cell, and fixes it to the bottom by means of a glutinous
secretion, in such a way that the egg is suspended in the interior of
the cell. They have the appearance of little oblong bodies, of a
bluish white. If the queen, in a hurry to lay, lets more than one egg

* Not invariably, the period is often longer. — V.n.

H Y MEN OP TERA. 329

fall into the same cell, the workers who accompany her hasten to
carry out and destroy those that are in excess. This is often the
case when the combs have not enough cells to contain all the eggs
laid. We have said that the queen only lays worker eggs at this
time; the others are laid later. She continues to lay until the cold
weather approaches, when she ceases to do so, and does not resume
her occupation until the return of spring. This laying is very abun-
dant. The queen produces at least two hundred eggs a day ; so
that in the space of two months she lays more than twelve thousand.
Towards the eleventh month of her existence in the perfect state, the
queen begins laying the eggs which will produce males, their number
varying from 1,500 to 3,000 : the deposition of these eggs occupies
about a month.

T. owards the twentieth day, the workers lay the foundations of
some royal cells. When these cells have attained a certain length,
the queen deposits an egg in each, allowing, however, one or two days
to intervene between the laying of these privileged eggs, so that the
young queens to whom they are to give birth should not be hatched all
at the same time, which would cause difficulties and even wars con-
cerning the right of their succession to the throne. This complication
human governments have not been always able to avoid, as history
shows ; but the bees have found out a way of doing so.

The distribution of the eggs in the cells is not left to chance.

Each egg, according to the sex to which it belongs, is deposited in

the cell which awaits it. The eggs of the females do not, however,

differ in any way from those of the workers. The difference in their

development depends entirely on the space and food allowed them.

We represent (Tig. 320) a portion of a comb containing the eggs

; i)laced in the cells, as also the royal cells. The regular order of

laying is such as we have just described, but the result is quite

different when the impregnation of the queen has been retarded by

, an accidental captivity of two or three weeks. The longer this delay,

0 lithe greater will be the number of male eggs. If the queen is shut up

i'.'for more than twenty days after her birth, she can then lay nothing

\|but male eggs during the remainder of her existence. It seems, also,

V'that this delay troubles her intellect; for she then often makes

/.blunders as to the cells. She lays the eggs of the males, or drones,

ijiin the cradles prepared for the queens, and thus brings confusion into

I'the future community.

The eggs, once laid, are left to the care of the working bees,
vvhich Reaumur called the nurses, in opposition to the wax-workers,
which are employed in works of construction. According to many
68*

330

THE INSECT WORLD.

bee-keepers, and especially M. Hamet,* this division of duties is not
positive. The young workers are the wax-workers ; the old ones,
collectors of honey, and nurses. However, when the honey-harvest
is at its height, all the workers collect the spoil. Every individual
is pressed into the service at the harvest time, as with men.

The eggs are not long in being hatched. From the moment when

Fig. 320, — Portion of the comb, with the eggs occupying the cells,
cells has been opened by the queen.

One of the royal

the larva comes out of the egg till that of its metamorphosis into a
pupa, it keeps in its cell, rolled up, motionless as an Indian idol in
its sacred temple. The working bees visit it from time to time, to st
that it wants for nothing, and to renew its provisions. They al
carefully inspect the different cells, and assure themselves of the goc
condition of their nurslings. The pap which they give them as foi
is whitish, and resembles paste made of flour. It is apparently a pre-
paration of pollen, prepared in the body of the insect. As the larvre!
increase in size, their food is made to acquire a more decided taste of j

** Couis d'Apiculture." In 8vo. Paris, 1864.

HYMENOPTERA. 3 3 1

honey, and to become even slightly acid. It seems, then, that the
bees know how to graduate the food of their larvae in such a manner
as to bring it nearer by degrees to honey (Fig. 321).

In the space of live days the larvae are developed ; they have
absorbed all their pap, and have no need from that time of any
nourishment, for they are about now to change into pupae. Now the
nurses pay them a last attention. They wall them
up in their cells, closing the openings with a waxen
covering. The larvae then get close to the wax
covering. In thirty-six hours they have spun for
themselves a silky cocoon, in which they undergo
their transformation into pupae. The moult, which Larfi^V the'Bee
precedes their metamorphosis, constitutes a crisis, as (magnified),
with the caterpillars of Lepidoptera.

The perfect insect is hatched seven or eight days after its trans-
formation into a pupa, the organs being developed little by little, and
the young bee is then ready to appear in the broad daylight. It
breaks through the thin transparent covering in which it is still
swathed ; then, with its mandibles, it pierces the operculum, or door
of its prison, and opens a way for itself by which it can issue forth.
With the assistance of its front legs it clings to the rim of the cell,
and draws itself forward, till it has set free the whole of its body.
The other bees lavish upon this newly-arrived little stranger all pos-
sible attention, to make its entrance into the world easy and agreeable;
assisting and supporting it till it has become quite strong. It very
soon becomes strong. If it is a working bee, it is not long in getting
to work and in mixing with its companions in labour.

This is the way in which the hatching of ordinary bees takes place,
workers and males ; the first, twenty days after they are laid ; the
second, twenty-four days after. The rearing and birth of the young
queens are slightly different. In proportion as the larvae increase in
size do the workers enlarge the cells which contain them ; and then
again gradually diminish their size as the moment of their last meta-
morphosis approaches. A special and peculiar food is given to the
larvce of the queens ; it is quite different from that vhich is given to
the larvae of the working bees, being a heavier and sweeter substance.
This special food seems to exercise such an energetic influence on the
development of the ovaries, that simple workers which have acci-
dentally received any of it, during their larval state, become pregnant
and lay a few eggs. But this anomalous development remains im-
perfect, because the prolific food was only administered in a small
quantity. Besides which, the size of the cells is of great importance

332 THE INSECT WORLD.

to the development of the larvae imprisoned in them ; and so the
larvae of working bees, having lived in the small cells, can never attain
the proportions of the queen, nor acquire her fecundity. But all this
is changed if these larvae are moved into the large cells and fed on
this royal pabulum ; they then become veritable queens. If, with us,
the coat does not make the man nor the frock the monk, it is certain
that with the bees the cradle helps materially to make the queen.

When the queen through some accident or other has perished,
the plebeian population of the hive very quickly perceive the mis-
fortune, and without losing time in useless regrets, apply themselves to
repair their loss. They choose the larva of a working bee, less than
three days old, on which they bestow the treatment suited to change
it into a female. The workers enlarge the cell of this grub by
demolishing the surrounding cells, and administer to it a strong dose
of royal food, to effect its transformation. This marvellous metamor-
phosis is accomplished like those which one reads of in fairy tales,
where so many poor beggars are changed, by a wave of the hand, into
beautiful princesses, covered with gold and precious stones. Only
here the fairy tale is a true story ; the poet's dream is a real pheno-
menon. According to Francis Huber, the larva intended to produce
a female has to change its position. The workers add then to its
domicile a sort of vertical tube, into which they push and turn round
the young grub which is the hope of the community. For twelve
days a bee, a sort of body-guard, has special charge of the person of
our infant. It offers it food, and pays it many other delicate little
attentions. When the moment for the metamorphosis has come, the
orifice of the tube is closed, and the bees await the hatching of the
new queen. Thus the loss of the queen is speedily replaced. The
larvae of the queens, when they are shut up in their cells, have the
head downwards, whilst the larvae of the males have the head
upwards. Their hatching takes place thirteen days after the laying of
the eggs.

As soon as they have quitted their cradles, the young queens are
ready to take flight. The others, workers and males, are less strongly
organised. Before they are able to take a part in the sports and
labours of the old ones they require a rest of twenty-four hours,
during which the nurses lick them, brush them, and offer diem honey.
But the young workers require to undergo no apprenticeship before
they do the work which devolves upon them. They go straight to
their work, and suppress all apprenticeship. Nature is their guide
and counsellor.

When the hatching has begun, each day adds some hundreds of

1

HYMENOPTERA. 333

young bees to the population of the hive, which is not long in
becoming too small for the number of its inhabitants. It is then
that those curious emigrations of this winged people take place which
are called swarms. The queen leaves the hive, with a part of her
subjects, and founds a new colony elsewhere. In the climate of
France the bees generally swarm in the months of May and June.
In the south very thickly populated hives may furnish as many as
four swarm.s in a season, but in the north rarely more than one or
two. But in some years swarming does not take place at all, for the
want of a sufficient population. In such cases the workers do not
construct royal cells at the period when the eggs of the males are
laid, and the swarming is put off till the following spring. It
occasionally happens that a hive, although full of bees, cannot make
up its mind to send out a swarm, and also that the hives thinly
populated send out abundant swarms. There are, then, other causes
than the excess of population which exercise an influence on this
annual crisis in the life of bees. The first swarm is always led by
the old queen ; if other swarms succeed, it is the young females
lately hatched who lead the way.

There are many signs which announce that a swarm is going to
take place. The appearance of the males, or drones, is one of the
first signs. Another sign, but far from being infallible, is the excess
of the population in the common home. The bees seem then to
find themselves so ill at ease in their over-crowded hive, that part of
them go out and keep outside, either on the stand upon which the
hive is placed, or upon the hive itself. Crowds of bees may be seen
heaped up on each other outside, only waiting for the signal of
departure. But the least equivocal of all the signs, that which
points out the event for the very day, says Reaumur, is when the
bees of a hive do not go into the country in as great a number as
'usual, although the weather may be favourable and seem to invite
them to do so. "There is no sign," says Reaumur, "which points
out so surely that a swarm is preparing to take flight, as when, in the
morning, at those hours when the sun shines, and when the weather
is favourable for work, the bees go out in a small number from a hive
from which they went out in great quantities on the preceding days,
and bring back only a little rough wax. The fact of their acting in
this manner seems to force us to concede to bees more intelligence
and foresight than many people are inclined to allow that they
possess ; at any rate, it is exceedingly puzzling to those who wish to
explain all their actions by saying that they are purely mechanical.
Does it not seem proved that from the morning alLthe inhabitants of

334 THE INSECT WORLD.

a hive have been informed of the project which will be executed not

before noon, or, perhaps, not for some hours after it ? There

is a well-known story of an old grenadier, who, being comfortably
asleep while his comrades were pitching their tents, answered to his
general, M. de Turenne, when questioned on the subject, Uhat he
knav very well that t/ie army would not remain long in the camp they
were pitching'

" All our bees, or nearly all, seemed to have foreseen the move
that their queen was about to make, as that old soldier had foreseen
the general's order to his army/'*

In a hive which is going to '* cast," as it is called in technical
phraseology, there is often heard, in the evening, and even during
the night, a peculiar humming. All seems to be in agitation.
Sometimes, to hear the noise, it will be necessary to bring your ear
close to the hive ; you then will hear nothing but clear and sharp
sounds, which seem to be produced by the flapping of the wings of
one single bee. " Those who know better than I do the language of
bees," says Reaumur, " have told marvels of these sounds. They
pretend that it is the new queen that makes this noise ; that she is,
perhaps, haranguing the troops she wishes to go with her ; or that,
with a kind of trumpet, she animates them to undertake the great
adventure. Charles Butler, the author of ' Female Monarchy,'
attributes to this noise quite another signification. He says that it
seems as if the bee which aspires to become queen supplicates the
queen-mother, by lamentations and groans, to grant it permission to
lead a colony out from the hive ; that the queen does not yield
sometimes to these touching prayers for two days ; that when she
does acquiesce, she answers the suppliant in a fuller and stronger
voice; and that when you have heard the mother-bee grant this
permission, you may hope next day to have a swarm. . . Butler has
determined all the modulations of the chant of the suppliant bee, the
different keys to which they are set, as also those of the chants of the
queen-mother. He pretends that it is not allowed to those who wish
to raise themselves to a superior rank to imitate the chants of the
sovereign; woe betide the young female if she should dare to do so !
it would only be in a spirit of revolt, and she would be immediately
punished by the loss of her head. The old-established queen does
more than that : at the same moment she condemns to death those
bees which had been seduced."t The true cause of this unusual

* " Memoires pour servir a ITIistoire des Insectes," tome v., p. 6ii.
+ Ibid., tome v., pp. 6i6, 617.

H YMENOPTERA, 335

noise is the agitation of the wings of a great number of the bees in
the middle of the hive.

It has been remarked, that when about to swarm the bees seem
as if mad. They lose their senses ; the queen setting them the
example. Francis Ruber has made the most curious remarks on this
subject. Here is, according to this immortal observer, what goes on
in the hive when an emigration is about to take place : — The queen,
being angry at the noise which the young females ready to be hatched
are making in their cells, runs about the hive, examines the cells, and
endeavours to destroy those which contain the females ; but she
meets with a very firm resistance from the workers, who take upon
themselves to protect them. She endeavours here and there to lay
an egg, but generally retires without having done so. She runs, stops
short, sets off again, walks over the bodies of the workers she meets ;
sometimes, when she stops, the bees near her stop also, as if to look
at her. They advance briskly towards her, strike her with their heads,
and mount on her back. She then dashes off, carrying with her some
of the workers. Not one of them offers her honey; she takes it
herself from the open cells, which are for the use of the whole hive.
They no longer draw up in line on each side of her as she moves
along; her guard of honour no longer surrounds her; she seems
fallen from her high rank.

However, the first bees which were disturbed by her now follow,
running like herself, and spread alarm in their turn among the rest of
the population. The road which the queen has traversed is to be
recognised by the excitement which she has caused on her passage,
and which cannot now be calmed. Very soon she has visited every
corner of the hive, so that the fever has become general. She now
no longer lays her eggs in the cells, but lets them fall anywhere at
random. She seems to have lost her wits.

The nurses in their turn are attacked with the contagion. They
pay no attention now to their charges. Those which return from the
country have no sooner entered the hive than they take part in these
tumultuous movements, and give themselves up to the general excite-
ment. Not even thinking of depositing the pellets of pollen which
they carry on their legs, they run about apparently without aim. The
delirium takes possession of the whole republic. The end of all this
is a general sortie. The whole hive, with the queen at its head,
precipitates itself towards the door, and issues forth to create a
swarm. Once in the fresh air, they become quiet; their madness
subsides, and they fix themselves to a branch of a tree, and having
b^en captured, set to work again as usual. Francis Huber often

336 THE INSECT V/GRLD.

remarked that, in a swarm which had started, if the queen, who
directed the flight, were seized and killed, immediately all the bees
would return to the hive. It would seem that, having lost their chief,
they acknowledged themselves incapable of forming a colony.

A swarm never comes out except on a fine day, or, to speak more
accurately, at an hour of the day when the sun is shining, when the
air is calm, and the sky clear. It is generally between ten o'clock in
the morning and three o'clock in the afternoon. " We observed,''
says Francis Huber, '' in a hive all the signs which are the fore-
runners of a cast for a swarm — disorder and agitation — but a cloud
passed before the sun, and quiet was restored to the hive ; the bees
thought no more of swarming. An hour after, the sun having shown
itself again, the tumult recommenced, increased very rapidly, and
the swarm set out on its journey."*

At the moment which precedes their exit, the buzzing increases
in the hive. Some of the workers go out first, as if to ascertain the
state of the atmosphere. The moment the queen has passed the
threshold, the emigrants follow in a cloud behind her; in an instant
the air is darkened with bees, which crowd together and form a thick
cloud. The swarm rises, whirling round about in the air ; it poises
itself for a few minutes over the hive, to allow time to reconnoitre,
and for the laggards to join, and then goes off at fall speed.

The queen does not make choice of the place where the company
shall find shelter. When a branch of a tree has been selected by a
certain number, they fix themselves on it. Many others follow them.
When a great many have collected, the queen joins the throng, and
brings in her train the rest of the troop. The group already formed
becomes larger and larger every instant. Those which are still
scattered about in the air hasten to join the majority, and very
soon all together compose one solid mass or clump of bees cling-
ing to each other by their l';gs. This cluster (Fig. 322) is some-
times spherical, sometimes pyramidal, and occasionally attains a
weight of nine pounds, and may contain as many as 40,000 bees.
From this moment, although they are uncovered, they remain
still. In a quarter of an hour everything becomes quiet, and the
bees cease to hover about the cluster m.ore than round an ordinary

* In general, bees very much dislike bad weather ; when they are foraging in the
country, the appearance of a single cloud before the sun causes them to return
home precipitately. However, if the sky is uniformly dark and cloudy, and if
there are not any sudden alternations of darkness and light, they are not easily
alarmed, and the first drops of a gentle rain hardly drive them away from their
hunting-ground.

I

rWMENOPTERA.

337

hive. Now is the irioment to take possession of the swarm in a hive
prepared beforehand to receive it. If delayed too long, the troop
flies off, and establishes itself in some natural cavity, as the hollow of
a tree, &c. Th*! bees then return to their wild state.

Under a warm climate, where flowers abound, the hives may cast
several times in succession. The first swarm, however, is always the

Fig. 322. —Cluster of Bees hanging to a branch.

best. It is more numerous, and has before it more time to provision
itself. If the weather remains favourable, it is not rare to see it send
out a swarm itself three weeks after leaving, the old hive. The old
queen then leads the emigration of the second swarm, abandoning
the colony she had lately founded. If the original hive sends forth
several swarms, the interval between the first and the second is from
seven to ten days ; the third and the fourth follow at shorter intervals.
But these late casts have rarely vitality enough to exist long.

A swarm never returns to a hive it has once left. It is surprising

33^ THE INSECT WORLD.

then that a hive can furnish a second swarm after the interval of a
few days, without being too much weakened. But the old queen, in
quitting her domain, leaves behind her a considerable quantity of
brood. These larvae are not long in re-peopling the hive, so as to
furnish a second swarm. The third and the fourth casts weaken the
population more perceptibly ; but there remain still enough workers
to continue operations. In some cases the agitation of the cast is
so great as to cause all the bees to quit the hive together, leaving it
deserted ; but this desertion only lasts an instant, one part of the
swarm wisely returning to their home.

All those which start away become members of the new colony.
When the general delirium we have spoken of has taken possession
of them, they precipitate themselves together, they pile themselves
up all at the same time by the door of the hive, and get so hot as to
perspire freely. Those which are in the midst of the melee bear the
weight of the whole crowd, and seem bathed in sweat. Their wings
become damp, and they are no longer able to fly, and even if they
manage to escape, they get no further than the stand, and are not long
in re-entering the hive, instead of following the main body of the
emigrants. AVe must not forget that a part of the population is
always out at those hours of the day when the swarms take place,
engaged in collecting provisions ; and having collected the spoil, these
workers return to the hive abandoned by the greater part of their
companions, and betake themselves to their usual occupations, as if
nothing had happened. They form the nucleus of the new population,
which is soon enlarged by the hatching of the pupae. We have
already said that the first swarm is always led by the old queen or
mother, and that it starts before the hatching of the young females.
If she had not gone out before their birth she would have destroyed
them, and the new hive would have been unable to re-organise itself
for the want of a chief.

The first swarm having set out, those bees which remain in tlie
hive pay particular attention to the royal cells. If the young queens
make efforts to escape from them, their guardians watch them narrowly,
and as the prisoners destroy their covers of wax the guards restore
them ; but as they do not desire the death of the inmates, they pass
in some honey through the opening before they close it, so as to
ameliorate their captivity. At the appointed moment, the issue of
the first egg laid quits her cradle. Very soon she yields to the
murderous instinct which impels her to destroy her rivals, so that she
may reign with individual sway over the community. She searches
for tho cells in which these are shut up, but the moment she

HYMENOP TEKA, 3 39

approaches them the workers pinch her, pull her about, drive hei
\ away, and oblige her to move on, and, as the royal cells are numerous,
she finds with difficulty any corner in her hive where she may be at rest.
Incessantly tormented by the desire of attacking the other females,
and incessantly driven back by the guard, she becomes very much
excited, passes through the different groups of workers at a run,
and communicates to them her agitation. She leads the inmates of
tiie hive the same sort of dance frequently in the course of the day.

Sometimes the young queen at the end of her attempts utters a
shrill song, analogous to that of the grasshopper. This song, so
unusual among these insects, has the effect of petrifying the bees. So
says Francis Huber, speaking of a queen which had just been hatched,
and which was trying in vain to satisfy her jealous instincts. "She
sang," says he, " twice. When we saw her producing this sound, she
was motionless, her thorax rested against the honeycomb, her wings
being crossed on her back, and she moved them about without un-
crossing them, and without opening them. Whatever cause it was
that made her choose this attitude, the bees seemed affected by it, all
of them now lowered their heads and remained motionless. Next
day the hive presented the same appearances, there remained still
twenty-three royal cells, which were all assiduously guarded by a great
number of bees. The moment the queen approached these, all the
guards were in a state of agitation, surrounded her, bit her, hustled
her in every way, and generally finished by driving her off; some-
times when this happened she sang, resuming the attitude which I
just now described ; from that moment the bees became motionless."''
But the fever which had seized on the young queen ended by com-
municating itself to her subjects, and, at a particular moment, a new
swarm set out under her guidance.

When the emigration is effected, the workers which had remained
at home set free another female. This one acts in the same way as
the first. She tries to get at her rivals still imprisoned, whom she
can smell in their cradles ; but the guard repel her with vigour, and
defeat all her attempts, till she makes up her mind to emigrate with a
new swarm. This curious scene is repeated, with the same circum-
stances, three or four times in the space of a fortnight, if the weather
is favourable, and the hive well peopled. In the end, the number of
bees is so much reduced, that they can no longer keep such vigilant
^uard round the royal cells, and it then happens that two females
come out together from their cradles. Immediately the two rivals

* " Observations sur les Abeilles," tome i., p. 265.

340 THE INSECT WORLD.

look for each other, and fight, and the queen that comes victorious
out of this duel to the death reigns peaceably over the people she has
won for herself. If, in the tumult which precedes the swarming,
a female escapes from her prison, it may happen that she is carried
away in the swarm. In this case the deserters divide into two
separate bands, but the weakest in numbers are not long in breaking
up, the deserters going to swell the principal swarm. At last all the
troop is reunited, and it then contains two queens. As long as the
swarm remains fixed on its branch, all passes quietly, in spite of
the presence of a second queen. But as soon as it has become
domiciled, the affair becomes serious ; a duel to the death takes
place between the two aspirants to the command. Two queens
cannot exist in the same hive. One of them is de irop and must
be got rid of.

Francis Huber was the first to describe these duels between the
queens. We quote an interesting account which he has left us of a
combat which he watched on the 12th of May, 1790 : — " Two young
queens," says he, " came out on that day from the cells almost at the
same moment, in one of our smallest hives. As soon as they saw
each other they dashed one against the other with every appearance
of the greatest rage, and put themselves in such a position that each
one had its antennae seized between the teeth of its rival ; the head,
the thorax, and abdomen of the one were opposite to the head,
the thorax, and abdomen of the other ; they had only to bend round
the posterior extremity of their bodies, and they would reciprocally
have stabbed each other with their darts, and both engaged in the
combat would have been killed. But it seems as if Nature would not
allow this duel to end by the death of both of the combatants. One
would say that she had ordained that those queens, finding themselves
in this position (that is to say, face to face and abdomen to abdomen),
should retreat that very instant with fhe greatest precipitation. And
so, as soon as the two rivals felt that their posterior parts were about
to meet, they left go of each other, and each one ran away in an

opposite direction A few minutes after they had

separated from each other their fear ceased, and they recommenced
looking for each other. Very soon they perceived the object of theii
search, and we saw them running one against the other. They
seized each other, as at the first, and put themselves in exactly the
same position. The result was the same ; as soon as their abdomens
approached each other they only thought of getting free, and ran
away. The working bees were very much agitated during the whole
of this time, and their tumult seemed to increase when the twc

HYMENOPTBRA. 341

adversaries separated from each other. We saw them on two different
occasions stop the queens in their flight, seize them by the legs, and
keep them prisoners for more than a minute. At last, in a third
attack, the queen which was the most infuriated or the strongest,
rushed upon her rival at a moment when she did not see her coming ;
seized her with her jaws by the base of her wing, then mounted on
to her body, and brought the extremity of her abdomen over the last
rings of her enemy, whom she was then able to pierce with her sting
very easily. She then let go the wing which she held between hei
teeth, and drew back her dart. The vanquished queen dragged her-
self heavily along, lost her strength, and expired soon afterwards."*

These singular combats take place between young maiden queens^
Francis Huber, by introducing into a hive some queens from other
hives convinced himself that the same animosity impels the females
which are pregnant to fight with and destroy each other. From the
moment when the young queen to whom the sovereignty has fallen is
pregnant, she is anxious to destroy all the royal pupae which still
exist in the hive, and which are then given up to her without re-
sistance by the workers.

OvK h,-yaBhv TroKvKoipavirj. els Kol^avos eCTO),

Become a mother, the female attacks one after the other the cells
which still contain females. She may be seen to throw herself with
fury on the first cell she comes to. She makes an opening in it with
her mandibles large enough to allow her to introduce her abdomen,
and then turns herself about till she has succeeded in giving a stab
with her sting to the female which it contains. She then withdraws,
highly satisfied with what she has done. The working bees, who up
to this moment have remained indifferent spectators of her efforts,
take upon themselves the rest of the business. They set to work to
enlarge the hole made by the ruling queen, and to draw out the
carcase of the victim.

In the meanwhile, the fierce and jealous sovereign throws herself
Dn another cell, and breaks into it with violence. If she does not
ind in it a perfect insect, but only a pupa, she does not condescend
:o make use of her royal weapon. The workers take on themselves
;o empty the cell and destroy its contents. These executions over,
:he queen can for the future occupy herself in laying, without having

* " Observations sur les Abeilles," tome i., pp. 174—178.
t "Many ruling together i» not good: let there be one ruler, one king.'*—
fomer' s " I/iaJ," il no.

342 THE INSECT WORLD,

anything to fear from rivals. Let us remark, in passing, that man is
not much behind these insects whose savage exploits in cruelty we
have just related. Among certain tribes of Ethiopians the first care
of the newly-crowned chief is to put in prison all his brothers, so as
to prevent wars by pretenders to the throne. Delivered from all dread
of rivals, our queen sets to work with an indefatigable zeal ; and the
workers, animated by the hope of a numerous progeny, heap up
provisions around them.

But now a new tragedy is about to be enacted. The drones, that
is to say, the males, are now no longer wanted in the colony : their
mission is over. By an inexorable law of Nature they must be got
rid of, and the working bees proceed to make general massacre of
them. It is in the months of July and August that this frightful
carnage takes place. The workers may be seen furiously giving
chase to the males, and pursuing them to the extremity of the hive,
where these unfortunate insects seek a place of safety. Three or four
workers dash off in the pursuit after a male. They seize hold of
him, pull him by his legs, by his wings, by his antennae, and kill him
with their stings. This pitiless massacre includes even the larvae and
pupae of the males. The executioners drag them from their cells, run
them through with their stings, greedily suck the liquids contained in
their bodies, and then cast their remains to the winds. This slaughter
goes on for many days, continuing till the males have been completely
got rid of, they not being able to defend themselves, as they have no
stings.

They are allowed to live, however, when they are fortunate enough
to inhabit a hive deprived of its queen. There they even find a place
of perfect safety when they have been driven out of another hive, and
may be met with in this refuge until the month of January. In like
manner the lives of the males are spared in those hives which,
instead of a true queen, have only a female half impregnated, which
lays only male eggs ; but a hive of this kind, whose active population
cannot be increased, ends by being abandoned by its inhabitants.
The sterility or absence of the queen entails the dissolution of the
society. She is, in fact, the life and soul of the hive ; and without
her there is no hope, no courage, no activity. The populace,
abandoned to itself, falls into anarchy. Famine, pillage, ruin, and
death are at its doors. Having no progeny to set their hopes on, the
bees live from one day to another without a care for the morrow.
They leave off working, and live entirely on theft and rapine, and
ai last they disappear entirely. It is a society become rotten and
broken up for the want of a moral tie.

HYMENOPTERA. 343

If the loss of the mother bee takes place at a period at which
there still exist in the hive some larvae of working bees of less than
three days old, the nurses (as we have already said) adopt some oi
these larvae, and make them into queens by means of the physical
education and special nourishment which they give them. In this
case, then, the evil can be repaired ; the workers themselves find a
remedy without assistance. But if the hive possesses a degenerate
queen, which only lays male eggs, the intervention of man is necessary
to save it, by the substitution of a properly impregnated queen. If,
indeed, a strange queen wished to penetrate alone into a hive already
containing a sovereign, she would infallibly be stopped at the door
and stifled by the sentinels who guard the entrance to the hive.
These would surround her immediately, and keep her captive under
them till she perished, either through suffocation or hunger. They
do not employ their stings against an intruding queen, except in the
case of an attempt being made to deliver her from their clutches :
they get rid of her by stifling.

When it is wished to introduce into a hive a stranger queen, after
having removed the original sovereign, many precautions must be
used before putting her into the common home. It is only after
some time that the bees become aware of the disappearance of their
queen ; but they then manifest great emotion. They run hither and
thither, as though mad, leaving off their work, and making a peculiar
buzzing sound. If you return to them their original sovereign, they
recognise her, and calm is immediately restored ; but the substitution
of a new queen for the original sovereign does not produce the same
effect in every case. If you introduce the new queen half a day only
after the removal of the old queen, she is very badly received, and is
at once surrounded, the worKcrs trying to suffocate her. Generally
she sinks under this bad treatment. But if you allow a longer interval
to elapse before you introduce the substitute, the bees, rendered
more tractable by the delay, are better disposed towards her. If you
allow an interregnum of twenty-four hours, the stranger queen is
always received with the honours due to her rank, a general buzzing
announcing the event to the whole population of the hive. They
assign to their adopted queen a train of picked attendants ; they
draw up in line on her passing by ; they caress her with the tips oi
their antennae ; they offer her honey. A little joyful fluttering of the
escort announces that every one in the little republic is satisfied.
The labours out of doors and indoors then begin anew with more
activity than ever.

It is principally during stormy days, when the heat and the

344 THE INSECT WORLD,

electricity in the air are favourable to the secretion of pollen in
plants, that the bees go into the fields to make their harvest. They
heap up provisions in the hive against tlie cold season, not forgetting,
however, to watch over the eggs, their future hope, " spem gentis,''
as Virgil calls them.

These peaceful occupations are sometimes interrupted by the dire
necessities of war. It happens that the bees of an impoverished hive,
jimpelled by hunger, that bad counsellor, make up their mind to
attack and to pillage the treasures of a neighbouring hive which is
abundantly stocked with provisions. A savage fight then takes place
between the two battalions. Each one precipitates itself with fury
upon its adversary. Two bees press against and bite each other till
one is overcome. The victor springs upon the back of the van-
quished, squeezes it round the neck with its mandibles, and pierces
it between the rings of its abdomen with its sting. The victorious
bee places itself by the side of its fallen enemy, and resting on four
0f its legs, rubs its two hind ones together proudly, as a sign of
supreme triumph. Reaumur relates a strange fact, which he says he
often observed, and which proves that the insects we are treatmg of
do not fight to satisfy a sanguinary and savage instinct, but (which
is less reprehensible) to satisfy their hunger. Bees attacked by a
superior force are in no danger of losing their lives if their enemies
can induce them to give up their throats — that expression conveys
the idea. Supposing three or four are furiously attacking one bee :
they are pulling it by its legs and biting it on its thorax. The
unfortunate object of this attack has then nothing better to do, to
escape alive from such a perilous situation, than to stretch out its
trunk laden with sweet-scented honey. The plunderers will come
one after the other and drink the honey ; then, cloyed, satisfied,
having nothing more to demand, they go their way, leaving the bee
to return to his dwelling-place.

There are also strange fights — regular duels — between the bees of
the same hive. Very hot weather has the effect of irritating them,
and making them boil over with rage. They are then dangerous to
man, whom they attack boldly. But more often it is amongst them-
selves that they quarrel. One often sees two bees which meet seize
each other by the neck in the air. It happens also that a bee, in a
state of fury, throws itself on another who is walking quietly and
unsuspiciously along the edge of its hive. When two bees are
struggling in this manner they descend to the ground, for in the air
they would not be able to get purchase enough to be sure of striking
each other. They then engage in a hand-to-hand fight, as the

HYMENOPTERA. 345

gladiators used formerly to do in the circus. They are continually
making stabs with their stings, but almost always the point slips over
the scales with which they are covered. The combat is sometimes
prolonged during an hour, before one of them has found the weak
point in the other's natural cuirass, and has buried its terrible
weapon in the flesh. The victor often leaves its sting in the wound
which it has made, and then dies, in its moment of triumph, through
the loss of this organ. Sometimes the two combatants, in spite of
long and savage assaults, cannot succeed in injuring cither's solid
armour. In such a case they leave each other, tired of war, and fly
away, despairing of obtaining a victory.

At the end of autumn, when the bees no longer find any flowers in
the fields to plunder, they finish rearing their eggs on the pollen,
which they keep in store, and the queen ceases to lay. Numbed by
the cold of the winter, the workers cease to go out. Crowded ,
together they mutually warm each other, and thus hold out, when the
cold is not too intense, against the rigour of the frosts. Huddled
up between the cakes of the honeycomb, they wait for the return
of fine weather, to re-commence their labours at home and abroad.
After two or three years of this laborious existence the bee dies, but
to live again in a numerous posterity, as Virgil says : —

*' At genus immortale manet, multosque per annos
Stat fortuna domus, et avi numerantur avorum ! "

There has been a good deal of discussion on the question whether A
bees constitute monarchies or republics. According to our opinion,
theirs is a true republic. As all the population is the issue of a
common mother, and as each bee of the female sex can become a
queen — that is to say, a mother-bee, if it receives an appropriate
nourishment — it is manifest that the title of queen has been wrongly
given to the mother-bee. After all, she is nothing more than presi-
dent of a republic. The vice-presidents, as we have already pointed
out, are all those females which at any given moment may be called ^
by choice — that is, by popular election — to fulfil the functions of the
sovereign, when death or accident has put an end to her existence.
" There is no such thing as a king in Nature," said Daubenton one y
day, in one of his lectures at the Jardin des Plantes. The audience
immediately applauded, and cried "Bravo!" The honest savant
stopped, quite disconcerted, and asked his assistant naturalist the
cause of this applause, perhaps ironical. " I must have said some-
thing stupid," repeated poor Daubenton between his teeth, remem-
bering the saying of Phocion under similar circumstances. " No,"

346 THE INSECT WORLD.

replied his assistant viaturalist, " you have said nothing but what is
quite true; but, without meaning it, you have made a poUtical
alkision. You spoke against kings, and our young repubUcans
thought that you were alkiding to Louis XVI." " Indeed," said the
coadjutor of Buffon, "I had no idea that I was talking poHtics !"
The bee repubUc, this Httle animal society, is admirably constituted,
and all its citizens obey its laws with docility.

Bees have often served as an example, proving, according to some,
the marvellous intelligence of certain Httle animals ; according to
others, an insect wonderfully developed. For ourselves, we have
never well understood what people mean by the word instinct ; and
we frankly grant to the bee intelligence, as we do also to many
animals. The greater number of the acts of their life seem to be the
result of an idea, a mental deliberation, a determination come to after
examination and reflection. The construction of their cells, always
uniform, is, they say, the result of instinct. However, it happens that
under particular circumstances, these little architects know how to
abandon the beaten track of routine, reserving to themselves the
power of returning, when it is useful to do so, to the traditional prin-
ciples which ensure the beauty and regularity of their constructions.
Bees have been seen, indeed, to deviate from their ordinary habits in
order to correct certain irregularities — the result of accident or pro-
duced by the intervention of man — which had deranged their works.

Francis Huber relates that he saw bees propping up with pillars
and flying buttresses of wax a piece of the honeycomb which had
fallen down. At the same time, put on their guard by this sad acci-
dent, they set to work to fortify the principal framework of the other
combs, and to fasten them more securely to the roof of the hive.
This took place in the month of January, and therefore not during
the working season, and when to provide against a distant eventuality
was the only question. M. VValand has reported an analogous
observation. Is there not here, in the first place, a true and
excellent reasoning, then an act, an operation, a work, executed
as the result of this reasoning ? Now, an operation which is per-
formed as the result of reasoning, is attributable to intelligence. Again,
the bees give different sorts of food to the different sorts of larvce.
They know how to change this food when an accident has deprived
the hive of its queen, and it is necessary to replace her; this is
another proof of intelligence.

But it is, above all, in the face of an enemy that the intellectual
faculties of these insects show themselves. There are always at the
entrance of every hive tliree or four bees, which have nothing else to

HVMENOPTERA.

347

do but to guard the door, to keep a watch over incomers and out- 1

goers, and to prevent an enemy or an intruder from sHpping into the /
community. When one of them perceives an enemy on the borders

of the hive, it dashes forwards towards it, and by a menacing and wl

Fig- 323.— Sentinel Bees guarding the entrance to the hive.

ignificant buzzing warns it to retire. If it does not understand the )
earning, which is a rare occurrence — for men, horses, dogs, and /
-pimals of all kinds know perfectly well the danger to which they /
:xpose themselves by approaching too near a hive in full operation* — ^

* The bee's sting may lead to very serious consequences. It often happens ^

34^ THE INSECT WORLD,

the bee gets a reinforcement, and returns to the combat with a deter-
mined battaUon (Fig. 323). All this is, it seems to us, intelligence.

We have just said that there are sentinels at the entrance of every
hive. They touch with their antennae each individual that wishes to
penetrate into the house. Hornets, the Death's-head Sphinx, slugs,
&c., often try to introduce themselves into the hive. In that case, on
the appeal of the watchful porters, all the bees combine their efforts
to defend the entrance to their habitation. It would be impossible
for them, in fact, to stop the ravages of their enemies when oncei
entered into the interior. When a sphinx has succeeded in intro-
ducing itself into a hive, it sits down and drinks the honey in great
bumpers, devouring all the provisions : and the unfortunate proprie-
tors of the house are obliged to emigrate. To stop the entrance of
moths which fly by night, the bees contract, and sometimes barricade,
their door with a mixture of wax and propolis. When a slug or any
other large animal has managed to introduce itself into the interior,
they kill it and wrap it up in a shroud of propolis, as we have already
related.

However, they are quite helpless against certain microscopic para-
sites which sometimes attack them. The bee-louse, which has been
described and drawn by Reaumur in one of his Memoirs,* and the
parasite which was described in 1866 by M. Duchemin, the Sugar
Acartis, which is found in the liquid honey of those hives which are
attacked by the disease called the rot (pourriture), are the most
serious enemies of the bee. The Gallerias are also terrible enemies
to them. Every hive thus attacked is ruined. These destructive
insects attack also the wild bees, drive them from their nests, and
destroy the wax of the cakes forming the comb. The Galleria
impudently makes his home in the houses of bees, wild as well as
domesticated.

The habits of bees in their wild state, which make their nests in
the trunks of trees and other cavities, do not differ from those of
domesticated bees. Only the latter become tame with man, getting
used to those who look after them, and becoming less aggressive
towards strangers.

Apiculture, or bee-keeping, is still at the present day an important
business, although honey has lost a great deal of its utility since the
introduction of sugar into Europe. Without enteiing into many

ihat large animals, such as horses or oxen, tied up in the neighbourhood of a bee-
hive, and which have disturbed the bees, die in consequence of stings received from
Ihem.

* Tome v., planche .>6.

HYMENOPTERA. 349

details on apiculture, that is to say, on the attention it is necessary to
pay to bees, we will mention the principal duties of the bee-keeper.

When, in the spring, the bees font la barbe (as the French say),
that is, when they are getting ready to swarm, one must watch
narrowly, so as not to lose them. As soon as a swarm has settled on
a tree or on any artificial resting-place prepared on purpose in the
neighbourhood, it is approached, after having covered one's face v/ith
a piece of tra'.isparent linen or canvas, or with a hood, and the cluster
is caused to fall into a hive turned upside down. The hive is then
turned up and again put in its place ; or else, if it is only to serve for
the conveyance of the swarm to another place, shaken about before
the door of the hive which the swarm is destined to occupy. The
bees then beat to arms, and set to work to enter their new habitation
in a compact column. Fig. 324 represents the manner in which one
ought to proceed in order to gather a swarm of bees, which is fixed
on a branch of a tree, and introduce it into the hive prepared for it.
Let us listen on this subject to an experienced bee-keeper, M. Hamet :
" As soon as a swarm has fixed itself anywhere, and there are only
a few bees fluttering round the cluster, you must make your prepara-
tions for lodging them in a hive you have got ready for the purpose.
Some people rub the hive on the inside with aromatic plants or
honey, with the object of making the bees fix themselves there more
surely. This precaution is not indispensable. What is essential is,
that the hive should be clean, and free from any bad smell. It is a
good thing to pass it beforehand over the flame of a straw fire, which
destroys the eggs of insects and insects themselves which may have
lodged in it.

" After having covered your head with a veil, if the swarm has
settled in a difficult place, and you are afraid of being stung, you hold
the hive under the cluster of bees and make them fall into it, either
by shaking the branch to which the swarm is attached, very hard, or
by means of a small broom, or even with the hand, for then they very
rarely sting : it is hardly ever necessary to take any precautions in
approaching them, except for swarms which have been fixed for many
hours, or since the day before. When the bees have fallen in a mass
to the bottom of the hive, you turn this gently over, and place it on a
piece of linen stretched out on the ground near the place where the
swarm was, or on a tray, or simply on the ground itself, if it is dry
and clean. You will have taken care to place on this linen a little
wedge, a stick or a stone, to raise the hive a httle, and to leave room
through which the bees may enter. A great part of the bees which
fall into the hive fix themselves on to its sides ; but a good number

350

THE INSECT WORLD.

are dropped on the linen when the hive is turned. This is the
manner in which you act when it is determined to lodge the swarm •
but when the swarm is to be lodged in another hive, as we shall see
farther on, immediately that the bees recognise the lodging which is

Fig. 324. — Taking a swarm.

destined for them, they set to work to beat to arms, and to enter in a
compact column their new dwelling ; those which are fluttering about |
in the air are summoned by this call, and are not long in alighting oni
the spot where the rest of their companions are fixed. At the end ol
a quarter or half an hour, at the most, all, or nearly all, have entered

hYMENOPTERA.

355

the hive. A few still hover about round the place where the swarm
was fixed. If the number is considerable, and if many have stopped
in this place, you must make them quit it by placing some offensive
herb, such as celandine, horehound, field camomile, &c., on it, or
project the smoke of a rag upon them, which will drive away the bees
and force them to look for the colony or to return to the mother-hive.
You may also project smoke, but in moderate quantities, on the bees

i'is- 325-— Bell-shaped hive.

Fig. 326. — English hive.

grouped around and on the borders of the lodging which you have
just given them, and which they will not be long in entering."*

A good swarm weighs from four to six pounds ; one pound con-
tains about four thousand bees. The second swarm weighs rarely
more than two pounds, and the third still less. You can also form
artificial swarms by drawing off the bees of one hive into another, an
(operation which is easy with bell-shaped hives. A glance at Fig. 325,
[which represents the common hive of the north of France, that is to
say, the bell-shaped, will show how easy it is to effect that drawing off,

^ " Cours d' Apiculture," pp. 73, 74.

352

THE INSECT WORLD.

or pouring out of the bees, by joining together at their bases t\yo
hives, the one empty, the other containing a swarm. In order to
have control over the bees during the operation, you must sHghtly
stupefy them with the smoke of a smouldering rag.

Beehives are of a thousand different shapes, each of which has its
particular advantage. They are made of wood and of straw ; and the

Fig. 327.— Swiss hiTC.

as

shapes used in different countries are very various. We give
examples. Figs. 325, 326, 328, 329.

The site, that is, the place where hives stand, is not a matter oi
indifference. It is generally supposed that bees ought to be esta-
blished in a place fully exposed to the sun, and to the greatest heat
of the day. This is a mistake. M. de Frariere, in his work on bees
and bee-keeping, recommends the hives to be placed under trees, in
such a way that they may be kept in the shade. Fig. 330 shows the
way in which M. de Frariere recommends hives to be arranged.

Dr. Monin, author of an interesting monograph of the bee, pub-
lished in 1866, after treating of the different arrangements which

HYMENOPTERA.

353

have been recommended for hives, concludes thus : — " It is to satisfy
all these requirements that experienced bee-keepers so much recom-
mend for the hives an exposure to the ten o'clock sun ; that is to say,
that they should be turned in such a manner that the sun may shine
on their entrances when it has already attained a certain height above
the horizon, and sufficiently warmed the surrounding air for the bees,
which the brightness of its rays has tempted forth, not to be seized

Fig. 328. — Polish hive.

ith cold and numbed before they have been able to return home
again. "'^

In the month of March a gathering of w^ax is made by cutting
away the lower part of the hives, where the cakes have grown old.
The principal honey harvest takes place towards the end of May,
June, or July, according to the place the hives are in. A larger or
smaller gathering takes place according to the quantity of honey
ready, and the state of the season. As the bees will not see the
violation of their domicile and thett of their winter provisions without
anger, to get possession of the honeycomb with which the hive is
filled, you must put these irritable insects into such a state that they
are unable to injure you. They can be rendered peaceable oy

* " Physiologic de V Abeille, siiivie de I'art de soigner et d'exploiter les Abeilles
d'apres une methode simple et facile," p. 94. Paris, 1866.
69

354

thb: insect world.

smoking them. The smoke is forced into the hive with the assis
tance of a pair of bellows, the arrangement of which is shown in
Fig. 331. If the fumigation is prolonged, the bees are very soon
heard to beat their wings in a peculiar manner ; they are then in
what is called in French retatdebruisscment, or the roaring state. When
they stand up on their hind legs and agitate their wings, you can do

Fig. 329. — Garden hive.

with them almost anything you like — cut away the honeycomb, abstract
the eggs, or take out the honey — without their troubling themselves
about it. But this state of things must not last too long, or you may
suffocate your bees. It is a sort of anaesthesis into which the bees
have been thrown ; and, as with men, this must not be prolonged.

Some bee-keepers, in order to collect the honey harvest, suftbcate
their bees by burning sulphur matches. This is a bad practice.
*' Those authors who recommend us to suffocate the bees,'' says M.
Hamet, "under the pretext that their colonies will become too

HYMENOPTERA.

355

numerous, and who add, ' You cannot eat beef without killing the
ox,' are more stupid than the animal they have chosen for their corn-

Fig. 330. — Hives under the shade of trees.

parison." A hive often produces from twelve to twenty pounds of
honey each year, and a proportional quantity of wax. It may, then,

Fig. 331. — Bellows used to stupefy Bees.

imish to the bee-keeper an important revenue, especially as the
rearing of bees gives scarcely any trouble, and involves scarcely any

ibour, as it is only necessary to select a spot with a proper exposure
[and well supplied with flowers.

We possess in Europe two species or races of bees — the Common

35^ THE INSECT WORLD.

Bee {Apis melUficd)^ and the Ligurian Bee {Apis ligustica)^ whose
abdomen is tawny, with the rings bordered with black. It is this latter
species of which Virgil sang, and which is found in Italy and Greece.
It has been remarked that the Ligurian bee pierces the calyces, at
their bases, of those flowers which are too long for it to penetrate
into easily, and thus gets possession of the honey, whilst the common
bees pass these flowers over. This observation proves that the
former is the more intelligent of the two races. In Egypt a bee is
reared called the Banded Bee {Apis fasciatd).

Ten or twelve other species of honey-bees exist in Senegal, the
Cape of Good Hope, Madagascar, East Indies at Timor {Apis
Feronii), &c. The European bee has been acclimatised in America,
but it soon returns to its wild state, as indeed do all our domestic
animals when transported to the other hemisphere. At the Cape of
Good Hope the Hottentots seek greedily after the nests of wild
bees, a bird called the Indicator guiding them in this chase. This
bird is observed flitting about from tree to tree, making a little signi-
ficant cry. They have only then to follow this bird-informer, for it
will not be long in stopping before some hollow tree which contains
a nest of bees. The Hottentots always acknowledge its services by
leaving it a part of the booty.

Fenimore Cooper, the novelist, tells us, in his work entitled " The
Prairie," how the bee-hunters in America discover the wild hives.
They place on a plank, covered with white paint still moist, a piece
of bread covered with sugar or honey. The bees, in plundering this
bread, get some of the paint on their bodies, and are then more
easily tracked when they return to their hives. In North America
they are, as it were, the harbingers of civilisation. When the
Indians perceive a swarm trying to establish themselves in the soli-
tudes of their forests, they say to one another, "The white man is
approaching ; he will soon be here." True pioneers of civilisation,
these insects seem to announce to the forests and deserts of the New
World that the reign of Nature has passed away, and that now the
social state has begun to play its part — a part that will never end.

The bees peculiar to South America have no sting : these are the
Meliponas. These (Fig, 332) are more compactly formed than our
bees, have a more hairy body, and are smaller in size. Very
numerous in the virgin forests, they make their nests in the hollows
of trees. The wax produced by them is brown, and of an indifferent
quality. Under thick leaves of wax are found cakes, with hexagonal
cells, containing the males, females, and neuters. The cells of the
larvae are closed by the workers, and the larvae spin themselves a

HYMENOPTERA. 3 5 J?

cocoon inside. All around the cradles are large round cells, entirely
different in form, from the cradles, in which the honey is stored. It
is probable that the males, the workers, and the females, live together
in great harmony, and even that there is in each
nest more than one female, for the absence of the
sting must prevent any combats. If a few cakes
of the MeliponaJs honeycomb are moved into the
hollow of a tree, they always found there a new
colony. We may conclude from this that the pj

workers procure for themselves females whenever a species of Meiipona.
they want them by means of a special sort of food.
The savage inhabitants of the American forests collect this honey;
but, with the carelessness of uncivilised man, they at the same time
destroy the nests of these precious insects. They have now begun
to domesticate certain species of Me/iponas, by introducing them into
earthen pots or wooden cases. These insects have been brought to
Europe, but they have always perished in the first cold weather.
During the summer of 1863 there was, in the Museum of Natural
History of Paris, a nest of Meiipona sciitellaris from Brazil, but it did
not prosper.

The Humble or Bumble Bees.

If in the month of March one passes through the fields, which are
beginning to get green, or through the woods, still deprived of their
leaves, there may be seen, hovering hither and thither, great hairy
insects, resembling gigantic bees. These are the females of a species
of bee, called by the French " bourdons,'^ from the buzzing noise
they produce; and by us "humble bees," probably from their German
name "hummel," given for the same reason. These females have
been awakened by the spring sun. They examine the cavities of
stones, the heaps of moss, and the holes in banks, &c., seeking for a
suitable spot to construct a nest for their progeny.

The humble bees are of the same family as the bees, whom they
resemble in their organisation. Like them, they are divided into
males, females, and neuters, or workers. But their companies only
last a year. At the end of autumn the whole population has become
extinct, with the exception of the pregnant females, which pass the
winter in a state of torpor at the bottom of some hole, where they
wait till the spring to perpetuate their race. Their societies comprise
generally only a small number of individuals, from fifty to three
hundred. They are of peaceful habits, their ephemeral existence
beginning and ending with the flower season.

358 THE INSECT WORLD.

The humble bees are known by their great size, their short, robust
body, encircled by bands of very bright colours, and by the noise
they make in flying. Their hind legs are armed with two spurs. The
females and the workers have the same organisation for plundering
flowers as the bees have : they have similar trunks, and their legs are
fitted with brushes and baskets for gathering
pollen. The males (Fig. 333), like the
males of hive bees, have no sting. The
greater number dwell underground ; others
make their nests on the surface of the soil,
in the cracks of walls, in heaps of stones,
&ic. The former establish themselves in
cavities situated as far as half a yard under-
ground, and approached by a long narrow
fig- 333- -Male Humble Bee gallery. It is almost always a solitary female
who has been the architect of the nest. She
cleans out the cavity she has chosen, makes it as smooth as possible,
and lines it with leaves and moss, to embellish the subterranean
house in which she is to pass nearly all her existence.

The Moss Humble Bee {Bombns muscorufn), called also the Carding
See, chooses an excavation of very little depth in which to make its
nest, or else itself undertakes the hollowing out of a hole in the ground.
It covers this with a dome of moss or dry herbs. But it does not fly
when transporting the moss, it drags it along the ground, with its back
turned towards the nest. Having seized a packet of the moss, it sets
to work to draw out the bits with its mandibles, and then pushing them
under its body, throws them in the direction of the nest by a sort of
kick from its hind legs. Sometimes, towards the end of the season,
many humble bees are to be seen working in line. The first seizes
the moss, and after having carded it, passes it under its body, and
throws it to the second, which throws it on to the third, and so on,
up to the nest. When the materials are ready, the insect makes use
of them to manufacture a sort of hemispherical lid, or covering,
resembling felt, which shuts the nest in, and is lined with wax. If
you lift up this covering, or small dome, which it is not dangerous to
do, for humble bees are not very aggressive, you find beneath it a
nest composed of a coarse comb.

The cells which compose the nest, and which are to receive the
larvae of the insect, are of an oval shape, and of a pale yellow or even
of a blackish colour. Fig. 334 represents these cells. The wax of
which they are composed has none of the qualities of that of hive
bees, but is soft, sticky, and brownish.

kYM'JENOPtERA. 359

When the mother humble bee — which at first was alone and built
her house single-handed — has made a certain number of cells, she seeks
for honey and pollen, and prepares a paste, which she deposits in the
future cradles. She then lays six or seven eggs in each. The larvae
which come from them live in common, at the same table, under the
same tent. The cell is at first only the size of a pea ; it soon
becomes too narrow, splits and cracks, and requires to be enlarged
and repaired many times, a work of which our industrious insects
acquit themselves with a good deal of care and attention. Before
passing into the pupa state each larva spins for itself a shell or
cocoon of very fine white silk. It ceases to eat, remains at first

aA.!

Fig. 334. — Cells from a Humble Bee's nest.

rolled up, then expands itself little by little, and changes its skin after
three days. It passes fifteen days in the pupa state in a quiescent
condition. After the normal time has elapsed for it to remain in its
ihiding-place, it delivers itself from its mummy-like covering, with the
help of the mother or the workers. The humble bee then appears
robust, and its body is covered with a greyish down.

When the successive hatchings have furnished to the mother the
reinforcement she is waiting for, the workers she has raised occupy
themselves in building new cells, and in raising the wall of enclosure
Which is to protect the nest. This wall, formed of wax, starts from
:he base, and raises itself, like a vertical rampart, from every point in
;he circumference. They then surmount this by the first roof, which
s flat, supported by some pillars, and in which they have left one or
;wo irregular openings. The whole is finally protected by a hemi-

36o

THE INSECT WORLD.

spherical covering of moss, made into a son of felt and lined with
wax. Fig. 335 represents, in its entirety, a nest of ihis humble bee.

The workers also take their part in rearing the eggs. They bring
the paste, which they slip into the cells to the larvae by a small hole,
which is shut immediately afterwards. Later, ihey again give their

f^'g- 335 -Nest of the Moss Humble Bee {Bovthis musiorum).

t

assistance in disengaging the pupae from their envelopes. In short,
they make themselves generally useful ; but they hove one bad fault ;
they are very fond of eating the eggs laid by the mother. They try!
to seize them as she deposits them, or drag them from the cells, and
suck their contents. And so the mother is obliged to be incessantly
defending her eggs against the voracity of the workers, and to be con-

HVMRNOPTERJ. 36 1

stantly on her guard, so as to be ready to drive away these marauders
from cells newly filled.

We owe to an English naturalist, Newport, the knowledge of
another curious fact relating to the laying of humble bees, which is
the expedient the females and the males have recourse to for
hastening the hatching of the eggs. They place themselves, like
fowls sitting on their eggs, over the cocoons containing the pupae
almost hatched. By breathing quickly, these industrious insects
raise the temperature of their bodies, and consequently that of the
air in the cells. Thanks to this supplementary heat, the metamor-
phosis of the pupae is much hastened. Newport, by slipping miniature
thermometers between the cocoons of the nymphs and the sitting
humble bees, ascertained that the temperature of the latter was about
34*^ C, whilst the temperature of the cocoons left to themselves was
only 27 S C. ; that of the air in the rest of the nest being only from
21° to 24^ C. After many hours of incubation, at the same time
natural and artificial, in which Art and Nature are so closely allied,
after the sitting insects have many times relieved one another, the
young humble bees come out of their cells. They are at first soft,
greyish, moist, and very susceptible to cold. But after a few hours
they become stronger, and the yellow and black bands with which
their abdomens are surrounded begin to be marked out. The spring
laying produces exclusively workers. The greatest abundance of
eggs is laid in August and September. The laying of the female
eggs begins in July ; that of the males follows soon after.

Until autumn the humble bees are incessantly enlarging their
nests, and multiplying their little pots of honey. Without accumu-
lating a great stock of provisions, for which they have no occasion,
they always keep in reserve a quantity of pollen and honey for their
daily wants. The cells in which the honey is stored differ very much
in shape. Some species of humble bees give them long and narrow
necks ; others, less recherche in their style of construction, simply make
cylindrical vases. There are among the humble bees races of artists
and races of simple builders ; the one construct with taste, the other
only seek the useful.

During the day the humble bees cull honey from the flowers. At
night they enter their home; but a certain number take the liberty of
sleeping out. Surprised by the arrival of night in the bottom of the
calyx of a sweetly-scented flower, they philosophically determine to
sleep in the open air, lying on this perfumed bed, with the heaven as
their canopy.

The coupling of the humble bees takes place towards the end of
69*

362 THE INSECT WORLD.

September. It costs the males their life, as it does with the hive
bees. The impregnated females do not lay till the following spring ;
it is they who, after the winter is passed, will become the mothers
of new generations. They will take the reins of the family when the
mother who founded the colony, the males, as also the workers, shall,
according to the laws of Nature, have passed away. There are often,
on the other hand, some workers which, born in the spring, become
fruitful, and lay the same year, but only the eggs of males. These
become a butt for the jealousy of the reigning mother, who pursues
them with fury, and devours their eggs. These, however, have them-
selves cruel hearts. Animated by a profound jealousy, they dispute
the occupancy of the cells savagely, so as to be able to lay a few eggs
in them, which are no sooner laid than they are destroyed by their
savage sisters. However, they never make use of their stings in any
of these attacks. The humble bee population is peaceful, even in its
combats. After the first cold weather in autumn, all these insects, as
we have said, perish, except the pregnant females. These privileged
depositaries of the race, spes altera dofnns, look for a place of retreat,
and there sleep till the following spring. Then they wake up and
found new colonies, which continue the race.

For a long while were confounded with the humble bees certain
insects which have the same appearance, that is to say, a hairy body,
with bands of various colours, but whose hind legs are adapted
neither for gathering honey nor for building. These are the genus
Psithynis : it was Lepelletier de Saint- Fargeau who discovered their
true position. These are parasites, and only consist of males and
fertile females, without workers. They lay their eggs in the nest of
the humble bee. They are, indeed, so like their hosts, that they can
introduce themselves into their dwellings without raising any suspicion.
The humble bees admit them freely, and receive them as if they
belonged to the family ; so much so, indeed, that the poor humble
bees themselves bring up the larvae of these impudent guests. In
the Order Hymenoptera one meets with many examples of these
sorts of parasites, which instal their progeny in the nest of another
insect, as the cuckoo does in the nests of other birds.

Solitary Bees.

We have up till now found the insects of the great family of bees
collected together in periectly organised societies. But there are a
great number of species of this family which live alone. We will
briefly mention the most interesting of them.

tlYMENOPTERA.

363

The females of the solitary bees are impregnated like those of the
humble bees, and lay in spring, after having passed the winter

Figs. 336, 337, 338.— Anthophora parietina.

Fig. 339. — Carpenter Bee, Pupae, Eggs, Galleries, and Nests.

asleep. They build a . nest divided into cells, fill it with eggs, and
with a honied paste shut it up, and die, without having seen their
progeny hatched.

3^4

THE INSECT WORLD.

The Anthophoras (Figs. -^2)^^ 337, 338) resemble bees, but they
are more hairy, and of greyish colour. Their nest, composed of earth
tempered and agglutinated with their saliva, is made in the cracks of
old walls or in the ground. It has the form of a twisted tube, and is
divided, by partitions, into compartments, each of which is to receive

Fig. 340. — Mason Bee and Nest.

a larva. Each insect, when hatched, pierces its own wall, and profits
by the hole of exit of the brother which preceded it.

These insects do not live together in societies. Indifferent
neighbours, they do not lend each other mutual assistance. They
have their parasites, the Meladas^ like the humble bees. These
parasites are hairy, blackish insects, spotted with white, laying their
eggs in the nests of the Anthophoras^ which permit them to do so,
and, at the expense of their own progeny, bring up the intruder's
little ones.

The Carpenter Bee, or Wood-piercer {Xylocopa), hollows out

t

I

HYMENOPTERA.

■365

galleries in decayed wood, and builds in them cells placed "one over
the other — a work often occupying many weeks. She then furnishes
the bottom of the cell with pollen mixed up with honey, lays an egg
in the middle of this paste, and closes the cell by a ceiling of sawdust
agglutinated with saliva. On this ceiling she establishes a new cell,
and so on, right up to the orifice, which she closes in the same

Fig. 341. — Interior of the Nest of the Mason Bee,

manner. Reaumur is astonished, with reason, at the admirable in-
stinct which makes this provident mother determine the exact quantity
of nourishment which will be necessary for its larva. When this
has absorbed all its provisions, it alone quite fills up its cell, and
changes into a pupa. It is worthy of remark, that the head of the
young is always turned downwards, in such a way that it is by the
bottom of its cell that it comes out. The bottom of the first is very
near the surface of the wood, so that the insect it encloses has only a
thin layer of wood to pierce through in order to set itself free. Each
one of those which are born next has only to pierce the floor of its

366

THE INSECT WORLD.

hiding-place to find the road before it free. The Xylocopce pass the
winter in the pupa state, and the perfect insects, with wings of a
beautiful metallic violet, appear in the spring, but are not found in
Great Britain (Fig. 339).

Other solitary bees have their hind legs unsuited for the gathering

' Fig. 342. — Rose Megachile {Megachile centuncularis).

of pollen, but have the rings of the abdomen furnished with hairs for
that purpose. Such are the Mason Bees of Reaumur, belonging to
the genera Osmia and Chaiicodoma,''' which build their nests against
walls with tempered earth, which become very hard.

* At a meeting of the Entomological Society of London, Feb. i8th, 1867, Mr.
Newman exhibited the lock of a door, one of several which in 1866 were found at
the Kent Waterworks, Deptford, to be completely filled and choked up wiih nestS
of Osmia Bicornis: a portion of the nest had been forced out by the insertion of the

H Y MEN OP TERA . 3 6/

These nests (Figs. 340 and 341) are filled with cells of oblong form
arranged irregularly. At first sight they might be taken for little
lumps of earth plastered against the wall. When the perfect insect
emerges, it is obliged to soften the mortar with its saliva, and to remove
it, grain by grain, with its mandibles. The nests of Chalicodomas are
common in the environs of Paris, on walls of rough stones exposed to
the south. They are often to be found in the parks of Meudon, of
Conflans, of Vesinet, &c.

The Leaf-cutting Bees {Megackik) are not less worthy of remark in
their habits. These insects make their nests in tubes lined with the
leaves of the rose, the willow, the lilac, &c., placed in a cylindrical
burrow. Each nest contains generally from three to six cells, sepa-
rated by partitions of leaves. They cut off the pieces of leaves they
require with their mandibles, the notches
being wonderfully cleanly cut, as if they had
been done with a punch.

They make as many as eight or ten
envelopes in succession with the leaves,
which, as they get dry, contract, keeping,
however, the form given to them by the
insect. The cells destined to receive tlie-
eggs acquire thus a certain solidity. Fig. 342 pj

represents the nest of the Megachile. Gallery of an Andrena.

The Upholsterer Bees (Anthocopas) line
their nests with the petals of flowers, as, for example (Papaver 7'/ums)y
the corn-poppy. Their burrows are made perpendicularly in the
beaten earth of roads, and each contains one solitary cell, lined with
portions of petals. When the egg has been laid at the bottom of
this cell, the bee fills up the rest of the hole with earth, to hide it
from notice.

The Mining Bees {Andrence) hollow out in the ground tubular gal-
leries (Fig. 343). They are not larger than ordinary flies. A great
number of other bees are known, but their habits are little under-
Stood, and we shall not occupy ourselves about them.

Wasps.

Every one knows the wasps as a race of dangerous brigands which
live by rapine, are incessantly fighting battles, and exist only to dp

key. The locks were in pretty constant use, so. that the ne ts must have been built
in the course of a few days. — Journal of Proceedings of the Entomological Society
of London, 1.86/;, Ixxyi. — Ep.

368

THE INSECT WORLD.

harm. However, wasps, like Figaro, are better than they are reputed
to be. Their societies are admirably organised ; their nests are models
of industry and artistic fancy (Fig. 344). I'hey have certain domestic

Fig. 344.— Wasp's Nest.

virtues which deserve our esteem ; only they are an excitable race it
is well not to cross. If great heat adds to their natural irritability,
they savagely attack those who annoy tliem, and pursue them to a
distance. No one, indeed, is ignorant that their sting is very painful.
In cold weather, and towards night, they are less vivacious and less
to be dreaded.

HYMENOPTERA. 369

The wasps are distinguished from the bees by a decided charac-
teristic. In a state of repose they fold together their upper wings,
which then seem very umtow, only spreading them out when they are
about to fly ; whilst the latter when at rest keep their upper wings
spread out.

Wasps live in companies, which last only a year, and are composed
of males, females, and workers. But the female wasp does not pass
her entire life in idleness as a queen, like the mother hive bee. She
occupies herself in making the nest and in taking care of the young,
like the mother humble bee. The males have also their duties. They

Fig- 345. — Common Wasp {Ves/>a vulgaris'). Fig. 346.— Bush Wasp {Vespa nofvegica).

watch over the cleanliness of the habitation, and are the sanitary
commissioners and undertakers to the city. These are easily recog-
nised by their oblong bodies, having so slight a connection with the
thorax, as it were by a thread.

Their sting is larger than that of the bees, and is supplied with
poison from a pouch placed at its base. The males have no sting.
Wasps do not secrete wax. With their mandibles they scrape wood
and plants, the fragments of which they agglutinate together in such a
way as to form a tough cardboard. Thus, they invented the manu-
facture of paper long before men. Charles de Geer, in his celebrated
work, sums up the habits of these insects in the following manner : —
"Wasps," says he, " are, like bees, fond of sweets and honey, although
they rarely seek them in flowers ; but their principal food consists in
matters of quite a different kind, such as fruits of all kinds, raw flesh,
and live insects, which they seize and devour. They sometimes do
dreadful damage in beehives, devouring the honey, and killing the
bees. They do not gather wax ; their nests and their combs are
composed of a matter resembling grey paper, which they get from
rotten wood, and which they scrape off with their jaws ; they make a
sort of paste of these scrapings by moistening them with a certain

370

THE INSECT WORLD.

liquid which they disgorge. The cells in the combs are hexagonal,
and very regular, like those of bees."*

Wasps collect the materials with which they build near the place

Fig. 347. — The Hornet {Vespa crahro).

where they have chosen to establish their domicile. These materials
are ligneous fibre, mixed up with saliva, with the aid of which they
prepare the paper-like substance, which is very tough, and destined;
to form the walls of the cells and their outer covering. The greateil
number make their habitation in the ground.^
Of these is our Common Wasp ( Vespa vu/gariSy
Fig. 345), which is black, agreeably con-i
trasted with bright yellow. The Bush Wasi;
( V. norvegica. Fig. 346), which inhabits woods,
constructs its nest between the branches olj
shrubs or bushes. It is smaller than the
common species. The Hornet (Fig. 347) is
the largest European species of the family ol
the Vespidce. Its nest, which is constructed
of a yellowish and very fragile substance, is
built under a roof, in a loft, or in the hole 01
an old wall, but most often in the hollow of a decayed tree. Anothei
species of this family {Poltstes gallica, Fig. 348) fixes its Httle nest b)
a foot-stalk to the stem of some plant.

Wasps begin laying in spring, and go on laying all the summer.
Each cell receives one single ^%%^ and, as with bees, the w^orkers' eggs
are the first laid. Eight days after the laying, there comes out ol
each egg a larva without feet, and already provided with two man-
dibles. These larvae receive their food in the form of balls, which

Fig. 348. — Polistes gallica.

* " Memoires pour servir a I'HistQire des lusectes," tome ii., p. 765. Tr
410. Stockholm, 1 771.

HYMENOP TERA, 3 7 I

the females or the workers knead up with their mandibles and their
legs before presenting to their nurselings, much in the same way
as birds give their beak full of food to their little ones. At the end
of three weeks the larvae cease to take food, and begin to shut
themselves up in their cells, the interior of which they line with
a coating of silk. In this they change their form, and assume the
appearance of the perfect insect, with its six legs and
its wings, but motionless, and contracted together. A
sort of bag keeps all the organs swathed up together
(Fig. 349). This pupa state lasts for eight or nine days,
at the end of which time the insect is fully developed ;
it casts its skin, breaks the door of its prison, and
launches itself into the air. A cell is no sooner aban-
doned than a worker visits, cleans it, and puts it in a fit p^jj l^\{^^
state to receive another tgg. common wasp.

During the summer the female wasp remains con-
stantly in the nest, absorbed with family cares. She is occupied in
laying eggs and in feeding her progeny, with the active assistance
of the workers, or mules, as Reaumur and Charles de Geer call them,
because they are unfruitful.

In the interior of the nests you generally find a thoroughly

'ii||good understanding existing, and the most perfect order, in spite of
the warlike instincts of these insects. It is only on rare occasions
that this domestic peace is disturbed by the quarrels of male with

0 male or worker with worker ; but these combats are not deadly.

In Never, moreover, has one nest of wasps been known to declare war
igainst another for the purpose of robbing it. "The government ot

c ivasps," says M. Victor Rendu, " explains very well the gentleness of

a their public conduct. Amongst them there are no despots ; no one
either reigns or governs ; each one lives at liberty in a free city, on
:he sole condition of never being a burden to the state. They all act
n concert, without privileges or monopohes, under the influence of a
:ommon law — the great law of the public good, frcm which no one is
exempted."'''

But this model repubhc is fatally doomed to early destruction.
\t the approach of winter all the workers, as also the males, perish,
some pregnant females alone hold out against the cold, and get
hrough the winter, to propagate and perpetuate their species.
Before dying, these insects destroy all the larvae which are not
latched at the first approach of cold weather. In spring the females

* " L' Intelligence des Betes." In i8mo. Paris, 1864,

%12

THE INSECT WORLD,

revive, and begin alone the construction of a new nest. They then
lay workers' eggs, which are not long in furnishing them a whole
regiment of devoted and active assistants. These traits are pretty
nearly tlie same for the different species of wasps, the only difference
being in the way in which they build their nests.

fl

Fig. 350. — Exterior of a Wasp's Nest on a branch of a tree.

We have already said that the common wasp makes its nest in the
ground. A gallery, of about an inch and a half in diameter, leads to
the nest, situated at a depth which varies from six inches to two feet.
"It is," says Reaumur, "a small subterranean town, which is not
built in the style of ours, but which has a symmetry of its own. The
streets and the dwelling-places are regularly distributed. It is even

HYMENOPTERA.

373

surrounded with walls on all sides. I do not give this name to the
side of the hollow in which it is situated ; the walls I allude to are
only walls of paper, but strong enough, nevertheless, for the uses for
which they are intended." Generally, the shape of the outside of a
wasp's nest is spherical or oval, sometimes conical. Its diameter is

Fig. 351. — Interior of a Wasp's Nest, after Reaumur.

bout from twelve to sixteen inches, its surface, which resembles
mass of bivalve shells, has one hole for entrance, and another for
xit, just large enough to allow of one single wasp passing in or out
It the same time (Fig. 350).

The wasps' nest is composed, in the interior, of fifteen or sixteen
lorizontal galleries, arranged in storeys, and supported by numerous
3illars of separation. We give here (Fig. 351) a section and view of

3/4 THE INSECT WORLD.

\

the interior^ drawn from memory by Reaumur.* The cakes forming
the combs are composed of hexagonal cells, which are always used
as cradles, never as storehouses. They open below. The exterior
envelope of the nest is made with leaves of a sort of greyish, very
gummy paper, which is applied layer by layer. Reaumur has given
a very detailed account of the way in which these insects construct
their nests.t They collect fibres of wood — which are their raw
material — make them into a sort of coarse lint, which they reduce to
balls, and carry between their legs to the nest. These balls are next
stuck on to the work already begun. Then the insect stretches them
out, flattens them, and draws them into thin layers, as a bricklayer
spreads mortar with his trowel. The wasp works with extreme
quickness, always backwards, so that it may have incessantly before
its eyes the work it has done : the movement of its mandibles is even
quicker than that of its legs.

Towards the end of summer the nest may contain 3,000 workers,
and many females, who live together in perfect harmony. The
number of males exceeds that of the females. A female weighs,
by herself, as much as three males or six workers. With the
exception of those which are occupied in building and in taking care
of the eggs, all wasps go out hunting during the day. They are
carnivorous, and may be seen attacking other insects, which they
tear to pieces after having killed, so as to carry the bits to their
nests, where thousands of mouths are clamouring for their food.
The wasp pays great attention to the vines. It penetrates also into
the interior of our houses, and infests the butchers' shops ; but this
the butchers do not much mind, for the wasp drives away the flies
which would lay their eggs on the meat and thus contribute to its
corruption.

As the winter approaches, the wasps go out less and less, and
very soon cease to do so at all. The greater number then die,
huddled up in their nest. A few females only, as we have said, get
through the cold season. They sleep with their wings and legs
folded up, which gives them the appearance of chrysalides. They
can nevertheless sting in this state, as M. Guerin-Meneville found out
to his cost. The spring wakes them up, and they then found new
colonies. '* It is at this season," says M. Maurice Girard, in his
book on the "Metamorphoses of Insects," "that, with a little trouble,
it would be easy to diminish in a very perceptible degree the number
of wasps, which are, later, so destructive to the fruit, by catching in

* ♦' Memoires," tome vi., planche 14, p. 167. + Ibid.^ tome vi., p. 177.

HYMENOPTERA.

375

tiets the females, which might be attracted in quantities by means
of the blossom of the black currant." This is a useful hint to
gardeners.

The Hornets are distinguished from other wasps by their great
size. They make their nests in the trunks of old trees, perforating
the sound wood to arrive at the heart, which is rotten, or hollowing
for themselves a hole, which they clear out by the gallery which
leads to it. In this hole they construct first a dome suspended to
the top by a footstalk ; then a series of combs composed of cells,

Fig. 352.— Hanging Hornet's Nest

hanging the first to this dome, the second to the first, and so on, by
stalks or pillars of a paper-like substance. When fixed under roofs,
these insects have often the form of an elongated pear. Fig. 352
represents one of these nests, after Re'aumur. The societies of
hornets contain fewer members than those of the common wasp ;
at most 200 insects.

The Polistes are a peculiar kind of wasp, smaller than the others,
slender, with the abdomen tapering towards the base. The con-
struction of their nests is more simple, having no envelopes, as
shown in Fig. 353. They attach them to the stems of broom, furze,
^x other shrubs, by a footstalk, or pedicle^ They are like little

376

THE INSECT WORLD.

paper bouquets, composed of from twenty to thirty cells, grouped
in circle.

The Card-making Wasp of Cayenne ( Chartergus niduians, Fig. 354)
is a consummate artist. Its nest represents a sort of box or bag,
made of a substance resembling cardboard, so fine and so white

Fig. 353. — Nest of Polistcs gallica.

that the best worker in that material would be deceived by it. This
nest has only one single hole at its base ; each of the combs it
contains is likewise pierced by a hole in its centre, to afford a
passage to the wasps. In an architectural
point of view, the card-making wasp is almost
superior to the bee, for the latter does not
huild its house, it on\y furnishes it, as Latreille
remarks with truth. The Brazilian species
of Chartergus, which the inhabitants call
Lecheguana,* manufactures a honey, the use
of which is not without danger, as it occasions
vertigo and sharp pains in the stomach. The
naturalist, Auguste Saint-Hilaire, during his
sojourn in Brazil, himself experienced ill
effects from eating it.
There are, moreover, solitary wasps, which make their cells in
holes which they scoop out in the ground, or in the stalks of certain
plants. In the adult state these live on honey ; but their larvae are
carnivorous, and the female is obliged to bring them living insects.
The commonest of these solitary wasps belong to the genus Odynerus.

t'ig- 354-
The Card-making Wasp
{Chartergus nidiilans).

* Hence the scientific name, Chartergus lechegzmna. — Ed.

HYMENOPTERA.

Ill

This insect (Fig. 355) makes its nest in the stalk of a bramble or briar
(Fig. 358) with a mortar which it prepares. The larva (Fig. 356)
lines its cell with a silky cocoon. The last egg laid is hatched the

Fig- 355. — A species of Odynerus.

fij- 356-— Larva 7f the
Odynerus.

Fig. 357.— Pupa of
the Odynerus.

first ; then come the others, in an inverse order from that in which
they were deposited. If it had been in the other order, the insects

Fig. 358.— Nest of a i Odynerus in the stem of a bramble.

could not have come out of the cells without destroying on their way
the less advanced pupa (Fig. 357).

Ants.

The habits of the Ants are as remarkable as the habits of the
bees. In their marvellous republics each one has his fixed duties to-
perform, of which he acquits himself willingly and without constraint.
In consequence of their habits of foresight and frugaHty, ease reigns
in the dwellings of these little animals, which become attached to
their nest by a feeling of patriotism. Woe betide him who disturbs
them in their occupations, or destroys their house ! Like bees, they
form a regular republic, composed — first, of males ; secondly, of

1 females ; thirdly of neuters, or workers. We shall see, further on,
the labours and the part played by each one of these three orders of

37^ THE INSECT WORLD.

Ants are divided into a great number of species, which have been
carefully described by De Geer, Latreille, and Peter Huber, the
son of the celebrated blind man who wrote the history of bees. All
these species have, however, some general traits in common, by
which they may be easily distinguished from all other insects. Ants
have a slim body on long legs. The workers are stouter and smaller
than the males ; and these last are smaller than the females. The
males have large and prominent eyes, whilst the eyes of the workers
and females are small.

Ants are provided with antennae, bent in the form of an elbow,
with which they examine everything they meet, and which seem to

^'g- 359'~Red ^nt. Male magnified. Fig. 360. — Brazilian Umbrella Ant.

(^Myrinica fiidra.) {Aiia ccpkalotes.)

assist them in the communication of their ideas. Two horny, very
strong mandibles serve them at the same time as pincers, tweezers,
scissors, pick-axe, fork, and sword. A thin short neck joins the
head to the thorax, to which, in the case of the males and females,
are attached four large veiny wings. The workers only have no
wings. Of the three pairs of legs, the hind ones are the longest.
Each pair is armed with a spur, and fringed witl) very short hairs,
which serve the purpose of brushes. The abdomen, large, short,
oval, or square, is always most voluminous in the females.

There are three genera of ants which we shall mention. The
Myrinicce have two knobs to the pedicle, by which the abdomen is
attached to the thorax ; the Poncrce only one. In these two genera,
the females and the neuters have a sting, and the larvae do not spin
a cocoon in which to change into pupa. Lastly, the FormiccB — ants
properly so called — have but one knob on the pedicle of ' the

HYMENOPTERA.

Z79

ibdomen, as in Pojiera ; their larvae spin a silky cocoon. They have
10 sting, bjit they pour into the wounds made by their mandibles an
icid liquor, the pungent smell of which is well known. This liquid
s formic acid, a natural product, which the chemist now-a-days
mows how to make artificially, by the action of dilute sulphuric acid

Fig 361. — Sections of an Ant's Nest.

^n maize and other vegetable matters. Their whole body is im-
pregnated with this acid, and has a strong sour smell. Some people
ike to chew ants, on account of their sourish taste. " They also
jnake," says Charles de Geer, " creams for side-dishes, to which these
lints give, they say, the taste of lemon-juice." We know, in the south
)f France, people who have eaten these crimes aux fourniis I Folyer-
jus forms a sub-genus of Formica.

In all these species, the workers, or neuters, have the charge of

5 So THE INSECT WORLD.

the building, provisioning, and rearing of the larvae — in fact, all tli
care of the household, and the defence of the nest. Deprived c
wings, they are bound to the soil, and condemned to work. As com
pensation, to them belong strength, authority, power : nothing is done
but through them. '' Born protectors of an immense family still in
the cradle," says M. Victor Rendu, " by their vigilance, their tender
ness, and their solicitude, without being mothers themselves, th ~
share in the duties and joy of maternity. Alone, they decide
peace or war ; alone, they take part in combats : head, heart, an^
arm of the republic, they ensure its prosperity, watch over its defeno
found colonies, and in their works show themselves great and perse
vering artists."

The nests of ants (Figs. 361, 362) are known under the name of
ant-hills. They vary very much, both as to their form and the mate-
rials employed in making them — Avood and earth are the principal.
That which strikes one at first sight, is the size of these dwellings,
which form a curious contrast to the smallness of their builders. Each
species of ant has an order of architecture peculiar to it. The Red
Ant {Fonnica rufa), one of the commonest in our woods, constructs a
little rounded hillock with all kinds of objects— fragments of wood,
bits of straw, dry leaves, the remains of insects, &:c. This hillock, the
base of which is protected by material of greater solidity, is nothing
more than the exterior envelope of the nest, which is carried under-
ground to a very great depth. Avenues, cleverly contrived, lead from
the summit to the interior. The openings vary in width ; and, as
night approaches, are carefully barricaded. They are opened every
morning, except on rainy days, when the doors remain shut, and the
inhabitants are confined within.

The ant-hill, ox fonuicariuin, is at first simply a hole hollowed out
in the soil, the entrance to which is masked by the building materials.
But the miners do not cease to hollow out galleries and chambers,
arranged by storeys. The earth and rubbish are carried out, and
serve to construct the upper edifice, which rises at the same time that
the excavation grows deeper. It is a labyrinth bored in all directions.
It contains corridors, landings, chambers, and spacious rooms, which
communicate with each other by passages which are often vertical.
All the corridors lead to a large central space, loftier than the otliers,
and supported by pillars ; it is here that the greater number of the
ants congregate. These ant-hills often rise to a height of fifteen
inches above the ground, and descend to an equal depth. Fig. 362
shows the interior of an ant-hill, drawn from Nature. Outside it are
to be seen some ants occupied in sucking plant-lice.

1

'f3

^li'/«'^;|^

-T7

/

v,"^^S'^ fc-^^^^^""

t; ' '

^ ■ ^, ■% '^B '^ 1v*i'' ^^^te'/I'd

I fe-

^^, ..4 4V #i

^K*"'

^:i-

wf§|

1

^^' '! :'-

Fig. 362,— Section of an Ant-hill.

38:

THE INSECT WORLD.

The group of Mason Ants contains a great number of varieties i
the Ashy-black Ant (Fonnica nigra, Fig. 363), the Brown, the Yellow |
{For7?iica flavd), the Blood-red, the Russet {Polyergus rufescens), the'
Black, the Miner {Formica cimicularia), the Turf Ant, &c. All these
species employ a mortar,- more or less fine, in raising their hillocks, at

Fig 363 — Ashy-black Ant {Fortnica nigra). Male, female, and worker.

the same time that they hollow out their underground dwellings. The!
Jet Ant {Formica fuliginosa) excavates wood, hollowing out its laby-l
rinth in the trunk of a tree with consummate skill. The Red Antj
{Myrmica rubra, Fig. 359) plies, according to circumstances, thej
trade of a mason or excavator.

The masons work when they can profit by the rain or by the

Fig J64. Ashy Ant. Male, worker, and female.

evening dew, to make their mortar. They only go out after sunset,
or when a fine rain has wetted their roof Then they set to work.
They roll up pellets of earth, bring them back in their mandibles, and
stick them on to those places where the building was left unfinished.
From all sides the earth-workers may be seen arriving, laden with
materials. All these are bustling, hurrying, busy, but always in the
greatest order, and with a perfect understanding among themselves.
Every part of the building is going on at the same time. The apart-
ments spring up one above another, and the edifice visibly rises. The
rain, the sun, and the wind consolidate and harden the building so

HYMBNOPTBRA.

3S3

cunningly contrived by these industrious workers, who have received
from God alone their marvellous science. With no other tool than
their mandibles, the excavators work their way through the hardest
wood. They bore holes right through it, riddling it completely with
numerous storeys of horizontal galleries. The Yellow Ant raises its
little hillocks in fields, and passes the winter in a burrow or under-
ground dwelling-place.

Independent of the principal entrances, there exist, in some
nests, masked doors guarded by sentinels. Many species also hollow
out covered galleries, which they only unmask in extreme danger,
either to open an oudet for the besieged, or to turn the enemy who
h:is already invaded the place. Ant-hills are, in fact, perfect fortresses,

Fig- 365- — Larva of the Red Ant.
{Myrmica rubra.)

Fig. 366. — Pupa of the Red Ant {Myrvnca
rubra), magniiied.

;defended by a thousand ingenious contrivances, and guarded by
sentinels always on the qui vive.

The domestic life of the different species is nearly the same.
The birth and rearing of the little ones, and tlie duties of the adults,
do not differ perceptibly from each other in the various species of
ants. The females live together in harmony. They lay, without
ceasing to walk about, white eggs of cylindrical form and microscopic
dimensions. The workers pick them up, and carry them to special
chambers. In a fortnight after the laying, the larva (Fig. 365)
appears. Its body is transparent. A head and wings can be made
out, but no legs ; the mouth is a retractile nipple, bordered by rudi-
mentary mandibles, into which the workers disgorge the juices they
have elaborated in their stomachs ; and as they lay by no provisions,

3o4 THE INSECT WORLD.

they are obliged to gather each day the sugary Hquids destined for
the food of the larvae.

From their birth, a troop of nurses is charged with the care of
them. They put them out in the open air during the day. Hardly
has the sun risen, when the ants, placed just under the roof, go to
tell those which are beneath, by touching them with their antennae,
or shaking them with their mandibles. In a few seconds, all the
outlets are crowded with workers carrying out the larvae in order to
place them on the top of the ant-hill, that they may be exposed to
the beneficent heat of sun. When the larvae have remained some
time in the same place, their guardians move them away from the
direct action of the solar rays, and put them in chambers a little way
from the top of the hill, where a milder heat can still reach them.
We then see the ants themselves taking the well-earned luxury of a
few minutes' rest, heaping themselves up together, right in the sun.
There is no observant inhabitant of the country who has not seen the
curious spectacle which we have just mentioned — that is to say, the
population of an ants' nest carrying into the sun the nurselings, so
that they may benefit by the action of the solar heat. We recom-
mend the dweller in towns who is in the country for a day to stretch
himself out near an ant-hill in the warm weather, and witness this
spectacle, one of the most curious in Nature. The care which the
working ants bestow on their young does not consist only in nourish-
ing them and procuring for them a proper temperature ; they have
also to keep them extremely clean. With their palpi they clean
them, brush them, distend their skin, and thus prepare them for the
critical trial of their metamorphosis.

At this moment the larvae of ants, properly so called, spin them-
selves a silky cocoon, of a close tissue and of a grey or yellowish
colour ; those of the Myrtnicce and of the Pofierce do not surround
themselves with a silky cocoon before changing into pupae. These
are at first of a pure white, but they very soon assume a brown colour,
which increases until it becomes dark brown. They possess all the
organs of the adult, enveloped in a membrane so thin that it seems
to be iridescent. Fig. 366 represents the pupa of the red ant. They
are the cocoons enclosing the pupae, which are incorrectly called
in the country ants' eggs, and are given to young pheasants and
partridges. The pupae remain motionless till the insects emerge,
which is accomplished with the assistance of the workers. These
latter tear the covering from the pupa, and complete its deliver-
ance. They then watch over the newly-born ant. For some days
they feed it, help it to walk, and do not abandon it till it can dis

HYMENOPTERA. 385

pense with their good offices. These workers, when provisions fail,
or when the ant-hill is threatened with any great danger, take in
their mandibles the eggs, the larv?e, the pupje, and sometimes those
females and the males which refuse to follow them. Thus laden, they go
their way, to seek for another country they may call their own. They
never forget, in their hurried emigrations, the infirm or sick workers,
which would perish in the house now abandoned and deserted.

The males and females lately hatched do not enjoy the same
liberty as the young workers. They are confined to the ant-hill,
where they are kept in sight till the day of the general departure.
It is towards the end of the month of August that swarms of winged
ants of both sexes are seen to issue forth. The males come out first,
agitating their iridescent and transparent wings. The temales, less
numerous, follow them closely. All of a sudden one sees this troop
raise itself at a given signal, and disappear in the air, where the
coupling takes place. The males perish immediately afterwards. The
females impregnated return to the paternal home, or else found new
colonies with the assistance of a few workers who are their escort.
From this moment they no longer require wings. The workers make
haste to cut them off, or, indeed, which oftenest happens, they them-
selves tear them off. With their wings they lose the desire for liberty.
Henceforward, they will quit their retreat no more, the cares of their
approaching maternity now alone occupying them. The working ants
reserve for them subterranean chambers, where they are kept in sight
by the sentinels. At certain hours only are they to be met with in
the upper storeys. When they wish to walk, a company of guards
presses round them on all sides so as to prevent them from advancing
too quickly. There are no sorts of attentions they do not heap upon
them to make them forget their captivity. They caress them, brush
them, hck them, they offer them food continually. On the least
appearance of danger, the workers take possession, first of all, of the
pregnant females, and drag them out by the secret outlets, so as to
put in a place of safety their precious persons, the hope of the com-
munity. The w'orkers' task is immense, for their labours increase in
the same proportion as the population increases. But the division of
work and the good understanding which exists between the members
of the community, allow them to be prepared for anything that may
happen, and to supply all their necessities.

Nothing is more amusing than to observe the shifts ants are put
to in transporting objects of great size. They stumble, they tumble
head over heels, they roll down precipices ; but, in spite of all acci-
dents, return to their task, and always accomplish it.
70

386 THE INSECT WORLD.

The tranquil inhabitants of these subterranean republics are bound
together by mutual affection in a devoted fraternity, which makes
them ever ready to assist each other. They all help one another as
much as they can. If an ant is tired, a comrade carries it on its
back. Those which are so absorbed with their work that they have
no time to think of their tood, are fed by their companions. When
an ant is wounded, the first one who meets it renders it assistance,
and carries it home. Latreille having torn the antennae from an ant,
saw another approach the poor wounded one, and pour, with its;
tongue, a few drops of a yellow liquid on the bleeding wound.

Huber the younger one day took an ant's nest to populate one of
those glass contrivances which he used for making his observations,
and which consisted of a sort of glass bell placed over the nest. Our
naturalist set at liberty one part of the ants, which fixed themselves at
the foot of a neighbouring chestnut tree. The rest were kept during
four months in the apparatus, and at the end of this time Huber
moved the whole into the garden, and a few ants managed to escape.
Having met their old companions, who still lived at the foot of the
chestnut tree, they recognised them. They Avere seen, in fact, all of
them, to gesticulate, to caress each other mutually with their antennae,
to take each other by the mandibles, as if to embrace in token of joy,
and they then re-entered together the nest at the foot of the chestnut
tree. Very soon they came in a crowd to look for the other ants under
the bell, and in a few hours our observer's apparatus was completely
evacuated by its prisoners. When an ant has discovered any rich
prey, fiir from enjoying it alone, like a gourmand, it invites all its
companions to the feast. Community of goods and interests exists
amongst all the members of this model society. It is the practical
realisation of the dream formed by certain philosophers of our day,
who were only able to conceive the idea, the possibility, the project
of such a community of goods and interests, which is among ants
a reality.

How do these insects manage to make themselves understood in
such various ways, asking for help, giving advice, giving invitations ?
They must have a language of their own, or else they must communi-
cate their impressions by the play of their antennae.

When an ant is hungry, and does not wish to disturb itself from
its work, it tells a foraging ant as it passes, by touching it with its
antennae ; the latter approaches it immediately, and presents it, on
the end of its tongue, some juice it has disgorged for this purpose.
The antennae, then, are used by the ants for the purpose of making
themselves understood by each other. Dr. Ebrard. who studied these

HYMENOPTERA, 38/

insects attentively, is of opinion that they use them in the same way
as a bhnd man does his stick, to feel their way with, for their sight is
not good. The age to which ants live is not well known. It is
believed that the workers live many years.

Ants eat all sorts of things. One sees them eating fresh or decay-
ing meat, fruits, flowers, particularly everything which is sugary. They
attack living insects, and kill them and suck their blood. Like many
insects, they are very fond of sugary liquids — honey, syrups, pure
sugar, &c. Dupont de Nemours relates in his Memoirs that, to
guarantee his sugar-basin against the invasion of ants, he had found
no better plan than to make it " an island," that is to say, to place it
in the middle of a vessel full of water. He felt sure that he had
made the fortress safe against any attack ; but listen to the stratagem
made use of by the besiegers. The ants climbed up the wall to the
ceiling, exactly perpendicularly over the sugar-basin. From there
they let themselves fall into the interior of the place, penetrating thus
by main force, and without injuring any one, into the magazine. As
the ceiling was very high, the draught caused them to deviate from the
straight line, and thus a certain number fell into the fosse of the
citadel, that is to say, into the water in the vessel. Their companions
stationed on the bank made all efforts imaginable to fish out the
drowning ants, but were afraid of taking to the water of such a
large lake. All that they could do was to stretch out their bodies as
far as possible (keeping on the bank the while), to lend a helping
hand to their drowning friends. Nevertheless, the salvage did not
progress much ; when the ants, which were getting very uneasy, con-
ceived a happy thought. A it^ were seen to run to the ant-hill, and
then to re-appear. They brought with them a squad of eight grena-
diers, who threw themselves into the water without any hesitation, and
who, swimming vigorously, seized with their pincers all the drowning
ants, and brought them all on to terra Jirma. Eleven, half-dead,
were thus brought to shore, that is, to the rim of the basin. They
would probably all of them have succumbed, if their companions had
not hastened to lend them assistance. They' rolled them in the dust,
they brushed them, they rubbed them, they stretched themselves on
their dying companions to warm them ; then they rolled them and
rubbed them again. Four were restored to life. A fifth half recovered,
and, still moving its legs and its antennae a little, was taken home with
all sorts of precautions. The six others were dead. They were
carried into the ant-hill by their afflicted companions. It seems like
a dream to read such things as this, and yet Dupont de Nemours
tells us, " I have seen it !"

388 THE INSECT WORLD.

Ants are also very fond of a peculiar liquid which the plant-lice
secrete from a pouch in the abdomen. When they have got posses-
sion of a plant-louse, they excite it to secrete this liquid, but without
doing it any harm. They carry the plant-lice into the ant-hill, or
into private stables. There they keep them, give them their food,
and suck them. We have already mentioned these curious relations
which are established between ants and plant-lice.* Fig. 367 shows
an ant thus occupied. The Gallinsecta also furnish the ants with
sugary liquids.

During the cold of winter the ants sleep at the bottom of their
nests, without taking any food. A small number of species only hold
out through the severe season, by shutting themselves up in the ant-
hill with a number of plant-lice. It is thus that they pass the winter
with a supply of food. We must mention, however, that in warm
countries the ants do not hybernate.

We have just described ant society during the quiet periods, when
peace reigns supreme ; but they are not more exempt than other
animals from the necessities and dangers of war. They have a great
many enemies among the population of the woods ; they must, then,
be prepared to repel their attacks. They display in that the most
scientific resources of the military art applied to defence.

It is almost needless to say that the sentinels are, at all times,
posted at a reasonable distance from the ant-hill, to observe the
environs. When the fortress is unexpectedly attacked, whether by
large insects, Coleoptera for instance, or by the ants from a neigh-
bouring nest, these vigilant sentinels immediately fall back and give
the alarm to the camp, not, however, without having boldly confronted
the enemy and opposed to him an honourable resistance. Having
re-entered the nest in all haste, they precipitate themselves into the
passages, tapping with their antennae all the ants which they meet,
and thus spreading the alarm in the city. Very soon the agitation
has become general, and thousands of combatants sally forth from the
citadel, ready to repel the attack and make the enemy bite the dust.

The possession of a flock of plant-lice is sometimes a subject of
discord, and becomes a casus belli between two neighbouring ant-hills.
But, usually, the war has for its object to make prisoners in other
nests, and to carry oft' part of the inhabitants as slaves. This is the
origin of mixed ant-hills, which, independently of their natural
founders, contain one or two foreign species, helots whom the con-
querors have taken away from their birth-place, to make of them

* See the Order Hemiptera^ mpra. — Ed.

H\MBNOPTERA.

389

Fig. 367. — Ant milking Aphis or Plant-louse (magnified).

auxiliaries and slaves. In these mixed ant-hills the species imported
occasionally exceed in number the original population, as it happens

390 THE INSECT WOkLD.

sometimes in those ships which are used in the slave trade, and on
which the slaves are often found in greater numbers than the sailors
composing the crew. The phalanx of ants reduced to a state of
slavery pay all sorts of attentions to their masters. They lick them,
brush them, caress them, carry theip on their backs, feed them — good

Fig. 368. — Russet Ants (^Polyergus ru/esceus).

and faithful servants that they are — and even rear their progeny.
The masters impose on their slaves all sorts of work. They only
reserve for themselves the making of war. Yrom time to time they
undertake expeditions against some neighbouring ants' nest. If they
are conquered and come back without bringing with them any
prisoners, the slaves or auxiliaries are sulky to them, and will not

Fig. 369. — Blood-red Ant {Formica sanguinca).

allow them for some time to enter the nest. It, on the contrary,
they return loaded with booty, they flatter them, give them food,
and relieve them of their prisoners, which they lead away into the
interior of the fortress. The warlike tribes, however, never carry oft'
any other but the larvae and nymphs of workers from the ant-hills
they plunder. These young captives get used to their kidnappers :
brought up in fear of their masters, they never think of abandoning
them.

Two species constitute the warrior tribes which form societies
mixed with the species they reduce to slavery. They are the Russet
Ant (Fig. 368) and the Blood-red Ant (Fig. 369). They always
attack the nests of the Ashy-black (Formica fusca) and the Miners.

HYMEN OP TERA. 39 1

The Russet Ant has mandibles made for war ; they appear cut out
for struggling and fighting. The Blood-red Ants are less ferocious ;
they work themselves, and make none of those sweeping raids by
which the Russet Ants depopulate the neighbouring ant-hills.

What Francis Hub^r has done for bees, Peter Huber, his son,
has done for ants. It is from Francis Huber that we borrow the
description which it remains for us to give of the habits of ants in
times of war. He thus relates one of these expeditions, of which he
was a witness : — "On the 17th of June, 1804,'' says he, "as 1 was
walking in the environs of Geneva, between four and five in the
afternoon, I saw at my feet a legion of largish russet ants crossing
the road. They were marching in a body with rapidity, their troop
occupied a space of from eight to ten feet long by three or four
inches wide ; in a few minutes they had entirely evacuated the road ;
they penetrated through a very thick hedge, and went into a meadow,
whither I followed them. They wound their way along the turf,
without straying^ and their column remained always continuous, in
spite of the obstacles which they had to surmount. Very soon they
arrived near a nest of ashy-black ants, the dome of which rose among
the grass, at twenty paces from the hedge. A few ants of this species
were at the door of their habitation. As soon as they descried the
army which was approaching, they threw themselves on those which
were at the head of the cohort. The alarm spread at the same
instant in the interior of the nest, and their companions rushed out
in crowds from all the subterranean passages. The russet ants, the
body of whose army was only two paces distant, hastened to arrive
at the foot of the nest ; the whole troop precipitated itself forward
at the same time, and knocked the ashy-black ants head over
heels, who, after a short but very smart combat, retired to the
extremity of the habitation. The russet ants clambered up the sides
of the hillock, flocked to the summit, and introduced themselves in
great numbers into the first avenues ; other groups worked with their
teeth, making a lateral aperture. In this they succeeded, and the
rest of the army penetrated through the breach into the besieged
city. They did not make a long stay there ; in three or four minutes
the russet ants came out again in haste, by the same adits, carrying
each one in its mouth a pupa or larva belonging to the conquered.
They again took exactly the same road by which they had come, and
followed each other in a straggling manner ; their line was easily to
be distinguished on the grass by the appearance which this multitude
of white cocoons and larv^, carried by as many russet-coloured ants,
presented. They passed through the hedge a second time, crossed

39^ I^HE INSECT WORLD.

the road, and then steered their course into a field of ripe wheat,
whither, I regret to say, I was unable to follow them."'^

Huber adds that, having returned to the pillaged nest to examine
it more closely, he saw some ashy-black workers brmging back to
their home the few larvae which they had succeeded in saving.
Having later discovered the nest of these Amazons, which is the
name he gives to the warrior ants, he found there many of the ashy-
black ants living on very good terms with their kidnappers.

The Amazons begin their expeditions at the end of June, during
the hottest hours of the day. They come out in long files, eight or
ten abreast, preceded by their scouts. These columns start at a run,
in a straight line, and without feeling their way. They have no

Fi^. 370. — Mining Ant {Formica cunicniaria), male, worker, and female.

chieftain. The van is re-formed every moment. Those who are in
front do not remain there ; at the end of a certain time they go and
range themselves in the rear, and are replaced by those which were
behind. The whole troop is thus in constant communication through
its entire length. Rarely does the expedition divide into two bodies.
Arrived under the walls of the fortress, the column halts and masses
itself into one corps. The assault is made with incredible im-
petuosity. In the twinkling of an eye the place is escaladed,
taken by storm, and pillaged, and the ashy-black ants are either
put to flight or led away into captivity. The same ant-hill may
be invaded as many as three times running on the same day ;
but then the ashy-black ants, on their guard, have barricaded them-
selves in, and in that case the aggressors return home without
pillaging them.

The Mining Ants (Fig. 370) are less timid than the ashy-black;
and, as they defend themselves with more energy, there are frequently
deadly combats, and the field of battle is left covered with heads,
legs, and limbs, scattered about here and tliere with the dead and

* " Recherches sur les Mosurs des Fourmis indigenes," p. 210. Paris, 181O.

HYMENOPTERA.

393

bounded. The miners pursue the pillagers, and snatch their plunder
rom them. But they are sometimes driven back vigorously, and
;he russet ants gain their lair with the plunder.

The tactics of the Red Ants (Fonnica sangiihied) differ from those
jf the russet. They only sally forth in small detachments, which
Degin by engaging in skirmishes with the scouts thrown out round
:he enemy's ant-hill. Couriers, despatched from time to time to the
:amp of the red ants, bring up reinforcements. When the troop
"eels itself sufficiently strong, it invades the nest of the ashy-black
mts, and carries off their offspring, which the latter have not had
ime to secure. Sometimes, also, the red ants instal themselves in

Fig. 371. — Philanthus triangulum.

Fig. 372. -Mutilla Europaea, male and female.

i the nest whose inhabitants they have ejected, and transfer their own
population to it. The motive for this emigration is that the old nest
has become useless, or that it is exposed to some danger. The red
ants are not the only ants which thus desert their birthplace. Many
species abandon it likewise, for analogous motives, and construct
elsewhere another dwelling, to which they transport all the population
of the first nest.

When we reflect on the habits of ants, we are forced to admit
that intelligence and reason appear still more in their acts than in
those of bees. The life of ants, as well as that of bees, as far as we
are concerned, is an unintelligible enigma. The acts of animals, in
general, are sometimes an abyss unfathomable to our reason. The
Orientals say, '' The last word may be written on man : on the
elephant, never ! " Let us add that they should no more say that
the elephant will be an inexhaustible theme, but that the history of
the ant will continue so always.

The best-known genera of the Fossores, or Fossorial Hymenop-
tera, are Philanthus (Fig. 371), which feeds its larvae on bees, having
first numbed them by its sting ; Pompilus and Sphex, which attack
70*

394

THE INSECT WORLD.

spiders; and Mutilla (Fig. 372), whose females resemble ants, being
variegated with red and yellow, the males, being provided with wings
and smaller in size, and black. The MutiUce. are parasitical on solitary
bees, their larvae devouring their larvae.

Other Hymenoptera lay their eggs under the skin of certain

Fig. 373.— Species of Pimpla.

Fig. 374.— Species of Ophion.

insects, especially when these are in the larva or caterpillar state,
thus rendering service to agriculture by destroying a great number of
noxious insects. In lieu of a sting they have an auger, intended to
pierce the skin of their victims. It is thus that the Ichneumons
introduce their eggs under the skin of caterpillars. The Finipla
(Fig. 373), which belongs to this group, has a very long ovipositor,
which, with its two appendages, constitutes three lancets, and enables
it to get at the larvae in their retreats. The Ophions (Fig. 374)

tiVMENOPTERA.

39S

have a sickle-shaped abdomen. They lay their eggs on the skin
of caterpillars, which they attack with the short cutting auger with
which they are provided.

The Cynips, or Gall-insects, are small black or tawny Hymen-
optera, the females of which have an auger, rolled up spirally and
hidden in a fissure of the abdomen, with which they prick the young
shoots of plants. A peculiar liquid which they pour into the hole
round the egg they have laid, causes an excrescence to grow, which
is called a " gall." The larva is developed in the centre of this gall,

Fig. 375. — Gall insect
{Cynips qnerciisfolit).

Fig. 376. — Oak Galls, produced by
Cyiiips qnercusfolii.

Fig. 377. — Interior
of a Gall.

and transformed into a pupa, and afterwards into a perfect insect,
which makes its exit by a hole in the wall of its prison. Fig. 375
represents the Cynips of the oak tree {Cynips qnercusfolii)^ and
Figs. 376 and 377 the galls it produces. The galls of the rose are
hairy, and are sometimes called " Robin's Cushion." The gall-nut,
rich in tannin, which is used in the manufacture of ink, is the produce
of a foreign Cynips, which lives on an oak found in the East. Apples
of Sodom, which travellers bring back from the shores of the Dead
Sea, are large galls'^ full of dry dust and larv?e.

The Urocerata and the Tenthredinetce form two tribes of insects,

* Made by Cynips insana. — Ed.

39^ THE INSECT WORLD.

of which the first are of great size, have a cylindrical body, the
abdomen being attached to the thorax in its whole breadth, without
any pedicle.

The insects of the genus Sirex (Fig. 378), belonging to the former
of these, lay their eggs in living wood, and their larvae live for many
years in the interior. They are to be met with in great numbers in
forests of pine trees, and, according to Latreille, show themselves
sometimes in such great numbers as to become an object of terror.
The female of the Giant Sirex {Sirex gigas) possesses a long recti-

Fig. 378.— Sirex gigas.

Hnear auger. The mandibles of the larvae are of great strength, and
are even capable of perforating lead. This fact has been observed
many times. In 1857 Marshal Vaillant presented to the Academie
des Sciences some packets of cartridges containing balls which had
been pierced through by the larvae of the Sirex during the sojourn of
the French troops in the Crimea. Some of these insects were still
shut up in the gallery which they had hollowed out in the metal.
M. Dumeril (and this was one of the last works of that venerable and
learned naturalist) wrote a Report on this subject, in which were
recorded many analogous instances. He quoted, as an examj^le,
that M. le Marc^uis de Breme, in 1844, showed to the Socie'te
Zoolugique many cartridges in which the balls had been perforated

HYMENOPTERA. 397

by the insects to a depth of about a quarter of an inch. These
cartridges came from the arsenal of Turin. They had been placed
in barrels made of larch wood, the inside of which had been attacked
by the insects. It was discovered that it was after having left the
wood that they had gnawed through the envelopes of the cartridges,
and at last into the balls themselves. In 1833 Audouin presented to
the Societe Entomologique de France a plate of lead, from the roof
of a building, on which this naturalist supposed that the larvte of a
Ca/Hdinnr' had made deep sinuosities, as they do in wood. Before
this, parts of the leaden roofs at I.a Rochelle had been noticed not
only gnawed, but pierced from one side to the other, by the larvae of
Bostrichus capucintcs.\ In 1844 M. Desmarest reported the erosion
and perforation of sheets of lead by a species of BostricJws and by
Callidimn. In 1843 ^- ^^ Boys presented to the Societe d'Agri-
culture of Limoges some stereotyped plates — composed, as is well-
known, of a very hard alloy, formed of antimony and lead — which
had been pierced and riddled with holes by two specimens of a
Bostrichus. The holes were a seventh of an inch in diameter by
two inches in depth. The stereotypes were thus perforated, although
they had been wrapped up in many folds of paper and cardboard.
As the printing served for a work called " Les Fastes Militaires de
la France," one may say that the brave soldiers received from an
insect more wounds than their enemies had ever given them.

To prove that these insects have really the power to perforate
metals as others perforate and pass through woody matter, the
entomologist of Limoges made the following experiments. He placed
in a leaden box, the sides of which were thin, a living specimen of
the Fire-coloured Lepture of Geoffroy {Callidium sanguineiim)^ a
Coleopteron which is commonly found in houses in France in winter,
its larvae being developed in great numbers in firewood. Above this
box he fitted on another, also containing a specimen of this insect,
whicli he shut in with a third box. A few days afterwards he
separated the boxes. The middle one had been pierced through,
and the two insects were found together, the one which was below
having made a hole through which it might introduce itself into the
middle box. M. Du Boys made a chemical experiment which
enabled him to estabhsh beyond a doubt that the insect which had
gnawed the metal had not made it serve as its food. The dried
body of one of these insects was analysed. After having immersed
-it in nitric acid it was completely burnt, and there could not be

* A coleopterous insect. — Ed. t Also a beetle. —Ed.

398 THE INSECT WORLD.

found in the ashes acted upon by the nitric acid the least trace of
lead. This experiment proves that these insects had for their object
only to escape from the galleries in which they were accidentally de-
posited in their larva state, and that it was not until they had under-
gone their complete transformation that they endeavoured to gain
their liberty. Observations of the same kind were multiplied after
the Report of M. Dumeril. The Academie des Sciences received, in
the month of June, 1861, two Memoirs — one from M. Heriot,
captain of artillery, the other from M. Bouteille, curator of the
Museum of Natural History of Grenoble — containing many new
observations on the perforation by insects of leaden balls contained
in cartridges prepared for war. M. Milne-Edwards read to the
Academie des Sciences a short Report on these works.

The insect that had produced the perforations observed in the
balls sent to the Crimea in 1854, and which M. Dumeril parUcularly
studied, was the Sirex Juvencus, one having been taken from France
in the wood forming the boxes containing the cartridges. In the
other case of which we are speaking, that is to say, of the cartridges
which were sent in 1861 to the Academie by Captain Heriot and by
M. Bouteille, the perforations had been produced by other species.
M. Milne-Edwards, who found the insect that had caused this
strange damage, had no trouble in recognising it as the Sirex gigas,
which, in its larva state, lives in the interior of old trees or pieces of
wood, and which, after it has gone through all its metamorphoses,
comes out of its retreat to reproduce its kind. To clear themselves a
passage, they cut away with their mandibles the ligneous substances or
other hard bodies they meet with on their road. It was in pursuing
this object that the insects, imprisoned accidentally in the packets of
cartridges when they were yet only in the larva state, must have
attacked the leaden balls, as also the paper and the other matters
which they met with on their road, and which opposed their passage.
M. Bouteille proves, in his Memoir, that M. Dumeril has committed
an error in saying that the perforating organ employed by the Sirex
to attack the leaden balls in the cartridges in the Crimea was the
auger situated at the extremity of the abdomen of the female, and
intended for cutting into that part of the wood where it is to lay its
eggs. M. Bouteille has established, in fact, that they were not only
the females which attacked the cartridges, but that the males, which
have no auger, had occasioned the same damage.

The TentJiredinetce are called "Saw-Flies," because the females
are furnished with a double auger, notched like a saw, with which
they cut into the branches in which they lay their eggs. The larvae

H YMENOF TERA.

399

of these insects have a striking resemblance to the caterpillars of
Lepicloptera. They can only be distinguished from them by a great
globular head, not hollowed out, and by their abdominal legs, in

Fig. 379.— Larva of a Saw-Fly. {Tenthredo).

Fig. 380.— Lophyrus pini

general to the number of more than ten. They are called false
caterpillars (Fig. 379). Most of them, when touched, erect them-
selves and move about in a threatening manner. They spin a silken
cotoon before changing into pupae. The Lophyrus pini, which
devours the leaves of pine trees, belongs to this family (Fig. 380).

4.00

VII.
THYSANOPTERA.

The very small black flies which are such a source of annoyance to
travellers in' the summer-time, and which fly into our eyes and crawl
over our faces during the prevalence of warm windy weather, princi-!
pally belong to a kind of insect which is characterised by having very I
remarkable wings when in the adult condition. These insects exist:
by myriads, and there are several species of them ; and they are all
exceedingly destructive to flowers, and especially to the bloom ol
cereal plants. The little black insects are to be seen on almost
every flower, and they devour the delicate cellular tissues of the

Figs. 381, 382.— The Adult Insect and Larva of Thrips cetealium (magnified).

petals. Thrips cerealium is very destructive when it occurs in multi-
tudes upon the wheat, barley, and oats, for it interferes with the
proper nutrition of the grain, by nibbling the protecting envelopes
and the tissue which connects it to the stalk.

All the members of the genus Thrips — and they alone constitute
the order now under consideration — possess four very narrow mem-
branous wings, without any folds or network upon them, but furnished
and decorated with beautiful fringes upon the edges. These fringes

i

THYSANOPTERA. 4OI

characterise the Order, which m other respects is closely allied to
the Orthoptera, and they give the name to it. The Thysanoptera
{Qvawoi, fringe; TrrepoV, a wing) have filiform antennae and very
large eyes, and the different species of the genus Thrips have a great
diversity of wing fringing. The structure of the wings is somewhat
analogous to that observed in the Lepidoptera, in the Pterophorina
and the Alucitina (Fig. 381).

The metamorphoses of the Thysanoptera have not received much
attention, but they are known to be of the incomplete kind. The
quiet chrysalis condition is not observed, and the larvae are born
from the egg greatly resembling the adults. The absence of wings
is the great distinction between the larval and the imago state, as it is
in the closely-allied order of the Orthoptera. The larva moults
several times, and the wings are gradually added, the colour of the
insect altering also (Fig. 382).

402

VIII.

NEUROPTERA.

T'HE Neiiroptera — the type of which order are the LibelluIcE, or
Dragon FHes — have four membranous wings, generally rather broad,
provided with transverse delicately reticulated nervures, which gives
them the appearance of lace. Although one of the least extensive,
this Order presents the greatest modifications of form and of habits.

One section of Neuroptera contains some insects which undergo
incomplete metamorphoses. The LibellulcB^ the EphcmercB^ and the
Termites, belong to this category. The insects belonging to the other
section, in which are classed the Phrygimidce* or Caddis Flies, the
Panorpatce^ and the MyrmcHonides, or Ant Lions, undergo com})lete-
metamorphoses. The pupae of the first walk and live absolutely in
the same way as the larvae ; only, at the moment of the last trans-
formation, the skin of the pupa splits, and the perfect insect comes
forth. In the case of the second, on the contrary, the pupa is
motionless, inactive, and takes no food, as in the Hymenoptera,
Coleoptera, &c. In spite of this diversity in their mode of develop-
ment, all these insects resemble each other too much for us to divide
the Order ; from which it follows that we must not attach too much
importance to differences of transformation by which the insect
arrives at its perfect state.

The most interesting insects among the Neuroptera are the
Termites, improperly called White Ants, on account of the great
analogy which exists between their habits and those of ants. They
constitute, by their way of living, a striking anomaly in the order in
which their conformation places them. In fact, they live in very
numerous societies, and build very solid and very extensive dwelling-
places — quite Cycloi>ean or Titanic works in comparison to the tiny
dimensions and weak and feeble appearance of the insect. (Plate IX.)

* These were separated from the Neuroptera and made a separate order,
under the name of Trichoptera, by Kirby. — Ed.

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^

M^m

]^EUROPTEkA, 405

Many travellers have spoken of these insects. They are met
with in the savannahs of North America, in Guiana, in Africa,
in New Holland, and even in Europe, whither they have been
! imported. M. de Prefontaine relates that, when he was travelling in
i Guiana, he saw the negroes besieging certain strange buildings,
which he calls ant-hills. They dared not attack them, except from a
distance, and with fire-arms, although they had taken the precaution
of digging all round them a little fosse filled with water, in which the
besieged would be drowned if they made a sortie. These were the
termites' nests.

Perhaps it is to termites Herodotus alludes when he speaks of

! ants which inhabit Bactria, and which, larger than a fox, eat a pound

I of meat a day.* Retired in the sandy deserts, these gigantic insects

'hollow out (says he) subterranean dwellings, and raise mounds of

j golden sand, which the Indians carry away at the peril of their lives.

j Pliny, who relates the same fables, adds that there were to be seen in

j the Temple of Hercules the horns of these ants. Even in our own

I days some travellers have repeated absurd fables about termites.

They have attributed to them a venom which one cannot breathe

li without being poisoned ; they have said that a single bite was enough

I to cause a mortal fever. The truth, as it is revealed to us by

ij conscientious observers, is still stranger than these fictions or errors.

\ The termites present curious modifications, on the nature of which

naturalists are not agreed. There are, in the first place, the perfect

I insects, males and females, which are provided with wings ; then

j there are the neuters, which are divided into soldiers^ whose duty it is

I to defend the nest, and into loorkers, upon whom devolve the

I architectural works and household cares. These last are smaller than

! the soldiers. Latreille and some other naturalists think that these

i workers are the larvae of the termites. Smeathman thinks that the

soldiers are the pupae. M. de Quatrefages admits that the soldiers

are the neuters, and that the workers are recruited both from the

larvae and from the pupae. It may be admitted, with other naturalists,

that the soldiers and the workers are neuters : the first, abortive

males ; the second, abortive females. Here is, indeed, what M.

Lespes has observed in the termites of the Landes. Among these

insects, the most numerous are the workers : their size is that of a

large ant, and their duties are to excavate galleries, to search for

provisions, and to take care of the eggs, the larvae, and the pupas.

* De (Quatrefages, "Souvenirs d'uu Xaturaliste," tome ii., p. 377. In iBmo.
Paris, i8t;4.

4.06 THE INSECT WORLD.

The workers have a rounded head and short mandibles, and are blind.
The soldiers, less numerous, have an enormous head — nearly as big
as the rest of their body — very strong, crossed mandibles, and are
blind like the workers. Anatomy showed M. Lespes that both are
neuters — that is, the soldiers, males, and the workers, females — with
aborted organs.

The larvae of the females much resemble the workers. Those
which are to become males or females are distinguished from those
which are to become neuters by very slight rudiments of wings, and
their pupae show already imperfect wings, hidden in cases ; further-
more, they have eyes hidden under the skin. The males and females
alone have eyes ; they also have wings, which they lose imme-
diately after the coupling. Those which proceed from the pupae
with long wing-cases become small kings and queens after their
swarming, which takes place at the end of May. The pupae with
short wing-cases become perfect in the month of August, and produce
larger males and females, which become kings and queens. AH these
couples are collected by the neuters ; and the queens, large and
small, set to work immediately to lay. The largest are much the more
fruitful. The workers do not seem to take any care of them at all.
With the exception of this last peculiarity, everything probably goes
on in the same manner with the exotic termites ; but with the latter
the queen is an object of worship.

Fig. 383 represents the four types of the republic of the Term,
luciftigus. On the left is a worker, on the right a soldier, in tlic
centre a winged male, all three very much magnified, the lines drawn
by their side showing the natural size. Below the male is the preL
nant (jueen (odd d), of a species of which we are about to speak.
of the natural size.

Many species of termites were studied with care by the English
traveller, Smeathman, at the end of the last century, in Southern
Africa. His account of them is the most exact and most complete
which we have of these insects.* The largest of the species observed
is the Termes bellicosus. The workers are a fifth of an inch long, the
body soft, and of an extreme delicacy, but the sharp mandibles
capable of attacking the hardest bodies. The soldiers are twice as
long, and weigh as much as fifteen workers, and may be distinguished
by their enormous horned head, armed with sharp pincers. The male
weighs as much as thirty workers, and attains to a length of nearly
four-fifths of an inch.

* " Some Account of the Termites,'" &c., in the Philosophical Transaifions^
vol. Ixxi., 1781. See, however, Professor Henry Drummond's "Tropical Africa.'*

NEUROPTERA.

407

Fig. 383. — Termes lucifugus. Male (a), Worker (b), Soldier (c), magnified.
Fecundated female of Termes bellicosus, natural size, surrounded by workers (d D D d).

But the pregnant female leaves all these dimensions far behind.
Her abdomen becomes two thousand times as big as the rest of her

408 THE INSECT WORLD.

body ! She then attains to six inches in length, and weighs as
much as thirty thousand workers. By a hideous contrast, the head
alone does not increase in size, d d d d (Fig. 383) is an exact
representation of this monster. She is always motionless and
captive in her cell, entirely occupied in laying. Her fecundity sur-
passes all bounds : sixty eggs a minute, more than 80,000 a day.
Smeathman is inclined to think that this prodigious laying goes on
during the whole of the year. "This soft, whitish beast," says
M. Michelet, " a belly rather than a being, is as large, at least, as
one's thumb ; a traveller professes to have seen one of the size of a
crawfish. The larger she is, the more fruitful, the more inexhaustible,
this terrible insect-mother seems to be the more adored by the
fanatical rabble. She seems to be their beau ideal, their poetry, their
enthusiasm. If you carry away with any rubbish a portion of their
city, you see them instantly set to work at the breach to build an arch
which may protect the venerated head of the mother, to reconstruct
her royal cell, which will become (if there are sufficient materials) the
centre, the base of the restored city. I am not astonished, though,
at the excessive love which this people show for this instrument of
fecundity. If all other species did not combine to destroy them, this
truly prodigious mother would make them masters of the world, and
— what shall I say ? — its only inhabitants. The fish alone would be
left ; but insects would perish. It suffices to be remembered that the
mother-bee does not produce in a year what the female white ant can
produce in a day. By her they would be enabled to devour every-
thing; but they are weak and tasty, and so everything devours
them."* In fact, birds are very greedy after termites ; poultry destroy
immense quantities of them. Ants give chase to them and eat them
by legions. The negroes in Southern Africa cannot be sated with
them. They gather such as have fallen into the water, and roast them
like coffee ; thus prepared, they eat them by handfuls, and find them
delicious. The Indians smoke the termites' nests, and catch those
that have wings. They knead them up with flour, and make a sort
of cake of them. Travellers, moreover, all agree in speaking of them
as very nice food, comparing their flavour to that of marrow or of a
sugared cream. Smeathman prefers them to the famous palm worm
{tc?- pabnisie of the colonists), a delicacy known in South America,
which is the larva of the Calandra palmanim, a species of beetle. It
seems, however, that an abuse of fried termites brings on a dysentery
which may prove mortal.

■' J. Michelet, *'L'Insecte,'* p. 328.

X.— Nest of the White Ant {Tenites bellicoms), in Central Africa. (After Smeathman.)
I. Male. 2, 4, ■5. Neuters. 3. Gravid Female.

NE vrop terA . . 4 1 t

All the species of termites are miners, but the greater number are
ilso architects and masons. A few make their nests round a branch
Df a tree. This nest is of enormous dimensions : it is as large as a
;un. The illustration (Plate X.) — after a drawing in Smeathman's
work — shows a nest of the Terfms beiHcosm, composed of bits of
wood firmly stuck together with gum. Above their subterranean
galleries the greater part of termites construct vast edifices, which
contain their magazines and nurseries. The Termes nwrdax and
lermes atrox raise perfect columns, surmounted by capitals which
project beyond them and give them the appearance of monstrous
mushrooms. These columns attain a height of twenty inches, with a
diameter of five ; they are constructed with a black clay, which,
worked up by the insects, acquires great hardness. The interior
is hollow, or rather perforated with irregular cells ; but the most
curious edifices are those of Termes beliieosus. These are irregularly
conical moimds, flanked by a certain number of turrets, decreasing
in height. Smeathman gives them a height of from ten to twelve
feet; but Jobson^' afiirms that he has seen some as high as twenty
feet. If men constructed monuments so disproportionate to their
size, the great pyramid of Gizeh, instead of being 146 metres
in height, would be 1,600, and would be higher than the Puy- de-
Dome !

These knolls of earth are of a solidity which will bear any trial.
Not only can many men mount on them without shaking them, but
buffaloes establish themselves upon them as watch-towers, from which
they can see over the high grass which covers the plain, if the lion or
the panther is threatening them. These edifices are hollow ; but
their sides are from fifteen to twenty inches thick, and are as hard as
a rock. They are hollowed out into galleries, which connect them
with the underground dwelling. Under the dome is a pretty large
vacant space, a sort of top storey or attic, occupying one-third of the
total height, which keeps up in the edifice a more uniform tem-
perature than if all the block had been filled up. On a level with
the ground is the royal cell, oblong, with a flat floor and a rounded
ceiling, and pierced with round windows. All round are distributed
the offices ; they are rooms also with rounded and vaulted ceilings,
communicating with each other by corridors. On the sides rise the
magazines, with their backs placed against the walls of the house ;
they are filled with gums and with vegetable juices solidified and in
powder. On the ceiling of the royal chamber rise pillars of about

* "History of Gambia."

41^ THE INSECT WORLD.

two feet in height, which support the egg rooms. These are httle
cells with partitions of sawdust stuck together with gum, which sepa-
rate at the opening the large chambers from the clay halls. Placed
between the attics and the great nave surmounting the royal hall, the
nursery is in the most desirable position possible for uniformity of
temperature and for ventilation.

The royal cell encloses a unique couple, objects of the most
assiduous attentions, but kept in closest captivity, for the doors are
too narrow to afford a passage to the monstrous queen, and even to
the male, who keeps generally crouching by her side. Thousands of
servants busy themselves round the mother ; they feed her and carry
away, night and day, the myriads of eggs which she lays. The eggs
are placed in the egg houses, where they give birth to white larvae,
resembling the workers, which nourish themselves at first on a sort
of mouldy fungus which grows on the partitions of their cells. They
then become pupaj, then neuters, or males and females, the last two
being provided with wings.

On a stormy evening the males and females come out of their
nest by millions to couple in the air ; then immediately afterwards
they fall to the ground and lose their wings, when they become an
easy prey to their enemies. A few couples only, picked up by the
workers, are put under shelter, and become the nucleus of a new
colony. The soldiers have no other occupation but to defend the
nest. If man attacks them, at the first blow with the pickaxe
they are to be seen running out furiously. They attack their
aggressors, pierce them till they bring blood, and with their sharp
pincers hang on to the wound, and allow themselves to be torn to
pieces rather than leave go their hold. The negroes who have no
clothes are soon put to flight; Europeans only get off with their
trousers very much spotted with blood. During the combat, the
soldiers strike from time to time on the ground with their pincers,
and produce a little dry sound, to which the workers answer by a
sort of whistling. The workers immediately make their appearance ;
and with their pellets of mortar set to work to stop up the holes, and
to repair the damage. The soldiers then re-enter, with the exception
of a small number, who remain to superintend the work of the
masons ; they give, at intervals, the usual signal, and the workers
answer by a whistling which means, "Here we are!" as they redouble
their activity. If the attack recommences, the soldiers are at their
posts, defending the ground inch by inch. During this time the
workers mask the passages, stop up the galleries, and wall up with
care the royal cell. If you manage to penetrate as far as this

NE UROP TERA, 4 1 3

sanctuary, you may pick up and carry away from the cell which
contains them the precious couple without the workers in attendance
on them interrupting their work, for they are blind.

They never venture in sight except in extreme cases. No one is
ignorant of the terrible destruction these insects occasion to the
works of man. Invisible to those whom they threaten, they push on
their galleries to the very walls of their houses. They perforate the
floors, the beams, the wood-work, the furniture, respecting always the
surface of the objects attacked in such a manner that it is impossible
to be aware of their hidden ravages. They even take care to prevent
the buildings they eat away from falling by filling up with mortar the
parts they have hollowed out. But these precautions are only
employed if the place seems suitable, and if they intend to prolong
their sojourn there. In the other case they destroy the wood with
inconceivable rapidity. They have been known, in one single night,
to pierce the whole of a table leg from top to bottom, and then the
table itself; and then, still continuing to pierce their way, to descend
through the opposite leg, after having devoured the contents of a
trunk placed upon the table. On account of the devastations which
they occasion, Linnaeus has called the white ant the greatest plague
of the Indies.

There exist in France two species of termites, the Ter7nes hicifugtis,
a little insect of a brilliant black (at least in the male), with russety
legs, which is common enough in the moors of Gascony; and the
Yellow-necked White Ant {Termes flaincollis)^ which lives in the
interior of trees and does a great deal of mischief in Spain and in the
south of France to olive and other precious trees, whilst the first
attacks oak and fir trees. Latreille established that it is the Termes
lucifugus which causes such havoc at La Rochelle, at Rochefort, at
Saintes, at Tournay-Charente, in the Isle of Aix, &c., where many
houses have been completely undermined by these terrible insects.
But M. de Quatrefages* has proved that the habits of the termes
found in towns differ in many essential points from the habits of
termes in the country. And so it is most probable that the former
belong to an exotic species, which must have been unfortunately
imported into France by a merchant vessel. According to M. Bobe-
MoreaUjt it was only in 1797 that termites were discovered for the
first time in Rochefort, in a house which had stood for a long while

* *'Note sur les Termites de la Rochelle." Annales des Sciences Naturelles,
3e serie, tome xx., p. 18. 1853.

f " Memoire sur les Termites observes a Rochefort." Saintes, 1843.

414 THE INSECT WORLD.

uninhabited, and which they had completely undermined. In 1804,
Latreille relates, as a " hearsay," that the termites had for some years
made the inhabitants of Rochefort uneasy; but in 1829 the same
author tells a very different tale. He speaks with dismay of the
ravages committed by this insect in the svorkshops belonging to the
Royal Navy. The importation of the termes into France is then of
recent date. A note which was sent to M. de Quatrefages by
M. Beltremieux, fixes with still greater accuracy the date of the
importation of the termites; it must have taken place about 1780, a
period at which the brothers Poupet, rich shipowners, caused bales
of goods to come from St. Domingo to Rochefort, to La Rochelle,
and to other places in that neighbourhood which possess storehouses.
The ravages which the termites have committed in the towns of La
Saintonge are really frightful. Like Valencia, in New Granada, these
towns will find themselves one of these days suspended over cata-
combs. At Tournay-Charente, the floor of a dining-room fell in, and
the Amphytrion and his guests tumbled together in the cellar. There
may be seen in the galleries of the Museum of Natural History of
Paris the wooden columns which supported this room, and which
were preserved by Audouin, who had been sent on a mission to
report on the damages done. Audouin also selected, as an object of
curiosity, a lady's bridal veil, which had been entirely riddled with
holes by the termites.

At Li Rochelle these insects took possession of the Prefect's
house (built by the brothers Poupet), and of the Arsenal. There
they invaded offices, apartments, court, and garden. They could not
drive in a stake, or leave a plank in the garden, but it was attacked
the next day. One fine morning the archives of the department were
found destroyed, without there being the smallest trace of the damage
to b<2 seen on the exterior. The termites had mined through the
wood-work, pierced the card-board, eaten up the parchments and the
papers of the administration, but had always scrupulously respected the
upper leaf and edges of all the leaves. It was by mere chance that a
clerk, less superficial than his colleagues, one fine day raised one of
the leaves which hid this detritus, and thus discovered the destruction
of the archives. All the papers of the Prefecture are now shut up
in boxes of zinc.

These termites do not venture, any more than their congeners,
into the light of day. These terrible miners always envelop them-
selves in obscurity, and construct on all sides covered galleries as
they advance into a building. M. Blanchard and M. de Quatrefages
saw in La Rochelle the galleries made by them. They are tubes

NEUROPTERA. 415

formed of agglutinated material, which are stuck along the walls in
the cellars and the apartments, or else suspended to the roof like
stalactites. Certain parts of Agen and of Bordeaux have also
suffered from the ravages of these insects, and elsewhere danger
appears to be imminent.

We are indebted to M. de Quatrefages for some interesting experi-
ments on the termites of La Rochelle. Not only has the learned
naturalist helped to make known to us the habits of these dark-loving
insects, but he has also told us how to destroy them. Different
substances have been tried in vain to stop these terrible ravages —
essence of turpentine, arsenical soap, boiling lye, &c. M. de
Quatrefages had recourse to gaseous injections. He tried succes-
sively binoxide of nitrogen, nitric acid, chlorine and sulphurous acid ;
chlorine, above all, fully answered his hopes. With pure chlorine he
killed the termites instantaneously ; mixed with nine-tenths of air, he
suffocated them in half an hour. " For attacking the termites," says
M. de Quatrefages, " one ought to choose by preference the period of
their reproduction, so as to destroy the pregnant females. It is
probable that, like their exotic congeners, the termites of France will
endeavour to defend themselves by walling up the interior of their
galleries at the first signs of an attack. The operator must then act
with a great deal of promptitude, and direct the apparatus as much as
possible into the very centre of their habitaticn, where the galleries
are the broadest and the most numerous.

" With whatever care one acts, and wh.atever may be the success
of a first attempt, it seems to me impossible to destroy in one cam-
paign all the termites of a locality. In this, as in all operations of the
same kind, a certain amount of perseverance is necessary, especially
if it is in a town or in a country infested by them to a very great
degree; in that case one will be forced to repeat the operation from
time to time. When, on the contrary, the termites are already
cantoned, it seems to me that the success ought to be lasting. This
Ls fortunately the case at La Rochelle ; and by knowing how to profit
by it, one may doubtless prevent the spread of these pests, which at
one time or another may attack the whole town." *

In 1864 the Lords of the British Admiralty addressed an inquiry
to the Entomological Society of London, on the best means of pre-
serving wood from the attacks of the Indian termites. In answer to
this inquiry, the Entomological Society recommended many processes:

* ' ' Memoires sur la destruction des Termites." Annates des Sciences Nattirelles,
36 serie, tome xx., p. i^.

4i6

THE INSECT WORLD.

the injection of quicklime or of creosote, the apphcation of arsenical
soap, &c. But it does not appear that these processes are infallibly
efficacious, nor, above all, easy to employ.

Among other Neuroptera which undergo incomplete metamor-
phoses, we my mention, first, the genera Fer/a and Nemojira.'*

Fig. 384. — Larva of Perla
bicaudata.

Fig. 385. — Larva of
Nemoura.

Fig. 386. — Perla marginata
(larva).

(Figs. 384, 385, and 386), which flutter about the banks of rivers
and settle on stones, shrubs, and aquatic plants. Their larvae are
naked, without cases, and always live in the water, hiding themselves
under stones, to watch for small insects, for they are carnivorous.
One sees them often balancing their bodies, holding on to a pebble.
They go through the winter, and only become pupae in the spring.
After moulting, they have the rudiments of wings. Very soon after-
wards the pupae leave the water, and undergo their metamorphosis.
The adult hves only a few days, for its mouth is not suited for re-

^•- From »^/uo, a thread ; and ohph.^ a tail.— Ed.

NEUROPTERA.

417

ceiving food The larvae have, at the end of their bodies, two long
threads, which remain in the perfect Perla (Fig. 387), but not in the

Fig. 387. — Perla bicaudata.

Fig.

•Nemoura variegata.

Fig. sSg.^Nemoura variegata (larva).

perfect Nemoura; the latter lose the two caudal hairs when they
arrive at the adult state (Figs. 388, 389). One species of Perla is
very common on the quays of Paris.

The EphemeridcE^ or May-Fly family, have long, slender bodies,
71

4i8

THE INSECT WORLD.

provided with two or three long silky hairs. Their name indicates
the short duration of their existence. They appear in great numbers
at certain seasons of the year. Their hatching takes place at sunset ;
they have coupled and laid their eggs by sunrise next day, and have
ceased to live ; so that the banks of rivers, of ponds, of lakes, are
strewed with their bodies. Their number
is sometimes so considerable that, according
to Reaumur, the soil seems as if it were
covered with snow, and they are gathered
up for manure. The common Ephemera,
or May-Fly {Ephemera vulgato,, Fig. 390),
is of a brown colour, banded with yellow,
and the wings smoky, with brown spots.
These insects are remarkable for their
elegant flight ; they are continually rising
and falling. When they move their wings
they rise ; but if their wings, though spread
out, remain motionless, as also the silky
hairs which form their tail, they fall again.
They may be seen in myriads in places
where there is much water.

We have said that the Ephemerce live
only for a few hours. This is the general
rule ; but their existence can be prolonged
for ten or fifteen days by preventing their
copulation. If, however, the duration of
the life of these insects is so short when
they have reached the perfect state, and
when the conformation of the mouth pre-
vents them from taking any nourishment,
their larva state is of very long continuance.
Swammerdam says, in his curious Memoir, entitled " Vita Ephemeri,"
it is not less than three years.

The females lay their eggs in one single mass, and let them fall
into the water, in the form of a packet. The larvae which come out
of them are very active, and swim with great ease ; but generally
conceal themselves under the pebbles at the bottom. The sides of
their abdomen are provided with gills, very much fringed, which serve
them, not only for breathing the air uiider the water in the same way
that fish do, but also for swimming. The larvas have, at the extremity
of their body, two or three hairs, like the perfect insect. They hollow
out galleries in the beds of rivers and ponds, and live on small insects.

Fig. 390.
Ephemera vulgata, imago.

neuropTerA.

419

The pupa (Fig. 392) differs only from the larva (Fig. 391) in having
the rudiments of wings. When about to undergo their metamor-
phosis, they come out of the water and cling to plants, &c. The
skin cracks on the back when it is dry, and there comes out a heavy
insect, which flies feebly, and has opaque wings. It is still enveloped
in a very thin skin, of which a last moult, after a few^ hours, frees it.
This skin remains sticking to the plant on which the moulting was
effected, preserving the shape of the insect. This moult is peculiar

►fit

Fig. 391. — Larva of an Ephemera.

Fig. 392. — Pupa of an Ephemera.

to the EpJwjwcB ; it is the transition from the false imago (pseudo-
imago) to the imago.

In the same family is the genus Cloeon, whose larvae prey on
minute insects. The Cloeon diptera (Fig. 393), which has only two
wings, is often to be met with in houses, resting on the window panes
and curtains. All these insects keep badly in collections ; they lose
their shape, and their members are so fragile that the least shock
suffices to break them.

The LibellulcE^ or Dragon-Flies, are insects of a well-detined type.

42d

THE INSECT WORLD.

The elegance of their shape, the grace of their movements, have won
for them among the French tl>eir common appellation of " Demoiselles."
They are always of largish size. Many are of bright and metallic

colours, which are not inferior in
beauty to those of butterflies. Their
wings, of an extreme delicacy, always
glossy and brilliant, present varied
tints; sometimes they are completely
transparent, and* have all the colours
of the rainbow. Often, the colour
of the males differs from that of the
females. They may be seen flut-
tering about on the water during the
whole summer, especially when the
sun is at its highest. They fly with
extreme rapidity, skimming over the
water at intervals, and escaping easily
when one wishes to catch them.
Nothing is prettier than a troop of
dragon-flies taking their sport on the
side of a pond or on the banks of a
river, on a fine summer's day, when
a burning sun causes their wings to
shine with most vivid colours.

In the perfect state, as well as
in that of the larva and the pupa,
the Libellnli^ are carnivorous. Their
rapid flight makes them expert
hunters, and their enormous eyes embrace the whole horizon. They
seize, while on the wing, flies and butterflies, and tear them to pieces
immediately with their strong mandibles. Sometimes, the ardour of
the chase leading them on far from the streams, they are met with in
the fields. The female lays her eggs in the water, from which emerge
larvae which remind one somewhat of the form of the insect, only
their body is more compact and their head flattened. The larvae and
pupae inhabit the bottom of ponds and streams, where, keeping out
of sight in the mud, they seek for insects, molluscs, small fish, &c.
If any prey j^asses within their reach, they dart forward, like a
spring, a very singular arm, which represents the under lip. It is
a sort of animated mask, armed with strong jagged pincers and
supported by strong joints, the which, taken together, is equal to the
length of the body itself. This mask acts at the same time as a lip

Fig- 393.— Cloeon diptera.

NEUROPTERA,

421

and an arm ; it seizes the prey on its passage, and conveys it to the
mouth. " When any aquatic insect approaches them at a time when
they are in a humour for eating," says Charles de Geer, " they shoot
the mask forward very suddenly and Hke a flash of Hghtning, and
seize the insect between their two pincers ; then, drawing back the
mask, they bring the prey up to their mandibles, and begin to eat it.
I have remarked that they do not spare those of their own kind, but

Fig. 394. — Larva of the Libellula, and the perfect insect emerging.

that they eat each other up when they can, and I have also seen them
devouring very small fish which I put by them. It is very difticult
for other insects to avoid their blows, because, walking along generally
in the water very gently, and, as it were, with measured steps — almost
in the same way a cat does on the look-out for birds — they suddenly
dart forward their mask and seize their prey instantaneously."*
Fig. 394 represents, to the left, the larva of the dragon-fly, with the

* Charles de Geer,
ii., 2e partie, p. 674.

Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire des Insectes," tome

422 THE INSECT WORLD.

instrument of attack which we have called a " mask," and which it is
making use of for seizing a small insect; on the right, the adult
dragon-fly coming out of the nymph.

The respiration of these larvae is very singular. Their abdomen
is terminated by appendages, which they open to allow the water to
penetrate into the digestive tube, the sides of which are furnished with
gills communicating with the tracheae. The water, deprived of oxygen,
is then thrown out, and the larva advances thus in the water by the
recoil. It has no tufts of external lateral gills, which in the case of

Fig- 395 — LibcHula depressa, the Common Dragon-Fly.

the Ephemerce do the duty of fins. The pupa already presents stumps
of wings. To effect its metamorphosis it drags itself out of the
water, where it has lived for nearly a year, climbs slowly to some
neighbouring plant, and hangs itself there. Very soon the sun dries
and hardens its skin, which all of a sudden becomes crisp, and cracks.
The dragon-fly then sets free its head and its thorax, and its legs ; its
wings, still soft and wanting in vigour, gain strength by coming in
contact with the air, and, after a few hours, they have attained their
full development. Immediately the insect abandons, like a worn-out
suit, the dull slimy skin which had covered it so long, and which still
preserves its shape (Fig. 394), and dashes ofl" in quest of prey.

The LibellulcB are common all over the world. Their type is the
Libellula depressa (Fig. 395), very common in Europe. The male is

NEUROPTERA.

423

brown, with the abdomen blue underneath : the female, of a sort of
olive-yellow, bordered by yellow on the sides. Both have the
abdomen broad and flattened.

The yEs/ina, with a cylindrical abdomen, attains to the length of
two and a half inches. Its flight is more rapid than that of the
swallow. The Calepteryx flies more slowly. The male is of a
metallic blue, its diaphanous wings are traversed by a band of
greenish blue ; the female, of a bronzed green, has wings of a metallic

6^=^^

Fig. 396.— Male Raphidia. Fig. 397. —Larva of a Raphidia. Fig. 398.— Pupa of a Raphidia.

green, with a yellowish mark on the edge. These insects rest on
reeds, retaining their wings in a vertical position.

The Agriojis, which are of the same family, have the body white,
brown, or green, and the eyes very prominent. They are more slim
and graceful than the Libellulce^ properly so
called ) their larvae are very elongated.

In the spring one meets in the woods
with insects having large heads and elongated
thoraces. The females have a long auger,
with which to deposit their eggs under the
bark of trees, where their larvae, which feed
on insects, and twist themselves about like
small serpents, live. The pupae are also
very active ; they resemble the adults very
much, and have the wings laid against the
body. These insects, which are met with everywhere, but always
in small numbers, are the Raphidtce, which are here represented
(Figs. 396, 397, 398) in the state of adult larva and pupa, and
the Mantispa (Fig. 399), one species of which is common in the
south of Europe.

Fig. 399.— Mantispa pagana.

424

THE INSECT WORLD.

M. Blanchard classes in the same tribe the genus Semblis, whose"
larvae are aquatic, with scaly heads, provided with eyes, and with
curved mandibles and short antennae. The larvae and the pupae
breathe, like those of the EphemercB, by articulated external processes,
or gills, analogous to those of fishes. Nevertheless the pupae live on

Fig. 400.— Semblis lutarius, imago, pupa, and larva.

land, not in water. They hide themselves in the eartli at the foot of
trees, and the adult issues forth at the end of a fortnight, leaving its
pupa skin behind. It lives but a few days. The female lays her
eggs on reeds, stones, &c. Fig. 400 represents the Mud Scnib/is in
its three states.

We now come to those Neuroptera which undergo complete meta-

Fig. 401.— Ant-lion {Myrmeleo formicarins).

morphoses. They are the Myrmeleonidae, of which the Ant-lion
{Myrmelco) is the most prominent type, and the Fhryganidcc, or Caddis
Flies.

The larvae of the Ant-lions live on the land, and are carnivorous.
When about to undergo their transformation into pupae, they spin for

NEUROPTERA.

42s

theiTj selves a silky cocoon. The larvae of the Phryganea, 011 the
contrary, live in the water. They surround themselves with a sort of
protecting case, composed of a silky shell and incrustations of all
sorts. The pupae, as well as the larvae of these insects, breathe by
means of gills.

The Ant-lion (Myrmeko formicarius^ Fig. 401) is found in the
environs of Paris. It is an elegant insect, resembling the dragon-fly,
but is distinguished from it by its antennae. Its larva is of a rosy,
rather dirty grey, with little tufts of blackish hair on its voluminous
abdomen (Fig. 403). Its legs are rather long and slender; the two
anterior pair are directed forwards, whilst the hind legs are

Fig. 402. Ant-lion's funnel.

Fig. 403. — Larva, cocoon, and
pupa of the Ant-lion.

fixed against the body, and only permit the animal to walk back-
wards. These larvae are met with in great abundance in sandy places
very much exposed to the heat of the sun. There they construct for
themselves a sort of funnel in the sand (Fig. 402), by describing,
backwards, the turns of a spiral whose diameter gradually diminishes.
Their strong square head serves them as a spade with which to throw
the sand far away : they then hide themselves at the bottom of the
hole, their head alone being out, and wait with patience for some
insect to come near. Scarcely has the ant-lion perceived its victim
on the borders of its funnel, when it throws at it a shower of dust to
alarm it, and make it fall to the bottom of the precipice, which does
not fail to happen. Then it seizes it with its sharp mandibles, and

71*

426

THE INSECT WORLD,

sucks its blood ; after which it throws its empty skin out of the hole
and resumes the look-out. Ants especially become its prey, whence

NEUROPTERA,

427

its name of Ant-lion. Towards the month of July the larvae make
themselves a spherical cocoon, mixed with grains of sand, in which
they are transformed into pupae which are hatched towards the end
of August (Fig. 403). The ant-lions diffuse an odour of roses ; their
flight, which is weak, distinguishes them from the dragon-flies. We
meet in the south of France with a very beautiful species of Ant-lion,
the Myrmeleo libelluloides (Fig. 404) ; its larva can move forwards,
and does not dig itself a funnel (Fig. 405).

The genus Ascalaphus (Fig. 407) is remarkable for the long
clubbed antennae of its members, and for their rapid flight. They
like the sun, and live especially in hot countries ; however, one meets
with the Ascalaphus, in the month of July, near Paris, on the dry

Fig. 405.— Larva of
Myrmeleo libelluloides.

Fig. 406.— Larva
of Ascalaphus.

Fig. 407.— Ascalaphus meridionalis.

declivities of Lardy and of Poquency. Their larvae (Fig. 406) have
mandibles adapted for suction. They watch for insects under heaps
of stones, and spring upon their prey.

The first states of the Nemoptera''' (Fig. 408) are not well known.
They are insects with wings spotted with yellow and black, the lower
ones almost linear, and are met with in southern countries, and but
very rarely in the south of France.

The Hemerobii, to which are given by the French the name of
Demoiselles ierrestres, or Land Dragon- Flies, are very small delicate
insects, of an apple-green colour, with golden red eyes. These insects
leave on the fingers, when seized, an oflensive odour. Reaumur calls
them Lions des pucerons (Plant-Lice Lions), because their larvae,
which resemble the larvae of the ant-lions and live on plants, feed on

From vr\\i.(Xy a thread, and Trrepc^j/, a wing.

428

THE INSECT WORT.D.

plant-lice. They attack also caterpillars. Their mandibles are pro-
vided with a canal for suction, like those of the foregoing species.
The insects of the genus Osmylus (Fig. 409) are rather rare; but

Fig. 408.— Nemoptera Coa.

may be found in the shrubs which border ponds. They also belong*
to the Hemerobiidce. Their larvae live in wet ground.

The Pa7iorpatcE, constitute a singular little family, having a
peculiar-shaped head, which is prolonged to a sort of long and

Fig. 410. — Panorpa, male and female.

slender beak. Aristotle called them Scorpion Flies, and thought
they were winged scorpions. The . Panorpce^ properly so called
(Fig. 410), are found on hedges and plants during the summer.

nevroptrra.

429

They have slim bodies spotted with yellow and black, and four
straight wings, also spotted with black. In the males the abdomen

Fig. 411. — Pincer of male Panoi-pa.

Fig. 412.— Female Panorpa laying.

terminates in a pair of pincers (Fig. 411), which rather remind one
of the tail of a scorpion, and are destined to seize their prey,
which they kill by piercing with their beak. The female lays her

Fig. 413.— Bittacus tipularis. Fig. 414.— Boreus hiemali.s (magnified and natural size).

eggs in the ground (Fig. 412). In a week the larva makes its ap-
pearance ; it is a month in developing, it then buries itself still
deeper in the earth, and changes into a pupa, which, after a fortnight,
comes again into the light in the form of a perfect insect. There
are two other genera of Fmiof^patce^ of which Bittacus tiptdaris

430

Tnn INSECT WORLD.

(Fig. 413), resembling a large gnat, furnished with four wings, and
Boreus hiemalis (Fig. 414), of a brilliant black, met with in Sweden
and in the elevated parts of the Alps, jumping about on the snow in
considerable troops — are representatives. The latter has been found
in England.

The FhryganidcE, or Caddis Flies, are known by their larvae, of

Fig. 416. — Phryganea ihoiiibica
in repose.

Fig. 415. — Larva of Phryganea rhonibica
(magnified).

Fig. 417. — Phryganea rhonibica.

which anglers make great use. Reaumur classed them as aquatic
moths. The soft and delicate body of the lan^ae is protected by a
case, to which they cling by two hooks, placed at the extremity ol
their abdomen. They are called by different names in allusion to
their habits ; as, for instance, case worms, from their living in a case
covered with little bits of wood or sand, which they draw after them
as they go. Their scientific name, Phrygafiea^ signifies yi?^^/.* The

From (ppvyapov, a stick.

NE UROPTERA. 43 1

Ph'yganecE, in the adult state, very much resemble moths. They ap-
proach them in having rudimentary mouths, and wings without
articulations, but furnished with small hairs, analogous to the scales
of Lepidoptera. They may be said to form a sort of connection be-
tween the Lepidoptera and Neuroptera. They have been called
Mouches papilionacees^ or Papilionaceous Flies. The eggs laid by
the female Phryganea are enclosed in gelatinous capsules, which
swell in the water and attach themselves to stones, &c. The larva
has the appearance of a little worm without feet. It is soon hatched,
and resembles at first a little black line, and may be easily reared in
an aquarium. The operation of making the silky case which it
draws after it, and which protects its abdomen, may then be observed.
When it is disturbed, it retreats entirely within its case. The interior
is smooth, and lined with mud ; on the exterior it is fortified with
stones, &c.

I The Phryganea rhonibica (Figs. 415, 416, 417) furnishes its case

I with bits of wood or grass, arranged as
shown in Fig. 418. Some species arrange

; these bits of wood and glass in spiral,

; others in parallel series. The Phryganea
fiavicornis covers its dwelling with little
shells. " These kinds of dress," says
Reaumur, " are very pretty, but they are
also excessively singular. A savage who,
instead of being covered with furs, should
be covered with musk rats, moles, or
other entire animals, would have on an Fig. 418,

extraordinary costume; this is in some Regular cases of a Phryganea.

sort the case with our larvae." Other

Phryganece employ for constructing the case which serves them as a
dwelling sand and small pebbles ; each species always employing the
same materials, unless they are entirely deprived of these and obliged
to employ others. These cases protect the larvae against the voracity
of their enemies. The larvae have a scaly head ; and the three first
rings of their body are harder than the rest. They live in water, and
breathe by means of branchious sacs, arranged on the abdomen in
soft and flexible tufts. They eat everything that is presented to them :
leaves, and even insects and the larvae of their own kind. The pupae
are motionless. They stay about a fortnight in their case, the orifice
of which is closed by gratings of silk, then break through the gratings,
and leave their prison. In this state (Fig. 419) they swim on the
water until they meet with an object to which they can attach them-

452

THE IMSECT WORLD.

selves, and so get out. Then they swell till they crack their skin
over the back, and the perfect insect emerges.

The Phryga7iea pilosa (Fig. 420) is of a yellowish grey, with hairy
wings, little adapted for flying. These insects do not eat, and never
leave the neighbourhood of the water. During the day they rest on

419. — Pupa of Phryganea
pilosa, magnified.

Fig. 420.— Phryganea pilosa.

flowers, on walls, or on the trunks of trees, their wings folded back,
and their antennae together. In the evening they fly in dense
swarms over streams and ponds. They are attracted by light, as are
many nocturnal insects ; and are sometimes found in great numbers
on the lamps on the quays in Paris.

The Hydi'opsychcs (Fig. 421) and Rhyacophili (Fig. 422) are small
insects which resemble the Phryganece. very closely. Their larvne
have, for the purposes of respiration, some gills, others retracti;
tubes. They construct for themselves fixed places of shelter, moi t
or less imperfect, at the bottom of the water, and against large stones.

Fig. 421.— Hydropsyche (Phryganea) atomaria, larva, pupa, imago, and larva-case.

Fig. 422.— Rhyacophilus vulgatus, larva, pupa, cocoon, and imago (male).

434

THn ISISECT WORLD.

which they leave occasionally for a few moments. Sometimes these
cases contain several larvae. Fig. 421 represents the various states
K)i a Hydropsyche ; the larva is seen on the left, the pupa on the right,
the winged insect in the middle. Two of the insect's tents, or places
of shelter, are represented below. Fig. 422 shows the different states
of Bhyacophilus vulgatus, larva, cocoon, pupa, and imago. The
genus Rhyacophilus has this peculiarity, that the larva spins itself a
cocoon in the interior of its dwelling before changing into a pupa.

435

IX.

COLEOPTERA.

In collections of insects the Coleoptera almost always occupy the
principal place. They are sought after by collectors on account of
the brightness of their colours, of the solidity of their integuments,
and the facility with which they can be preserved. This circumstance
has contributed much to give to the Coleopterous Order marked
preponderance in the immense series of insects. Many more have
been collected than any one has as yet been enabled to describe ;
and the collections are encumbered with species of which no naturalist
has yet given an account.

Admitting that the first-rate collections contain each about
25,000 perfectly distinct species, and that a certain fraction of these
treasures is peculiar to each collection, M. Blanchard came to the
conclusion that we must estimate the number at more than 100,000
of the species of Coleoptera which would be obtained if the different
entomological collections of France, England, and Germany were
put together. But every day we see arriving from different regions
of the globe new riches, hardly dreamt of up to that time ; and it is
not only the small species, but the larger and more beautiful also,
which furnish their contingent. It may, then, be believed that, if the
entire surface of the earth were carefully explored, we should obtain an
incalculable number of Coleoptera, having sufficient characteristics
to constitute distinct species or kinds.

The Coleoptera (from KoXeos, a sheath, and TrrepoV, a wing) are
insects with four wings. The anterior wings, or elytra, are not used
in flying ; they are sheaths, more or less hard, sometimes varied with
bright colours, and never crossing over each other. The posterior
wings are membranous, presenting a ramification of veins, and usually
folding up under the elytra, which protect them when at rest. The
mouth of Coleoptera is provided with mandibles, with jaws, and two
quite distinct lips, and is suited for mastication. They undergo
complete metamorphosis. After an existence of greater or less extent

436 THE INSECT WORLD.

in the larva state (in the case of the cockchafer three years), the
insect changes into a pupa, which remains in a state of complete
immobility. After a certain time, the pupa bursts its envelope and
assumes the form of a perfect insect. The Coleoptera present the
utmost variety of habits as regards their habitations and food. One
does not find in this Order those admirable instincts, those manifesta-
tions of intelligence, which bring certain Hymenoptera near to those
beings which are highest in the animal scale ; but they offer
peculiarities very well deserving serious and profound study. Some
are carnivorous, and thus they are useful to man in destroying other
noxious insects, which they seek on the ground, on low plants, on
trees, and even in the depths of the waters. Many of these Coleop-
tera feed on animal matter in a state of putrefaction. We may look
on them as useful auxiliaries : they are Nature's undertakers.

A great number live in the excrements of animals. The dung of
oxen, buffaloes, and camels affords shelter to Coleoptera of different
families, which thus live on vegetable matter more or less animalised.
Others attack skins and dried animals in general ; and some are the
pest of entomological collections. Lastly, immense legions of
Coleoptera are phytophagous ; that is to say, they attack roots, bark,
wood, leaves, and fruits, and cause much annoyance to the agricul-
turist. Above all, the larvae are to be dreaded. Those which live in
wood may in a few years occasion the loss of trees, vigorous and full
of life ; or completely destroy the beams of a building. Certain larvae,
such as those of the cockchafer, eat away the roots of vegetables, and
so destroy the harvests. Others, lastly, devour the leaves and the
stalks of plants, attack the flowers in the gardens, or the corn in the
barns ; and so man makes desperate war against them.

In the immense variety of known Coleoptera we must be con-
tented to choose those types which are most prominent and most
characteristic. We will begin with the Scarabceides^ with their heavy
compact body, and short antennas, terminated by a foliaceous club. \
It is to this tribe that belongs the beautiful Rose Beetle {Cetonia
aurata), which lives on roses ; the Cockchafer {Meioiontha vulgaris) ;
the Scarahceus of the Egyptians ; &c.

This is the most interesting tribe of the whole Order Coleoptera.
It corresponds with the great division of the Lamellicornes of Latreille.
This name of Lafnelliconies was intended to remind us of the arrange-
ment into laminae, more or less close together, of the club of the
antennae of these insects. Many Scarabcei have their mandibles
membranous, or at least partially so, and always small. This
peculiarity corresponds to their habits. Never, indeed, have they to

COLEOPTERA, 437

triturate Imrd bodies ; they all feed either on flowers, on leaves, or on
stercoraceous matter. Their larvae resemble each other much, even
those of families very widely differing from each other in the perfect
state. They are large, whitish worms, with diaphanous skins, scaly
heads, furnished with toothed mandibles, living in the ground or in
rotten wood. The pupae are fat and stumpy, and they already show
the features of the perfect insect. They make a chamber in which to
undergo their changes. They remain generally three years in the
larva state. The duradon of the pupa is very short, as also is that of
the perfect insect. The differences of the sexes are often very marked
on the exterior, by protuberances, horns, &c., which constitute the
distinctive ornament of the males.

In the group of Scarabceides we shall have to speak, above all, of

Fig. 423. — Rose Beetle {Cetoitia aurata).

the CetoniadcE, the Chafers, and the Scarabcei properly so called.
The family Cetoniadce is one of the most remarkable, on account of
the beauty of the insects which compose it and of the richness of
their metallic lustre, some being of great splendour, and others having
velvety tints. The larvae live in wood in a state of decomposition ;
the perfect insects frequent flowers, and like the sun.

This family contains a great number of species, the type of which
is the Rose Beetle {Cefonia aurata), of a beautiful green colour shot
with gold, with transverse whitish lines. The rose beetle frequents
roses especially, of which it eats the petals and the stamens. It is
the Golden Melolontha of Aristotle, who tells us that this unfortunate
insect shared with the cockchafer the privilege of amusing children.
The Cetonia flies by day and by night, making use of its inferior wings

43^ Tt^K INSECT WORLD,

without opening the elytra (Fig. 423). When seized, it pours oui
from the extremity of its abdomen a foetid Uquid, the only means of
defence the poor insect possesses. The larva (Fig. 424) much
resembles the larva of the cockchafers, but the legs are shorter. It
is found in rotten wood, and often in ants' nests. When it has
acquired its full development it makes a cocoon of an oval form
(Fig. 424), in which it transforms itself into a pupa; the cocoon is
composed of bits of wood agglomerated with a silky matter which
the larva secretes.

The larva of the Cdotiia splendidula — which is the most mag-
nificent found in France — is met with sometimes in the nests of wild
bees. In Russia the rose beetle is considered a verv efficacious

Fig. 424.— Larva and cocoon of the Rose Beetle.

remedy for hydrophobia. In the governorship of Saratow, which is
traversed by the Volga, hydrophobia is very frequent, on account of
the heats which reign during the whole summer in its arid steppes.
The inhabitants, incessantly exposed to be bitten by mad dogs, have
tried in succession a great many preparations to remedy the results
of these terrible accidents. It appears that the Cetonia, dried and
reduced to powder, has produced on many occasions good effects.
This is the recipe which an inhabitant of Saratow published in a
Russian journal — adding, that he had employed it for thirty years,
that not one of the patients treated by him had died, and that his
remedy could be employed with success in all the phases of the
disease : — In spring they search at the bottom of the nests of the
wood ant for certain Avhite larvae, which they carefully preserve in a
pot, together with the earth in which they were found, till the
moment of their metamorphosis, which takes place in the month of
May. The insect, which is the common rose beetle, is killed, dried,

COLEOPTERA. 439

and kept in pots hermetically sealed, so that it may preserve the
strong odour which it exhales in spring, which seems to be a
necessary condition of the remedy proving efficient. When a case
of hydrophobia presents itself, they reduce to powder some of these,
and spread this powder on a piece of bread-and-butter, and make
the patient eat it. Every part of the insect must enter into the
composition of this powder, which, for this reason, cannot be very
fine. During the whole time a patient is under treatment he must
avoid drinking as much as possible, or, if his thirst is very great, he
must only drink a little pure water ; but he may eat. Generally, this
remedy produces sleep, which may last for thirty-six hours, and which
must not be disturbed. When the patient wakes, he is, they say,
cured. The bite must be treated locally with the usual surgical
appliances.

As to the dose of the remedy, that depends on the age of the
patient and the development of the disease. They give, to an adult,
immediately after the bite, from two to three beetles ; to a child, from
one to two ; to a person in whom the disease has already declared
itself, from four to five. Given to a person in good health, the remedy,
however, would not be the least dangerous. In cases in which the
symptoms of hydrophobia show themselves some days after the
employment of the remedy, they recommence the treatment. They
have also tried to prepare this remedy with insects collected not in
their larva but in the imago state, by catching them on flowers, and
it seems that these attempts have succeeded. According to M. Bog-
danoff, in many governorships of the south of Russia the lovers of
sporting are in the habit of making their dogs from time to time
swallow (as a preservative) half of a Cetonia with bread or a little wine.
Every one in that country is persuaded of the efficacy of this means
for stopping the development of the disease. In the presence, how-
ever, of M. Pasteur's well-known researches and treatment, it would
be safer to reject this belief, although it is widespread and deeply
rooted, savouring as it does of the rank superstition of another
century than this.

Two smaller species than the rose beetle, the Cetonia stictica and
the Cetojzta hirtel/a, which has yellowish hairs, live on the flowers of
thistles. Western Africa, the Cape, Madagascar, &c., are very rich
in species of CetonicB. Among the Cetoniadce is the genus Goliathus,
gigantic insects which inhabit Africa. Their total length sometimes
attains from three to five inches. Their colours are generally a dull
white or yellow, which has nothing metallic about it, with spots of a
velvety black — these are due to a sort of down of an extreme thin-

440

THE INSECT WORLD.

Fig. 425.
Cetonia argentea.

ness, and which very easily comes off. The head of these enormous
Coleoptera is generally cut or scooped out, and is adorned sometimes
with one or two horns. Their legs, strong and robust, are armed
with spurs, and sometimes present on their
exterior sharp indentations, which give to these
insects a crabbed physiognomy, which their in-
offensive habits are far from justifying. All these
horns, and all these teeth, which look so terrible,
are nothing, in fact, with a great number of these
insects, but simple ornaments. They compose
the picturesque uniform of the males. They
are equivalent to the bear-skin caps, the flaming
helmets, and the bullion-fringed epaulettes of
our soldiers. The dress of the female Goliathus
is much more modest, as is becoming to the
sex. We here represent the Goliathus Derbyana
(Fig. 426) and Polyphemus (Fig. 427).

The Goliaths were formerly excessively rare
in collections, and of a price inaccessible to
ordinary amateurs — one single specimen costing
as much as twenty pounds. But for some time the Goliaths of
the coast of Guinea and of Cape Palmas have been sold to European
amateurs at a modest price, thanks to those travellers who, after the
example of Dr. Savage, have collected them by hundreds in the coun-
tries which produce them. These enormous Coleoptera are seen on the
coast of Guinea fluttering about at the top of trees, the flowers ot
which they are seeking after. To catch them the trees are felled or else
they are shot at with a gun loaded with sand, as is also done for the
humming-birds. The species which Dr. Savage made common is the
Goliathus cacicus^ of Avhich we represent the male and female (Figs.
428, 429). It is met with on the coast of Guinea. The Goliathus
Dricryi (Fig. 430) inhabits Sierra Leone, on the west coast of Guinea.
The numerous expeditions which are at the present moment being
made into the interior of Africa will not fail to increase the number
of species of these splendid insects, which are the ornament of all
collections.

The group of the Trichiadce, which has in Great Britain and in
France a few representatives, is very nearly the same as that of the
CetotiiadcB. The Trichiadce have the elytra shorter, the abdomen
bigger, and the legs more slender. The Trichius fasciatus, which is
black, and covered with an ashy down, with the elytra yellow, and with
three black bands, is to be met with in quantities on the garden rose-

COLEOPTERA,

441

tree, in the months of June and July. The larvae live in the interior
of old beams of wood, respecting their surfaces. In a garden, at a
few leagues from Paris, a little wooden bridge had been built. It
seemed on the outside to be in a perfect state of preservation.

Fig. 426.— Goliathus Derbyana

Fig. 427.— Goliathus Polyphemus.

Nothing on the exterior would have led one to think it was possible
for the oak timbers which composed it to break down. A good many
of them, however, broke suddenly. It was then seen that the wood
had been scooped out right up to the surface, which was nothing
better than a thin sheet, of an imperceptible thinness. All the
interior was full of Trichii, in the states of larva, pupa, and perfect
insect.

The Trichius fasciatus^ sometimes called the Bee Beetle, is very

442

THE INSECT WORLD.

Fig. 428. — Collathus cacicus, male.

common in the environs of Paris. Geoffroy has described it under
the rather quaint name of the " Livree d'Ancre," because th^

COLEOPTERA.

443

Fig. 429. Goliathus cacicus, female.

Marquis of Ancre made his servants wear yellow coats, bordered by
braid alternately crossed with green and yellow.

The Osmoderma eremita is a large insect, of purple colour,

Fig. 430.— Goliathus Druryi (natural size).

COLEOPTERA. 44^

formerly common in the environs of Paris, but which, now-a-days,
cannot be found nearer than Fontainebleau. One must look for
them in earth which fills up the cavity of old willows or of pear trees.
The smell of Russia leather, or of plum, which it exhales, has caused
it to be called, in some places, the Plum-tree Beetle.

The Gnorimus nobilis much resembles the rose beetle, and is
found on elder flowers, the whiteness of which this golden insect
relieves. One species, much smaller, only one or two lines long, is the
Valgus hemiptenis^ which is often met with in spring, in the dust of
the roads. The female has a long auger, which enables it to deposit
its eggs in rotten wood. Dumeril has described at length the singular
movements of this little insect: — The jerking and, as it were,
convulsive, movements by which it transports itself from one place to
another ; its tottering attitude, resulting from the excessive length of
its hind legs ; the vertical carriage of these, which, by their singular
direction, interfere much with the walking, which is directed by the
other legs. One should, above all, notice the artifice which the
Valgus employs, as indeed do many Coleoptera, to escape from his
persecutors, by counterfeiting death. As soon as it is seized by any
enemy, its members stiffen and become motionless. The body,
abandoned to itself, lies unevenly on whatever side it falls, for its legs
no longer bend ; if you bend them over, they remain in the inclination
given to them. Nothing then betrays life in this little dry and
slender being, frozen with fear, and imitating death, without, perhaps,
being aware itself of what it is doing.

We must still further mention here the Licas — beautiful insects
of the same group, which are met with in South America, and whose
males have an extraordinary head. They fly during the day round
the great trees on which they live. Fig. 431 represents the Inca
dathrata.

The most commonly-known insect of the family with which we
are now occupied is the cockchafer. The French word for cock-
chafer, hanneton, according to M. Mulsant, comes from the Latin,
alitonus {i.e., having sonorous wings), which first became hallefon.
Linn?eus gave them first the name o^ Melolontha, which they probably
had among the Greeks, and which seems to be the case from this
passage in Aristophanes, in his comedy of "The Clouds:" — "Let
your spirit soar," says the Greek author, " let it fly whither it lists,
like the Melolontha tied with a thread by the leg." We see that the
! habit of martyrising cockchafers is of very early date. The Common
i Cockchafer (Fig. 432) is one of the greatest pests to agriculture. In
^1 its perfect state it devours the leaves of many trees, principally those

446

The insect wOi^ld.

of the elm ; and so children call the fruit of the elm-tree by the
name of " Pains d'Hanneton." But the destruction which ihey
occasion in their perfect state is little when compared with that which
is caused by their larvae — those white grubs so dreaded by agricul-
turists.

Cockchafers make their appearance from the month of April, il

Fig. 431. — Inca clathrata.

the season is warm. But It is in the month of May that they show
themselves in great quantities ; and so they are called in Germany
Maikafer (Maychafer). They are met with also in June. Tlie
duration of their life as a perfect insect is six weeks. They fear the
lieat of the day and the bright sunshine, so, during the day, they
remain hooked on to the under surface of leaves. It is only early in
the morning, and at sunset, that one sees the cockchafers fluttering
round the trees which they frequent. They fly with rapidity, pro-

COLEOPTERA.

AA/

ducing a monotonous sound by the friction of their wings. But the
cockchafer steers badly when it flies ; it knocks itself at each instant
against obstacles it meets with. It then falls heavily to the ground,

\

Fig. 432.— Cockchafer (^Melolontha V7clgar{s).

land becomes the plaything of children, who are constantly on tlie
iook-out for them. There is a saying, "Etourdi comme un hannetoTi.''
What contributes still more to render the flight of these insects heavy
and sustained only for a short time together is that they are obliged

44^ THE INSECT WORLD.

to inflate themselves like balloons in order to rise into the air : it is
a peculiarity which they share with the migratory locust. Before
taking its flight, the cockchafer agitates its wings for some minutes,
and inflates its abdomen with air. The French children, who
perceive this manoeuvre, say that the cockchafer ''compte ses ecus''
(is counting its money), and they sing to it this refrain, which has
l3een handed down for many generations :—

'* Hanneton, vole, vole,
Va-t'en a I'ecole."

A variation which we hear in the western provinces of France ii
the following : —

** Barbot, vole, vole, vole,
Ton peie est a I'ecole,
Qui m'a dit, si tu ne voles,

II te coupera la gorge
Avec un grand couteau de Saint-George."

%

During the day the cockchafers remain under the leaves in a state
of perfect immobility ; for the heat which gives activity to other
insects, seems, on the contrary, to stupefy them, and it is during the
night only that they devour the leaves of elms, poplars, oaks, beech,
birch-trees, &c. In years when their number is not very great, one
hardly perceives the damage done by them ; but at certain periods
they appear in innumerable legions, and then whole parts of gardens
or woods are stripped of their verdure, and present, in the middle of
the summer, the appearance of a winter landscape. The trees thus
stripped do not in general die ; but they recover their former vigour
with difticulty, and, in the case of orchard trees, remain one or two
years without bearing fruit. It is principally the trees skirting woods,
and situated along cultivated fields, which are exposed to the ravages
of the cockchafer, because the larvae of these insects are developed
in the fields. In the interior of forests they are never met with in
great numbers.

In certain years cockchafers multiply in such a frightful manner
that they devastate the whole vegetation of a country. In the
environs of Blois 14,000 cockchafers were picked up by children in
a few days. At Fontainebleau they could have gathered as many
in a certain year in as many hours. Sometimes they congregate in
swarms, like locusts, and migrate from one locality to another, when
they lay waste everything. To present an idea of the prodigious
extant to which cockchafers increase under certain circumstances,

72

COLEOPTERA. 45 1

we will give a few statistics: — In 1574, these insects were so
abundant in England that they stopped many mills on the Severn.
In 1688, in the county of Galway, in Ireland, they formed such a
black cloud that the sky was darkened for the distance of a league,
and the country people had great difficulty in making their hay in
the places where they alighted. They destroyed the whole of the
vegetation in such a way that the landscape assumed the desolate
appearance of winter. Their voracious jaws made a noise which
may be compared to that produced by the sawing of a large piece of
wood, and in the evening the buzzing of their wings resembled the
distant rolling of drums. The unfortunate Irish were reduced to the
necessity of cooking their invaders, and, for the want of any other
food, of eating them. In 1804, immense swarms of cockchafers,
precipitated by a violent wind into the Lake of Zurich, formed on
the shore ^a thick bank of bodies heaped up one on the other, the
putrid exhalations from which poisoned the atmosphere. On May 18,
1832, at nine o'clock in the evening, a legion of cockchafers
assailed a diligence on the road from Gournay to Gisors, just as it
was leaving the village of Talmontiers ; the horses, blinded and
terrified, refused to advance, and the driver had to return as far as
the village, to wait till this strange storm was over (Plate XL).
M. Mulsant, in his " Monographic des l>amellicornes de la France,"
relates that in May, 1841, clouds of cockchafers traversed the Saone,
from the south-east in the direction of the north-west, and settled in
the vineyards of the Maconnais. The streets of the town of Macon
were so full of them that they were shovelled up with spades. At
certain hours, one could not pass over the bridge without whirling
a stick rapidly round and round, to protect oneself against their
touch.

The coupling takes place towards the end of May, after which
the males die ; the females only surviving them for the time
necessary to ensure the propagation of the species. The number of
eggs which a female lays is from twenty to thirty. With her front leg
she hollows out a hole in the ground from two to four inches in
depth, and deposits her eggs, of a yellowish white and of the size of
hemp-seed, therein. Her instinct leads her to choose soft, light, and
well-manured soils, which are, at the same time, the best ventilated
and the most fertile. We may conclude from this that cultivation
and labour have made the cockchafer more common than it was
formerly. It is the child of civilisation, the parasite of agriculture.
In from four to six weeks after being laid, the little larvae are hatched
(Fig, 433), and immediately attack the roots of vegetables. They

452

THE INSECT WORLD.

have a hard and horny head, and slender black legs, longer than in
any other species of Scarahceides. Their body is composed of a
whitish pulp under a transparent skin ; the head and the mouth have

Fig. 433.— Larva of the Cockchafer {Melolontha vulgaris).

a reddish tinge. The length of their existence in this state is three,
sometimes four years. From the egg laid in the month of June is
hatched a larva, in the month of July. It increases in size during the
last six months of the year, and continues to do so during the two

Fig. 434.~Pupa of the Cockchafer {Melolontha vulgaris).

following years, changing its skin many times during the period.
Towards the end of the third year it changes into a pupa, after
having surrounded itself with a cocoon consolidated with a glutinous
froth and some threads of silk. The pupa (Fig. 434), is of a paie
russety yeliow, with two little points at the extremity of its body ; the
elytra and the wings, lying down, cover the legs and the antenmv.

COLEOPTERA. 453

Towards the end of October the perfect insect is already marked
out, but it is still soft and weak. It passes the winter in its hiding-
place, hardens and becomes coloured at the end of the winter, and
shows itself by degrees on the surface of the ground. In the month
of April, three years after its birth, the cockchafer emerges from the
earth, and commences its attack on the leaves of trees. This long
duration of the development of the insect explains why we do not see
them every year in the same number. When they have once appeared
in great quantities, it is not for three years afterwards that we need
expect to see their progeny again in proportionate numbers. It is,
then, every three years that we have a cockchafer year like 1865, but
in the intermediate years they are never very abundant. For the
first year the little larvae do not eat much. They feed then princi-
pally on fragments of dung, and on vegetable detritus, and keep
together in families. In winter they bury themselves deeply, so as to
be secure against frost and floods. Next spring the want of a greater
abundance of food forces them to disperse. They then make subter-
ranean galleries in all directions, without, however, going far from the
place where they were hatched. They begin attacking the roots
which they find within their reach ; the damage they do increasing
with their size and the strength of their mandibles. Among roots,
they seem to prefer those of the strawberry and of rose-trees ; but
they do not despise other vegetables, and attack legumes and cereals
as well as bushes and plants. The ravages which they occasion are
sometimes incalculable ; market gardens are sometimes entirely
devastated. Fields of lucerne have been seen partially destroyed by
them ; meadows of great extent lose their pasturage ; oat fields die off
before they have come to maturity ; and many of the ears of corn fall
before they are cut.

In proportion as they increase in age and in strength — especially
in their last year — do they attack also ligneous vegetation. When
they have gnawed away the lateral roots of a young tree, the new
shoots corresponding to them dry up. The larvae then attack the
principal root, and thus bring about the death of the tree. There
will be found round the roots of trees thus attacked immense numbers
of these worms. M. Deschiens relates that he had seen six hectares
of acorns, sown three times in the space of five years with a perfect
result, entirely destroyed as many times by the larvae of the cock-
chafer. A nurseryman of Bourg-la-Reine suffered, in 1854, from
the ravages of these terrible larvae, losses which he estimated at
30,000 francs. Others only preserved about a hundredth part of
their plants. In Prussia they destroyed, in 1835, a considerable

4^4 THE INSECT WdRLD.

nursery of trees in the Insliiut Forestier. In the forests of Kolbetz
more than a thousand measures of wild pines were destroyed in the
same way.

We shall not, then, be surprised to learn that the thunders of
excommunication were formerly launched at the cockchafers, as they
were also at the caterpillars and the locusts. We do not know
whether this had much impression upon them. In 1479, ^^ cock-
chafers, having occasioned a famine in the country, were cited before
the ecclesiastical tribunal of Lausanne. The advocate (Fribouig)
who defended them, did not find, doubtless, in the resources of his
eloquence arguments powerful enough in their favour; for the tribunal,
after mature deliberation, condemned the accused troop, and sentenced
them to be banished from the territory. But it is not enough to pass
a sentence — there must also be the means of putting it in execution ;
and these were wanting to the tribunal of Lausanne. And so the
condemned cockchafers continued to live on Swiss land, without
appearing mindful of the condemnation which had been fulminated
against them.

The larvae of the cockchafer are not easily destroyed. They
successfully resist those scourges which one fancies must harm them.
Thus, the inundation which devastated the banks of the Saone, several
years ago, had no effect 011 them. The land and meadows, which
had remained for from four to five weeks under water, were none the
more rid of them. The only circumstance which is really hurtful to
them, and to the adult cockchafer, is late frost in the months of April
and May. When these frosts come after mild weather, they surprise
the larvse at the surface of the soil, and kill them. Unfortunately,
the same causes do harm to the plants w^iich have already begun to
spring up. Nature has not, then, sufficiently provided the means of
destroying these mischievous beings. One would say that she had
not foreseen their extraordinary multiplication, which has been, we
must confess, encouraged by agriculture and by the cultivation of
the land.

Animals do not contribute much towards limiting the number of
cockchafers, although the latter are not vvanting in natural enemies.
Among msects, it is the large species of Carabus which search after
the larvae as well as the adult cockchafers. The Carabus auratus
attacks them with great coolness. M. Blanchard saw a carabus seize
a cockchafer in the middle of the road, open its belly with its man-
dibles, and devour its intestines. The cockchafer tossed about from
one side to the other, and even walked, while it was undergoing its
cruel punishment ; and the Carabus followed it without internipting

COLEOPTERA. 455

Its work. Some reptiles, many carnivorous animals, such as the
shrew-mice, pole-cats, weasels, rats, and certain birds, especially the
night-birds, prey upon the cockchafer and its larvae. Ravens and
magpies, which are seen going from clod to clod, make savage but
insufficient war against them. In fact, all these animals together do
not destroy the hundredth part of the cockchafers which are born
every year.

As an example which will show the extent of the evil, a field of
29 acres was ploughed up into 72 furrows. At the first ploughing
were gathered 300 larvae per furrow; at the second, 250; at the
third, 30 more; which amounted to 600 per furrow, and to 43,200 in
all. Man, who is the victim of these ravages, has been necessarily
obliged to think of a means of destroying this enemy. Many infallible
means have been proposed, which have, however, given no result.
Prizes have been offered, but the evil has not diminished. Here are
a few of the processes recommended.

Immediately after the ploughing, you must turn into the field
infested by the larvse a flock of turkeys, to whom it will be a great
treat to devour them, or else you must sow in the field rape-seed,
very thickly, which you must then bury by a very deep ploughing,
when it is as high as your hand. Colewort, it is said, kills the
larvae, while it at the same time manures the soil. Or again, you
must plough up the land on the approach of hard frosts, to expose
the worms to the cold. Lastly, you can water the field with oil of
coal, or sprinkle it with ashes of boxwood. All these are expensive.
The simplest means are here the best. It is better to depend upon
labour than destructive substances, whose employment always presents
inconveniences. Considering the difficulties which oppose themselves
to us in our search after larvae, we had better collect them in their
adult state by violently shaking the branches of the trees on which
they doze during the day, and then kill them in some way or other,
thus destroying from twenty to forty eggs with each female. A general
cockchafer hunt, rendered obligatory by law, and encouraged by
prizes, would be the only efficacious means of opposing a pest which
costs agriculture many millions. This means would also be less
costly than the turning up of the land concealing the larvae, when it
is remembered that they prefer land in full bearing.

In 1835 the General Council of La Sarthe voted a sum of
20,000 francs for a cockchafer hunt. Nearly 600,000 litres were
delivered in, thanks to a prize of three centimes per litre. As a
litre contains about 500 cockchafers, there were thus destroyed
about 300,000,000 of them. It is true that M. Romieu, then

456 THE INSECT WORLD.

Prefect of La Sartlie, who was the principal promoter of this ex-
cellent measure, became food for the wit of the newspapers, and
was represented dressed like a cockchafer in the Charivari. Deri-
sion and ridicule are too often the reward of useful ideas. In
Switzerland were taken, in 1807, more than 150,000,000 of these
insects. But these isolated measures were useless in producing a
durable, result.

It has been tried to make use of cockchafers in industrial arts.
According to M. Farkas, they have succeeded, in Hungary, by boiling
them in water, in extracting from them an oil, which is used to grease
the v/heels of carriages ; and, according to M. Mulsant, the blackish
liquid which is contained in the oesophagus may be used for painting.
But the produce arising from these industrial occupations is not con-
siderable enough to ensure them a certain extension, wliich is to be
regretted, for agriculture would thus be rid of one of its most formidable
scourges. Poultry are sometimes fed on these insects ; pigs are also
very fond of them.

The Melolo)itha Hippocastani differs from the common species in
having black legs. The Mdolontha ful/o, twice as large as the
common species, is variegated with tawny and white. It is met with
on the sea-coasts, and on the downs of the north and south of
France, as its larv?e feed on the roots of maritime plants.

Among the genera very near to the cockchafer we will mention
the little Rhizotrogits, light-coloured and hairy, which flies in the
evening in the meadows, and the Eitdilorie, or A?ioniahe^ of splendid
metallic colours. The Anomala vitis is an insect of about half an
inch long, of a beautiful green, bordered by yellow, with the elytra
deeply furrowed. It sometimes causes extensive ravages in the
vineyards.

After the Cetoniadce and the Cockchafers, we come to the Scara-
bceidce, properly so called. The Orydes nasicornis (Fig. 435) is very
common all over Europe. It is about an inch long, of a chestnut-,
brown, and perfectly smooth. The male has on the head a horn,
which is wanting in the female (Figs. 436, 437). Its larva, which is a
great whitish worm, larger than that of the cockchafer, lives in rotten
wood and in the tan which is employed in hot-houses and in garden-
frames. They were to be found by hundreds in the old hot-houses of
the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. The market-gardeners, who employ
the tannin of the oak bark, have rendered this Coleopteron very
common in the environs of that capital. Fig. 438 represents an
exotic species, the Xylotrtipes didwtomus.

Among the true Scarahcei we meet with many species of gigantic

COLEOPTERA.

457

size, especially in America. DynasUs Hercules, a great insect of a
fine ebony black, with its elytra of an olive grey, is not rare in the

Fig. 436.— Head of Oryctes nasicomis,
male.

^^^

■w^

Fig. 435. — Oryctes nasicomis, male.

Fig- 437. — Head of Oryctes nasicomis,
female.

Antilles. Its thorax is prolonged into a horn as long as its body,
and bent round at the extremity ; its head has also a long horn
standing erect. The females want these appendages. Fig. 439
represents the Golofa claviger of Guiana.

The Geotrupes are insects almost as common as the chafers. As

Fig. 438. — Xylotrupes dichotomus.

their name reminds us, they make holes in the ground, which they
scoop out, particularly in meadows, under cow-dung which has grown
72*

458 THE INSECT WORLD.

dry on the surtace. It is under the excrements of ruminating
animals and horses that they must be looked for. They fly especially
at night, and may be seen buzzing about on fine summer evenings
in the vicinity of dung heaps.

The Geotrupes stercorarius, the Shard-born Beetle, Clock, or
Dumbledor, is of a brilliant bluish black, and attains to a length of
about two-thirds of an inch. We may consider this Coleopteron as
a useful auxiliary of man in ridding the soil of excrementitious
matter. The genus Trox, which belongs to the same group,
generally inhabits sandy countries, and has its body nearly always
covered with earth or dust ; it lives on vegetable substances, or on

Fig- 439 — Golofa claviger,

animal matter in a state of decomposition. The habits of the genus
Copris resemble those of Geotntpes ; they live in excrement. The
form of their clypeus, broad, rounded, without teeth, and advancing
over the mouth, suffices to distinguish the kindred species. In the
environs of Pans and in England the Copris hmaris is found. Tht-
larvae of these msects form a cocoon composed of earth and dung
before transforming themselves into pupae ; this cocoon is more or
less round, and acquu'es a great hardness.

The species of the genus Ateuchiis collect portions of excrement
which they make up into balls, and roll till they are as perfectly
rounded as pills, in which they lay their eggs. This habit has
gained for these insects the name of pill-makers. Their hind legs
seem to be particularly adapted for this operation, for they are very
long and somewhat distant from the other legs, which gives to the

COLEOPTRRA.

459

Fig. 440.— Scarabaeus (Golofa) Porteri.

Ateuchi a strange appearance, and makes it hard work for them
to walk. They walk backwards and often fall head over heels.
They are generally seen on declivities exposed to the greatest heat of

4^ THE INSECT WORLD.

the sun, assembled together to the number of four or five, occupied
in rolHng the same ball ; so that it is impossible to know which is the
real proprietor of this rolling object. They seem not to know them-
selves; for they roll indifferently the first ball which they meet with
or near which they are placed. '

The Ateuchi are large flat insects, with a broad-toothed clypeus ;
they all belong to the Ancient Continent. The type of the genus is
t\\QAteuchus sacer (Fig. 442), the Sacred Scarabseus of the Egyptians.
This msect is black, and attains to a length of a little less than an
inch. It is to be found commonly enough in the south of France, in

.m.,^01

Fig. 441.— Scarabaeus enema, or Enema infundibulum.

the whole of southern Europe, Barbary, and Egypt. The paintings
and amulets of the ancient Egyptians very often represent it, and
sometimes give it a gigantic size. It is, doubtless, then, this species
which was an object of veneration with the Egyptians.

There exists another species, which is always represented as of a
magnificent golden green, and to which Herodotus also attributes this
colour. As it was not to be found in Egypt, it was thought for a
long while that the Egyptians had painted the black species of a
more splendid colour in order to pay it homage. But in 1819
M. Caillaud actually found at Meroe, on the banks of the White Nile,
the Ateiichiis JEgyptiorum^ which resembles the Atcnchus sacer much
in colour, but has a golden tint. Since then it has also been brought
from Sennaar. The two species were both probably sacred. Hor-
Apollon, the learned commentator on Egyptian hieroglyphics, thinks

COLEOPTERA. 4OI

that this people, in adopting the scarabaeus as a reHgious symbol,
wished to represent at once, a unique birth — a father — the world —
a man. The unique birth means that the scarabaeus has no mother.
A male wishing to procreate, said the Egyptians, takes the dung of
an ox, works it up into a ball, and gives it the shape of the world,
rolls it with its hind legs from east to west, and places it in the
ground, where it remains twenty-eight days ; the twenty-ninth day it
throws its ball, now open, into the water, and there comes forth a
male scarabaeus. This explanation shows also why the scarabaeus
was employed to represent at the same time a father^ a majt, and the
world. There were, however, according to the same author, three
sorts of Scarabai: one was in the shape of a cat, and threw out
brightly shining rays (probably the Golden Scarabaeus, Ateuchus
^■Egyptioruin) ; the two others had horns ; their description seems to
refer to a Copris and a Geotrupes.

As other remarkable species of Scarabcei we represent the
Scarabceus enema (Fig. 441), with strong horns, the Megaceras
chorincBtis (Fig. 443), the Megalosoma anubis (Figs. 444 and 445),
and the Dynastes Hercules (Fig. 446).

The last family of the Scarabceidce contains the Lucanidce, or Stag
Beetles. These Coleoptera are of great size, and their head is armed
with enormous robust mandibles, which give them a ferocious air,
which their inoffensive habits do not in any way justify. They live
in half-rotten trees, the destruction of which they accelerate. Their
mandibles, of such prodigious size only in the male, are of more
inconvenience to them than they are of use, as they impede their
flight. Their strength enables them to raise considerable weights,
but they make no other use of them than to show their strength,
which is enormous.- They do not attack other insects, and live only
on vegetable juices.

The common Stag Beetle (Figs. 447* and 448) attains to a length
of two inches, or more, including its mandibles, and is of a dark
brown chestnut colour. They are met with during the months of May,
June, and July, in large forests, climbing along trees and hooking
themselves on to the trunks by their mandibles. Charles De Geer
says that the Stag Beetle imbibes the honeyed liquid which is found
on oak trees, a tree it particularly seeks after, which has cau.sed it to

* The figure may possibly mislead, as it shows the larva and pupa in the
ground, for although recent observations show that this species does occasionally
undergo its metamorphoses therein, it is not probable that the larva lives any-
where but m. wood. — Ed.

COLEOPTERA.

463

be called in Swedish Ek-Oxe (Oak ox). It is supposed that it eats
the leaves also. It sometimes attacks insects. Westwood says that
it has been seen to descend from, a tree carrying a caterpillar in its

Fig. 443;— Megaceias chorinaeus.

Fig 444.— Megalosoma anubis (male).

mandibles. Swammerdam had one which followed him like a dog
when he offered it honey. They only fly in the evening, holding
themselves nearlv straight, so as not to see-saw. Their larvae — which

Fig. 445 . -Megalosoma anubis (female). Fig . 440 -T)ynastes Hercules .

COLEOPTERA.

465

are whitish, with russety heads, Uve in the interior of trees, their
existence in that state lasting nearly four years. Many naturalists

think that the larva of the Liicanus was the Cosstis of the Romans,
which figured on the tables of the rich patricians, and particularly
of LucuUus.

466

THE INSECT WORLD.

Fig. 448 represents the Stag Beetle {Lncanus cenms) ; Fig. 4.19,
an exotic species, the Lucanus [Homoderus) Alellyi, from the Gaboon ;

Fig. 448.— Stag Beetle {Lucatms cenms).

Fig. 449. — Lucnnus (Hoinodenis) MellyL

Fig. 450 the Lucanus beUicosus ; and Fig. 451 another exotic species
from Celebes, Do rats Titan.

The Syndesus coriudus (Fig. 452) of Tasmania, and the ChiasO'
gnathus Gfattfit, from the coast of Chili (Fig. 453), of a beautiful
golden green shot with copper, belong to genera akin to Lucanus.

We arrive now at the tribe of Silphales, which are still more
useful to man than the Dung Beetles {Scarab(eides\ since many of
them disencumber the soil of the carcases of animals in a state of

COLEOPTERA.

467

putrefaction. The most remarkable insects of this tribe are the

Histers (Fig. 454), the Stlphce, properly so called, and the Necrophori.

The Histers are small insects, to be recognised by their body being

almost round, smooth, and shining, with the elytra marked with strias,

Fig. 450. — Lucanus bellicosus.

and their mandibles pretty well developed. They attain to a length
of about a fifth of an inch. The Silphce, thus named on account of
their broad and rounded form, are of a large size (about half to three-
quarters of an inch), of a dark colour, and exhale a sickly odour.

468

THE INSECT WORLD,

When seized, they disgorge a blackish Hquid. They introduce them-
selves under the skin of the carcases of animals, and devour their.

Fig, 451.— Dorcus Titan.

flesh to the very bone,
adults, in carrion.

The larvae, flat and serrated, live like the

jne. ine larvae, nai ana serratea, uve UKe tne \
The commonest species is the Silpha obsa^ra^ of i
an intense black, delicately dotted. l\vo species found in England '
and near Paris, Silpha quadripunctata (Fig. 455) and the Silpha

COLUOPtERA.

469

Fig. 4S3-— Chiasognathus Grantii.

thoracica (Fig. 456), climb trees and attack caterpillars. It seems
certain that the larva of the Silpha obscura does a great deal of
damage to beet-root, whose leaves it devours. The Necrodes come very
near to the Silphce. They are distinguished from them by having the

4fo

THE INSECT WORLD,

hind legs larger. One, Necrodes littoralis (Figs. 457 and 458), occurs
in England. Fig. 459 represents N. lacrymosa^ from Australia. The

/t

Fig. 454.— Hister rugosus. Fig. 455.— Silpha quadripunctata.

Fig. 456. — Silpha
thoracica.

Necrophori, or Grave-diggers, are honest undertakers, who carefully
bury carcases left on the soil. As soon as they smell a field-mouse, a
mole, or a fish in a state of decomposition, they come by troops to

\

Fig- 457.— Necrodes littoralis Fig. 458.— Necrodes littoralis Fig. 459.— Necrodes lacry-
(male). (female). mosa.

bury it, getting under the carcase, hollowing out the ground with
their legs, and projecting the rubbish they dig out in all directions.
Little by little the carcase sinks ; at the end of twenty-four hours it
has generally disappeared into a hole five inches in depth, but the

COLEOPTERA.

An

Necrophori sink it still lower — as far as from seven to ten inches below
the surface. They then mount it, cast the earth down into the grave
so as to fill it, and the females lay their eggs in the tomb, where the
larvae will find an abundance of food. When the ground is too hard
to be dug, the Necrophori push the carcase further, till they find

Fig. 460.— Burying Beetles (^N ecroplwrus vespiUd) interring the body of a rat.

permeable soil. A mole has been run through with a stick, or else
jtied by a string, to see how the Necrophori would get over the
difficulty. They scooped out the soil underneath the stick, and
lout through the string, and the mole was buried in spite of the
obstacles. Fig. 460 represents a troop of Necrophori burying a
small rat.'

The Necropho7'us vespillo (Fig. 461) is variegated with yellow and

\n

THE INSECT WOkLD.

black; the Necrophorus Gennajiicus (Fig. 462) is larger, quite black,
and rarer. All these insects exhale a disagreeable musky smell.
Their bodies are often covered with parasites, which are carried along

Fig. 461. — Necrophorus vespillo.

Fig. 462. — Necrophorus Germanicus.

by them by hooking on to their hairs, and which make use of the
Necrophorus as a vehicle in which they get their food.

The Staphylijiidce live in the carcases of animals, on manure, in

Fig. 463.— StaphyHnus (Ocypus) olens, imago, pupa, and larva.

detritus, and attack living insects. They are, for the most part, of
small size, and are distinguished by their elytra, which are short, and
resemble a waistcoat or a jacket ; but their wings are fully developed.
The large species have strong mandibles. When irritated, the
Staphylini disgorge an acrid black liquid ; and by the abdomen they
emit a volatile fluid having a musky odour.

COLEOPTERA.

473

We see frequently on roads the Staphylinus olens (Figs. 463 and
.464), which, when it finds itself attacked, raises its abdomen, and
thrusts out two little whitish bladders, - which pour out a volatile
liquid. Its larva Hves under stones, and its habits are the same as
those of the adult insect. It is very carnivorous, and very active,
and often attacks those of its own kind. The Staphylinus hirius

Fig. 464.— Staphylinus (Ocypus) olens.

(Fig. 466) ^Snbles at a distance a humble-bee, on account of its
long yellow hairs. The Staphylinus maxillosus (Fig. 465) has black
and white hairs. The genera Pselaphus and Claviger,^ akin to the
above, contain little insects which live as parasites in the nests
of ants. The Pselaphus Hcisii (Fig. 467), less than a line long, lives
\ on the debris of reeds, on the borders of marshes.

Tlie Clavigei" foveolatus (Fig. 468) is met with in the nest of a

m

THE INSECT WORLD.

little yellow ant, which takes as much care of it as of its own progeny,
because the Claviger secretes a liquid very much appreciated by ants,
who are continually occupied in licking its back.

Fig. 465. — Staphylinus maxillosus.

Fi^. 466. — Staphylinus hirtus.

Fig. 467. — Pselaphus Heisii (magnified).

Fig. 468. — Claviger foveolatus (magnified).

The DcrmestidcB attack by preference the tendons and the skins
of carcases. A few of the insects of this family are the plague of

COLEOPTERA.

475

vfi our collections and the furriers. They devour a quantity of dry
si; substances — skins, feathers, catgut, hair, objects made of tortoise-shell,
\ the dried bodies of insects, &c. Some other Dermestidce feed on
*i animal matter still fresh : such is the Bacon Beetle, Derviestes lar-
\ darius (Fig. 469), which is to be met with in some dirty pork-shops.

P'ig. 469. — Bacon Beetle (Dennestes lardariux), magnified and natural size.

It is black, with the base of its elytra tawny and marked with three
black spots. The larvae are covered with a russety hair ; they eat
bacon, skins, and also attack each other. The perfect insect does no
damage. Like all the Dennesiidce, it counterfeits death when handled.
The Dermestes vulpinus, of a tawny grey, injures furs; and the

Fig. 470.— Attagenus pcllio, magnified and natural size.

Hudson's Bay Company, whose storehouses in London were infested
by this insect, offered a reward of ;^2o,ooo for a means of destroying
this insect. The furriers have also cause to dread the Attagenus ptllio
(Fig. 470), whose larva, covered with yellowish hairs, has at its
extremity a sort of broom, which assists it in moving.

The Aiithrenus imiscorum^ the fifteenth of an inch in length,
black, with three grey bands, drives collectors to despair, for its larva
destroys their collections. It is covered with grey and brownish hairs,
which it bristles up the moment it is touched. The perfect insect

476

THE INSECT WORLD.

feeds on flowers, and counterfeits death when seized. All possible
means have been tried for getting rid of the Anthrenus by placing in
the collection camphor, benzine, tobacco, sulphur^ &c., but benzine
very soon destroys them.

The Hydrophili, very different to the group which we shall
presently consider, are herbivorous, and are to be found on the
leaves of aquatic plants. The Hydrophilus piceus (Fig. 471), which

Fig. 471.— Hydrophilus piceus.

attains to an inch in length, is common in our fresh waters. It must
not be seized without taking precautions, as its breast is provided
with a strong point, which pierces the skin. It draws in air by
thrusting its antennae out of the water, and placing them against its
body, the bubbles of the air, which get involved in a sort of furrow,
slip under the body, and fix themselves to the hair, in such a manner
that the animal seems to be clothed in pearls. It is thus the air
reaches tlie spiracles. The female of the Hydrophilus is sometimes
seen clinging to aquatic plants, head downwards, forming her cocoon,
terminated by a long pedicle, in which she places her eggs, by

COLEOPTRRA.

47,7

means of the two bristles situated at the extremity of the abdomen
(Fig. 472). After having drawn this after her for some time, she
leaves it to itself in calm water. At the end of a fortnight there
come out from it little brown larvag, very active, which ascend the
water plants. These larvae are at the same time herbivorous and
carnivorous. They live on plants and small molluscs, which they
seize from underneath, and whose shell they break by pressing them
against their back, to extract from it the animal. If attacked, they
emit a black liquid, which discolours the water, and enables them to
escape. At the end of two months the larva comes out of the water,

E tiioai

Fig. 472.— Bristles at the extremity of tne
abdomen of the Hydrophilus.

Off-

^'g' 473'~-I^'Jpa of the Hydrophilus.

and burrows into the ground to undergo its metamorphosis mto a
pupa (Fig. 473), which becomes a perfect insect a month afterwards.
The latter gets its colour little by little, and comes out of the ground
at the end of twelve days. According to M. Dumeril, the intestine
of the larva grows gradually longer and longer, and its diet becomes
that of herbs, the adult preferring vegetable food to animal matter.
It is at the end of summer that the Hydrophilus picetis becomes
perfect, and it passes the winter in a state of torpor at the bottom of
the water. The females lay in the month of April. A small species.
Hydrous caraboides, is commoner than the large one; its body is
more rounded behind.

We are now going to consider a series of aquatic and carnivorous
insects ; the Dytici, Water Beetles, the Cybisters, and the Gyrinidce,

478

THE INSECT WORLD.

or Whirligig Beetles. These are perfect corsairs, whose rapacity
even exceeds that of many of the land Coleoptera. Not contented
with devouring one another, when pressed by hunger, with attacking
especially the larvae of all aquatic insects, such as the LibeliulcB and
Ephemerce^ they feed also on molluscs, on tadpoles, and on small fish.
It is easy to rear thern in captivity. If confined in a small aquarium,

Fig. 474. — Dyticus marginalLs, male and female, and front leg of male magnified.

their habits would be much more amusing than a few golden fish,
which one meets with everywhere, and which their admirers can
hardly consider as entertaining. Care must be taken to cover the
aquarium at the top with gauze, to prevent the perfect insects from
escaping. This tribe is not very numerous nor varied in its forms.
An oval body, legs curved and widened into oars, provided with
hairs, distinguish the insects which compose it. They imbibe air at
the surface of the water.

The most carnivorous of this group are the Dytici and the
Cy bisters. They may be called the sharks of the insect world.
Nothing which lives in the water is safe against the voracity of the
Dyticus. They attack small molluscs, young fish, tadpoles, larvae of
insects, and suck greedily the bits of raw meat which are thrown to
them. They may be kept in an aquarium for many years by feeding
them on animal matter. Their oval-shaped body, with its sharp
sides, permits them to cut through the water with great ease — the
hind legs serving as oars. They are to be found in stagnant waters

COLEOPTERA.

479

during the greatest part of the year, but principally in autumn.
During the winter they bury themselves in the mud and under moss

Fig. 475. — Pupa and larva of Dyticus marginalis.

The females lay their eggs in the water. The larvae are long, swelling
out at the middle, furnished with hairs, and grow rapidly. To

Fig. 476.— Dyticus latissimus.

Fig- 477.~Cybister Roeselii .

undergo their metamorphosis into pupae they bury themselves in
the earth.

The perfect insects are amphibious, and fly from one pond to
another to satisfy their voracious appetites. The mo.st common
species of this genus is the Dyticus marginalis (Fig. 474), of a dark

4^0

THE INSECT WORLD,

The elytra of the male arc

The front leg of the male

brown ; the pupa of a dirty

greenish brown, yellowish on the sides,
smooth ; those of the female are fluted,
is provided with suckers. The larva is
white.

The Dyticus inarginalis sometimes attacks Hydrophilus piceus.
It pierces it between the head and the thorax, that is, in the weak
point of the cuirass, and devours it, in spite of its being the stronger.
The largest of the Dytici, the Dyticus latissimiis (Fig. 476), is
almost confined to the north of Europe. The Cybisters abound
especially in warm countries. The Cybister Raselii (Fig. 477), a
European species, has the reputation of having been taken in
England. This group contains also a great number of insects
more or less resembling the preceding in their conformation and
habits. We will confine ourselves to figures (Figs. 478-493).

or

Fig. 478.— Acilius sulcatus (male). Fig. 479.— Acilius sulcatus (female).

Fig. 480.
Acilius fasciatus (male).

Fig. 481.
Acilius fasciatus (female).

Fig. 482.
Noterus crassicornis.

Fig. 483— Colymbetes cinereus. Fig. 484.-Colymbetes notatus. Fig. 485.-Colymbetes

striatus.

Fig. 486.— Haliplus fulvus.

Fig. 487.~Hydroporus griseo-striatus.

Fig. 488.
Hydroporus confluens.

73

bupnis cimicoides.

Fig. 490.
l/accophilus variegatiis.

4^2

THE INSECT WORLD.

l^accophuus minutus.

Fig. 492.
Hydaticus grammicus.

Fig. 493.
Pelobius Hernianni.

The GyrinidcE, which come very near to the Dyticidce, like clear
water which is a little agitated. They are small black insects
(Figs. 494, 495), living in troops, and swim rapidly, describing
incessantly capricious circles, which has gained for them the name of

w

Fig. 494.— Gyrinus natator. Fig. 495.— Larva of Gyiiaus natalor.

*' Whirligigs." They are remarkable for the disposition of their eyes,
which are double ; so that the Gyrinidce seem to have four eyes. The
lower ones look into the water and watch for the prey or the fish tliat
advances as an enemy ; whilst the upper eyes look upwards towards
the air, and warn the insect of the approach of enemies from abo\e.
To escape from fish^ the Gyrinus jumps out of the water, and also

COLEOPTEkA.

48:

makes use of its wings ; to escape from birds it dives rapidly. This
activity, and this double sight, make the capture of the Gyrini a task
of great difficulty. They must be caught with a net. At the moment
of being seized they emit a milky foetid liquid.

The females lay their eggs end to end, on the leaves of aquatic
plants. The larvse are long and narrow, and of a dirty white. They
come out of the water at the end of the summer, and form ioi them-
selves a cocoon on the plants bordering the banks. After a month,
the perfect insect is hatched, and plunges into the water. The
Gyrinus striatus (Fig. 496) is found in the waters of southern
Europe.

All these species are of small size, and do not exceed a fifth of

Fig. 496.— Gyrinus striatus. Fig. 497.— Gyrinus distinctus. Fig. 498,— Epinectus sulcatus.

an inch in length ; but in the tropics we find Gyrini two-thirds of an
inch long. One of these species, distinctus (Fig. 497), exists in the
little lake of Solazies, in Reunion, noted for its mineral waters.
Visitors amuse themselves by fishing for this insect with a line
baited with a bit of red cloth, which it attacks. It is found also in
a mineral spring in Algeria. The Epinecti (Fig. 498) are large
GyrinidcB from Brazil, with very long front legs.

The carnivorous land insects par excellence — those which are
most formidable, on account of their ravages and voracity — are the
Carabidce. This family, one of the most numerous of the Order
Coleoptera, consists of insects with long legs, and armed with
powerful mandibles, suited for tearing their victims to pieces. They
are the lions and the tigers of the Coleoptera, whilst the Necrophori
and the Silphce play the part of hyasnas and jackals. The eyes of
the Carabidce are very prominent, which allows them to see their prey

484 THE INSECT WORLD.

at a great distance. They take refuge under stones and under the
bark of trees ; but in tine weather they are also to be seen running
along roads. Ardent and audacious, it is by no means rare to see
them attacking species much bigger than themselves. The activity
which distinguishes these insects is found also in their larvae, which
pursue living prey, instead of remaining shrouded in the midst of
their food, like the larvae of the Scarabceida,

These carnivorous insects are very numerous — a fortunate cir-
cumstance, considering the immense quantity of small noxious
creatures, caterpillars, weevils, and an infinity of other parasites, the
pests of agriculture, which they destroy. The popular prejudice,
then, is to be regretted, which leads ignorant farmers to exterminate
them. They ought, on the contrary, to be introduced into market
gardens, as toads are, and as cats are into granaries. " The
Carabidce,'' says M. Michelet, " immense tribes of warriors, armed to
the teeth, which, under their heavy cuirasses, have a wonderful activity,
are perfect rural constabulary, day and night, without holidays or
repose, protecting our fields. They never touch the smallest thing.
They are occupied entirely in arresting thieves, and they desire no
salary but the body of the thief himself." But ignorance destroys
these useful hunters. Children, seduced by the richness of the elytra
of the Carabiy amuse themselves in catching these vigilant protectors
of our farms, without knowing the bad effect of what they are doing.
Fortunately, education is spreading little by little in the country ;
the farmers begin to be awakened to their true interests, and to know
how to distinguish the useful animals which it behoves them to
preserve in their fields for the safeguard of their crops. In some
places in France they have already made attempts to introduce the
Carabidce and the Cicinde/idce into gardens, and they have found
them succeed very well.

The true Carabi are to be known by their oval convex body,
their long antennae, and elegantly-carved thorax. They are, in gene-
ral, of more massive forms than the CicindelidcB^ which compose a
kindred family. The latter form, in some sort, the vanguard and
the light troops ; the others, the heavy battalions. The Carabi
coming out in general at night, or at least at twilight, and keepingj
themselves hidden under stones during the day, it is not easy tc
observe their man(xuvres.

The Carabiis auratus (Fig. 499), which abounds in fields an<
gardens on the Continent, may be considered as the type of this
genus. It has elytra of a beautiful green, with three ribs, and th<
legs yellowish. When it is touched it disgorges a black and acric

Fig. 499.— Carabus auratus.

Fig. 500.— Carabus violace

Fig. 501,— Carabus canaliculatus.

Fig, 502.— Carabus Adonis.

486

THE INSECT WORLD.

saliva, and ejects from the abdomen a corrosive liquid of a disagiee-
able odour. It lives on the larvae of other insects. It has been
seen to attack even large insects, such as the cockchafer.

Fig. 503.— Carabus nodulosus.

Fig, 504.— Lan-a of Carabus auronitens.

Fig. 505.— Calosoma auropunctata. Figs. 506, 507.— Pupa and larva of Calosoma auropunctafa.

In England and the environs of Paris, Carabus violaceus (Fig. 500),
whose dressj of a sombre colour, is surrounded by shades of red and

<

COLEOPTERA.

487

violet, is met with. In the Pyrenees many Carahi with metalUc
reflections are found, whose beautiful colours are the delight of col-
lectors ; the Carabfis splendens, the Carabus rutilans, &c. But the
most beautiful insects of this tribe come from Siberia and the north
of China. Let us mention, for example, the Ca7^abus smaraQ;dinus, of
a beautiful grass-green ; the Carabus Vieimghovii, of a. beautiful blue
black, bordered with azure, with a golden band, &c.

Fig. 508. — Calosoma sycophanta pursuing a Bombardier Beetle {Brachinns exflodens).

Carabus Adonis (Fig. 502) is not rare in Alsace, and is found on
the banks of streams. Other Carabi ^xq shown in Figs. 501, 503.

The long flat larvae of the Carabi live in the trunks of trees, among
leaves, under moss, &c. They are active, and live on other insects.
Fig. 504 represents the larva of the Carabus auronitens.

Another genus of the same family is Calosoma. They have
wings under their elytra — the true Carabi have not — which they use
in passing from one tree to another (Figs. 505-508).

In the month of June is to be found on oak trees the beautiful
Calosoma sycophanta (Fig. 508), the occasional occurrence of which
in England is unquestionable; it is, however, presumed that the

488

THE INSECT WORLD,

Fig 509. — Pro:rustes coriaceus

Fig. 5io,^Procerus gigas.

Fig. sn.--Omophron Hbatum.

Fig. 512.— Nebria arenaria.

specimens have reached English shores from the Continent by
flight, favoured by easterly winds. This insect is of a beautiful

COI.ROPTERA. 489

violet blue, having the antennae and the legs black, and the elytra of
a splendid golden green, with longitudinal streaks. According to
Reaumur, the larva of the Calosorna often chooses a home in the nest
of the Procession-Moth Caterpillar {Bomhyx processio?iea), on oak
trees, and it very soon rids the tree which is infested by them.

The Calosovia miropundata is found in the south of France. Its
larva (Fig. 507) devours snails, and establishes itself in their shells.
These larvae have been known to fill themselves so full of food as
to become double their natural size, in which state they are some-
times devoured by those of their own species. A smaller kind, the
Calosorna inquisito?', is very frequently to be met with in woods. Fig.
508 presents Caloso7na sycophanta pursuing a Bombardier {^Brachiiius
explodeiis)^ which squirts out a vapour of pungent odour.

In the countries of the south-east of Europe, and in Asia Minor,
one finds enormous Carabidc?, the Pi-ocnistes and the Froceri,
which attain nearly two inches in length, and whose integuments
resemble very rough shagreen. One species alone is met witli in
France, the Procmstes coriaceiis (Fig. 509). In Austria is found the
Procerus gigas (¥'\g. 510).

The genus Omophron (Fig. 511) contains small, almost globular
Carabid(£ of a pale yellow, with green lines, which live in the
sand bordering rivers. The Nebrice in general prefer mountainous
countries. The largest species, the Nehria arenaria (Fig. 512), is
found all along the coast of the Mediterranean, and even on the
western shores of France. But its colours grow paler as it advances
northward on the African coast. It is of a bright yellow with black
lines. The Nebrice hide themselves either under masses of seaweed
cast up by the waves, or under the stumps of treeis cast ashore by
the sea. When they are deprived of their place of shelter, they run
away with such rapidity that it is very difficult to catch them. In
Senegal is found the genus Tefflus (Fig. 513), great black Car ab idee
with fluted elytra.

Other kindred genera are — Da??iaster {¥\g. 514), remarkable for
elongated pointed elytra; Anthia (Fig. 515), which is met with in
sand in Africa and in India, whose head is armed in a formidable
manner; and Campylocneinis^ of which C Schroeieri (Fig. 516), an
Australian insect, of a bright black, attains to more than an inch and
three-quarters in length, and whose short serrated legs enable it to
hollow out the ground. There is found on the coasts of the south
of France a representative of this group in the Scaritts Icevigatus
(Fig. 517), which conceals itself in a hollow, like the cricket, and
devours everything which comes within its reach.
73*

490

THE INSECT WORLD,

The innumerable tribe of HarpalidcE contains carnivorous beetles
of very small size, sometimes of a bronze-green, sometimes black,
either dull or shining, which render great service to our gardens.
Hidden under stones, in dry leaves, at the foot of trees, they attack

\

\

Fi>. 513.— Teffliis Megerlei.

Fig. 514. — Dainaster blaptoides-

a' number of small insects, caterpillars, millepedes, &c., and thus
exterminate a quantity of vermin. The Harpalus ceneus (Fig. 518).
which is seen shining in the midst of the paving stones like a little
bronze plate, is found everywhere. The Galeritce. (Figs. 519 and 520)
are distinguished by their antennae, which are thick at the base ; they

COLEOPTERA,

491

exhale a very strong odour : nearly all are peculiar to America. One
of the most curious insects of this tribe is the Mormolyce phyllodes of
Java (Fig. 521) whose elytra project in such a manner as to give it
the appearance of a leaf. It lives under bark. I'he larva and the

Fig. 515.— Anthia thoracica.

Fig. 516.— Campylocnemis Schroeteri.

pupa (Fig. 522) resemble those of other genera of which we have
been speaking.

The next great family of the tribe of carnivorous beetles is
pomposed of the CicindelidcB — slender insects, with large prominent
leads, very long legs, which are very active in their movements.
The CicindelidcB like sandy plains. When the sun shines they fly in

492

THE INSECT WORLD,

Fig. 5T7 — Scarites laevigatus.

Fig. 518.
Harpalus aeiieus.

Fig. 519-
Larva of Galerita Lecontei.

Fig. 520.
Galerita Lecontei.

a zig-zag manner, but their flight is not continued for long toget
In dull weather they are to be seen running on the turf or hidi

Fig. 521.— Mormolyce phyllodes.

Fig. 522.
I^rva and pupa of JMorraolyce phyllodes.

I'^'g- 523.
Tiger Beetle {Cicindela campestris).

4<)4

THE INSECT WOJRLD.

themselves in holes, and are met with on the sea-shore, where they
are seen sometimes to pop up by hundreds. They hve on flies and
little shrimps, which abound on the sea-shore.

The Cicmdela cavtpestris (Fig. 523), or Tiger Beetle, is of a
beautiful green, spotted with white ; the abdomen is of a bronze red.
In Great Britain it is the commonest of the genus. The Cicindela
hybrida, of a dull green, relieved by light bands, inhabits sandy
woods. The Cicindela marititna differs from the preceding. The

1 f

524. — Cicindela Dumoulinii. Fig. 525. — Cicindela rugosa. Fig. 526. — Cicindeia scalaris.

Cicindela sylvatica, which flies very well, is not easy to catch, and is
to be often met with in the warm glades of the forest of Fontainebleau
and at Montmorency ; it is not unfrequent here. Its colour is brown,
spotted with white -, it diffuses a strong smell of the rose, to which
succeeds, on being seized, the acrid odour of the secretion which it
disgorges. We here represent the Cicindela jDufnoulifiii (Fig. 524),
the Cicindela rugosa (Fig. 525), the Cicindela scalaris (Fig. 526), the
Cicindela heros (Fig. 527), the Cicindela quadrilineata (Fig. 528), and
the Cici?tdela capensis (Fig. 529).

The ferocity of these insects is remarkable. They quickly tear oft
the wings and legs of their victim, and suck out the contents of its
abdomen. Often, when they are disturbed in this agreeable occupa-
tion, not wishing to leave it, they fly away with their prey; their
flight, however, is not sufficiently powerful to allow of their carrying
to any great distance such a heavy burden. When a Cicindela is
seized between the fingers, it moves about its mandibles and en

COLEOPTERA.

495

deavours to pinch, but its bite is inoffensive and not very painful.
They are prodigiously active in running. Armed with jaws which are

Fig. 527. — Cicindela heros.

Fig. 528.— Cicindela
quadrilineata.

Fig. 529.— Cicindela
capensis.

powerful enough to overcome their victims and to seize them at once,
they can dispense with stratagem.

Their larvae (Fig. 530) are soft, and have short legs. To satisfy

Fig. 530.— Larva of Cicindela
campestris.

Fig. 531. — Ambush of larva of
Cicindela campestris.

their voracity they are obliged to lie in ambush in holes. They are
-two-thirds of an inch long ; their head is horny and in the form of a

49^

THE INSnCT WORLD.

trapezium. The first segment is also horny, and of a metallic green.
The eighth has a pair of tubercles with hooks, of which the larva

Upper-side. Under-side.

Figs. 532, 533. — Pupa of a Cicindela.

makes use in ascending and descending its vertical hole, Hke a sweep
in a chimney. This hole (Fig. 531) is afoot or more deep. To dig it,

Fig- 534 — Tetracha Klugii.

Fig. 535- — Tetracha oxychiloides.

the larva employs its mandibles and its legs in the following manner:
it twists itself round, loads with earth the flat surface which covers its

COLEOPTERA. 497

head, climbs along the chimney by twisting itself into the form of the
letter Z, and thus transports its load, as a bricklayer's labourer carries
a hod of mortar up a ladder. Arrived at the mouth of the hole, it
throws to a distance the rubbish with which its head is loaded ; or, if
too heavy, it simply deposits it, pushing it away as far as possible.
It is difficult to watch their proceedings, for they are very mistrustful,
and retire immediately into their hole when alarmed. They remain in
ambush at the entrances of these subterranean passages, which they
hermetically seal with their head and thorax. It is a species ot
pitfall which sets itself in motion the moment anything endeavours to
pass it. The unfortunate who ventures is precipitated into the well,
and the Cichidela forthwith devours it. These habits remind one of
those of the ant-lion. When the time arrives for the metamorphosis,
the larva of the Cicindda enlarges the bottom of its hole, and stops
up the entrance with earth before changing. The pupa (Figs. 532,

Fig- 536.— Tetracha bifasciata

533) is of a pale glossy yellow, covered with small spines. The
metamorphosis takes place between August and October; the perfect
insect emerges in spring.

Nearly akin to the Cicindelce. are the TetrachcB (Figs. 534, 535,
536), from Africa and tropical America; the Manticone (Fig. 537),
which are distinguished by their robust and thick-set appearance ; the
Pogonostomata (Fig. 538), which live in Madagascar; the Ctenostomata,
peculiar to America (Fig. 539), remarkable for the length of their
pendent and bristly palpi; the Omus, of California; the Theraies
(Fig. 540), insects of the East Indian Islands, &c.

The tribe of Tenebrionidce, called formerly Melasomata, because
they are nearly all black, resembles in some points the Carabidce.
They seek after dark places, and avoid the light, and are found on
the ground under stones ; their movements are slow, and they walk
with difficulty. The best-known insect of this group is the Blaps^ of
repulsive smell, inhabiting dark damp places, such as cellars, and only
coming out of its retreat during the night. The elytra are joined

498

THE INSECT WORLD.

together, and they have no wings. The vulgar regard them as an
omen of ill-luck. Fig. 541 represents the Blaps obtusa. According
to the report of a traveller, the women in Egypt eat the Blaps
sulcata cooked with butter, to make them fat. They are employed
also for ear-ache, the bite of scorpions, &c.

Another genus of the same familly is the Tenebrio (Fig. 542), of a
blackish-brown, with the elytra striated, and of half an inch in length.

Fig 537 — Manticora tuberculata.

Fig. 538. — Pogonostoma gracilis.

The larvae, the well-known meal-worms, live in flour ; they are
cylindrical, and of a light tawny colour (Fig. 542). The insect which
is considered as a type of the tribe of the Pitnelides is the Fimelia
bipu7ictata, which is common in the south of France.

We come now to the tribe of blistering beetles, of which the best
known is the Cantharides {Cantharis or Lytta). These insects are
generally of soft consistency, and their elytra very flexible. A few

COLEOPTERA.

499

remain constantly on trees. x\ll are very brisk and active. When
swallowed they are a dangerous poison, but are used in medicine tor
making blisters.

The Cantharides of commerce {Cantharis [Lytta\ Desicatoria) are

r

Fig 539. — Ctenostoma rugosa

Fig. 540. — Therates labiata.

of a beautiful green, attain to a size of four-fifths of an inch, and are
found on ash-trees, lilacs, and other shrubs. Commerce for a long

Fig. 541. — Blaps obtusa.

Fig. 542. — Tenebrio molitor
(larva and imago).

time brought them from Spain, and some still come from that
country; hence the common name of Spanish fly. As they live in
great numbers together, collecting them is easier and less expensive

500 THE INSECT WORLD.

I

than is the gathering of other species gf the same family which
are not gregarious, but have the same medicinal properties. The
presence of the Cantharides is manifested by the strong penetrating
odour which they diffuse to some distance. When, by aid of this
smell, they are discovered, generally settled on an ash, they are col-
lected in the following manner : — Very early in the morning a cloth
of light tissue is stretched out at the foot of the tree, and the branches
are shaken, which causes the insects to fall (Plate XIL). These,
numbed by the cold of the night, do not try to escape. When there
is a sufficient quantity, the four corners are drawn up and the whole
plunged into a tub of vinegar diluted with water. This immersion
causes their death. The collectors then carry them to a loft, or
under a very airy shed. To dry them they spread them out on hurdles
covered with linen or paper, and from time to time, to facilitate the
operation, they are moved about, either with a stick or with the hand,
which is more convenient ; but it is then necessary to take the pre-
caution of putting on gloves, for, if touched with the naked hand,
they would cause more or less serious blisters. The same precaution
must be observed in gathering them.

When the Cantharides are quite dry, they put them into wooden
boxes or vessels of glass or earthenware hermetically sealed, and
preserve them in a place protected from damp. With these pre-
cautions, they may be kept for a long while without losing any of
their caustic properties. Dumeril made blisters of Cantharides which
had been twenty-four years in store, and which had lost none of their
energy. When dry, they are so light that a kilogramme contains
nearly 13,000 insects. Aretius, a physician who flourished at
Rome in the first century of our era, seems to have been the first to
employ Cantharides, reduced to powder, as a means of vesication.
Hippocrates administered them internally in cases of dropsy, apoplexy,
and jaundice. But it is pretty nearly established that the Cantha-
rides of the ancients were not the same species used at the present
day ; they were, probably, a kindred species, the Mylabris chicorii.
A blistering principle has been extracted from these insects, called '
Canfharidine. This organic product presents itself under the form of;
little shining flakes, without colour, soluble in ether or oil. One atom ;
of this matter applied to the skin, and particularly to the lower lip, ]
makes the epidermis rise instantaneously, and produces a small 1
blister filled with a watery liquid. In spite of the corrosive principle
which the Cantharis contains, it is attacked, like other dried insects,
hy \\\Q Dermestes dXidi the Anthrenus, which feast on them without
suffering the smallest inconvenience.

XII.— Gathering CantViarides.

COLEOPTERA. 503

The SiyhpidcB, for which Kirby,* in 181 1, instituted a distinct
Order, which he called Strepsiptera, in allusion to the contortion of
the elytra, and to which Latreille f subsequently applied the name of
Rhiptptera^ are, perhaps, the most anomalous of all insects. Great
diversity of opinion has existed respecting their affinities ; but modern
systematists, with but few exceptions, concur in referring them to the
Order Coleoptera, and locating them in proximity to Melo'e. In the
larva state, all the known species of the family inhabit the bodies of
hymenopterous insects of the genera Andrena, PoHstes, &c., in this
particular resembling the dipterous genus Conops, which inhabits the
body of humble bees,:|: and apparently in no way inconveniencing
their victims ; a fact which has been accounted for on the supposition
that their existence in the larva state is but short, and that their
attacks being directed against the abdomen, and not the thorax, the
seat of life in insects, their presence does not affect the activity of the
victim. The larva has a soft fusiform body, surmounted by a some-
what globose head. While feeding, the head is towards the base of
the abdomen ; but on changing to a pupa, this position is reversed,
and the head — at first of light brown, but which after a short time
becomes black — thrust out between the plates of the abdomen.

The imagos, which are of small size, namely, about the eighth of
an inch long, are found during May and June. They have four wings,
but the anterior pair, of hard texture, somewhat resembling elytra, but
hardly answering to them in structure, are very poorly developed,
and curled round the front pair of legs, hence the name bestowed,
by Kirby, from (rrpexpcns, a twisting, and irrfpSu, a wing; the posterior
wings are fully developed, and fold up like a fan, whence the Order
received the name of Rhipiptera from Latreille. The eyes, the
facettes of which are few in number, are placed on a foot-stalk, whence
the name of the genus Sty/ops. The parts of the mouth connect the
Strepsiptera with the mandibulated insects, although by some supposed
to bear analogy by their functions to those parts in the Diptera. The
male only is winged ; the female is very like an apodal larva, the
larva being an active hexapod.

The family Stylopidce is divided into four genera, of which two

only, Xenos and Stylops, were described by Kirby in the essay referred

to above. First, Xenos ^ from |eVos, a guest, the most prolific in species,

' of which Xenos Rossii^ sometimes called vesparum^ may be taken as

* " On a new Order of Insects," Linn. Trans., vol. xi.
f In Cuvier, " Le Regne Animal," ed. i., tome iii., p. 584.
+ See p. 69.

504 THE INSECT WORLD.

the type. Secondly, Elenchus^ of which Elenchus Walkeri is the
type. Thirdly, Sty lops (Fig. 543), parasitical on various species of
Andrencey of which Stylops MelittcB^ having a fleshy abdomen and the
wings longer than the body, may be con-
sidered typical : and lastly, Halidophagits^
of which only one species, infesting Halictus
ceratus,'^ named Halictophagtcs Curtisii^ is
known to exist, and which makes its ap-
pearance in the month of August.

These singular insects are found in
various parts of the world — Europe, Aus-
Fig. 543- -Stylops (magnified). ^^^^^^^ ^^^^ America. They were discovered

by Professor Peck almost simultaneously
with Mr. Kirby's discovery in England, to whom he sent specimens
of a species which has received the name of Xenos Peckii in New
Zealand and elsewhere.

Siebold, in 1843, having obtained some eggs, was able to observe
the larvae, and he soon discovered that the females of Stylops, one
of the Strepsiptera, were blind, had no legs, and always retained the
appearance of larvae, and that they never quitted the bodies of those
insects, in which they pass a parasitic existence. George Newport
paid great attention to the history of these curious insects, and when
he wrote his article, '' Insecta," in the ''Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and
Physiology," four distinct genera of these minute parasites had already
been discovered. One of the largest species {Stylops Speiicii) is
scarcely more than two lines in length, while the smallest species yet
known is not more than two-thirds of a line, or scarcely a line in
breadth with its wings expanded. They undergo metamorphosis \
and the males, when they have become perfect insects, fly and roam
about, but the females are condemned to a perfectly quiet life. The
head and the thoracic segments of the bodies of these last are united
completely, but the abdomen, which is very large, always remains
soft, so that the whole of the body only appears to be formed of
two portions. They are ovo-viviparous insects, and the young larvae
escape as such from the body of the mother. They are active
creatures, and, being furnished with long legs, crawl over the hairs
and skin of the hymenopterous insect they are parasitic upon. They
behave like the larvae of Meloe and Sitaris, whose peculiar methods
of life have been noticed in our description of these coleoptera.
Clinging on to a wasp or a bee, they are carried ofl", and finally

Halictus and Andrena are two genera of Bees.

COLE.OPTERA.

305

arrive in the nest or hive, as the case may be, and there they attack
the larvcX. When once fixed upon the hymenopterous larvse, they
undergo a change of skin, and their shape then becomes totally

0

Fig 544.— Female and Larva of Stylops.

different, and their legs are atrophied. But these parasites being
exceedingly small, do not kill the larvae ; they suck their juices, after
he manner of the Ichneumons, and do not interfere with the meta-
Qorphoses of the insects upon which they are parasitic. On the
ight hand, in the accompanying engraving (Fig. 544), there is a larva

505 THE INSECT WORLD.

much magnified, lately born, and climbing upon the hair of one of the
Hymenoptera, and on the left hand there is a perfect female insect,
very much magnified, with ovo-viviparous larvae within its abdomen,
and between the two figures there is a representation of a larva of
the natural size. It is evident, however, that ova may be expelled
from the mother before they are hatched.

Packard describes the curious history of the female Stylops, which
he found parasitic on one of the bees. He caught the bee, and on
examining it he noticed a pale reddish-brown triangular mark on the
abdomen, and this was the flattened head and thorax of a female
Stylops. The creature is included in the body of the bee, and is
nourished by its juices. The head and thorax of the parasite were
noticed to be soldered into a single flattened mass, the baggy hind
body being greatly enlarged, like that of the female white ant On
carefully drawing out the whole body from the bee the mass was
found to be very extensible, soft, and baggy, and on examining it under
a high power of the microscope, multitudes of very minute larvae
were observed, and they began to issue out from the body of the
parent all alive, and not as eggs. The male of this Stylops childretn
is totally unlike its partner, having large hind wings, and being able
to fly, as has already been noticed. It appears, then, that the larvne
are hatched or crawl out of the body of the mother on to the body
of the bee, and are then transported to its nest ; then they enter
the body of the bee larva, and live upon its fatty matter. The male
Stylops is turned into a pupa within the bee, and so is the female ;
but after the second metamorphosis the male flies off", leaving his
wingless partner imprisoned for life, and she usually dies immediately
after giving birth to her myriad offspring (Packard). The female
respires by peculiarly arranged tracheae, and absorbs nourishment
through her skin as well as by means of an alimentary canal, which
ends in a blind sac. All the beauties of the female, so far as they
are visible to the male, consist in the tiny patch which appears just
without the body of the unfortunate bee, and the ova collect in a space
which opens between the united head and body and the abdomen.

The genus Mylabris corresponds most in structure, in appearance,
and in properties, to Cantharis, whose place they take in the East,
in China, and in the south of Europe. They are found in chisters on
the flowers of chicory, thistles, &c. The Mylahis chicorii, common
enough in France, especially in the south, is of small size, whilst the
other species are rather large. It is black, hairy, with a lai^ge
yellowish spot at the base of each elytron, and two transverse band^
of the same colour,

COLEOPTERA.

507

Another genus of this family is Meloe, with very short elytra, and
jvithout wings. They walk slowly and with difficulty on low plants,
the female dragging along an enormous abdomen tilled with eggs,
rhey are generally observed in spring. In Germany they give them
the name of Makvurm (Mayworm). Their succulence would expose
them, without doubt, to the voracity of birds and of insect-eating
Mamraifers if they had not the power of exuding at will, in the
moment of danger, from all their articulations, an unctuous humour

F'g- 545- — Sitaris humeralis.

Fig. 546. — First larva of Sitaris humeralis
(magnified).

a reddish-yellow colour, the odour and probably also the caustic
properties of which repel the aggressor. The females lay their eggs
underground, and out of these come forth larvae of a strange shape.
Swallowed by cattle, they cause them to swell and die. It is for this
reason that Latreille has given it as his opinion that these insects are
the Buprestis of the ancients, of which the law of Cornelius speaks,
" Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis." But the name of Buprestis
was applied by Linnaeus to a genus of which we shall treat farther
on, and it has been generally adopted by naturalists.

The commonest among the Meloes is the Meloe proscarah(Eiis,
which is to be found in abundance, in the month of April, in the
meadows near the bridge of Ivry in the environs of Paris. The
metamorphoses of the insects of this family had remained for a long

508 ' THE INSECT WORLD,

time surrounded with an impenetrable veil of mystery, but the
researches of Newport in England, and of M. Fabre (of Avignon) ir
France, brought to light several extremely curious phases, undei
which are accomplished the metamorphoses of the Melo'e cicatricosiis
and of the Sitaris hwneralis, a species which belongs to the samt
family.* These observations, of which we are about to give a rapic
summary, will probably help towards unravelling the first states o:
Cantharis.

The Sitaris hiimeralis (Fig. 545) takes no nourishment wher
arrived at the perfect state. When the female has been impregnated
she lays at the entrance of the nest of a solitary bee from 2,000 tc
3,000 small whitish eggs, stuck together in shapeless masses,
month afterwards there come out of these eggs very small larvae, o
a shiny dark green, hard-skinned, armed with strong jaws, and lont

Fig- 547' — Pseudo-nymph Fig. 548.— Third larva of Sitaris Fig. 549. — Pupa of Sitari:

of Sitaris humeralis. hunieraUs. humeralis.

legs and antennae (Fig. 546). These are the first larvae. They remair
motionless, and without taking food, till the following spring. A
this period are hatched the male bees, which precede the appearance
of the females by a month. As the bees come out of their nests
these larvae hook themselves on to their hairs, and pass then
to the- females, at the coupling period. When the male beef
have built the cells, and furnished them with honey, the female, aj
we know, deposits in each an egg. Immediately the larvae of the Sitari.
let themselves fall on these eggs, open them, and suck their contents
Then they change their skin, and the second larva appears. Thi^
one gets into the honey, on which it feeds for six weeks. It is blind
whereas the first larva was provided with four eyes, no doubt tc
enable it to see the bees which were to serve as its conductors, in like

* ** Armales des Sciences Naturelles," 1857, 46 serie, tome vii., p. 300.

COLEOPTERA. 5O9

manner as the companions of Ulysses watched the sheep of Poly-
phemus, so as to escape out of the cave in which they were retained
as prisoners. A few days later, and this second larva contracts, and
detaches from its body a transparent skin, which discloses a mass,
at first soft, which very soon hardens, and becomes of a bright tawny
^ colour^ it is called \hQ pseiido-fiymph (Fig. 547). It goes through the
winter in this state. In the spring comes forth a third larva
(Fig. 548), resembling the second. This one does not eat, and moults
after a time. It very soon changes into an ordinary pupa (Fig. 549),
of a yellowish-white, from which comes forth the adult Sitaris, which
lives only a few days, to ensure the propagation of its species, as is
" observed in the case of the Ephemera. The larvae of the Sitaris had
^for a long time been remarked clinging on to the hairs of the

fig- 550 • — Lampyris noctiluca (male and female).

Anthophorce, but they were always taken for Acari, and they had
been described as such.

The LampyridcE have the elytra weak and soft, like the insects of
tlie preceding tribe. In their perfect state they frequent flowers.
i^The larvae are carnivorous, attacking other insects or worms. It is to
^' this group that the Lampyris noctiluca, or glow-worm, wliich one sees
*^'! shining during summer nights on grass and bushes, belongs. It has
the power of making this natural torch shine or disappear at will.
The luminous properties with which these insects are endowed
fifhave for their object to reveal their presence to the opposite sex, for
li the females alone possess these properties. In the same way as
sounds or odours exhaling from some insects attract the one towards
the other sex, so with the Lampyris a phosphorescent light shows the
females to the males. The seat of the phosphorescent substance
varies according to the species. It exists generally under the three
last rings of the abdomen, and the light is produced by the slow-
combustion of a peculiar secretion. It has been stated that it is
evolved quickly when the animal contracts its muscles, either

510 THE INSECT WORLD.

spontaneously or under the influence of artificial excitement. Somf
chemical experiments have been made to ascertain the nature or tht
composition of the humour which produces this strange effect ; bui
up to this moment, they have only enabled us to discover that th(
luminous action is more powerful in oxygen, and ceases in gasej
incapable of supporting combustion. In the most common species
the Lampyris nodiliica^ or glow-worm, the phosphorescence is of i
greenish tint : it assumes at certain moments the brightness of white
hot coal.

The females have no wings, while the males have them, and
possess very well-developed elytra. The females resemble the
larvae much, only they have the head more conspicuous, and th(
thorax buckler-shaped, like the male. The larvae feed on smal
molluscs, hiding in the snails' shells, after having devoured the
inhabitant. They also possess the phosphorescent property in a lesi
degree than the adult females. The female pupa resembles tlu
larva , the pupa of the male, on the contrary, has the wings foldec
back under a thin skin. The perfect insect appears towards th(
autumn.

The Glow-worm {Lampyris jwdiluca^ Fig. 550) is of a brownisl
yellow. It is common in England. In a kindred species, th(
Luciola Italica, the two sexes are winged, of a tawny-brown, anc
equally phosphorescent. They are met with in great numbers ir
Italy, and the lawns are covered with them. Other insects of thi:
family are without the faculty of emitting light ; as, for example, th(
genus Lycus, of brilliant colours, which are met with in Africa anc
India. One of the finest is the Lycus latissifmis.

Drilus is another genus, comprising insects of very singula:
habits. The type is the Drilus flavescens. The male — a quarter 0
an inch long, black and hairy, with elytra of a testaceous yellow, am
with pectinated antennae — for a long time was alone known. Th(
female — from ten to fifteen times as large, without wings and elytra
of a yellowish brown — was not discovered till much later, having
apparently nothing in common with the male in shape or colour
The metamorphoses of these curious insects are now perfectly under
stood. Mielzinsky, a Polish naturalist established at Gene^-"
found the Drilus in the larva state in the shell of the ILelix neniorii
These larvae devour the snail whose dwelling they occupy, as do tin
larvae of the Lampyris. Mielzinsky saw them emerge, but obtainecl
only females, which differed scarcely at all from the larvae from whicl
they proceeded. He made a separate genus of them, under th(
' denomination of Cochleoctonus^ and called the species Vorax. Latt

■I

COLEOFTERA.

5ir

Desmarest resumed these observations. He provided himself, at the
Veterinary College of Alfort, with a number of shells of the Helix
filled with the same larvae. He saw come out of them, not only
Cochleoctoni, but also Drili^ and he watched their coupling. It was
then proved, by this unanswerable argument, that these two insects,
so unlike each other, belong to the same species.

The larva of the Drilus fiavescens fixes itself upon the shell of the
snail by a sort of sucker, like a leech. Little by little it slips in
between the mollusc and its house, and devours it entirely. To

Fig- 553.— Jumping organ of the Elater,
seen bidewaya,

Fig. 551. — Jumping organ
of the Elater.

Fig. 553. — Larva of the Elatefi

change into a pupa, it shuts up the entrance to the shell with its old
skin ; and when arrived at the perfect state, quits the shell which
served it as a temporary dwelling. The females of the Drilus
fiavescens take refuge under stones and dry leaves, or crawl slowly
along the ground ; whilst the males, which fly with great ease, are
on the plants and brushwood. These insects are not rare in the
environs of Paris. M. H. Lucas has observed, in Algeria, near to
Oran, another curious species, the Drilus Mauritaniciis. The larva
of this insect lives at the expense of the animal of the Cyclostoma
Volzia?tum, which closes the entrance to its shell with a covering of
some calcareous substance. It fixes itself on the edge of the shell,
with the aid of its sucker, and directs its strong mandibles to the side
on which the snail is obliged to raise the covering, either to breathe
the air or to walk. In this position it has the patience to wait for.

5^2 THE INSECT WORLtt.

many days at the door. The snail puts off for as long a time as ^e
is able the fatal moment. But whenj overcome by hunger or nearly
stifled in his prison, he decides at last to open the door, the Drilus
profits immediately by this opportunity, and cuts the muscle which
keeps back the foot of the snail. The breach being made, nothing
more opposes itself to the entrance of the enemy. He slips in, and
sets to work to eat at his leisure the unfortunate inoffensive mollusc,
which affords him board and lodging. The Ptilodadylides^ the
Eticinelides, and the Cebrionides belong to the same family. The
first is exotic.

The ElateridcB are rather large insects, often of hard texture,
having the presternum prolonged into a point (Figs. 551 and 552),
and the antennae indented saw-wise. They have the power of
jumping when placed on their backs, and of alighting again on their
legs. Hence their name of Elater (derived from the same root as
the word elastic). They produce, in leaping, one sharp rap, and often
knock many raps when they are prevented from projecting them-
selves. This is the mechanism which permits the skip-jack to execute
these movements. It bends itself upwards by resting on the ground
by its head and the extremity of the abdomen, and then it unbends
itself suddenly, like a spring. The point at the end of the thorax
penetrates into a hollow of the next ring ; the back then strikes with
force against the plane on which it rests, and the animal is projected
into the air. It repeats this manoeuvre till it finds itself on its belly,
for its legs are too short to allow of its turning over. Its structure
supplies it with the means and the strength of rebounding as many
times as it falls on its back, and it can thus raise itself more than
twelve times the length of its body.

The larvae of the genus Elateridce (Fig. 553) are cylindrical, with
a scaly skin and very short legs. They live in rotten wood or in the
roots of plants. According to M. Goureau, they pass five years in
this state.

The larvae of the genus Agriotes occasion considerable damage to
wheat-fields. They have much resemblance to the meal-worm, or larva
of the Tenebrio. The Tetralobides are the largest of the Elateridce,
attaining to a length of two inches ; and are inhabitants of Africa and
Austraha.

In America are found phosphorescent Elateridce, These are the
Fyrop/iori, which the Spaniards of South America call by the name
of Cucuyos. They have, at the base of their thorax, two small,
smooth, and brilliant spots, which sparkle during the night; the
rings of the abdomen also emit a light. They give light sufficient to

COLEOPTERA. 513

enable one to read at a little distance from them. The Pyrophorus
noctihicus (Fig. 554) is very common in Havannah, in Brazil, in
Guiana, in Mexico, &c., and may be seen at night in great numbers,
amongst the foliage of trees. At the time of the Spanish conquest, a
battaHon, just disembarked, did not dare to engage with the natives,
because it took the Cucuyos which were shining on the neighbouring
trees for the matches of the arquebuses ready to fire. " In these
countries," says M. Michelet, " one travels much by night, to escape
the heat. But one would not dare to plunge into the peopled shades
of the deep forests if these insects did not reassure the traveller. He
sees them shining afar off, dancing, twisting about; he sees them
near at hand on the bushes by his side ; he takes them with him ; he
fixes them on his boots, so that they may show him his road and put
to flight the serpents; but when the sun rises, gratefully and carefully
he places them on a shrub, and restores them to their amorous
occupations. It is a beautiful Indian proverb that says, ' Carry away
the fire-fly, but restore it from whence thou , hast taken it.' " *
Creole women make use of the Cucuyos to increase the splendour of
their toilettes. Strange jewels ! which must be fed, which must be
bathed twice a day, and must be incessantly taken care of, to prevent
them from dying. The Indians catch these insects by balancing hot
coals in the air, at the end of a stick, to attract them, which proves
that the light which these insects diffuse is to attract. Once in the
hands of the women, the Cucuyos are shut up in little cages of very
fine wire, and fed on fragments of sugar-cane. When the Mexican
ladies wish to adorn themselves with these hving diamonds, they
place them in little bags of light tulle, which they arrange with taste
on their skirts. There is another way of mounting the Cucuyos.
They pass a pin, without hurting them, under the thorax, and stick
this pin in their hair. The refinem.ent of elegance consists in com-
bining with the Cucuyos, humming-birds and real diamonds, which
produce a dazzling head-dress. Sometimes, imprisoning these ani-
mated flames in gauze, the graceful Mexican women twist them into
ardent necklaces, or else roll them round their waists, like a fiery
girdle. They go to the ball under a diadem of living topazes, of
animated emeralds, and this diadem blazes or pales according as the
insect is fresh or fatigued. When they return home, after the soiree,
they make them take a bath, which refreshes them, and put them
back again into the cage, which sheds during the whole night a soft
light in the chamber. In 1766, a Cucuyo, brought alive from

'. * "L'Insecte.".

74

^14 The insect world.

America to Paris, probably in some old piece of wood which
happened to be on the vessel, caused great terror to the inhabitants
of the Faubourg St. Antoine, when they saw it flying in the evening,
glittering in the air. In 1864 a number of Cucuyos were brought
from Mexico to Paris by M. Laurent, captain of the frigate La Floride.
An experiment, made in the laboratory of the Ecole Normale, showed
that the spectrum of their light is continuous, without any black
rays ; it differs, besides, from the spectrum of the solar light by a
greater intensity of the yellow colour. The light is produced
probably, as it is in the case of the Lampyris, by the slow combustion

')f\ : ;\vi> '']{■/( ill

i

^ , Fig. 554- Fig. 555.

. . 1 The Cucuyo {PyroJ>horus noctilucHs). Buprestis (Cyria) imperialis,

of a substance secreted by the animal. The Cucuyo can, neverthe-
less, at will, increase or diminish the splendour of this light by
means of membranes which it superposes, like screens, in front of
the phosphorescent bumps which it has on its thorax. . '- ^
^' In the Indies, and in China, the women use for dresSiTtg thei?
hair with, or as ear-rings, another Coleopteron of the same tribe,
which begins even to be employed for this purpose by the women of
the south of France. It is a Buprestis^ of splendid colours, and of
metallic brightness. Linnceus gave to it, wrongly, the name of
Buprestis, which among the ancients served to designate a very
different insect, the Meioe^ of the family of the Cantharidce ; but
modern naturalists have allowed this illegitimate title.

The Buprestidce walk heavily, but fly with the greatest ease during
.'rhe heat of the sun, and settle on the trunks of trees exposed to its

COtEOPfERA, 5 1 5

fays. In Europe, and especially in the North, they are very rare,
and of very small size. They must be looked for on birch-trees,
whose white colour seems to attract them. In the hottest parts of
the world they are very abundant, of large dimensions, and adorned
with sparkling colours. They do not jump, and are not endowed
with the phosphorescent property. Their larvae have no legs, are
elongate, whitish, of a fleshy consistency, with the first ring of their
bodies very much broadened. They live in the trunks of trees,
between the bark and the wood, hollowing out for themselves
irregular galleries, and remaining sometimes in this state for ten
years before metamorphosing. Laporte de Castelnau and Gory
have described and made drawings of about 1,300 species of
Buprestidce. Fig. 555 represents the Buprestis imperialis. The
Buprestis albosparsa^ the genera Julodis, the Chrysochroas, and the
Trachys belong also to the great family of BnprestidcB. The C/eridcB
are connected with the preceding. They have the thorax narrower
than the elytra, and rather long ; their integuments are less solid than
those of the Elateridce and the Buprestidce. The latter are phyto-
phagous, the former carnivorous. The principal type of this family
is the Clerus formicarius^ russet, with the head and legs black, whose
larva lives at the expense of the larvae of the weevil. Another genus,
the Necrobia, which lives on dried animal matter, has become cele-
brated, as it was the cause of the salvation of the greatest ento-
mologist of France. The name of Necrobia (from viKp6s and fiios)
does not mean " which lives on dead bodies/' but it means " life in
death." Here is the story of which this name is destined to preserve
the remembrance, and which Latreille himself has related in his
"Histoire des Insectes." Before 1792, Latreille was known only
from some memoirs which he had published on insects. He was
then priest at Brives-la-Gaillarde, and was arrested with the cures of
Limousin, who had not taken the oath. These unfortunates were
then taken to Bordeaux in carts, to be transported to Guiana.
Arrived at Bordeaux in the month of June, they were incarcerated in
the prison of the Grand Seminaire till a ship should be ready to take
them on board. In the meanwhile, the 9th Thermidor arrived, and
caused to be suspended for a while the execution of the sentence
which condemned to transportation the priests who had not taken
the oath. However, the prisons emptied themselves but slowly,
and those who had been condemned had none the less to go into
exile, only their transportation had been put off till the spring.

Latreille remained detained at the prison of the Grand Se'mi-'
naire. In the same chamber which he occupied there was at the

5l6 THE INSECT WORLD.

time an old sick bishop, whose wounds a surgeon came each morning
to dress. One day as the surgeon was dressing the bishop's wounds,
an insect came out of a crack in the boards. Latreille seized it
immediately, examined it, stuck it on a cork with a pin, and seemed
enchanted at what he had found.

" Is it a rare insect, then ?'* said the surgeon.

" Yes," replied the ecclesiastic.

" In that case you should give it to me."

" Why ?"

" Because I have a friend who has a fine collection of insects, who
would be pleased with it."

" Very well, take him this insect ; tell him how you came by it,
and beg him to tell me its name."

I'he surgeon went quickly to his friend's house. This friend
was Bory de Saint Vincent, a naturalist who became celebrated
afterwards, but who was very young at that time. He already
occupied himself much with the natural sciences, and in particular I
with the classing of insects. The surgeon delivered to him the one :>
found by the priest, but in spite of all his researches, he was unable
to class it.

Next day the surgeon having seen Latreille again in his prison,
was obliged to confess to him that in his friend's opinion this
Coleopteron had never been described. Latreille knew by this
answer that Bory de Saint Vincent was an adept. As they gave the
prisoner neither pen nor paper, he said to his messenger, "I see
plainly that M. Bory de Saint Vincent must know my name. You
tell him that I am the Abbe Latreille, and that I am going to die
at Guiana, before having published my 'Exaraen des Genres de
Fabridus.'"

Bory, on receiving this piece of news, took active steps, and
obtained leave for Latreille to come out of his prison, as a con-
valescent, his uncle Dayclas and his father being bail for him, and
pledging themselves formally to deliver up the prisoner the moment
they were summoned to do so by the authorities. The vessel which
was to have conducted Latreille to exile, or rather to death, was
getting ready whilst these steps were being taken, and while Bory and
Dayclas were obtaining leave for him to come out of prison. This
was quite providential, for it foundered in sight of Cordova, and the
sailors alone were able to save themselves. A little time afterwards
his friends managed to have his name scratched out from the list of
exiles. It is thus that the Nccrobia rujicollis was the saving of
Latreille,,, „

COLEOPTERA. %\J

The tribe of weevils is even much more numerous than that of
the ElateridcB and the Buprestidce. One may know them by their
head prolonged into a snout or trunk, by their rudimentary mouth,
and by their elbowed antennae. About twenty thousand species are
said to exist. They feed on vegetables. Their larvae are soft,
whitish worms, without legs, with very small heads, and live in the
interior of the stalks or seeds of plants, often occasioning ' enormous
damage. They are one of the plagues of agriculture. Each of our
dry vegetables, each variety of our cereals, has in this immense family
its particular enemy.

First are the Bruchi. The Pea Weevil (Bruchns pisi, Fig. 556),
which is brown with white spots, comes out of the pea at the end of
the summer. The female lays her eggs on peas which are ripe, and
still standing, in which the larva scoops out a habitation, and then

V\g. 556.— Pea Weevil {Bruckns pisi), magnified. Fig. 557.— Pea pierced by the larva.

makes its exit by a circular hole (Fig. 557). It remains at rest all
the winter, and is not hatched till towards the following spring. The
Bean Weevil {Bruchiis rHfi7nanus) marks each bean with many black
spots. The vetch has also its special Briichus. The Wheat Weevil
{Calandra granarid)^ of a darkish brown, lays its eggs on the grains,
of which the larvae then eat the interior. A host of ways of getting
rid of the weevil have been proposed. The best means is to store
corn properly, and to keep the heap well aired. Let us mention
further, the Clover Weevil, belonging to the genus Apion^ the Weevil
of the Rape [Ceutoi'hynchus h'assicce), the Turnip Weevil, &c., &c.

All vegetables, the vine, fruit trees, the ash, pines, &c., are eaten
by some weevil or other. As an example we give a figure of the
spotted Fissodes pint, which, as the figure shows, takes the precaution
of cutting half through the young stems and the stalks of the buds
of the pine, " so that," says Maurice Girard,* " the sap shall flow

ij/u IlJ. iJv«.H.>J)rJ
* '* Metamorphoses des Insectes," p. ii6jjii ^i\i Xli ^awob

5i8

THE INSECT WORLD.

only with difficulty into the withered organ, and cannot suffocate the
young larvae."

Scolytus^ Hylesi7ius^ and Bostrichus^ which are connected with the

Fig. 558.— Pissodes pini.

Fig' 559.— Hylesinus piniperda. Fig. 560.— Larva of Scolytus.

j-|:.)rr;). Mil; ,:yJi ,>:Mi\(\ .rfr-j; orl) .^j-jiJ liml .orifv offJ .
weevils, hollow out galleries between the wood and the bark of
different trees, when in the larva state, and devour the leaves in
the adult state. Fig. 559 represents the Hylesinus piniperda. The
Scolyti^ are sometimes so numerous in the forests, that the trees are
tattooed all over by the larvae. In 1837, they were obliged to cut
down, in the Bois :de Yincennes, 20,000 feet of oak trees, aged

COLEOPTERA.

5«9

from thirty to forty years, completely ruined by the ravages of
the Scolytus, whose larva is here represented (Fig. 560). The genus
Tomicus, hairy, and of a tawny colour, is a terrible plague to pine
forests. In 1783, in the Forest of Hartz, 1,500,000 trees were
destroyed by these insects. Often have the priests implored, in the
churches, the Divine clemency, to put an end to the devastations
made by them.

We arrive at the tribe of the Longkorns, which contains beautiful

Fig. 561.— Imago and pupa of Cerambyx hercs.

insects, of elegant shape and varied colours, sometimes also of rathei
large dimensions.

The genus C>/'^;;/^^'^ has the antennae very long; they exceed in
some of the species two or three times the length of the body. The
larvae are large whitish worms, which live in the wood of trees, the
Sbdult insects frequenting flowers, rotten trees, &c. In the month of
June, on the Continent, one meets on the oaks with the Great
C2i^ncom {Cerambyx heros, Fig. 561), of a dark brown, whose larva
(Fig. 562) scoops out its galleries in the interior of the tree, and
Qfteti occasions much damage.

520

THE INSECT WORLD.

The ChrysomelidcB are other phytophagous insects, dressed in th*
brightest colours, having short and thickset bodies. The larvae, soft
and ovoid, devour the leaves of trees. One of the best known
species \s> Lina popuH^ of a bronzed colour, with red elytra, whose

Fier. 562. — Larva of Cerambyx heros.

^

Fig- 563.— Larva of
Lina populi.

Fig. 565. — • Lady-bird
{Coccinella septem-
punctata).

Fig. 564.— Larva and imago of
Crioceris merdigera.

Fig. 566.— Larva of the
Lady-bird.

larva (Fig. 563), of a greenish grey, devours the leaves of the poplar-
tree. The Gakruc£B and the Alticcc belong to the same family, as
also do the Cassidce, the Crioceres, and the Donacice. The Cassida
viridis frequents netdes and artichokes ; the elytra are of rounded
form. Fig. 564 represents the Crioceris merdigera^ a great rarity in

COLEOPTERA. 521

England. The Crioceris asparagt\ or Asparagus Beetle, tawny, and
barred with black, resembles it in habit.

The last tribe of Coleoptera comprises the Coccinellidce^ or Lady-
birds (Fig. 565). These little globular, smooth insects, red or yellow,
with black spots, are very useful to us, for they clear the trees of the
aphides and other mischievous insects. Their larvae (Fig. 566) make
use of their front legs to carry their prey to their mouths. When
danger threatens a Coccinella., it hides its feet under its body, and re-
mains sticking to the stem of the bush. If you touch it, it allows
itself to fall to the ground, but sometimes opens its elytra, and flies
off rapidly. It also exudes from the articulations of its abdomen a
yellow mucilaginous liquid, of a pungent and disagreeable odour.
This is the only means of defence possessed by this little inoffensive
being, which deserves in all respects the name of *' Bete k bon Dieu,"
which the French children give it.

74*

INDEX

ITALICS ARE WOODCUT ILLUSTRATIONS.

Abdomen, The, i, 167.

Abdominal Cavity, contraction and

dilation of, 16.
Abraxas grossulariata. 268.
Acalyptera, 70, 85.
Acanthia ciliata, 94.

,, lectularia, 92.
Acanthops, 291.
Acherontia Atropos, 203, 204.
Acilius fasciatus, 480.

,, ,, Male and Female^

480.
,, sulcatus, 480.

,, ,, Male and Female, ^2)0.

Acridium, 300.

,, migratorium, 301.
Acrocimis lofigimaniis, Thorax of, 6.
Acronycta aceris. Larva of, 152.

,, Larvce of 152, 153

{three figs.').
-<Edia pusiella, 269.
,, pusiella, 269,
iEdipoda migratorium, 30if.
Africa, Insects of the Desert of, 291.
Agrion, 423.

Agriotes, Larvae of the Genus, 512.
Ailanthus Silkworm, 245.
Alimentary Canal of Insects, 8, et seq.
Alticse, 520.

Alucila granella, The, 279.
Amphidasis betularia, 268.
Andrena, Gallery of an^ 367.

The, 367.
Anomala, 456.

Vitis, 456.
Anostostomae, The, 300.
Ant, 313, 377.
„ Male^ Female y and Worker^

382.
„ Ashy-black, 382.
,, ,, Male, Female, and

Worker, 382.
„ Black, 382.
„ Blood-red, 382, 393.
,, Blood-red, 390,
„ Brazilian Umbrella, 378.
„ Brown, 382.

Ant, Hill, section of 381.
„ Jet, 382.
,, Mason, 382.
„ Mining, 382, 392.
,, ,, Male, Female, and Workei

392.
5, Nest, sections of 379.
„ Red, 380, 382, 383, 390.
,ii ,, Larva of 383,
,, ,, Male, mag7iified, 378.
„ „ Pupa of, 383.
„ „ Piipa of 383.
„ Russet, 382, 390.
,, Russet, 390.
„ Turf, 382.
,, Yellow, 382.
,, White, see Termes.
,, ,, Nests of, 403, 410.
Antennae, 5 ; Function of, 5.
Antennce, 169.
Anthia, 489.

,, thoracic a, 491.
Anthocharis cardamines, 177, 178.

,, cardamines, ITJ.

Anthocopas, The, 367.

„ papaveris, 367.

Anthomyia, 84.

,, pluvialis, 84.

,, pluvialis, 84.

Anthomyidse, 70, 84.
Anthophora parietina, 364.
,, parietina, 363.

Anthophoras, The, 364.
Anthrax, 51.

,, sinuata, 52.
Anthrenus museorum, 475.
Antithesia salicana, 269, 271.

,, salicana, 271.
Ant-lion, 402, 425.
Ant-lion, 424.

,, FujiJtel of 425^

,, La?-va, Cocoon, and Pupa of

425.
Apatura Ilia, 190,

„ Ilia, 190.

„ Iris, 190.
Aphidae, The, loi.

524

THE INSECT WORLD,

Aphides and Ants, 128, 389.
,, and Ant, 128.
„ Ant Milking, 389.

Winged, 117.
,, Wingless, 1 1 7.
Aphis, Charles Bonnet on the, 120 ; of
the Apple, 118 ; of the Oak, 121 ; of
the Plantain, 120.
Aphrophora, The, 112.

,, Larva of the, 1 1.3.

,, spumaria, 1 14.

Apiariae, The, 314.
Apis fasciata, 356.
,, mellifica, 356.
,, Peronii, 356.
Aptera, Probable Dismemberment of

the Order, 27.
Argyrolepia seneana, 269, 271.

,, aneana, 271.

Articulate Animals, egg state common

to, 20.
Ascalaphus, 427 ; Larva of, 427.
Lai-7'a of, 427.
,, meridionalis, 427.

,, meridionalis, 427.

Asida, Anteftnce of a Species of 5.
Asilidse, 49.

Asilus crabroniformis, 50.
,, crabroniformis, 50.
Ateuchus, 458.

,, Egyptiorum, 460.

,, sacer, 460.

Attacus, the genus, 210, 241 ; of the
Ailanthus, 245 ; of the Cas-
tor-oil, 247.
,, Atlas, 249, 250.
,, Atlas, 250.
,, Cynthia, 245.
,, Cynthia, Eggs, Lar7HE, and

Cocoons of, 246.
„ Mylitta, 241, 243.
„ Mylitta, 244,
,, ,, Cocoon of, 245.

„ Pernyi, 241, 243.
„ rernyi, 244.
„ ,, Cocoon of 243.

,, ricini, 247.
,, yama-mai, 241.
,,, yama-mai, 242.
,, ,, ••■ Cocoon of 242.

„ ,, Lar%>a of 241.

Attagenus pellio, 475.
pellio, 475.

Bee, 313; Cells constructed by, 324;
Bellows used to Stupefy, 355.
„ Bello7vs used to Stupefy, 355.
„ Cells constmcted by, 325.
„ Banded, 356.
„ Carding, 358.
,, Carpenter, 364.
,, Cluster of, hanging to a branch,

323* 337-
,, Lai-^^a of 331.
,, Leg of a, 318.
„ seen through a Magfiifying Glass,

322.
„ taking a S7oarni of, 350.
„ Trunk of l\%.
„ Common, 317, 356-
„ Humble, 313. 357 ; Male, 358.
„ Larva of, 331.
,, Leaf-cutting, 367.
„ Ligurian, 356.
„ Male, 319.
,, Mason, 366.
„ Mining, 367.
,, Moss, 360.
,, Queen, 319.
„ Solitary, 362.
,, Upholsterer, 367.
,, Wood-piercer, 364.
,, Worker, 317.
Beetle, Asparagus, 52 1.

„ Bacon, 475.

,, Bacon, 475.

,, Bee, 441.

,, Bufying, interring the body of a
rat, 471.

„ Clock, Dumbledor, Shard-bom,
458.

„ Rose, 436.

,, Stag, 461.

„ Tiger, 494.

„ Water, 477.

„ Whirligig, 478.
Bittacus tipularis, 429.

„ tipularis, 429.
Blaps, 497-

,, obtusa, 498.

,, obtusa, 499.

,, sulcata, 498.
Blatta, 285.

,, Germanica, 286.

,, Laponica, 286.

„ Orientalis, 287.
i Blepharis, 291.

INDEX.

525

Blepharis mendica, 291.

,, mendica, and its Larva^ 290.
Blue-bottle Fly, magnified, 79.

,, Retractile Proboscis o/j

80.
Boatman, The, 97.
Bocydium globtilare, 115.
Bombus muscoruni, 358.
Bombycidaj, 249.
Bombycina, 209.
Bombylidae, 49.
Bombylius major, 51.
,, major, 50.

Bombyx, 210 ; Caterpillar of, 220 ; of
the Ailanthus, 245 ; of the
Castor-oil, 247.
,, Atlas, 249.
,, Cynthia, 245.
,, mori, 210, 220; Apparatus
for Stifling the Chrysalides
of, 236 ; Cocoon of, 237,
238 ; Larva, Pupa, and
Moth of, 236.
,, mori. Cocoon <7/^ 235.
,, ,, Larva, Ptipa, Cocoon,

and Moth of, 236.
,, ,, Spherical Cocoon of,

23S-.
,, neustria, 249.
„ Pernyi, 241.
,, processionea, 249.
,, ricini, 247.
,, yama-ma'i, 241.
Boreus hiemalis, 429, 430.

,, hiemalis, 429.
Bostrichus, 518.

,, capucinus, 397.

Bot-fly, The, 54, 60.
Bot-fly, 60.

,, Bumps produced on Cattle by

Larva of, 64.
,, Llerd of Cattle Attacked by, 61.
,, Imago of, emerging, 65.
, , Ovipositor of the, 65 .
Brachycera, meaning of the word, 47.
Brachycola robusta, 288.
Breeze-fly of the Sheep, 66.
Bruchus, 5 1 7«

,, pisi, 517-
,, rufimanus, 517.
Bug, 91 ; Egg of, 93 ; Means of Destroy-
ing, 94 ; Moquin-Tandon on,
93-

Bug, Bed, 92.
Bed, 93.
^gg of 93.
Fly, 94.

Needle, 97. f )

Red Cabbage, 91.
Red Garden, 92.
Water, 90, 97.
Wood, 91.
Buprestidse, 514.
Buprestis, 514.

„ albosparsa, 515.
,, imperialis, 515.
,, imperialis, 514.
Burnet Moth, 193.

„ Six-spot, 193.

Butalis, 279.
Butterflies, Copper, 179.

,, Different Forms of the Scales

of 165.
,, Hair-streak, 178.

Butterfly, Definition of, 165 ; Eyes of,
168; Flight of, 167; Scales
of, 165.
„ Black Hair-streak, 178.
,, Black-veined White, 175.
,, Blue Argus, 181.
„ Brimstone, 178.
„ Brown Argus, 182.
,, Brown Hair-streak, 178.
„ Cabbage, 149, 176.

Clouded Yellow, 178.
,, Comma, 187.
,, Green Hair-streak, 179.
,, Green-veined White, 177.
„ Large Tortoise-shell, 182,

183. .
„ Leg Of,' armed with hooks,

167.
,, Leg not suitable for Walking,

167.
,, Meadow Brown, 192.
„ Orange-tip, 177.
,, Painted Lady, 187.
,, Peacock, 182.
,, Purple Emperor, 190.
,, Purple Hair-streak, 179.
,, Red Admiral, 186.
,, Scarce Swallow-tailed, 174,
,, Small Tortoise-shell, 182.
„ Small White, 177.
,, Swallow-tailed, 172.
,, White Admiral. iSo.

526

THE INSECT WORLD,

Butterfly s Trunks Section of, 170.

Cabbage Butterfly, Caterpillars of the,

150.
Caddis Flies, 402, 430, 431.
Calandra granaria, 517.
Calepteryx, 423.
Callidium, 397*.

,, sanguineum, 397.

Calliphora, 77.

,, vomitoria, 77 : Reaumur

'" on, 77.
Calosoma, 487.

„ auropunctata, 486.
„ auropunctata, 486.

„ Pupa and Larva
of, 486.
„ inquisitor, 489.
,, sycophanta, 487.
, , sycophanta pursuing a Bom •
hardier Beetle, 487.
Camberwell Beauty, 185.
Campylocnemis, 489.

,, Schrceteri, 489.

,, Schncteri, 491.

Canary-shouldered Thorn, Caterpillar

of, 142.
Canary-shouldered Thorn, Caterpillar

of 142.
Cantharadine, 500,
Cantharides, 498.

,, Gathering, 501.

Cantharis, 498.

,, vesicatoria, 499.
Capricorn, Great, 519.
Carabus Adonis, 487.
„ Adonis, 485.
,, auratus, 484 ; Nervous System

of, 18.
,, auratus, 485.
,, ,, Digestive Apparatus

of^-
„ „ Nervous System of \<).

„ „ Secretory Apparatus

of II.
„ auronitens. Larva of, 487.
,, auronitens. Larva of, 486.
,, canaliculatus, 485.
„ nodulosus, 486.
„ rutilans, 487.
,, smaragdinus, 487.
„ splendens, 487.
„ Vietinghovii, 487.

Carabus violaceus, 486.
,, violaceus, 485.
Carpenter Bee, Puptc, Eggs, Galleries,

and Nests, 363.
Cassida, 520.

,, viridis, 520.
Castor-oil Plant, Silkworm of the, 247.
Caterpillar, food of, 143 ; Description
of, lb. ; Scaly Legs of
the Gipsy Moth, 139;
Looper, 141, 265.
,, Membranous Legs of a

Large, 140.
Catocala, 151.

,, Americana, The, 260, 262.

,, Americana, 262.

,, fraxini, 260, 262 ; Larvae of,

152.
,, fraxtnt, 262.
,, „ Larvte of 152.

,, nupta, 261.
,, nupta, 263.
,, paranympha, 260.
,, paranyinpha, 263.
Cebrionides, 512.
Cecidomyia, 43, note.
Centrotus cornutus, 116.
,, cornutus, 115.

Cephalemyia ovis, 66.
„ ovis, 66.

,, „ Sheep attacked by, 67.

Cerambyx, 519.

„ heros, 519.

,, ,, Imago and Pupa of

519.
„ „ Larva of, 52O.

Cetonia argentea, 440.

„ aurata, 437.

„ aurata, 437.

„ hirtella, 439.

,, splendidula, 438.

„ stictica, 439.
Cetoniadce, 437.
Ceutorhynchus brassicae, 517.
Charocampa Elpenor, 196, 200.

,, nerii, 196.

Chafers, 436.

Chalcididas, The, 288 ; Larvae of, 314.
Chalicodoma, 366 ; Nests of, 367.
Charaxes Jasius, 190, 191.

,, Jasius, 191.

,, ,, Larva of, 191.

Chartereus lecheguana, 376.

INDEX,

527

Chartergus nidulans, 376.
Chelonia caja, 153 ; Larva of, 1 5 3.
„ „ Larva of, 153.

,, ,, forming its

Cocoon, 154.
Chermes variegatus, 129.
Chiasognathus Grantii, 466.
,, Grantii, 469.

Chigo, The, 30 ; Eggs not Hatched in

the Wound made by, 30.
Chimatobia brumata, 267, 268.

,, „ Male and Female,

268.
Chionobas aello, 191, 192.

,, aello, 192.
Chlorion compressum, 288.
Choreutes dolosana, 269, 271.

,, dolosana, 271.
Chrysalis, 19, 146 j meaning of the

word, 160, note.
Chrysides, The, 314.
Chrysochroa, the genus, 515.
Chrysomelidse, 520.
Chrysops csecutiens, 48.
,, ccccutiens, 49,
Chylific Ventricle, 9 ; its Appendages, 9.
, , Ventricle, Posterior Extremity of,
10.
Cicada, 10 1.

„ {male), 103.

,, Ash, 108.

,, Larva of, 107.

„ (female) laying her eggs, 106.

„ {male) Musical Apparatus of,

105.
,, omi, 109.
,, plebeia, 108.
,, Pupa of 107.
Cicadge, 10 1.
Cicindela campestris, 494.

,, campestris, Larva of, 495.
,, „ Ambush of Larva

of 495.

,, capensis, 494.

,, capensis, 495.

,, Dumoulinii, 494.

,, Dumoulinii, 494.

,, heros, 494.

,, heros, 495.

,, hybrida, 494.

,, maritima, 494.

3, Pupa of OfOi^i.

,, q_uadrilineata, 494.

Cicindela quadrilineata, 495.
„ rugosa, 494.
„ rugosa, 494.
,, scalaris, 494.
,, scalarts, 494.
„ sylvatica, 494.
Cicindelidae, 484, 491.
Cimex lectularius, 92.
Circulation in Insects, 12, et seq. ; In-
complete, 25.
Claviger, 473.

,, foveolatus, 473.
,, foveolatus, 474.
Cleptes, 314.
Cleridoe, 515.
Clerus formicarius, 515.
Clofion, 419.

„ diptera, 419.
,, diptera, 420.
Coccinella septempunctata, 520.
Coccinelhdte, 521.
Coccus, 129.

,, cacti, 129.
,, ilicis, 136.
,, lacca, 136.
,, manniparus, 137.
,, polonicus, 136.
,, sinensis, 139.
Cochineal, 129.

, , Insects {male and female), 1 30.
> > „ Branch of Cactus with,

134.
i> »> Gathering m Algeria,

132.
,, oak-tree, 129.
Ccchleoctonus, 510.

,, vorax, 510.

Cochylis francilana, 269, 271.

,, francilana, 271.
Cockchafer, 445, 446 ; Larva of, 452 ;

Pupa of, 452.
Cockchafer, 447.

, , Diligence surrounded bv*./^<,0.
„ Larva of, 452.
„ Pupa of 452.
Cockroach, 284, 285, 286.

„ The, 287.

Cocoon, after Reaumur, 152.
Cocoons, Sheets of Paper prepared for
Moths with rows of 238
{two figs.).
,, Apparatus for Stifling the
Chrysalides in^ 337.

52,8

THE INSECT WORLD.

Colias edusa, 176, 178.
Colynibetes cinereus, 481.
,, cinereus, 481.

,, notatus, 481.

,, notatus, 481.

,, striatus, 481.

,, striatus, 48 1.

Comma Butterfly, 187.
Gonops, 54, 59.
Conops, 69.

,, rufipes, The, 69.
Convolvulus Sphinx, The, 204.
Copiphora, 3cx>.
Copris, 458.

,, lunar is, 458.
Corixa, 98.

,, femora ta, 99.
,, mercenaria, 99.
,, striata, 98.
,, striata, 98.
Cornea, a compound, 2.
Corydia, the species of, 2S8.
Cossus, the genus, 257.
„ ligniperda, 257.
Crachat de Coucou, 112.
CreophiU, The, 70.
Cricket, The, 284, 293.
„ Field, 293.
,, House, 294
,, Mole, 296.
Crioceris, 520.

,, asparagi, 521.
,, merdigera, 520.
,, merdigera. Larva and Imago
of, 520.
Crop, The, 8.
Ctenostoma, 497.

,, rugosa, 499.

Cuckoo's Spittle, 112.
Cucullia verbasci, 155 ; Cocoon of, 165;
Larva of, 1 65.
,, Cocoon of, 155.

,, Larva of, x^^.

Cucuyo, 512.

„ The, 514.
Culex, The, 35.
CulicidcTe, The, 35.
Cursoria, 293.
Gybister, 477, 480.

„ Roeselii, 479.
„ RcBselii, 479.
Gynips, The, 395.
„ insana, 395.

Gynips quercusfolii, 395.
Cynthia cardui, 187.
Cyphocrana gigas, 291.
Cyphottia furcata^ 115.
Cyria imperialis, 514.

Dacus, 85.

,, oieae, 86 ; M. Guerin-Mene-

ville on, 86.
,, olei€, 86.

,, Gallery formed by, 88.
,, Larva of, 88.
,, Olives attacked by, 2>T.
Daddy Longlegs, 45.
Damaster, 489.

,, blaptoides, 490.
Death' s-Head Hawk-Moth, 205.

, , Chrysalis of, 207.

,, Larva of, 206.

Decticus verrucivorus, 299.
,, verrucivorus, 299.
Deilephila, the genus, 196.
,, Elpenor, 196, 200.

„ Elpenor, 200.
,, „ Larva of 201.

„ „ Pnpa of, 201.

,, Euphorbias, 196.

,, Euphorbia, 197,

„ Larva of 197.

,, nerii, 196, 198.

,, nerii, 198.

„ Larva of 199.
,, Pupa of, 199.
Dermaptera, the Order, 284, note.
Dermestes lardarius, 475.
,, vulpinus, 475.
Dermestidce, 474.
Dichaeta, The, 54.
Dicranura verbasci, 259.
,, verbasci^ 259.
,, vinula. Larva of, 158, 259.
,, vinula, 258.
„ ,, Larva of 258.

Diptera, Fecundity of the, 34 ; Divisions
of the Order, 34 ; Meaning of the
Name, 33 ; Organs of the, ib. ; Im-
mense Numbers of Species of, 34; the
Office of the, ib. ; Strength in the, 24.
Dom AUou, Reaumur's mention of,

39.
Donacia nymphea, 23.
Donacia% 520.
Dorcus Titan. 466.

INDEX.

529

Dorcus Ttfan, ^6S.
Dragon-fly, 402, 419 ; Common, 422.
Drilus, the genus, 5 10.
„ flavescens, 510.
,, Mauritanicus, 511.
Drone, or Male Bee, 319.
Dynastes Hercules, 457, 461.

,, He t cities, 464.
Dyticus, 477.

,, latissimus, 480.

,, latissimus, 479,

,, marginalis, 479.

,, ,, , Male and Female,

478.
,, „ Pupa and Larva

of, 479.

Earwig, Common, 284, 285.

,, ,, Larva, Ptipa, and

Lmago, 285.
Echinomyia, the genus, 70.

,, grossa, 70.

£cume printaniere, 112.
Elater, yiimping Organ of, 511 [two

,, Larva of the, 511.
Elateridse, 511.

,, phosphorescent, 512.
Elenchus, 504..

,, Waliceri, 504.
Emperor Moth, 249.
Empidae, M, Macquart on the, 50,51.
Empusa, 291.

>> gongy lodes, 29 1.
Enema infundibulum, 460.
Ephemera, 402, 418; Larva of an,
419 ; Pupa of an, ib.

„ Common, 418,

,, Larva of aft, 419.

,, Pupa of an, 419.

,, Respiratory Apparatus of,

17.

,, vulgata, 418.

,, „ imago, 418.

Ephemerae, 51.
Ephemeridae, 417.

Ephippiger, 3(x>. /u.-.^li'l

,, vitium, 300. .T.>.t'iH

Epinectus, 483.

,, sulcatus, 483.

,, sjtlcatus, 483.

Erebia Euryale, 191,
,, Etiryale, 191.
Erebus strix, 261, 264.

Erebus strix, 264.

Eremiaphila, 291.

Eremobia, The, 31 1.

Euchlora, 456.

Eugonia alniaria. Larva of, 142,

Eyed Hawk- Moth, 208..

Eyes, 2 ; Compound, ib. ; Number of
Facettes in 'Various Insects, ib. ; in
the Genus Scarabseus, ib. ; Crystal-
line of, 3 ; Pigment of, ib. ; Simple, 4.

Femur, 6.
Field Cricket, 294.

Flea, 27 ; Jump of a, 22 ; Strength of,
28 ; Eggs of, 29 ; the Learned,
ib.\ Metamorphosis of, 29 ;
Larva of, ib.
Flea, 27.

,, Grasshopper, 114.
Flies, a Beggar eaten by, 73-
Fly, Extremity on the Proboscis of, 80.
,, Lancet of a, 82,
,, Executioner, 83.
„ House, 83.
,, Lantern, 109.
„ Lips of the Proboscis of, Si.
„ Ox, 83.
„ Spanish, 499.
Forester, The, 194.
Forficula, 285.

,, auricularia, 285.
Formica cunicularia, 392.
Formicse, 378,
Formica flava, 382.
,, fuliginosa, 382.

fusca, 390.
„ sanguinea, 390, 393.
Formicarise, 314.
Fossores, 393,

Fossorial Hymenoptera, 393.
Froghopper, 114.

„ The, 114.

Fulgora lanternaria, 109.

Gad-flies, Herd of Horses attacked by, 56.
Gad-fly, 54 ; M. Joly on, ib.

Eggs of 57.
Galerita, 490.

,, Lecontei, 492.

,, Lecontei, 492.

Larva of 492.
Galerucge, 520.
Gall Lnsect, 395.
Galleria, Bee-hive, or Wax, 278, 348-

5.30

THE INSECT WORLD.

Galleria cerella, 278.
Gallicolae, 314.
Gallinsecta, 129.
Gall-insects, The, 314, 395.
Gall, Interior of Uy 395.
Galls, Oak, 395.

,, produced by In sect y ^J^^'

Ganglions, Cephalic, 18.

,, Lacordaire, M., on, 18.

Geocorisffi, The, 90.
Geometers, 142, 264,
Geometiince, the Family of the, 264.
,, Caterpillars of the, 264.

Geotrupes, 457.

,, stercorarius, 24, 458.

Ghost Moth, The, 257.
Gipsey-Mothy Scaly Legs of the Cater-
pillar of 139.
Gizzard, The, 9.
Glossina morsitans, 74.
Glow-worm, 509.

Gnat, The, 35 ; Water good for the
Cure of Bites, 38.
„ They 35.
,, Antennce of 36.
,, Eggs of magnified, 42.
,, Head of 36.
,, Lancets of 37.
, , iMrva of 38.
„ Pupa of 39.
,, Trunk of magnified y 37.
Gnats eme7ging, 41.
Gnorimus nobilis, 445.
Goat Moth, 255.

The, 256.
Goliath us, 439.

,, cacicus, 440.

•, ,, Male and Female,

442, 443-
,, Derbyana, 440.

,, Derbyana, 44 1.

,, Druryi, 440.

„ Druryi, 444.

,, Polyphemus, 440.

„ Polyphemus, 441.

Golofa claviger, 457.
„ clavigery 458.
^ „ Porteri, 459.
Gonepteryx rhamni, 178.
Grapta, C. album, The, 187.
Grasshopper, 284, 293.

,, Great Green, 299.

Grave-diggers, 470.
Gryllacris, the genus, 300.

Gryllo-talpa vulgaris. The, 295 ; Nes'

of the, 297.
Gryllus campestris. The, 293.

,, domesticus, The, 294.

,, sylvestris, The, 295.
Guerin-Meneville, M., on the Sciara,

46.
Gullet, 8.
Gyrinidae, 477.
Gyrinus, 482.

,, distinctus, 483.

,, distinctus, 483.

,, natator, 482.

,, natator, 482.

,, ,, Lania of ^2.

,, striatus, 483.

,, striatus, 483.

Hair-Moth, 282.
Halictophagus, 504.

,, Curtisii, 504.

Halit>lus fuh'us, 481.
Harpalidre, 490.
Harpalus eeneus, 490.
,, crnniSy 492.
Hautle, M. Virlet d'Aoust's descrip-
tion of, 98,
Hawk-Moth, Elephant, 196, 200.

,, Eyed, 208.

,, Lime-tree, 209.

,, Oleander, 196, 197,

,, Poplar, 209.

Head, The, i.
Heart, 13.
Helomyza, Zi^.

y, a Species of y 85.

Helophilus, 52.

„ Larvce of 53.

„ Species of SZ-

Hemerobiidse, 428.
Hemerobius, 427.
Hepialus, the Genus, 257.

,, humuli, 257.

Herisson, 153.
Heterocei-a. -51?^ Moth,
Heterocerus, Hind Legs of a, 7.
Hipparcia Janira, 192.
Hister, 467.

,, rtigosus, 47a
Hive, Pell-shaped, 351.

„ Bell-shaped, 351.

„ Cells of 326.

„ English, 351.

„ English, 351.

INDEX.

531

Hive, Garden, 354.

,, Garden, 354.

,, /*;/ Leaves, 322.

„ Interior of a, 327.

,, Interior of a, 327.

„ Polish, 353.

„ Polish, 353.

„ Swiss, 352.

,, Swiss, 352.

, , under Shade of Trees ^ 355.
Homoderus Mellyi, 466,
Honeycomb, Portion of with Eggs in

Cells, 330.
Hop-dog, The, 253,
Hornet, The, 375.
The, 370.
Hornet's Nest, Hanging, 375.
Horse-fly, Male and Female, 57.

, , Larva of, in Stomach of Horse,

58.
Housefly, 2>^,

Humble Bee, 313 ; Nest of, 358.
Male, 358.
,, Nest of the Moss, 360,

Humble Bee's Nest, Cells from, 359.
Humming-Bird Hawk- Moth, 1 95 .
,, Caterpillar of 196.

Hybernia defoliaria, 267.
„ leucophearia, 267.
,, leucophearia, Male, 267.
Hydaticus grammicus, 482.
,, grammicus, 482.
Hydrocorisee, The, 90, 97.
Hydrometrse, The, 91, 96.
Hydrometra stagnorum, 97.
,, stagnorum, 97.

Hydrophili, 476.

Hydrophilus, Four Stages of the, 20.
,, piceus, 476.

,, in its Four Stages, 21.

,, Abdomen of, ^TJ.

,, piceus, 476.

,, Pupa of the, 477.

Hydroporus confluens, 481.
„ confluens, 481.

,, griseo-striatus, 481.

,, griseo-striatus, 481.

Hydropsyche, 432.

„ atomaria, 434.

,, atomaria, Larva, Pupa,

^^., 433.
Hydrous caraboides, 477.
Hylesinus, 518.

„ piniperda, 518.

Hylesinus piniperda, 518.
Hymenoptera, Fossorial, 393.

„ Power of Flight in the,

24.
Hypsauchenia balista, 115.

lassus devastans, 114.
Ichneumons, The, 394; Larvreof, 314.
Imago, 19.
Inca, 445.
,, clathrata, 445.
,, clathrata, 446,
Insect, Names of the Principal Parts of
an, I ; Various Stages of, 20 ;
Strength of, 21 ; Power of
Traction in, 23; Classes of,
26.
,, Leaf, 285.
,, The Adult, 400.
,, Head of , i.
,, Mouth of a Masticating, 6.
, , Organs of Circulation, 8.
,, ,, Breathinginan, 14.

Intestine, Large and Small, 8.

Julodis, The Genus, 515.

yumping Insect, Posterior Leg of a, 7.

Kakerlac Americana, 287.

,, insignis, 288.
Kermes, 136.

,, Polish, 136.

Laccophilus minutus, 482.
,, minutus, 482.

„ variegatus, 481.

,, variegatus, 481.

Lackey Moth, The, 249.
The, 250.
Lady-bird, 520.

,, Larva of the, 520.
Lady-birds, 521.
Lamellicornes, The, 436.
Lampyridae, 509.
Lampyris noctiluca, 509.

,, ,, Male and Female, <fC^

Lantern Fly, The, 1 10.
Larva, 19 ; Meaning of the Word, 20.
„ The, 400.

,, Aquatic, B7-anchia of, I'j.
Leaf-rollers, 272.
Lecheguana, The, 376.
Legs of Insects, 6, et seq.
Leopard, Wood, 257.

532

THE INSECT WORLD.

Le petit Diable, Ii6.

Lepidoptera, Meaning of the Word,

138 ; Antennae of, 169.
Leptidge, 49.
Libellula, 402, 419.

,, depressa, 422.
,, depressa, 422.
„ Larva of perfect Insect emerg-
ing, 421.
Lime Hawk-Moth, 207.

,, Larva of, 208.

Limenitis Camilla, 190.
„ Camilla, 189.
^ Sibilla, 189.
Lina populi, 520.

.,, Larva of, 52<X I

Lions des Pucerons, 427.
Liparis, The Genus, 210.
,, chrysorrhcea, 253.
,, chrysorrhcea^ 254.
Lobster Moth, 259.

„ Larva of, 259.

Locust, 284, 293, 301.
Locust, 301.

„ A Cloud of, in Algeria, 303.
Locusta viridissima, 299.
Longicorns, 519.

Looper Caterpillar, 141, 144 [four figs.).
„ Hanging by its Thread,

265 {five figs.).
Lophyrus pini, 399. 0:1 ,- mi.

pini, 399- ^'-^'^ - «•

Louse, 31 ; Means Employed to Kill,
31 ; of the Bee, 348.
„ magnified, zi.
„ Plant, loi, 116,
Lucanus, 465.

,, bellicosus, 466
„ bellicosus, 467.
,, cervus, 466,
,, Mellyi, 466.
„ Mellyi, 466.
Lucilia Coesar, The, ^2.

,, hominivorax. The, 72.
„ hominivorax, 72.
Luciola Italica, 510.
Lycsena, Genus, 180.
„ iEgon, 182.
„ j^gon, 182.
,, Battus, 181. .
„ Battus, 182.
,, Corydon, 1 8 1.
„ Corydon, 182.
„ See Polyommatus.

Lycaenidge, Family of the, 1 78.
Lycus, The Genus, 510.
,, latissimus, 510.
Lyggeus, Genus, 91, 92.
Lytta, 498.
j ,, vesicatoria, 499.

i Macroglossa, The Genus, 194.
,, stellatarum, 194.

! ,, M Pupa of, 196.

! Malpighian Vessels, ii.
j Mandibles, Nerves of the, 18.
Manticora, 497.

,, tuberculata, 498.
,, tube/rulata, 498.

Mantidre, The, 288.
Mantis, The Genus, 284, 285.
,, oratoria, 289.
,, religiosa, 289.
,, religiosa, ajid its Larva, 290.
Mantispa, 423.

„ pagana, 423.
„ pagana, 423.
Marte, Le, 153.
Mason Bee, Nest of, 364.
„ and Nest, 364.

,, Interior of the Nest of the,

365-
May-fly, 418; Respiratory Apparatus of,

418.
Meadoxi) Bro70jt, 192.
Meal-worm, 498.
Meat-fiy, Eggs of 77.
, , Lancet of, 83.

„ Trunk of, 79 (fivo figs. ).

Megaceras chorinaus, 463.
Megachile, 367. I

.„ centuncularis, 366. I

,, Eose, 366.

Megalosoma anubis, 461, 463.

, , Male and Female, 463, 464.

Melasoma, 497.
Melipona, 356, 357.

„ a Species of , 357. ]

,, scutellaris, Nest of, 357.
Meloe, 507.

,, proscarabgeus, 507.
Melolontha, 445.

fullo, 456.
,, Hippocastani, 456.

„ vulgaris, 447 ; Larvaof, 452 ;

Pupa of, ib. I

Membracis foliata, 1 1 5. 1

Merian, Mdlle. Sybille de, in.

\

INDEX,

533

Metamorphoses, 21.
Migratory Locust, 301.
Mok Cricket, 295.
t .L-j i ,iy Nest of the, 297.

Pi\\v/oi vi Nest of the, 297.

Mormolyce phyllodes, 491.
,, phyllodes, 493.
,, ,, Lat-va and Pupa

ofy 493- '' ti^^J'-''*'-'*'

Moth, Definition of, 192. ;^-
,, Bee-hive, 270.
,, Brown-tailed, 253,
,, Burdock, 282.
,, Carpet, 282.
,, Cherry-tree, 282.
,, Clothes, 270.
,, Currant, 268.
,, Emperor, 249.
,, Fur, or Skin, 279, 282.
,, Hair, 279, 282.
,, Hawthorn, 282.
,, Peppered, 268. , •

,, Procession, 249. '"^ ti

,, Rustic, 282. -'Jfa f'fl'^J

,, Winter, 267.
,, Woollen, 279.
„ case ofy attached to piece of cloth,

282.
,, just emerged, 163.
„ whose wings are developing, 164.
,, whose wings are developed, 164.
,, whose wings are folded up, 163.
„ portion of wing of, magnified, 1 66.
Mouches Papilionacees, 431.
Mouth of Insects, i, 5.
|i Mtdbej-ry Leaves, the Empress Si4ing-

chi Gathering, 213.
j Musca bovina, 83.
,, carnifex, 83.
,, domestica, 83.
' Muscidse, The, 70; M. Macquart on

the, 70.
Mutilla Europoea, 393.

, , , , Male and Fetnale, 393 .

Mylabris chicorii, 500.
Myrmeleo, 424.

,, formicarius, 425.

,, libelluloides, 426 ; Larva of,

427.
,, libelluloides, 426.
,, ,, Larva of, 427.

iMyrmeleonidoe, 424.
Myrmeleonides, 402.
Myrmicoe, The, 378.

Myrmica rubra, The, 376, 382 ; Larva

of, 383 ; Pupa of, 383.
Myzoxyle mali, 118.

Nebria, 489.

,, arenaria, 489.
,, arenaria, 488,
,, brevicollis, 23.
Necrobia, Genus, 515 ; Meaning of the
Name, ib.
,, ruficoUis, 516.

Necrodes, 469.

,, lacrymosa, 470.
,, lacrymosa^ 470.
,, littoralis, 470,
,, ,, Male and Female,

470.
Necrophorus, 467, 470.

,, Germanicus, 472.

,, Germajiicus, 472.

,, vespillo, 23, 471.

,, vespillo, 472,

Nemobius sylvestris, 295.
Nemoptera, 427.

Coa, 428. ;r^|, ,/„(,!'

„ Coa, 428.,,,,^, ,'fi-r.rf; ^.lis .

Nemoura, 416.

,, Larva of a, 416.
,, variegata, 417.
,, variegata, 417.
,, ,, Larva of, 417.

Nepa, 97.

,, cinerea, 97.
,, cinerea, 97.
Nervous System in Insects, 18,
Neuroptera, Strength of, 24.
Noctua brunnea. The, 260.

,, brunnea, 261. ^^

,, musiva, 260. .dd£ .BirnaO

,, musiva, 261. . .i,1

„ nebulosa, 260.
,, nebulosa, 260.
,, tegamon, 26a.,i..»v.>.vA „
,, tegamon, 260. .o£ ^lotbonivO
Noctuina, The Group, 259 ; Caterpillars

of the, 261.
Noterus crassicornis, 480.

crassicornis, 480.

4ii.'i

Notonecta, 97, 99- ^,''^'^'"'"':?

,, glauca, M. L^on Dufour on
■' the, 99, 100.

,, glauca, 100.
Nymph, 19.
Nymphalidas, The Family, 189.

^53^

THE INSECT WORLD.

Nyssia zonaria, The, 268. ' Y^

,, Male and Female, 2bii.

Oak leaf rolled perpendictilarly, 272.

,, rolled sideways, 212.
Ocelli, 2,4.
Ocyptis olens, 473.
Odynerus, 376.

„ Larva o/y 377.
NestofzTJ.
Piipaof,yj1.
Species of, 377-
CEcanthus, 296. ^^ .

CEcophora, 270; Caterpillars of the

Genus, 282. .[ '"'■'
(Esophagus, 8/ ^'^ •_ '•
CEstrus, 54 ; Parasitical on Man, uk ,
M. Joly on, 54, 59.
,, bovis, 60.
„ equi, 54-
,, ovis, 66.
Ommexeca, 312.
Omophron, 489.

,, libatum, 488.

Omus, 497.

Onthophagus nuchicornis, 24.
Ophion,394. ^ .^,/..u...u./-

„ a Species of, 395- "
Orange-tipped Butterfly, 177.
Orgyia, 210, 252.

„;• pudibunda, 253.
„ pudibtinda, 253.
Ortalidse, 85.

Ortalis, the Cherry-tree, 86.
Oryctes iiasicornis, 23, 456.

•4-rt.'' Male, 457- ^
>S*"- •■ .. Head of, ^^il.
,, „ Female, Head of, ^^-j.

Osmia, 366.

,, bicornis, 366, note.
Osmoderma eremita, 443.
Osmylus maculatus, 428.

„ maculatus, 428.
Ovipositor, 20. -.

' ' ^ o, ,jdjlo

Painted Lady f^i^tterfly,\m.^^ ^.u-iy,. :/

Palpi, 6. ^/^^ ,-,uvv. Aa\iA-»

Panorpas, 428. ^n. -,> .rij.>n.

Fanprpa Male and Female, 428.
,, {Feffiale) Laying, ^2Q. "
, , {Male) , Pincer of, 429-

Panorpatse, 402, 428. ^^l jlqin^VI

Papilio,^|,;^2.

Papilio Alexanor, 173, I74-

,, Alexanor, 173- U

„ Hospiton, 174. r

„ Machaon, 172; Larva of, 172. \\

,, Larva and Chrysalis \ {

of, 172. i

„ Podalirius, 172, 174. \ ,

Papilionidae, Family of the, 171. j

Parnassius, The Genus, 171. ,

Apollo, 171, 175. '

„ Apollo, 175.
,, Mnemosyne, 171, 175.
Pea pierced by the Larva, S^T'
Pea Weevil, magnified, ^^ll.
Peacock Butterfly, J84.
Pediculus capitis, 31.
Pegomyiae, The, 84.
Pelobiiis Hermanni, 482.
Pentatoma, 91.

Blue, 92.
Grey, 91-
Grey, 91.
,, ornata, 91.

Penthina pruniana, 269.

,, pruniana, 269.
Perla, 416.
XW bicaudata, 416.
„ bicaudata, 417,
„ „ Larva of , ^xd.

„ marginata, 416.
,, marginata, 416.
Phalanges of the foot, 6.
Phaneropterae, 300.
Phasma, 285, 291.
,, gigas, 291.
,, Rossia, 291.

,, „ Male, Ftmakt anc

Lar7)a, 292. ' ,' .

Philanthus, 393. , ,

,, triangalum,39>,

, ^,. iriangulum, -^l.
Philobacera fagana, 269.

.» fagciiia, 27a :

Phryganea, 5i» 425-

,, atomaria, 433.

„ flavicornls, 4JI.

„ pilosa, 432.

„ . rhombica, 431.
„ Regular Cases of, 431-

pfdosa, 432.
-» \. T.-^- ^"^^ '^' magnifies
-^•^? 432.
,, rhombica, 430.

Larva qfy 43O.

INDEX.

535

Phryganea in repose, 430.
Phvyganidce, 402, 424, 430.
Phthiriasis, the Disease called, 32.
Phyllium, The Genus, 291.
Pieridi, The Family of the, 175.
Pieris brassicse, 149, 176 ; Pupae of the,

151. ^
„ bras sua y 176.
,, ,, Caterpillar and Chry-

: salis oft 151, 177.
,, „ Pupcs of, 151,

„ Callidice, 175. 176, 1 77.
, , crattegi, 175. ■ i ' ■.'ii--A ,V

,, napi, 175, 177. - ,x(nov/-:Jii>
. . ,, napi, 177.
,, rapoe, 177.
,Pimelia bipunctata, 498.
Pimelides, 498.

^impernel^ small Caterpillar o/y 154.
, , Cocoon of Caterpillar of,iS4.

Fimpla, a Species of, 394.
Pissodes pini, 517.
pini, 518.
Platydactylus, 296.
Pneumoiie, 312.
Poedisca autumnana, The, 269.
,, autumnana, 270,
,, occultana, The, 269, 271.
,, occultana, 271.
Pogonostoma, 497.

,, gracilis, 498.

Polistes, 375.

„ gallica, 370 ; Nest of, 376.
,, gallica, 370. ."mv, ,>.'

,, ,, Nest of 376ir;i,) ^.

Polyergus, 379.

,, rufescens, 382, 390.
Polyommatus, 181.'

„ Gordius, The, i8o;

,, Gordius, l8i,

,, phlaeas, 179.

,, Squall Copper, 180. . .

,,. virgaure?e, i8o.

>> virgaurece, 181.

,, See Lycsena,! ,{u,\-^i-y.-

Pompilus, 393. .iuAUmsii.

Ponera, 378.

'^oplar Hawk- Moth, 209. 1

,, Larva of, 210.

privet Haxok-Moth, 202.

,, Larva of, 203.

cerus, 489.

gigas, 489. :.

gigas, d^'i.

Procession Moth, Larvae of the, 252. ;
i ,, Larviv of, 252.

Procris, 194.

,, statices, 194.
Procrustes, 489. .rio

,, coriaceus, 489. ■ ^

,, coriaceus, ^^'^. i

Pselaphus, 473. f

,, Heisii, 473.;! ^v.^^■Jo\p.i\iniA
,, Heisii, 474; ^ . iiIirfqoon'(rfH
Psithyrus, 362.
Psyche, 254.

,, graminella, 254.
,, graminella, 254.
,, ,, Case of, 2$^.

• >» f, Laix>a of, 254.

,, muscella, 254.
,, muscella, 254.
,, ,, Case of 2^^.

,, rubicolella, 254.
,, rubicolella. Case of , 254.
Ptilodactylides, 512. .^.» .-^w.

Pulex irritans, 27. /;r/9-i wihdJortBci

,, penetrans, 30. . - >%
Pupa, 10
,, a Conical, 159.
,, having Angular Projections, 159.
,, of a Butterfly, Angular, 159.
Puss Moth, Larva of the, 158.
Pyralina, the Section, 268.
Pyralis of the Vines, 270, 275, 276;
Caterpillar of, 276 ; Chrysalis
of the, 276.
,, corticalis. Cocoon of, 157.
,, ' corticalis. Cocoon of, i^J.
Pyrophorus, 512.

,, noctilucus, 513.

Queen {or Female) Bee, 319.

Ram Sphinx of Geoffroy, 193. ..!
Ranatra, 98. . y> t^<'>'^^'>V ,,

Raphidia, 423. ''^f >^'in7>iv3il i^lhzoZ
„ L.arva of a, /^T.^,'^^^. i<
„ Male, 0^21. ;':4iirfqoli:Da

„ /V^rt^^, 423. 'IT ,;niii38
Raphigaster griseus, 91. '' b'JJj^'jn
Rat-tailed Maggot, 53. - " ,2iJr(IoD2
Red Admiral Butterfly, 186. V „.
Red Underwing Moth, 261. nnhoTJaS
Reduvius, 91.

,, personatus, 94; De Geer
on, 95-
\.ui- ,yv.\" personatus^ Pupa of 96 (two
Ms.) ...... -..A

536

THE INSECT WORLD.

Regnier's Dynamometer, 22.

Respiratory System, 13 ; Lyonet's
Discovery of, in the Caterpillar of the
Goat-Moth, 15 ; M. Milne- Ed wards
on, 16 ; of Aquatic Insects, 16.

Rhipiptera, 503.

Rhizotrogus, 456.

Rhodocera rhamni, 176, 178.

Rhopalocera, 171.

Rhyacophilus, 432.

„ vulgatus, 433.

,, ,, Lafva, Pupa^

Cocoon^ and Imago, 433.

Robin's Cushion, 395.

Rose Beetle, 437.

„ Larva and Cocoon of, 438,

Rose Megachile, 366.

Saga, 300.

Saltatoria, The, 293.
Sarcophagae, 71 ; the Females Vivipa-
rous, ib.
Sarrothripa revayana, 269, 271.

,, rez'ayana, 271.

Saturnia carpini, 249.

,, Pavonia- major, 248; Magni-
fied Wing of, 166.
,, Pavonia-major, 248.
Satyridi, The Family of the, 191.
Satyrus janira, 192.
Sauterelles- Puces, 1 14.
Saw-flies, 314; Larvae of, 398.
Saw-fiy, Larva of, 399.
Scarabaeides, 436, 456.
Scarabaeus, 436; Number of Eyes in
the Genus, 2.
,, of the Egyptians, Sacred^\(i2.

„ enema, 461.

,, enema, 460.

,, Sacred, 460.

,, Porter i, 459.

Scarites Isevigatus, 489.
,, hrvigatus, 492.
Scatophagus, 85.

Sciara, The, 46 ; Superstitions Con-
nected with, 47.
Scolytus, 518.

,, Larva of i^\%.
Secretion of various fluids used as

defences, &c., Apparatus for, 11.
Semblis, 424.

,, lutarius, 424.
,, lutarius, Imago, Pupa, and
Larva, 424.

Semblis, Mud, 424.
Sentinel Bees guarding Hive, 347.
Sericaria, The Genus, 210.
Sericoris Zinkenana, 269, 271.

,, Zi7ikenana, 271.
Sesia, 193.
,, apiformis, 193.
„ apiforjnis, 193.
Sesiidae, The, 193.

Silk, kinds of, 235 ; Winding Establish-
ment, 240.
Silk-secreting Apparatus, 221.
Silk-winding Establishment, 239.
Silk-worm, 220.

,, during Moulting, Head of.

222.
,, ,, Position Off

222.

,, ^gg^ ti'nd Five Ages of 223

224 {five figs.).
,, Membranous Legs of 140,

, , Moth, Male and Female, 226

,, Rearing Establishment, 228

Silk-zvorms, Lozenge-shaped Net for, 232
,, Square Net for, 232,

,, Sprigs of Heather for, 234.

Silpha, 467.

,, obscura, 468.
,, quad ri punctata, 468.
,, quadripjmctata, 470.
,, thoracica, 469.
,, thoracica, 470.
Silphales, 466.
Sirex, 396.
„ Giant, 396.
„ gigas, 396, 398.
„ gigas, 396.
,, juvencus, 398.
Sitaris humeralis, 508.
,, humeralis, 507.

Lar7>(t of <,Qri, 508.
,, „ Pseudo-nymph of <fik

Pupa of 508.
Six-spot Burnet Moth, 193.
Skeleton, Exterior of Insects, 8, 25.
Smerinthus, 208.

„ ocellatus, The, 209. ' ;

,, populi, 209, 210. *

,, tlliae, 209.

Sorrel, Leaf of cut and rolled by Catii

pillars, 273.
Sphaeria, The, 296. -*'

Sphex, The, 393.
Sphingidae, The Family, 194

INDEX,

537

Sphinx convolvuli, 203.

,, Convolvulus, They 204.
„ Humming-bird, 194.
,, Humming-bird, 195.
„ ligustri, The, 201.
„ ligustri, Pupa of, 203.
,, Privet, 201.
Spider, Water, 97.
Spiracles, 14, 16, 25.
Spring Froth, 112.
Stag Beetle, 466.

,, Common, 466.

Staphylinidse, 472.
Staphylinus hirtus, 473.
„ hirtus, 474.

„ maxillosus, 473.

,, maxillosus, 474.

„ olens, 473.

,, {Ocypus) olens, 473.

,, ,, Imago, Pupa

and Larva, 472.
Stauropus fagi, 259.
Stemmata, 4.
Stomoxys, 72.

,, calcitrans, 72.
Strength of Insects, M. Felix Plateau

on, 21, 24.
Stylopidae, 503.
Stylops, 503.
Sty lops, 504, 505.

,, Melittas, 504.
Sugar Acarus, 348.
Suphis cimicoides, 481.
Swallow-tailed Butterfly, 1 72.

,, Scarce, 174.

Swarm of Bees, 349.
Syndesus cornutus, 466.
„ cornutus, 469.
Syromastes, 92.
Syrphida', 52.

Tabanidae, The, 48.
Tabanus, 48, 58,

,, autumnalis, 48.

,, autumnalis, 49.

,, bovinus, 48.
Tanystom^e, 49.

Tarsus, 6, 31 ; of Lepidoptera, 167,
Tefflus, Genus, 489.

,, Megerlei, 490.

,, Megerlei, 490.
Tenebrio, 498 ; Larva of, 498.

,, molitor, 499,

Tenebrio molitor, 499.
Tenthredinetae, 314, 395» 398-
Tenthredo, 399.
Termes, 22, 402.

,, of La Rochelle, M. de Qua-

trefages on, 415.
,, atrox, 411.
,, bellicosus, 406.
,, flavicollis, 413.
„ lucifugus, 406, 413.
,, lucifugus, 407.
,, mordax, 411,
Tetracha bifasciata, 497.
Tetracha Klugii, 496.
Klugii, 496.
,, oxychiloides, 496.
Tetralobides, 512.
Tetrix, 312.
Tettigonia fraxini, 108.
Thecia, 178,

,, betulae, 178.
,, betulte, 178.
„ pruni, 179.
„ pricni, 179.
,, quercus, 179.
,, quercus, 179.
,, rubi, 179, 180.
,, rubi, 180.
Therates, 497.

„ labiata, 499.
Thorax, the, i, 6, 25.
Thrips, 400.
Thyreophoroe, 85.
Thysanura, 32.
Tibia, 6.
Tiger Beetle, 493.
Tiger Moth, The, 153.
Tinea cerasiella, 282.
,, cratasgella, 282.
,, granella, 279.
,, lapella, 282.
,, rusticella, 282.
,, tapezella, 280.
,, walking. Larva of, 281.
Tineina, 279.
Tipula culiciformis, The, 44.

„ oleraceuy 45.
Tipulida^, 35, 43.
lomicus. Genus, 519.
Tortoise-shell Butterfly, Large, 1 1 3.

j> Chrysalis ^ l6i,

162.
5, Larz'a of, 183.

»> Small, 184.

538

THE INSkcT WORLD.

Tortoiseshdl Butterfly, Caterpillars of,

147.
„ Chrytahdes of

147, 148 {three figs.).
Tortrix, Green, 270.

,, roborana, 269, 270.

,, roborana, 21 o.

,, sorbiana, 269.

,, sorbiana, 270.

,, viridana, 270.
Tracheae, 14, 15, 25.
Trachys, The Genus, 515.
Trichidae, 440.
Trichius fasciatus, 23, 441.
Trichoptera, Order, 402.
Tridactylus, The Genus, 298.
Trochanter, 6 ; of Lepidoptera, 167.
Trox, 458.

Truxales, 312. ''

Tsetse Fly, The, 74 ; Livingstone oil
the, 75.
The, 74.

Umbonia Spinosa, it^.
Urocerata, The, 395.

Valgus hemipteriis, 445.
Vanessa antiopa, 185.
„ Atalanta, 186.
,, C. album, 187. •

„ cardui, 187. /rnoffl

„ lo, 185. '!'-^'-^'i;

„ polychloros, 182, 183 ; Chiijf[r

salis of, 162.
„ urdcoe, 146, 184, 185.
Vapourer Moth, 252..
Vermileo, 52.

,, de Geeri, 52.
„ de Geeri, 52.
Vespa crahro, 370.
„ Norvegica, 369. -
„ vulgaris, 369.
Vespiariae, 314.

Vine Pyralis, 276. " " .

. Caterpillar of^y^."!''"' l
,, Chrysalis of, 276.

,, Three States 0/, 21 y. "

Visceral cavity, 15.
Volucella, The, 52, 53.
M a Species of, ^2.

Wasp, 313, 367 ; Pupa of Conimoh,
371 ; Nest of. Exterior, 372 ;
Interior of, 373
,, Bush, 370.
Bush, 369.
,, Cardmaking, 376.
,, Cardmaking, 376.
,, Common, 370.
,, Co/nmon, 369.
,, ,, Pupa of 371.

IVasfs Nest, 368.

,, Exterior of, 372.

„ Interior of, 373.

Water Scorpions, 97.
Weevil, 517.

,, Bean, 517.
,, Clover, 517.

Pea, 517.
„ .^Kiape, 517.
;) /, Turnip, 517.
Vetch, 517.
,, Wheat, 517.
Whirligig Beetle, 478.
White Admiral, 189.
White Ant. See Termes.
IVtlloiv L^ax'es rolled by Caterpillar^

274.
Wings of Insects, 8.
Winter Moth, Male and Female, 267.
Woolly Bear Caterpillar, 153.
Woollen Moth, 280.

„ Larvts of 280,

Working Bee, 317. ;;

Xenbs Peckii, 504.
M Rossii, 503.
,, vesparum, 503.
Xylocopa, 364.
Xylopoda fabriciana, 269.-

,, fabriciana, 269. . .
Xylotrupes dichotomus, 456.
,, dichotomus, 457.

Zeuzera Dssculi, 257.
,, u-sculi, 257.
Zophosis, Front Leg of a, 7.
Zygaena filipendulae, 193.

,, Cocoon of the, 193.

Zygaeriidie, 193,
Zygia oblonga, Antenna: of l.

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"Heart Chords." A Series of Works by Eminent Divines. Bound in cloth, red

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My Father. By the Right Rev. Ashton Oxenden,
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the Rev. Samuel Kinns, Ph.D., F.R.A.S. Illustrated. Clteap Edition, 6s.
My Comfort in Sorrow. By Hugh Macmillan, D.D., LL.D., &c., Author of

" Bible Teachings in Nature," &c. Cloth, is.
Protestantism, The History of. By the Rev. J. A. Wylie, LL.D. Containing

upwards of 600 Original Illustrations. Three Vols., 27s. ; Library Edition, 30s.

"Quiver" Yearly Volume, The. With about 600 Original Illustrations and

Coloured Frontispiece. 7s. 6d. Also Monthly, 6d.
St. George for England ; and other Sermons preached to Children. Fifth

Edition. By the Rev. T. Teignmouth Shore, M.A., Canon of Worcester. 5s.
St Paul, The Life and Work of. By the Ven. Archdeacon Farrar, D.D.,
F.R.S., Chaplain-in-Ordinary to the Queen.
Library Edition. Two Vols., clothj 24s. ; calf, 42s.
Illustrated Edition, complete in One Volume, with about 300 Illustrations,

£\ IS. ; morocco, ^-z 2s.
Popular Edition. One Volume, 8vo, cloth, 6s. ; cloth, gilt edges, 7s. 6d. ;
Persian morocco, los. 6d. ; tree-calf, 155.
Shall We Know One Another in Heaven ? By the Rt. Rev. J. C. Ryle, D.D.,

Bishop of Liverpool. AVw and Enlarged Edition. Paper Covers, 6d.

Bhor ened Church Services and Hymns, suitable for use at Children's Services.
Compiled by the Rev. T. Teignmouth Shore, M.A, Canon of Worcester.
Enlarged Edition, is.

Signa Christi : Evidences of Christianity set forth in the Person and Work of
Christ. By the Rev. James Aitchison. 5s.

"Sunday:" Its Origin, History, and Present Obligation. By the Ven. Arch-
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Twilight of Life, The: Words of Counsel and Comfort for the Aged. By

John Ellerton, M.A. is. 6d.

Selections from Cassell & Co7)ipany' s Publicatious.

Cgtrurattonal Morks antr ^tub^nts' ittanuala.

Agriculture Series, Cassell's. Edited by John Wrightson, Prof, of Agriculture.

Soils and Manures. By J. M. H. Munro, D.Sc. (London), F.I.C., F.C.S. 2S. 6d.
Crops. By Professor Wrightson. 2S. 6d.

Alphabet, Cassell's PictoriaL Size, 35 inches by 42J inches. Mounted on
Linen, with rollers. 3s. 6d.

Aritlimetic :— Howard's Anglo-American Art of Reckoning. The Standard

Teacher and Referee of Shorthand Business Arithmetic. By C. F. Howard.
Paper, is. ; cloth, 2s. New Enlarged Edition, 5s.

Arithmetics, The Modem School. By George Ricks, B.Sc. Lond. With Test

Cards. {List on application.)

Atlas, Cassell's Popular. Containing 24 Coloured Maps, 3s. 6d.
Book-Keeping. By Theodore Jones. For Schools, 2s. ; or cloth, 3s. For

THE Million, 2s. ; or cloth, 3s. Books for Jones's System, Ruled Sets of, 2s.

Chemistry, The Public School. By J. H. Anderson, M.A. 2s. 6d.
Classical Texts for Schools, Cassell's. {A list sent post free on application.)
Cookery for Schools. By Lizzie Heritage. 6d.
Copy-Books, Cassell's Graduated. Complete in 18 Books. 2d. each.
Copy-Books, The Modem School. Complete in 12 Books. 2d. each.
Drawing Copies, Cassell's "New Standard." Complete in 14 Books. 2d., 3d.,

and 4d. each.
Drawing Copies, Cassell's Modem School Freehand. First Grade, is. Second

Grade, 2s.
Electricity, Practical. By Prof. W, E. Ayrton. 7s. 6d.
Energy and Motion : A Text-Book of Elementary Mechanics. By William

Paice, M.A. Illustrated, is. 6d.
English Literature, A First Sketch of, from the Earliest Period to the Present

Time. By Prof Henry Morley. 7s. 6d.
Euclid, Cassell's. Edited by Prof. Wallace, M.A. is.
Euclid, The First Four Books ot New Edition. In paper, 6d. ; cloth, gd.
French, Cassell's Lessons in. New and Revised Edition. Parts I. and II., each

2S. 6d. ; complete, 4s. 6d. Key, is. 6d.
French- English and English-French Dictionary. Entirely New and Enlarged

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French Reader, Cassell's Public School. By Guillaume S. Conrad. 2s. 6d,
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Plane Trigonometry, zs. 6d. Euclid. Books I., II.. III. as. 6d. Books IV., V., VI. 2s. 6d.
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cloth, 2S. 6d. Complete, 7s. 6d. Tides and Tidal Currents, with Tidal Cards, 3s.

Gaudeamus. Songs for Colleges and Schools. Edited by John Farmer. 5s.

Words only, paper, 6d. ; cloth, gd.

Geometry, First Elements of Experimental. By Paul Bert. Illustrated, is. 6d.

Creometry, Practical Solid. By Major Ross, R.E. 2s.

German Dictionary, Cassell's New. German-English, English- German. Cheap

Edition, cloth, 3s. 6d.
German of To-Day. By Dr. Heinemann. is. 6d.
German Reading, First Lessons in. By A. Jagst. Illustrated, is.
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Plates in each Vol. Crown 410, 6s. each.
"Hand-and-Eye Training" Cards for Class Work. Five sets in case. is. each.
Handbook of New Code of Regulations. By John F. Moss. New and Revised

Edition, is. ; cloth, as.

Historical Cartoons, Cassell's Coloured. Size 45 in. x 35 in. 2s. each. Mounted

on canvas and varnished, with rollers, 5s. each. (Descriptive pamphlet, 16 pp., id.)
Historical Course for Schools, Cassell's. Illustrated throughout. I.— Stories

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III.— The Class History of England, 2s. 6d.
Latin-English Dictionary, Cassell's. Thoroughly revised and corrected, and in

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Latin Primer, The New. By Prof. J. P. Postgate. 2s. 6d.
Latin Primer, The First By Prof. Postgate. is.
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Laundry Work (How to Teach It). By Mrs. E. Lord. 6d.

Selections from Cassell d: Company's Ptiblications.

Laws of Every-Day Life. For the Use of Schools. By H. O, Arnold- Forster.

IS. 6d.
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Map-Building Series, Cassell's. Outline Maps prepared by H. O. Arnold-

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Mechanics For Young Beginners, A First Book of. By the Rev. J. G. Easton,
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Mechanics and Machine Design, Numerical Examples in Practical By

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"Model Joint" Wall Sheets, for Instruction in Manual Training. By S.
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Natural History Coloured Wall Sheets, Cassell's New. Consisting of i8

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Object Lessons from Nature. By Prof. L. C. Mfall, F.L.S., F.G.S. Fully

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Physiology lor Schools. By Alfred T. Schofield, M.D., M.R.C.S., &c.

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Reader, The Citizen. By H. O. Arnold-Forster. is. 6d.

Reader, The Empire. By G. R. Parkin, is. 6d.

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Readers, Cassell's "Higher Class." {List on application.)

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Reading and Spelling Book, Cassell's Illustrated, is.

Round World, The. By H. O. Arnold-Forster. 3s. 6d.

School Bank Manual, A. By Agnes Lambert. 6d.

School Certificates, Cassell's. Three Colours, 6^X4! in., id. ; Five Colours,

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Shade from Models, Common Objects, and Casts of Ornament, How to. By

W. E. Sparkes. With 25 Plates by the Author. 3s.

Shakspere Reading Book, The. By H. Coltrthope Bovven, M.A. Illustrated.

3s. 6d. Also issued in Three Books, is. each.
Shakspere's Plays for School Use. Illustrated. 5 Books. 6d. each.
Spelling, A Complete Manual of. By }. D. Morell, LL.D. is.
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Technology, Manuals of. Edited by Prof. Ayrton, F.R.S., and Richard

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Design in TextUe Fabrics. By T. R. Ashea-
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The Dyeing of TextUe Fabrics. By Prof.
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Spinning Woollen and "Worsted. By W.
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Practical Mechanics. By Prof. Perry, M.E.
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Cutting Tools Worked by Hand and Ma-
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Test Cards, Cassell's Combination. In sets, is. each.
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Witch and Clock Making. By D. Glasgow,
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Steel and Iron. By Prof. W. H. Greenwood,
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Selections from Cassell <£,- Company^ s Publications.

1800ka for ^0ung ^P^^P^^*

"Little Folks" Half-Yeaxly Volume. Containing 432 pages of Letterpress, with
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and Four Tinted Plates. Coloured boards, 3s. 6d. ; or cloth gilt, gilt edges, 5s.

Bo-Peep. A Book for the Little Ones. With Original Stories and Verses.
Illustrated with beautiful Pictures on nearly every page, and Coloured Frontispiece.
Yearly Volume. Elegant picture boards, 2s. 6d. ; cloth, 3s. 6d.

Story Poems for Young and Old. By Miss E. Davenport Adams. 6s.

Pleasant Work for Busy Fingers. By Maggie Browne. Illustrated. 5s.

The Marvellous Budget: being 65,536 Stories of Jack and JilL By the

Rev. F. Bennett. Illustrated. Cloth gilt, as. 6d.
Magic at Home. By Prof. Hoffman. Fully Illustrated. A Series of easy

and startling Conjuring Tricks for Beginners. Cloth gilt, 5s.

Schoolroom and Home Theatricals. By Arthur Waugh. With Illustra-
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Little Mother Bunch. By Mrs. Moles worth. Illustrated. Cloth, 3s. 6d.
Heroes of Every-Day Life. By Laura Lane. With about 20 Full- page

Illustrations, 256 pages, crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d.

Ships, Sailors, and the Sea. By R. J. Cornewall-Jones. Illustrated

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Famous Sailors of Former Times, History of the Sea Fathers. By Clements

Markham. Illustrated. 2s. 6d.

The Tales of the Sixty Mandarins. By P. V. Ramaswami Raju. ss.
Gift Books for Yoimg People. By Popular Authors. With Four Original
Illustrations in each. Cloth gilt, is. 6d. each.

The Boy Hunters of Kentucky. By

Edward S. EUis.
B,ed Feather: a Tale of the American

Frontier. By Edward S. Ellis.
Fritters ; or, " It's a Long Iiane that has

no Turning."
Triiy; or, "Those who Live in Glass

Houses shouldn't throw Stones."
The Two Hardcastles.
Seeking a City.
Rhoda's Reward.

Jack Marston's Anchor.

Frank's Life-Battle.

Major Monk's Motto; or, "Look Before

you Leap."
Tim Thomson's Trial; or, " All is not Gold

that Gutters."
Ursula's Stumbling-Block.
Ruth's Life- Work; or,"No Pains, no Gains."
Rags and Rainbows.
Uncle William's Charge.
Pretty Pink's Purpose.

••Golden Mottoes" Series, The. Each Book containing 208 pages, with Four
full-page Original Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 2s. each.
"Nil Desperandum." By the Rev. F. Lang-

bridge, M.A.
" Bear and Forbear." By Sarah Pitt.

' Foremost if I Can." By Helen Atteridge.

"Honour is my Guide." By Jeanie Hering

(Mrs. Adams-Acton).
' Aim at a Sure End." By Emily Searchfield.
' He Conquers who Endures." By the Author

of " May Cunningham's Trial," &c.

'Cross and Crown" Series, The. With Four Illustrations in each Book. Crown
8vo, 256 pages, 2s. 6d. each.

Heroes of the Indan Empire ; or. Stories of

Valour and Victory. By Ernest Foster.
Through Trial to Triumph; or, "The

Royal Way." By Madeline Bonavia Hunt.
In Letters of Flame ; A Story of the

Waldenses. By C. L. Mat^aux.
Strong to Suffer; A Story of the Jews. By . „

E. Wynne. Wallace and Bruce. By Annie S. Swan.

By Fire and Sword; a Story of the Hugue-
nots. By Thomas Archer,

Adam Hepburn's Vow ; A Tale of Kirk and
Covenant. By Annie S. Swan.

No. XIII.; or^the Story of the Lost Vestal.
A Tale of Early Christian Days. By Emma
Marshall.

Freedom's Sword; A Story of the Days of

Five Shilling Books for Young People. With Original Illustrations. Cloth

gilt, 5s. each.

Under Bayard's Banner. By Henry Frith. I Bound by a Spell; or, the Hunted Witch

The Champion of Odin ; or. Viking Life I of the Forest. By the Hon. Mrs. Greene,

in the Days of Old. By J. Fred. Hodgetts. ' The Romance of Invention. Byjas. Burnley.

Albums for Children. Price 3s. 6d. each.

The Chit-chat Album. Illustrated. I My Own Album of Animals. lUustrated.

The Album for Home, School, and Play. inl*,,^- 4iv.„rv, «<• ah a,»^» m ^.*^a
Qof i„ >^r,iri »v™. anri iiii,<:frat«"fi thrnntrhout. Picturc Album of All Sorts. Illustrated.

Set in bold type, and illustrated throughout

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' Wanted— a King " Series. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. each.

Robin's Ride. By Miss E. Davenport Adams. 1 Wanted— a King; or. How Merle set the
Great-Grandmamma and Els.e. By Geor- Nursery Rhymes to Rights. By Maggie

^ina M. Sjnge. I Browne.

Selections from Cassell <fe Company's Publications.

Crown 8vo Library. Cheap Editions. 2s. 6d. each.

Bambles Bound Iiondon. By C. L.

Mat6aux. Illustrated.

Around and About Old England. By C.
L.. Mat^aux. Illustrated.

Paws and Claws. By one of the Authors of
• Poems Written for a ChUd." Illustrated. '

Decisive Events in History. By Thomas
Archer. With Original Illustrations.

The True Robinson Crusoes. Cloth gilt

Peeps Abroad for Folks at Home. Illus-
trated throughout

By Dr.

Wild Adventures in Wild Places.
Gordon Stables, R.N. Illustrated.

Modern Explorers. By Thomas Frost Illus-
trated. New and cheaper Edition.

Early Explorers. By Thomas Frost

Home Chat with our Youog Polks. Illus-
trated throughout.

Jungle, Peak, and Plain. Illustrated
throughout

The England of Shakespeare. By E.
Goadby. With Full-page Illustrations.

Tliree and Sixpenny Books for Young People. With Original Illustrations.
Cloth gilt, 3S. 6d. each.
The King's Command. A Story for Girls.

By Maggie Symington.
A Sweet Girl Graduate. By L. T. Meade.
The White House at Inch Gfow. By Mrs.

Pitt
LoBt in Samoa. A Tale of Adventure in the

Navigator Islands. By E. S, Ellis.
Tad ; or, " G-etting Even " with Him. By

E. S. 'Ellis.

Polly. By L. T. Meade.

The Palace Beautiful. By L. T. Meade.

"Follow my Leader."

For Fortune and Glory.

The Cost of a Mistake. By Sarah Pitt.

On Board the "Esmeralda."

Lost among White Africans.

In Quest of Gold.

A World of Girls. By L. T. Meade.

Books by Edward S. Ellis. Illustrated. Cloth, 2s. 6d. each

The Last War Trail.
Ned on the Biver. A Tale
of Indian River Warfare.

The Hunters of the Ozark.

The Camp in the Moun-
tains.

Ned in the Woods. A Tale
of Early Days in the West

Down the Mississippi.

Footprints in the Forest.
Up the Tapajos.

Ned in the Block House.

A Story of Pioneer Life in

Kentucky.
The Lost Trail.
Camp-Fire and Wigwam.
Lost in the Wilds.

Sixpenny Story Books. By well-known Writers.

The Smuggler's Cave.
Little Lizzie.
The Boat Club.
Luke Bamicott.

Little Bird.
Little Pickles.
The Elchester College
Boys.

All Illustrated.

My First Crmse.

The Little Peacemaker.

The Delft Jug.

Cassell's Picture Story Books. Each containing 60 pages. 6d. each,

Auntie's Stories.
Birdie's Story Book.
Little Chimes.
A Sheaf of Tales.
Dewdrop Stories.

Daisy's Story Book.
Dot's Story iSook.
A Nest of Stories.
Good Night Stories.
Chats for Small Chatterers.

Little Talks.

Bright Stars.

Nursery Joys.

Pet's Posy.

Tiny Tales.

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Scrambles and Scrapes. Those Golden Sands.

Tittle Tattle Tales. Little Mothers and their

Wandering Ways. Children.

Dumb Friends.
Indoors and Out.
Some Farm Friends.

Containing interesting Stories. All

Our Pretty Pets.

Our Schoolday Hours.

Creatures Tame.

Creatures Wild.
Up and Down the Garden.
AH Sorts of Adventures.
Our Sunday Stories.
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Shilling Story Books. All Illustrated, and containing Interesting Stories.

Seventeen Cats.
Bunty and the Boys.
The Heir of Elmdale.
The Mystery at Shoncliff

School. ^ .

Claimed at Last, and Boy's

Beward.
Thorns and Tangles.

The Cuckoo in the Bobin's
John's Mistake. [Nest.

Diamonds in the Sand.
Surly Bob.
The History of Five Little

Pitchers.
The Giant's Cradle.
Shag and DoU.

Aunt Lucia's Locket
The Magic Mirror.
The Cost of Bevenge.
Clever Frank.
Among the Bedskins.
The Ferryman of BrilL
Harry Maxwell.
A Banished Monarch

"Little Folks" Painting Books.

Water-Colour Painting, is. each.
Fruits and Blossoms for " Little Folks
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The

With Text, and Outline Illustrations for

The "Little Folks'
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Little Folks" Illuminating Book.

Proverb Painting

Eighteenpenny Story Books. All Illustrated throughout.

Wee Willie Winkie.
Ups and Downs of a Don-
key's Life.
Three Wee Ulster Lassies.
Up the Ladder.
Dick's Hero ; & other Stories.
The Chip Boy.

Baggies, Baggies,

Emperor.
Boses from Thorns.
Faith's Father.
By Land and Sea.
The Young Berringtons.
Jeff and Leff.

Tom Morris's Error.

Worth more than Gold.

" Through Flood— Through

Fire."
The Girl with the Golden

Looks.
Stories of the Olden Time.

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The " World in Pictures " Series. Illustrated throughout. 2s. 6d. each.

A Kamble Kound Prance.

All th.e Bussias.

Cliats about G-ermany.

Tlie Land of the Pyramids (Egypt).

Peeps into China.

The Eastern Wonderland (Japan).
(Jlimpses of South America.
Round Africa.

The Land of Temples (India).
The Isles of the Pacific.

Cheap Editions of Popular Volumes for Young People. Illustrated. 2s. 6d.

Esther West. | Threa Homes. I Por Queen and King. | Working to Win.
Perils Afloat and Brigands Ashore.

All Illustrated.
The Children of the Co\irt.
A Moonbeam Tangle.
Maid Marjory.
The Pour Cats of the Tip-

pertons.
Marion's Two Homes.
Little FoUsb' Sunday Book.
School Girls.

I Two Pourpenny Bits.

Poor NeUy.

Tom Heriot.

Aunt Tabitha's Waifs.

In Mischief Again.

Through Peril to Fortune.
I ^©ggyi aii<i other Tales.

Two-SWUing Story Books.

stories of the Tower.
Mr. Burke's Nieces.
May Cunningham's TriaL
The Top of the Ladder:

How to Beach it.
Little Plotsam.
Madge and her Friends.

Half-crown Story Books.

Little Hinges.

Margaret's Enemy.

j?en's Perplexities.

Notable Snipwreeks.

Golden Days.

Wonders of Common Things.

At the South Pole.

mree-and-Sixpemiy Library. Illustrated. Cloth gilt, gilt edges.

I JPeggy OgUvie's Inheritance.

I Knlof and his Fables.

Fairy Tales. By Prof. Henry Morley.

By

Truth wlU Out.

Pictures of School Life and Boyhood.

The Young Man in the Battle of Life.

the Rev. Dr. LandeU.
The True Glory of Woman. By the Rev.

Dr. Landels.
Soldier and Patriot (George Washiiijiton).

The Family Honour.
The Half-Sisters.

Cassell's Pictorial Scrap Book.

cloth back, 3s. 6d. per Vol.
Our Scrap Book.
The Seaside Scrap Book.
The Little Folks' Scrap Bcok.

In Six Sectional Volumes. Paper boards,

The Magpie Scrap Book,
'ihe Lion Scrap Book,
ihe Elephant Scrap Book.

Library of Wonders. Illustrated Gift-books for Boys. Paper, is. ; cloth, is. 6d.

Wonderful Adventures.
Wonders of Animal Instinct.

I Wondeiful Balloon Ascents.

I Wonders of BodUy Strength and SkilL

Wonderful Escapes.

Books for the Little Ones.

Khymes for the Young Folk. By Williain

Allingham. lieaiitifully Illustrated. 3s. 6tl.
The Sunday Scrap Book. With One 1 liou-

sand Pictuies. Boards, 5s. ; cloth. 7s. 6d.
The History Scrap Book. With nearly

1,000 Engravings. 5s. ; cloth, 7s. 6d.
Cassell's Robinson Crusoe. With 100

Illustrations. Cloth, 3s. 6d. ; gilt edges, 5s.

Fully Illustrated.

The Old Fairy Tales. With Original Illus-
trations. Boards, IS. ; cloth, is. 6d.

My Diary. With Twelve Coloured Plates and
366 Woodcuts. IS.

The Pilgrim's Progress. With Coloured
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Cassell's Swiss Family Bobinson. Illus-
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The World's Workers. A Series of

Authors. With Portraits printed on a

Dr. Arnold of Bugby. By Hose E. Sel;e.

The Eavl of Shaftesbury.

Sarah Bobinson, Agnes Weston, and Mrs.
Meredith.

Thomas A. Edison and Samuel F. B.
Morse.

Mrs. Somerville and Mary Carpenter.

General Gordon.

Charles Dickens.

Sir Titus Salt and George Moore.

Florence Nightingale, Catherine Marsh,
Frances Bidley Havergal, Mrs. Ban-
yard ("L. N. B.").

New and Original Volumes by Popular
tint as Frontispiece, is. each.
; Dr. Guthrie, Father Mathew, EUhu Bur-
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j Sir Henry Havelock and Colin Campbell
Lord Clyde.
Abraham Lincoln.
David Livingstone.
George Muller and Andrew Beed.
Bichard Cobden.
Benjamin Franklin.
Handel.

Turner the Artist.
George and Bobert Stephenson.

•»• The above IVoiks (exdudius Biohard Cobden) can also !e had Ihreein One Vol., cloth, ^Ut e <:es, jfi.

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