RIO DE JANEIRO
Rio de Janeiro--Excursion north of Cape Frio--Great
Evaporation--Slavery--Botofogo Bay--Terrestrial Planariae--Clouds on
the Corcovado--Heavy Rain--Musical Frogs--Phosphorescent
Insects--Elater, springing powers of--Blue Haze--Noise made by a
Butterfly--Entomology--Ants--Wasp killing a Spider--Parasitical
Spider--Artifices of an Epeira--Gregarious Spider--Spider with an
unsymmetrical Web.
APRIL 4th to July 5th, 1832.--A few days after our arrival I became
acquainted with an Englishman who was going to visit his estate,
situated rather more than a hundred miles from the capital, to the
northward of Cape Frio. I gladly accepted his kind offer of allowing
me to accompany him.
April 8th.--Our party amounted to seven. The first stage was very
interesting. The day was powerfully hot, and as we passed through the
woods, everything was motionless, excepting the large and brilliant
butterflies, which lazily fluttered about. The view seen when crossing
the hills behind Praia Grande was most beautiful; the colours were
intense, and the prevailing tint a dark blue; the sky and the calm
waters of the bay vied with each other in splendour. After passing
through some cultivated country, we entered a forest, which in the
grandeur of all its parts could not be exceeded. We arrived by midday
at Ithacaia; this small village is situated on a plain, and round the
central house are the huts of the negroes. These, from their regular
form and position, reminded me of the drawings of the Hottentot
habitations in Southern Africa. As the moon rose early, we determined
to start the same evening for our sleeping-place at the Lagoa Marica.
As it was growing dark we passed under one of the massive, bare, and
steep hills of granite which are so common in this country. This spot
is notorious from having been, for a long time, the residence of some
runaway slaves, who, by cultivating a little ground near the top,
contrived to eke out a subsistence. At length they were discovered,
and a party of soldiers being sent, the whole were seized with the
exception of one old woman, who, sooner than again be led into slavery,
dashed herself to pieces from the summit of the mountain. In a Roman
matron this would have been called the noble love of freedom: in a poor
negress it is mere brutal obstinacy. We continued riding for some
hours. For the few last miles the road was intricate, and it passed
through a desert waste of marshes and lagoons. The scene by the dimmed
light of the moon was most desolate. A few fireflies flitted by us;
and the solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its plaintive cry. The
distant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely broke the stillness of the
night.
April 9th.--We left our miserable sleeping-place before sunrise. The
road passed through a narrow sandy plain, lying between the sea and the
interior salt lagoons. The number of beautiful fishing birds, such as
egrets and cranes, and the succulent plants assuming most fantastical
forms, gave to the scene an interest which it would not otherwise have
possessed. The few stunted trees were loaded with parasitical plants,
among which the beauty and delicious fragrance of some of the orchideae
were most to be admired. As the sun rose, the day became extremely hot,
and the reflection of the light and heat from the white sand was very
distressing. We dined at Mandetiba; the thermometer in the shade being
84 degs. The beautiful view of the distant wooded hills, reflected in
the perfectly calm water of an extensive lagoon, quite refreshed us. As
the venda [1] here was a very good one, and I have the pleasant, but
rare remembrance, of an excellent dinner, I will be grateful and
presently describe it, as the type of its class. These houses are
often large, and are built of thick upright posts, with boughs
interwoven, and afterwards plastered. They seldom have floors, and
never glazed windows; but are generally pretty well roofed. Universally
the front part is open, forming a kind of verandah, in which tables and
benches are placed. The bed-rooms join on each side, and here the
passenger may sleep as comfortably as he can, on a wooden platform,
covered by a thin straw mat. The venda stands in a courtyard, where
the horses are fed. On first arriving it was our custom to unsaddle
the horses and give them their Indian corn; then, with a low bow, to
ask the senhor to do us the favour to give up something to eat.
"Anything you choose, sir," was his usual answer. For the few first
times, vainly I thanked providence for having guided us to so good a
man. The conversation proceeding, the case universally became
deplorable. "Any fish can you do us the favour of giving ?"--"Oh! no,
sir."--"Any soup?"--"No, sir."--"Any bread?"--"Oh! no, sir."--"Any
dried meat?"--"Oh! no, sir." If we were lucky, by waiting a couple of
hours, we obtained fowls, rice, and farinha. It not unfrequently
happened, that we were obliged to kill, with stones, the poultry for
our own supper. When, thoroughly exhausted by fatigue and hunger, we
timorously hinted that we should be glad of our meal, the pompous, and
(though true) most unsatisfactory answer was, "It will be ready when it
is ready." If we had dared to remonstrate any further, we should have
been told to proceed on our journey, as being too impertinent. The
hosts are most ungracious and disagreeable in their manners; their
houses and their persons are often filthily dirty; the want of the
accommodation of forks, knives, and spoons is common; and I am sure no
cottage or hovel in England could be found in a state so utterly
destitute of every comfort. At Campos Novos, however, we fared
sumptuously; having rice and fowls, biscuit, wine, and spirits, for
dinner; coffee in the evening, and fish with coffee for breakfast. All
this, with good food for the horses, only cost 2s. 6d. per head. Yet
the host of this venda, being asked if he knew anything of a whip which
one of the party had lost, gruffly answered, "How should I know? why
did you not take care of it?--I suppose the dogs have eaten it."
Leaving Mandetiba, we continued to pass through an intricate wilderness
of lakes; in some of which were fresh, in others salt water shells. Of
the former kinds, I found a Limnaea in great numbers in a lake, into
which, the inhabitants assured me that the sea enters once a year, and
sometimes oftener, and makes the water quite salt. I have no doubt
many interesting facts, in relation to marine and fresh water animals,
might be observed in this chain of lagoons, which skirt the coast of
Brazil. M. Gay [2] has stated that he found in the neighbourhood of
Rio, shells of the marine genera solen and mytilus, and fresh water
ampullariae, living together in brackish water. I also frequently
observed in the lagoon near the Botanic Garden, where the water is only
a little less salt than in the sea, a species of hydrophilus, very
similar to a water-beetle common in the ditches of England: in the same
lake the only shell belonged to a genus generally found in estuaries.
Leaving the coast for a time, we again entered the forest. The trees
were very lofty, and remarkable, compared with those of Europe, from
the whiteness of their trunks. I see by my note-book, "wonderful and
beautiful, flowering parasites," invariably struck me as the most novel
object in these grand scenes. Travelling onwards we passed through
tracts of pasturage, much injured by the enormous conical ants' nests,
which were nearly twelve feet high. They gave to the plain exactly the
appearance of the mud volcanos at Jorullo, as figured by Humboldt. We
arrived at Engenhodo after it was dark, having been ten hours on
horseback. I never ceased, during the whole journey, to be surprised
at the amount of labour which the horses were capable of enduring; they
appeared also to recover from any injury much sooner than those of our
English breed. The Vampire bat is often the cause of much trouble, by
biting the horses on their withers. The injury is generally not so
much owing to the loss of blood, as to the inflammation which the
pressure of the saddle afterwards produces. The whole circumstance has
lately been doubted in England; I was therefore fortunate in being
present when one (Desmodus d'orbignyi, Wat.) was actually caught on a
horse's back. We were bivouacking late one evening near Coquimbo, in
Chile, when my servant, noticing that one of the horses was very
restive, went to see what was the matter, and fancying he could
distinguish something, suddenly put his hand on the beast's withers,
and secured the vampire. In the morning the spot where the bite had
been inflicted was easily distinguished from being slightly swollen and
bloody. The third day afterwards we rode the horse, without any ill
effects.
April 13th.--After three days' travelling we arrived at Socego, the
estate of Senhor Manuel Figuireda, a relation of one of our party. The
house was simple, and, though like a barn in form, was well suited to
the climate. In the sitting-room gilded chairs and sofas were oddly
contrasted with the whitewashed walls, thatched roof, and windows
without glass. The house, together with the granaries, the stables,
and workshops for the blacks, who had been taught various trades,
formed a rude kind of quadrangle; in the centre of which a large pile
of coffee was drying. These buildings stand on a little hill,
overlooking the cultivated ground, and surrounded on every side by a
wall of dark green luxuriant forest. The chief produce of this part of
the country is coffee. Each tree is supposed to yield annually, on an
average, two pounds; but some give as much as eight. Mandioca or
cassada is likewise cultivated in great quantity. Every part of this
plant is useful; the leaves and stalks are eaten by the horses, and the
roots are ground into a pulp, which, when pressed dry and baked, forms
the farinha, the principal article of sustenance in the Brazils. It is
a curious, though well-known fact, that the juice of this most
nutritious plant is highly poisonous. A few years ago a cow died at
this Fazenda, in consequence of having drunk some of it. Senhor
Figuireda told me that he had planted, the year before, one bag of
feijao or beans, and three of rice; the former of which produced
eighty, and the latter three hundred and twenty fold. The pasturage
supports a fine stock of cattle, and the woods are so full of game that
a deer had been killed on each of the three previous days. This
profusion of food showed itself at dinner, where, if the tables did not
groan, the guests surely did; for each person is expected to eat of
every dish. One day, having, as I thought, nicely calculated so that
nothing should go away untasted, to my utter dismay a roast turkey and
a pig appeared in all their substantial reality. During the meals, it
was the employment of a man to drive out of the room sundry old hounds,
and dozens of little black children, which crawled in together, at
every opportunity. As long as the idea of slavery could be banished,
there was something exceedingly fascinating in this simple and
patriarchal style of living: it was such a perfect retirement and
independence from the rest of the world.
As soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large bell is set tolling,
and generally some small cannon are fired. The event is thus announced
to the rocks and woods, but to nothing else. One morning I walked out
an hour before daylight to admire the solemn stillness of the scene; at
last, the silence was broken by the morning hymn, raised on high by the
whole body of the blacks; and in this manner their daily work is
generally begun. On such fazendas as these, I have no doubt the slaves
pass happy and contented lives. On Saturday and Sunday they work for
themselves, and in this fertile climate the labour of two days is
sufficient to support a man and his family for the whole week.
April 14th.--Leaving Socego, we rode to another estate on the Rio
Macae, which was the last patch of cultivated ground in that direction.
The estate was two and a half miles long, and the owner had forgotten
how many broad. Only a very small piece had been cleared, yet almost
every acre was capable of yielding all the various rich productions of
a tropical land. Considering the enormous area of Brazil, the
proportion of cultivated ground can scarcely be considered as anything,
compared to that which is left in the state of nature: at some future
age, how vast a population it will support! During the second day's
journey we found the road so shut up, that it was necessary that a man
should go ahead with a sword to cut away the creepers. The forest
abounded with beautiful objects; among which the tree ferns, though not
large, were, from their bright green foliage, and the elegant curvature
of their fronds, most worthy of admiration. In the evening it rained
very heavily, and although the thermometer stood at 65 degs., I felt
very cold. As soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to observe the
extraordinary evaporation which commenced over the whole extent of the
forest. At the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried in a
dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smoke from the most
thickly wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. I observed this
phenomenon on several occasions. I suppose it is owing to the large
surface of foliage, previously heated by the sun's rays.
While staying at this estate, I was very nearly being an eye-witness to
one of those atrocious acts which can only take place in a slave
country. Owing to a quarrel and a lawsuit, the owner was on the point
of taking all the women and children from the male slaves, and selling
them separately at the public auction at Rio. Interest, and not any
feeling of compassion, prevented this act. Indeed, I do not believe
the inhumanity of separating thirty families, who had lived together
for many years, even occurred to the owner. Yet I will pledge myself,
that in humanity and good feeling he was superior to the common run of
men. It may be said there exists no limit to the blindness of interest
and selfish habit. I may mention one very trifling anecdote, which at
the time struck me more forcibly than any story of cruelty. I was
crossing a ferry with a negro, who was uncommonly stupid. In
endeavouring to make him understand, I talked loud, and made signs, in
doing which I passed my hand near his face. He, I suppose, thought I
was in a passion, and was going to strike him; for instantly, with a
frightened look and half-shut eyes, he dropped his hands. I shall
never forget my feelings of surprise, disgust, and shame, at seeing a
great powerful man afraid even to ward off a blow, directed, as he
thought, at his face. This man had been trained to a degradation lower
than the slavery of the most helpless animal.
April 18th.--In returning we spent two days at Socego, and I employed
them in collecting insects in the forest. The greater number of trees,
although so lofty, are not more than three or four feet in
circumference. There are, of course, a few of much greater dimensions.
Senhor Manuel was then making a canoe 70 feet in length from a solid
trunk, which had originally been 110 feet long, and of great thickness.
The contrast of palm trees, growing amidst the common branching kinds,
never fails to give the scene an intertropical character. Here the
woods were ornamented by the Cabbage Palm--one of the most beautiful of
its family. With a stem so narrow that it might be clasped with the
two hands, it waves its elegant head at the height of forty or fifty
feet above the ground. The woody creepers, themselves covered by other
creepers, were of great thickness: some which I measured were two feet
in circumference. Many of the older trees presented a very curious
appearance from the tresses of a liana hanging from their boughs, and
resembling bundles of hay. If the eye was turned from the world of
foliage above, to the ground beneath, it was attracted by the extreme
elegance of the leaves of the ferns and mimosae. The latter, in some
parts, covered the surface with a brushwood only a few inches high. In
walking across these thick beds of mimosae, a broad track was marked by
the change of shade, produced by the drooping of their sensitive
petioles. It is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration in
these grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequate idea of
the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill
and elevate the mind.
April 19th.--Leaving Socego, during the two first days, we retraced our
steps. It was very wearisome work, as the road generally ran across a
glaring hot sandy plain, not far from the coast. I noticed that each
time the horse put its foot on the fine siliceous sand, a gentle
chirping noise was produced. On the third day we took a different
line, and passed through the gay little village of Madre de Deos. This
is one of the principal lines of road in Brazil; yet it was in so bad a
state that no wheeled vehicle, excepting the clumsy bullock-wagon,
could pass along. In our whole journey we did not cross a single
bridge built of stone; and those made of logs of wood were frequently
so much out of repair, that it was necessary to go on one side to avoid
them. All distances are inaccurately known. The road is often marked
by crosses, in the place of milestones, to signify where human blood
has been spilled. On the evening of the 23rd we arrived at Rio, having
finished our pleasant little excursion.
During the remainder of my stay at Rio, I resided in a cottage at
Botofogo Bay. It was impossible to wish for anything more delightful
than thus to spend some weeks in so magnificent a country. In England
any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a great
advantage, by always having something to attract his attention; but in
these fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions are so
numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk at all.
The few observations which I was enabled to make were almost
exclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. The existence of a
division of the genus Planaria, which inhabits the dry land, interested
me much. These animals are of so simple a structure, that Cuvier has
arranged them with the intestinal worms, though never found within the
bodies of other animals. Numerous species inhabit both salt and fresh
water; but those to which I allude were found, even in the drier parts
of the forest, beneath logs of rotten wood, on which I believe they
feed. In general form they resemble little slugs, but are very much
narrower in proportion, and several of the species are beautifully
coloured with longitudinal stripes. Their structure is very simple:
near the middle of the under or crawling surface there are two small
transverse slits, from the anterior one of which a funnel-shaped and
highly irritable mouth can be protruded. For some time after the rest
of the animal was completely dead from the effects of salt water or any
other cause, this organ still retained its vitality.
I found no less than twelve different species of terrestrial Planariae
in different parts of the southern hemisphere. [3] Some specimens which
I obtained at Van Dieman's Land, I kept alive for nearly two months,
feeding them on rotten wood. Having cut one of them transversely into
two nearly equal parts, in the course of a fortnight both had the shape
of perfect animals. I had, however, so divided the body, that one of
the halves contained both the inferior orifices, and the other, in
consequence, none. In the course of twenty-five days from the
operation, the more perfect half could not have been distinguished from
any other specimen. The other had increased much in size; and towards
its posterior end, a clear space was formed in the parenchymatous mass,
in which a rudimentary cup-shaped mouth could clearly be distinguished;
on the under surface, however, no corresponding slit was yet open. If
the increased heat of the weather, as we approached the equator, had
not destroyed all the individuals, there can be no doubt that this last
step would have completed its structure. Although so well-known an
experiment, it was interesting to watch the gradual production of every
essential organ, out of the simple extremity of another animal. It is
extremely difficult to preserve these Planariae; as soon as the
cessation of life allows the ordinary laws of change to act, their
entire bodies become soft and fluid, with a rapidity which I have never
seen equalled.
I first visited the forest in which these Planariae were found, in
company with an old Portuguese priest who took me out to hunt with him.
The sport consisted in turning into the cover a few dogs, and then
patiently waiting to fire at any animal which might appear. We were
accompanied by the son of a neighbouring farmer--a good specimen of a
wild Brazilian youth. He was dressed in a tattered old shirt and
trousers, and had his head uncovered: he carried an old-fashioned gun
and a large knife. The habit of carrying the knife is universal; and
in traversing a thick wood it is almost necessary, on account of the
creeping plants. The frequent occurrence of murder may be partly
attributed to this habit. The Brazilians are so dexterous with the
knife, that they can throw it to some distance with precision, and with
sufficient force to cause a fatal wound. I have seen a number of
little boys practising this art as a game of play and from their skill
in hitting an upright stick, they promised well for more earnest
attempts. My companion, the day before, had shot two large bearded
monkeys. These animals have prehensile tails, the extremity of which,
even after death, can support the whole weight of the body. One of
them thus remained fast to a branch, and it was necessary to cut down a
large tree to procure it. This was soon effected, and down came tree
and monkey with an awful crash. Our day's sport, besides the monkey,
was confined to sundry small green parrots and a few toucans. I
profited, however, by my acquaintance with the Portuguese padre, for on
another occasion he gave me a fine specimen of the Yagouaroundi cat.
Every one has heard of the beauty of the scenery near Botofogo. The
house in which I lived was seated close beneath the well-known mountain
of the Corcovado. It has been remarked, with much truth, that abruptly
conical hills are characteristic of the formation which Humboldt
designates as gneiss-granite. Nothing can be more striking than the
effect of these huge rounded masses of naked rock rising out of the
most luxuriant vegetation.
I was often interested by watching the clouds, which, rolling in from
seaward, formed a bank just beneath the highest point of the Corcovado.
This mountain, like most others, when thus partly veiled, appeared to
rise to a far prouder elevation than its real height of 2300 feet. Mr.
Daniell has observed, in his meteorological essays, that a cloud
sometimes appears fixed on a mountain summit, while the wind continues
to blow over it. The same phenomenon here presented a slightly
different appearance. In this case the cloud was clearly seen to curl
over, and rapidly pass by the summit, and yet was neither diminished
nor increased in size. The sun was setting, and a gentle southerly
breeze, striking against the southern side of the rock, mingled its
current with the colder air above; and the vapour was thus condensed;
but as the light wreaths of cloud passed over the ridge, and came
within the influence of the warmer atmosphere of the northern sloping
bank, they were immediately re-dissolved.
The climate, during the months of May and June, or the beginning of
winter, was delightful. The mean temperature, from observations taken
at nine o'clock, both morning and evening, was only 72 degs. It often
rained heavily, but the drying southerly winds soon again rendered the
walks pleasant. One morning, in the course of six hours, 1.6 inches of
rain fell. As this storm passed over the forests which surround the
Corcovado, the sound produced by the drops pattering on the countless
multitude of leaves was very remarkable, it could be heard at the
distance of a quarter of a mile, and was like the rushing of a great
body of water. After the hotter days, it was delicious to sit quietly
in the garden and watch the evening pass into night. Nature, in these
climes, chooses her vocalists from more humble performers than in
Europe. A small frog, of the genus Hyla, sits on a blade of grass
about an inch above the surface of the water, and sends forth a
pleasing chirp: when several are together they sing in harmony on
different notes. I had some difficulty in catching a specimen of this
frog. The genus Hyla has its toes terminated by small suckers; and I
found this animal could crawl up a pane of glass, when placed
absolutely perpendicular. Various cicidae and crickets, at the same
time, keep up a ceaseless shrill cry, but which, softened by the
distance, is not unpleasant. Every evening after dark this great
concert commenced; and often have I sat listening to it, until my
attention has been drawn away by some curious passing insect.
At these times the fireflies are seen flitting about from hedge to
hedge. On a dark night the light can be seen at about two hundred
paces distant. It is remarkable that in all the different kinds of
glowworms, shining elaters, and various marine animals (such as the
crustacea, medusae, nereidae, a coralline of the genus Clytia, and
Pyrosma), which I have observed, the light has been of a well-marked
green colour. All the fireflies, which I caught here, belonged to the
Lampyridae (in which family the English glowworm is included), and the
greater number of specimens were of Lampyris occidentalis. [4] I found
that this insect emitted the most brilliant flashes when irritated: in
the intervals, the abdominal rings were obscured. The flash was almost
co-instantaneous in the two rings, but it was just perceptible first in
the anterior one. The shining matter was fluid and very adhesive:
little spots, where the skin had been torn, continued bright with a
slight scintillation, whilst the uninjured parts were obscured. When
the insect was decapitated the rings remained uninterruptedly bright,
but not so brilliant as before: local irritation with a needle always
increased the vividness of the light. The rings in one instance
retained their luminous property nearly twenty-four hours after the
death of the insect. From these facts it would appear probable, that
the animal has only the power of concealing or extinguishing the light
for short intervals, and that at other times the display is
involuntary. On the muddy and wet gravel-walks I found the larvae of
this lampyris in great numbers: they resembled in general form the
female of the English glowworm. These larvae possessed but feeble
luminous powers; very differently from their parents, on the slightest
touch they feigned death and ceased to shine; nor did irritation excite
any fresh display. I kept several of them alive for some time: their
tails are very singular organs, for they act, by a well-fitted
contrivance, as suckers or organs of attachment, and likewise as
reservoirs for saliva, or some such fluid. I repeatedly fed them on
raw meat; and I invariably observed, that every now and then the
extremity of the tail was applied to the mouth, and a drop of fluid
exuded on the meat, which was then in the act of being consumed. The
tail, notwithstanding so much practice, does not seem to be able to
find its way to the mouth; at least the neck was always touched first,
and apparently as a guide.
When we were at Bahia, an elater or beetle (Pyrophorus luminosus,
Illig.) seemed the most common luminous insect. The light in this case
was also rendered more brilliant by irritation. I amused myself one
day by observing the springing powers of this insect, which have not,
as it appears to me, been properly described. [5] The elater, when
placed on its back and preparing to spring, moved its head and thorax
backwards, so that the pectoral spine was drawn out, and rested on the
edge of its sheath. The same backward movement being continued, the
spine, by the full action of the muscles, was bent like a spring; and
the insect at this moment rested on the extremity of its head and
wing-cases. The effort being suddenly relaxed, the head and thorax flew
up, and in consequence, the base of the wing-cases struck the
supporting surface with such force, that the insect by the reaction was
jerked upwards to the height of one or two inches. The projecting
points of the thorax, and the sheath of the spine, served to steady the
whole body during the spring. In the descriptions which I have read,
sufficient stress does not appear to have been laid on the elasticity
of the spine: so sudden a spring could not be the result of simple
muscular contraction, without the aid of some mechanical contrivance.
On several occasions I enjoyed some short but most pleasant excursions
in the neighbouring country. One day I went to the Botanic Garden,
where many plants, well known for their great utility, might be seen
growing. The leaves of the camphor, pepper, cinnamon, and clove trees
were delightfully aromatic; and the bread-fruit, the jaca, and the
mango, vied with each other in the magnificence of their foliage. The
landscape in the neighbourhood of Bahia almost takes its character from
the two latter trees. Before seeing them, I had no idea that any trees
could cast so black a shade on the ground. Both of them bear to the
evergreen vegetation of these climates the same kind of relation which
laurels and hollies in England do to the lighter green of the deciduous
trees. It may be observed, that the houses within the tropics are
surrounded by the most beautiful forms of vegetation, because many of
them are at the same time most useful to man. Who can doubt that these
qualities are united in the banana, the cocoa-nut, the many kinds of
palm, the orange, and the bread-fruit tree?
During this day I was particularly struck with a remark of Humboldt's,
who often alludes to "the thin vapour which, without changing the
transparency of the air, renders its tints more harmonious, and softens
its effects." This is an appearance which I have never observed in the
temperate zones. The atmosphere, seen through a short space of half or
three-quarters of a mile, was perfectly lucid, but at a greater
distance all colours were blended into a most beautiful haze, of a pale
French grey, mingled with a little blue. The condition of the
atmosphere between the morning and about noon, when the effect was most
evident, had undergone little change, excepting in its dryness. In the
interval, the difference between the dew point and temperature had
increased from 7.5 to 17 degs.
On another occasion I started early and walked to the Gavia, or topsail
mountain. The air was delightfully cool and fragrant; and the drops of
dew still glittered on the leaves of the large liliaceous plants, which
shaded the streamlets of clear water. Sitting down on a block of
granite, it was delightful to watch the various insects and birds as
they flew past. The humming-bird seems particularly fond of such shady
retired spots. Whenever I saw these little creatures buzzing round a
flower, with their wings vibrating so rapidly as to be scarcely
visible, I was reminded of the sphinx moths: their movements and habits
are indeed in many respects very similar.
Following a pathway, I entered a noble forest, and from a height of
five or six hundred feet, one of those splendid views was presented,
which are so common on every side of Rio. At this elevation the
landscape attains its most brilliant tint; and every form, every shade,
so completely surpasses in magnificence all that the European has ever
beheld in his own country, that he knows not how to express his
feelings. The general effect frequently recalled to my mind the gayest
scenery of the Opera-house or the great theatres. I never returned
from these excursions empty-handed. This day I found a specimen of a
curious fungus, called Hymenophallus. Most people know the English
Phallus, which in autumn taints the air with its odious smell: this,
however, as the entomologist is aware, is, to some of our beetles a
delightful fragrance. So was it here; for a Strongylus, attracted by
the odour, alighted on the fungus as I carried it in my hand. We here
see in two distant countries a similar relation between plants and
insects of the same families, though the species of both are different.
When man is the agent in introducing into a country a new species, this
relation is often broken: as one instance of this I may mention, that
the leaves of the cabbages and lettuces, which in England afford food
to such a multitude of slugs and caterpillars, in the gardens near Rio
are untouched.
During our stay at Brazil I made a large collection of insects. A few
general observations on the comparative importance of the different
orders may be interesting to the English entomologist. The large and
brilliantly coloured Lepidoptera bespeak the zone they inhabit, far
more plainly than any other race of animals. I allude only to the
butterflies; for the moths, contrary to what might have been expected
from the rankness of the vegetation, certainly appeared in much fewer
numbers than in our own temperate regions. I was much surprised at the
habits of Papilio feronia. This butterfly is not uncommon, and
generally frequents the orange-groves. Although a high flier, yet it
very frequently alights on the trunks of trees. On these occasions its
head is invariably placed downwards; and its wings are expanded in a
horizontal plane, instead of being folded vertically, as is commonly
the case. This is the only butterfly which I have ever seen, that uses
its legs for running. Not being aware of this fact, the insect, more
than once, as I cautiously approached with my forceps, shuffled on one
side just as the instrument was on the point of closing, and thus
escaped. But a far more singular fact is the power which this species
possesses of making a noise. [6] Several times when a pair, probably
male and female, were chasing each other in an irregular course, they
passed within a few yards of me; and I distinctly heard a clicking
noise, similar to that produced by a toothed wheel passing under a
spring catch. The noise was continued at short intervals, and could be
distinguished at about twenty yards' distance: I am certain there is no
error in the observation.
I was disappointed in the general aspect of the Coleoptera. The number
of minute and obscurely coloured beetles is exceedingly great. [7] The
cabinets of Europe can, as yet, boast only of the larger species from
tropical climates. It is sufficient to disturb the composure of an
entomologist's mind, to look forward to the future dimensions of a
complete catalogue. The carnivorous beetles, or Carabidae, appear in
extremely few numbers within the tropics: this is the more remarkable
when compared to the case of the carnivorous quadrupeds, which are so
abundant in hot countries. I was struck with this observation both on
entering Brazil, and when I saw the many elegant and active forms of
the Harpalidae re-appearing on the temperate plains of La Plata. Do
the very numerous spiders and rapacious Hymenoptera supply the place of
the carnivorous beetles? The carrion-feeders and Brachelytra are very
uncommon; on the other hand, the Rhyncophora and Chrysomelidae, all of
which depend on the vegetable world for subsistence, are present in
astonishing numbers. I do not here refer to the number of different
species, but to that of the individual insects; for on this it is that
the most striking character in the entomology of different countries
depends. The orders Orthoptera and Hemiptera are particularly
numerous; as likewise is the stinging division of the Hymenoptera the
bees, perhaps, being excepted. A person, on first entering a tropical
forest, is astonished at the labours of the ants: well-beaten paths
branch off in every direction, on which an army of never-failing
foragers may be seen, some going forth, and others returning, burdened
with pieces of green leaf, often larger than their own bodies.
A small dark-coloured ant sometimes migrates in countless numbers. One
day, at Bahia, my attention was drawn by observing many spiders,
cockroaches, and other insects, and some lizards, rushing in the
greatest agitation across a bare piece of ground. A little way behind,
every stalk and leaf was blackened by a small ant. The swarm having
crossed the bare space, divided itself, and descended an old wall. By
this means many insects were fairly enclosed; and the efforts which the
poor little creatures made to extricate themselves from such a death
were wonderful. When the ants came to the road they changed their
course, and in narrow files reascended the wall. Having placed a small
stone so as to intercept one of the lines, the whole body attacked it,
and then immediately retired. Shortly afterwards another body came to
the charge, and again having failed to make any impression, this line
of march was entirely given up. By going an inch round, the file might
have avoided the stone, and this doubtless would have happened, if it
had been originally there: but having been attacked, the lion-hearted
little warriors scorned the idea of yielding.
Certain wasp-like insects, which construct in the corners of the
verandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerous in the
neighbourhood of Rio. These cells they stuff full of half-dead spiders
and caterpillars, which they seem wonderfully to know how to sting to
that degree as to leave them paralysed but alive, until their eggs are
hatched; and the larvae feed on the horrid mass of powerless,
half-killed victims--a sight which has been described by an
enthusiastic naturalist [8] as curious and pleasing! I was much
interested one day by watching a deadly contest between a Pepsis and a
large spider of the genus Lycosa. The wasp made a sudden dash at its
prey, and then flew away: the spider was evidently wounded, for, trying
to escape, it rolled down a little slope, but had still strength
sufficient to crawl into a thick tuft of grass. The wasp soon
returned, and seemed surprised at not immediately finding its victim.
It then commenced as regular a hunt as ever hound did after fox; making
short semicircular casts, and all the time rapidly vibrating its wings
and antennae. The spider, though well concealed, was soon discovered,
and the wasp, evidently still afraid of its adversary's jaws, after
much manoeuvring, inflicted two stings on the under side of its thorax.
At last, carefully examining with its antennae the now motionless
spider, it proceeded to drag away the body. But I stopped both tyrant
and prey. [9]
The number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, is here compared
with England very much larger; perhaps more so than with any other
division of the articulate animals. The variety of species among the
jumping spiders appears almost infinite. The genus, or rather family,
of Epeira, is here characterized by many singular forms; some species
have pointed coriaceous shells, others enlarged and spiny tibiae. Every
path in the forest is barricaded with the strong yellow web of a
species, belonging to the same division with the Epeira clavipes of
Fabricius, which was formerly said by Sloane to make, in the West
Indies, webs so strong as to catch birds. A small and pretty kind of
spider, with very long fore-legs, and which appears to belong to an
undescribed genus, lives as a parasite on almost every one of these
webs. I suppose it is too insignificant to be noticed by the great
Epeira, and is therefore allowed to prey on the minute insects, which,
adhering to the lines, would otherwise be wasted. When frightened,
this little spider either feigns death by extending its front legs, or
suddenly drops from the web. A large Epeira of the same division with
Epeira tuberculata and conica is extremely common, especially in dry
situations. Its web, which is generally placed among the great leaves
of the common agave, is sometimes strengthened near the centre by a
pair or even four zigzag ribbons, which connect two adjoining rays.
When any large insect, as a grasshopper or wasp, is caught, the spider,
by a dexterous movement, makes it revolve very rapidly, and at the same
time emitting a band of threads from its spinners, soon envelops its
prey in a case like the cocoon of a silkworm. The spider now examines
the powerless victim, and gives the fatal bite on the hinder part of
its thorax; then retreating, patiently waits till the poison has taken
effect. The virulence of this poison may be judged of from the fact
that in half a minute I opened the mesh, and found a large wasp quite
lifeless. This Epeira always stands with its head downwards near the
centre of the web. When disturbed, it acts differently according to
circumstances: if there is a thicket below, it suddenly falls down; and
I have distinctly seen the thread from the spinners lengthened by the
animal while yet stationary, as preparatory to its fall. If the ground
is clear beneath, the Epeira seldom falls, but moves quickly through a
central passage from one to the other side. When still further
disturbed, it practises a most curious manoeuvre: standing in the
middle, it violently jerks the web, which it attached to elastic twigs,
till at last the whole acquires such a rapid vibratory movement, that
even the outline of the spider's body becomes indistinct.
It is well known that most of the British spiders, when a large insect
is caught in their webs, endeavour to cut the lines and liberate their
prey, to save their nets from being entirely spoiled. I once, however,
saw in a hothouse in Shropshire a large female wasp caught in the
irregular web of a quite small spider; and this spider, instead of
cutting the web, most perseveringly continued to entangle the body, and
especially the wings, of its prey. The wasp at first aimed in vain
repeated thrusts with its sting at its little antagonist. Pitying the
wasp, after allowing it to struggle for more than an hour, I killed it
and put it back into the web. The spider soon returned; and an hour
afterwards I was much surprised to find it with its jaws buried in the
orifice, through which the sting is protruded by the living wasp. I
drove the spider away two or three times, but for the next twenty-four
hours I always found it again sucking at the same place. The spider
became much distended by the juices of its prey, which was many times
larger than itself.
I may here just mention, that I found, near St. Fe Bajada, many large
black spiders, with ruby-coloured marks on their backs, having
gregarious habits. The webs were placed vertically, as is invariably
the case with the genus Epeira: they were separated from each other by
a space of about two feet, but were all attached to certain common
lines, which were of great length, and extended to all parts of the
community. In this manner the tops of some large bushes were
encompassed by the united nets. Azara [10] has described a gregarious
spider in Paraguay, which Walckanaer thinks must be a Theridion, but
probably it is an Epeira, and perhaps even the same species with mine.
I cannot, however, recollect seeing a central nest as large as a hat,
in which, during autumn, when the spiders die, Azara says the eggs are
deposited. As all the spiders which I saw were of the same size, they
must have been nearly of the same age. This gregarious habit, in so
typical a genus as Epeira, among insects, which are so bloodthirsty and
solitary that even the two sexes attack each other, is a very singular
fact.
In a lofty valley of the Cordillera, near Mendoza, I found another
spider with a singularly-formed web. Strong lines radiated in a
vertical plane from a common centre, where the insect had its station;
but only two of the rays were connected by a symmetrical mesh-work; so
that the net, instead of being, as is generally the case, circular,
consisted of a wedge-shaped segment. All the webs were similarly
constructed.
[1] Venda, the Portuguese name for an inn.
[2] Annales des Sciences Naturelles for 1833.
[3] I have described and named these species in the Annals of Nat.
Hist., vol. xiv. p. 241.
[4] I am greatly indebted to Mr. Waterhouse for his kindness in naming
for me this and many other insects, and giving me much valuable
assistance.
[5] Kirby's Entomology, vol. ii. p. 317.
[6] Mr. Doubleday has lately described (before the Entomological
Society, March 3rd, 1845) a peculiar structure in the wings of this
butterfly, which seems to be the means of its making its noise. He
says, "It is remarkable for having a sort of drum at the base of the
fore wings, between the costal nervure and the subcostal. These two
nervures, moreover, have a peculiar screw-like diaphragm or vessel in
the interior." I find in Langsdorff's travels (in the years 1803-7, p.
74) it is said, that in the island of St. Catherine's on the coast of
Brazil, a butterfly called Februa Hoffmanseggi, makes a noise, when
flying away, like a rattle.
[7] I may mention, as a common instance of one day's (June 23rd)
collecting, when I was not attending particularly to the Coleoptera,
that I caught sixty-eight species of that order. Among these, there
were only two of the Carabidae, four Brachelytra, fifteen Rhyncophora,
and fourteen of the Chrysomelidae. Thirty-seven species of Arachnidae,
which I brought home, will be sufficient to prove that I was not paying
overmuch attention to the generally favoured order of Coleoptera.
[8] In a MS. in the British Museum by Mr. Abbott, who made his
observations in Georgia; see Mr. A. White's paper in the "Annals of
Nat. Hist.," vol. vii. p. 472. Lieut. Hutton has described a sphex with
similar habits in India, in the "Journal of the Asiatic Society," vol.
i. p. 555.
[9] Don Felix Azara (vol. i. p. 175), mentioning a hymenopterous
insect, probably of the same genus, says he saw it dragging a dead
spider through tall grass, in a straight line to its nest, which was
one hundred and sixty-three paces distant. He adds that the wasp, in
order to find the road, every now and then made "demi-tours d'environ
trois palmes."
[10] Azara's Voyage, vol. i. p. 213