_Of INSECTS and REPTILES._
[Illustration]
CHAP. I.
_Of INSECTS in general._
Having dispatch’d that Part of the animal World, which used to be
accounted the more perfect, those Animals styled less perfect or
imperfect, will next deserve a Place in our Survey, because when strictly
enquired into, we shall find them to be so far from deserving to be
accounted mean and despicable Parts of the Creation, owing their Original
and Production to Putrefactions, _&c._ as some have thought, that we
shall find them, I say, noble, and most admirable Works of _GOD_. For,
as the famous Natural Historian, _Pliny_[a], prefaceth his Treatise of
_Insects_, to prevent the Reproach of condescending (as might be thought)
to so mean a Subject: _In great Bodies_, saith he, _Nature had a large
and easy Shop to work upon obsequious Matter. Whereas_, saith he, _in
these so small, and as it were no Bodies, what Footsteps of Reason, what
Power, what great Perfection is there?_ Of this having given an Instance
or two of the exquisite Senses, and curious Make of some Insects[b], he
then goes on, _We admire_, saith he, _turrigerous Shoulders of Elephants,
the lofty Necks and Crests of others; but_, saith he, _the Nature of
Things is never more compleat than in the least Things._ For which Reason
he intreats his Readers (as I do mine) _that because they slighted
many of the Things themselves which he took notice of, they would not
therefore disdainfully condemn his Accounts of them, since, saith he, in
the Contemplation of Nature, nothing ought to seem superfluous._
Thus that eminent Naturalist hath made his own, and my Excuse too; the
Force and Verity whereof will farther appear, by what I shall say of
these Animals which (as despicable as they have been, or perhaps may
be thought) we shall find as exquisitely contrived, and curiously made
for that Place and Station they bear in the World, as any other Part of
the Animal World. For if we consider the innumerable Variety of their
Species, the prodigious Numbers of Individuals, the Shape and Make
of their little Bodies, and every Part thereof, their Motion, their
Instincts, their regular Generation and Production; and, to name no more,
the incomparable Beauty and Lustre of the Colours of many of them, what
more admirable and more manifest Demonstration of the infinite Creator,
than even this little contemned Branch of the Animal World? But let us
take a short View of Particulars.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] _In magnis siquidem corporibus, ~&c.~_ Plin. Nat. Hist. L. 11. c. 2.
[b] _Ubi tot sensus collocavit in Culice? Et sunt alla dictu minora.
Sed ubi Visum in eo prætendit: Ubi Gustatum applicavit? Ubi Odoratum
inferuit? Ubi verò truculentam illam & portione maximam vocem
ingeneravit? Quâ subtilitate Pennas adnexuit? prælongavit Pedum crura?
Desposuit jejunam Caveam, utì Alvum? Avidam Sanguinis, & potissimum
humani, sitim, accendit? Telum verò perfodiendo tergori, quo spiculavit
ingenio? Atque ut capaci, cùm cerni non possit exilitas, ita reciprocâ
geminavit arte, ut fodiendo acuminatum pariter sorbendoque fistulosum
esset. Quos Teredini ad perforanda Robora cum sono teste dentes affixit?
Potissimumque è ligno cibatum fecit: Sed turrigeros Elephantorum miramur
humeros, Taurorumque colla, & truces in sublime jactus, Tigrium rapinas,
Leonum jubas, cùm rerum natura nusquam magìs quàm in minimis, tota sit._
Plin. ibid.
CHAP. II.
_Of the ~Shape~ and ~Structure~ of INSECTS._
Let us begin with the Shape and Fabrick of their Bodies. Which although
it be somewhat different from that of Birds, being particularly, for the
most part, not so sharp before, to cut and make way through the Air, yet
is better adapted to their manner of Life. For considering that there is
little Necessity of long Flights, and that the Strength and Activity of
their Wings doth much surpass the Resistance their Bodies meet with from
the Air, there was no great Occasion their Bodies should be so sharpened
before. But the Condition of their Food, and the Manner of gathering it,
together with the great Necessity of accurate Vision by that admirable
Provision made for them by the reticulated _Cornea_ of their Eyes; these
Things, I say, as they required a larger Room, so were a good Occasion
for the Largeness of the Head, and its Amplitude before. But for the rest
of their Body, all is well made, and nicely poised for their Flight, and
every other of their Occasions.
And as their _Shape_; so the _Fabrick_ and _Make_ of their Bodies is no
less accurate, admirable, and singular; not built throughout with Bones,
and cover’d with Flesh and Skin, as in most other Animals; but cover’d
with a curious Mail of a middle Nature[a], serving both as Skin and Bone
too, for the Shape, as well as Strength and Guard of the Body, and as it
were on Purpose to shew that the great Contriver of Nature is not bound
up to one Way only.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] _Insecta non videntur Nervos habere, nec Ossa, nec Spinas, nec
Cartilaginem, nec Pinguia, nec Carnes, ne crustam quidem fragilem, ut
quædam marina, nec quæ jure dicatur Curis: sed media cujusdam inter omnia
hæc naturæ corpus, ~&c.~_ Plin. N. H. L. 11. c. 4.
CHAP. III.
_Of the ~Eyes~ and ~Antennæ~ of INSECTS._
To this last-mention’d Guard, we may add, that farther Guard provided in
the _Eyes_ and _Antennæ_. The Structure of the Eye, is, in all Creatures,
an admirable Piece of Mechanism; but that observable in the Eyes of
Insects so peculiar, that it must needs excite our Admiration: Fenced
with its own Hardness, yea, even its own accurate Vision, is a good Guard
against external Injuries; and its _Cornea_, or outward Coat, all over
beset with curious, transparent, lenticular[a] Inlets, enabling those
Creatures to see, (no doubt,) very accurately every Way, without any
Interval of Time or Trouble to move the Eye towards Objects.
And as for the other Part, the _Antennæ_, or _Feelers_, whatever their
Use may be in cleaning the Eyes, or other such like use; they are, in all
Probability, a good Guard to the Eyes and Head, in their Walk and Flight,
enabling them, by the Sense of Feeling, to discover such Annoyances,
which by their Proximity may perhaps escape the Reach of the Eyes and
Sight[b]. Besides which, they are a curious Piece of Workmanship, and in
many, a very beautiful Piece of[c] Garniture to the Body.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] The _Cornea_ of Flies, Wasps, _&c._ are so common an Entertainment
with the Microscope, that every body knows it is a curious Piece of
Lattice-work. In which this is remarkable, that every _Foramen_ is of a
lenticular Nature; so that we see Objects through them topsey-turvey,
as through so many convex Glasses: Yea, they become a small Telescope,
when there is a due focal Distance between them and the _Lens_ of the
Microscope.
This lenticular Power of the _Cornea_, supplies, (as I imagine,) the
Place of the Crystalline, if not of the vitreous Humour too, there being
neither of those Humours that I could ever find, (although for Truth
Sake, I confess I have not been so diligent as I might in this Enquiry;)
but instead of _Humours_ and _Tunicks_, I imagine that every _Lens_ of
the _Cornea_, hath a distinct Branch of the _optick Nerve_ ministring to
it, and rendring it as so many distinct Eyes. So that as most Animals
are binocular, Spiders for the most Part octonocular, and some, (as Mr.
_Willughby_ thought, _Raii Hist. Insect._ p. 12.) senocular; so Flies,
_&c._ are multocular, having as many Eyes as there are Perforations in
their _Cornea_. By which Means, as other Creatures are oblig’d to turn
their Eyes to Objects, these have some or other of their Eyes ready
plac’d towards Objects, nearly all round them: Thus particularly it is
in the _Dragon-Fly_, (_Libella_,) the greatest Part of whose Head is
possess’d by its Eyes: Which is of excellent Use to that predatious
Insect, for the ready seeing and darting at small Flies all round it, on
which it preys.
[b] It is manifest, that Insects clean their Eyes with their Fore-legs,
as well as _Antennæ_. And considering, that as they walk along, they are
perpetually feeling, and searching before them, with their _Feelers_, or
_Antennæ_; therefore I am apt to think, that besides wiping and cleaning
the Eyes, the Uses here nam’d may be admitted. For as their Eyes are
immoveable, so that no Time is requir’d for the turning their Eyes to
Objects; so there is no Necessity of the _Retina_, or _optick Nerve_
being brought nigher unto, or set farther off from the _Cornea_, (which
would require Time,) as it is in other Animals: But their _Cornea_ and
_optick Nerve_, being always at one and the same Distance, are fitted
only to see distantial Objects, but not such as are very nigh: Which
Inconvenience the _Feelers_ obviate, lest it should be prejudicial, in
occasioning the Insect to run its Head against any Thing.
And that this, rather than the wiping the Eyes, is the chief Use of the
_Feelers_, is farther manifest from the _Antennæ_ of the _Flesh-Fly_,
and many other Insects, which are short, and strait, and incapable
of being bent unto, or extended over the Eyes: As also from others
enormously long, such as those of the _Capricorni_, or _Goat-chasers_,
the _Cadew-Fly_, and divers others, both Beetles and Flies.
[c] The lamellated _Antennæ_ of some, the clavellated of others, the
neatly articulated of others, the feather’d and divers other Forms of
others, of the _Scarab_, _Papilionaceous Gnat_, and other Kinds; are
surprizingly beautiful, when view’d through a Microscope. And in some,
those _Antennæ_ distinguish the Sexes: As in the _Gnat-kind_, all those
with Tufts, Feathers, and Brush-horns, are Males; those with short,
single shafted _Antennæ_, are Females.
CHAP. IV.
_Of the ~Parts~ and ~Motion~ of INSECTS._
From the Head, pass we to the Members, concern’d in their Motion.
And here we have a copious Subject, if I was minded to expatiate. I
might take Notice of the admirable Mechanism in those that creep; the
curious Oars in those amphibious Insects that swim and walk[a]; the
incomparable Provision made in the Feet of such as walk, or hang upon
smooth Surfaces[b]; the great Strength and Spring in the Legs of such as
leap[c]; the strong and well-made Feet and Talons of such as dig[d]: And
to name no more, the admirable Faculty of such as cannot fly, to convey
themselves with Speed and Safety, by the Help of their Webs[e], or some
other Artifice to make their Bodies lighter than the Air[f]: These, and
a Multitude of other such like Things as these, I might, I say, take
Notice of, as great Evidences of the infinite Creator’s Wisdom: But lest
I should be too tedious, I will confine my Observations to the Legs and
Wings only. And these, at first View, we find to be incomparably fitted
up for their intended Service, not to over-load the body, not in the
least to retard it; but to give it the most proper and convenient Motion.
What, for Example, can be better contriv’d, and made for this Service,
than the Wings? Distended and strengthen’d by the finest Bones, and these
cover’d with the finest and lightest Membranes, some of them adorn’d with
neat and beautiful Feathers[g]; and many of them provided with the finest
Articulations, and Foldings, for the Wings to be withdrawn, and neatly
laid up in their _Vaginæ_, and Cases, and again readily extended for
Flight[h].
And then for the Poising of the Body, and keeping it upright, and steady
in Flight, it is an admirable Artifice and Provision for this Purpose;
in some, by four Wings[i]; and in such as have but two, by Pointels, and
Poises plac’d under the Wings, on each Side the Body.
And lastly, It is an amazing Thing to reflect upon the surprizing
Minuteness, Art, and Curiosity of the[k] Joynts, the Muscles, the
Tendons, the Nerves, necessary to perform all the Motions of the Legs,
the Wings, and every other Part. I have already mention’d this in
the larger Animals; but to consider, that all these Things concur in
minute Animals, even in the smallest Mite; yea, the Animalcules, that,
(without good Microscopes,) escape our Sight; to consider, I say, that
those minutest Animals have all the Joynts, Bones, Muscles, Tendons
and Nerves, necessary to that brisk and swift Motion that many of them
have, is so stupendous a Piece of curious Art[l], as plainly manifesteth
the Power and Wisdom of the infinite Contriver of those inimitable
Fineries. But having nam’d those minute Animals, Why should I mention
only any one Part of their Bodies, when we have, in that little Compass,
a whole and compleat Body, as exquisitely form’d, and, (as far as our
Scrutiny can possibly reach,) as neatly adorn’d as the largest Animal?
Let us consider, that there we have Eyes, a Brain, a Mouth, a Stomach,
Entrails, and every other Part of an animal Body, as well as Legs
and Feet; and that all those Parts have each of them their necessary
_Apparatus_ of Nerves, of various Muscles, and every other Part that
other Insects have; and that all is cover’d and guarded with a well-made
Tegument, beset with Bristles, adorn’d with neat Imbrications, and many
other Fineries. And lastly, Let us consider in how little Compass all Art
and Curiosity may lie, even in a Body many Times less than a small Grain
of Sand[m]; so that the least Drop of Water can contain many of them, and
afford them also sufficient Room to dance and frisk about in[n].
Having survey’d as many of the Parts of Insects as I care to take
Notice of; I shall in the next Place say somewhat of their State, and
Circumstances of Life. And here I shall take Notice only of two Things,
which have been only hinted at before; but will deserve more particular
Consideration here, as being Acts of a wonderful Instinct; namely,
Their Security of themselves against Winter; and their special Care of
preserving their Species.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] All the Families of _Hydrocanthari_, _Notonecti_, &c. have their
hindmost Legs made very nicely, with commodious Joynts flat, and Bristles
on each Sides towards the End, serving for Oars to swim; and then, nearer
the Body, are two stiff Spikes, to enable them to walk when Occasion is.
[b] I might here name divers Flies, and other Insects, who, besides their
sharp hook’d Nails, have alto skinny Palms to their Feet, to enable them
to stick on Glass, and other smooth Bodies, by Means of the Pressure of
the Atmosphere. But because the Example will illustrate another Work of
Nature, as well as this, I shall chuse a singular Piece of Mechanism, in
one of the largest Sorts of _Hydrocanthari_. Of these large ones there
are two Sorts, one largest, all black, with _Antennæ_ handsomely emboss’d
at the Ends. The other somewhat lesser, hardly so black, with capillary
_Antennæ_; the Forehead, Edges of the _Vaginæ_, and two Rings on the
_Thorax_, of a tawney Colour. The Female hath _Vaginæ_ prettily furrow’d,
the Male smooth. But that which is most to our Purpose in this Male, is a
Flap, or hollowish Cap near the middle Joynt of the Fore-legs; which when
clap’d on the Shoulders of the Female _in Coitu_, sticks firmly thereon:
After the Manner as I have seen Boys carry heavy Stones, with only a wet
Piece of Leather clap’d on the Top of the Stone.
[c] Thus, _Grasshoppers_ and _Crickets_ have brawny strong Thighs, with
long, slender, but strong Legs, which enable them to leap with great
Agility and Strength.
[d] I have wonder’d to see with what great Quickness, Art and Strength,
many _Vespæ-Ichneumons_, _Wild-Bees_, and _Beetles_, perforate the Earth;
yea, even Wood it self: But the most remarkable Animal to this Way, is
the _Mole-Cricket_ in _Book IV. Chap. 13. Note (s)._
[e] I have with Pleasure often seen Spiders dart out their Webs, and
sail away by the Help thereof. For the Manner of which, see Mr. _Lowth_,
Abridg. _Vol. 2. p. 794._ from Dr. _Lister_ and Dr. _Hulse_, who both
claim’d the Discovery thereof. And do both seem to have hit thereupon,
without any Foreknowledge of what each other hath discover’d, as is said
in the last cited Place, and as I more particularly find by Mr. _Ray_’s
_Philos._ Letters, Printed _Ann. 1718_. p. 95, _&c._ By which also I find
the two ingenious Doctors were very modest in their Claims, and very
amicable in the Matter. In one of Dr. _Lister_’s to Mr. _Ray_, he thinks
there is a fair Hint of the Darting of Spiders in _Arist. Hist. An._ L.
9. c. 39. And in _Pliny_, L. 11. c. 24. But for their Sailing, that the
Ancients are silent of, and he thinks it was seen first by him. And in
another Letter, _Jan. 20, 1670_, speaking of the Height Spiders are able
to fly, he saith, _The last ~October~, &c. I took Notice, that the Air
was very full of Webs, I forthwith mounted to the Top of the highest
Steeple on the Minster, ~[in York,]~ and could thence discern them yet
exceeding high above me. Some that fell, and were intangled upon the
Pinacles, I took and found them to be ~Lupi~: which Kind seldom or never
enter Houses, and cannot be suppos’d to have taken their Flight from the
Steeple._
[f] There are, (I imagine,) divers Animals, as well as Spiders, that
have some Way of Conveyance, as little known to us, as that of Spiders
formerly was. Thus the _Squillulæ_, _pulices Arborescentes_, and
_microscopical Animalcules_ of the stagnating Waters, so numerous in
them, as to discolour sometimes the Water, and make them look as if they
were tinged Red, Yellow or Green, or cover’d with a thick green Scum; all
which is nothing but Animalcules of that Colour. That these Creatures
have some Way of Conveyance, I conclude: because most stagnating Waters
are stock’d with them; new Pits and Ponds, yea, Holes and Gutters on the
Tops of Houses and Steeples. That they are not bred there by æquivocal
Generation, every ingenious, considering Philosopher will grant; that
they have not Legs for travelling so far, is manifest from Inspection:
And therefore I am apt to think, that they have some Faculty of inflating
their Bodies, or darting out Webs, and making their Bodies buoyant,
and lighter than Air; or their Bodies, when dry, may be lighter than
Air, and so they can swim from Place to Place; or the Eggs of such as
are oviparous, may be light enough to float in the Air. But then the
Viviparous, (as my late ingenious Friend, Mr. _Charles King_, shew’d
me the _Pulices aquat. arbores._ are; these I say,) can’t be this Way
accounted for. The Cause of these latter Suspicions was, that in the
Summer Months, I have seen the _Pulices arbores._ and the green Scum on
the Waters, (nothing but Animalcules, as I said,) lie in a Manner dry on
the Surface of the Waters; at which Time, (as I have shewn in _Book IV.
Chap. 11. Note (n)_,) those Animalcules copulate; and perhaps, they may
at the same Time change their Quarters, and seek out new Habitations for
their numerous Offspring, as well as themselves.
[g] It is well known to all Persons any Way conversant in microscopical
Observations, that these elegant Colours of _Moths_, and _Butterflies_,
are owing to neat and well-made Feathers, set with great Curiosity and
Exactness in Rows, and good Order.
[h] All that have _Elytra_, _Scarabs_ (who have whole _Elytra_, or
reaching to the _Podex_,) or the Ἡμικουλεόπτεροι, such as _Earwigs_, and
_Staphylini_ of all Sorts, do, by a very curious Mechanism, extend and
withdraw their membranaceous Wings, (wherewith they chiefly fly;) and it
is very pretty to see them prepare themselves for Flight, by thrusting
out, and unfolding their Wings; and again withdraw those Joynts, and
neatly fold in the Membranes, to be laid up safely in their _Elytra_
or Cases. For which Service the Bones are well plac’d, and the Joynts
ministring thereunto are accurately contriv’d, for the most compendious,
and commodious folding up the Wings.
[i] For the keeping the Body steady and upright in Flight, it generally
holds true, (if I mistake not,) that all bipennated Insects have _Poises_
joyn’d to the Body, under the hinder Part of their Wings; but such as
have four Wings, or Wings with _Elytra_, none. If one of the Poises, or
one of the lesser auxiliary Wings be cut off, the Insect will fly as if
one Side overbalanc’d the other, until it falleth on the Ground; so if
both be cut of, they will fly aukwardly, and unsteadily, manifesting the
Defect of some very necessary Part. These _Poises_, or _Pointells_ are,
for the most Part, little Balls, set at the Top of a slender Stalk, which
they can move every Way at Pleasure. In some they stand alone, in others,
(as in the whole _Flesh-Fly_ Tribe,) they have little Covers or Shields,
under which they lie and move. The Use, no doubt, of these _Poises_, and
_secondary_ lesser Wings, is to poise the Body, and to obviate all the
Vacillations thereof in flight; serving to the Insect, as the long Pole,
laden at the Ends with Lead, doth the _Ropedancer_.
[k] As all the Parts of Animals are mov’d by the Help of these; so there
is, no doubt, but the minutest Animals have such like Parts: But the
Muscles and Tendons of some of the larger Insects, and some of the lesser
too, may be seen with a Microscope.
[l] The minute Curiosities, and inimitable Fineries, observable in those
lesser Animals, in which our best Microscopes discover no Botch, no rude
ill-made Work, (contrary to what is in all artificial Works of Man,) Do
they not far more deserve our Admiration, than those celebrated Pieces of
humane Art? Such as the Cup made of a Pepper-Corn, by _Oswald Nerlinger_,
that held 1200 ivory Cups, all gilt on the Edges, and having each of them
a Foot, and yet affording Room for 400 more, in the _Ephem. Germ._ T.
1. Addend. ad Obs. 13. Such also was _Phaëton_ in a Ring, which _Galen_
thus reflects upon, when he speaks of the Art and Wisdom of the Maker
of Animals, particularly such as are small, _Quanto_, saith he, _ipsum
minus fuerit, tanto majorem admirationem tibi excitabit; quod declarant
Opifices cùm in corporibus parvis aliquid insculpant: cujus generis est
quòd nuper quidam in Annulo Phaëtonta quatuor equis invectum sculpsit.
Omnes enim æqui frænum, os, & dentes anteriores habebant, ~&c.~_ And
then having taken Notice, that the Legs were no bigger than those of a
_Gnat_, he shews that their Make did not come up to those of the _Gnat_;
as also, saith he, _Major adhuc alia quædam esse videtur artis ejus, qui
Pulicem condidit, Vis atque Sapientia, quod, ~&c.~ Cùm igitur Ars tanta
in tam abjectis animalibus appareat,——quantam ejus Vim ac Sapientiam in
præstantioribus inesse putabimus?_ Galen. de Us. Part. L. 17. c. 1. fin.
[m] It will in some Measure appear, how wonderfully minute some
microscopical Animalcules are, by what follows in the next Note. But
because more particular Examples would be endless, I shall refer to the
Observations of Mr. _Leuwenhoeck_, and others, in the _Philos. Trans._
and elsewhere.
[n] It is almost impossible, by Reason of their perpetual Motion, and
changing Places, to count the Number of the Animalcules, in only a Drop
of the green Scum upon Water; but I guess I have sometimes seen not fewer
than 100 frisking about in a Drop no bigger than a Pin’s Head. But in
such a Drop of Pepper-water, a far greater Number; these being much less
than those.
CHAP. V.
_The ~Sagacity~ of INSECTS to secure themselves against Winter._
It is an extraordinary Act of Instinct and Sagacity, observable in
the generality of the Insect-Tribe, that they all take Care to secure
themselves, and provide against the Necessities of Winter. That when the
Distresses of Cold and Wet force them, they should retire to warm and
dry Places of Safety, is not strange; but it is a prodigious Act of the
infinite Conservator’s Care to enable some to live in a different Kind
of Insect-State; others to live, as without Action, so without Food;
and others that act and eat, to lay up in Summer sufficient Provisions
against the approaching Winter. Some, I say, live in a different State.
For having sufficiently fed, nourished, and bred up themselves to the
Perfection of their _Vermicular_, _Nympha-State_, in the Summer-Months,
they then retire to Places of Safety, and there throw off their _Nympha_,
and put on their _Aurelia_ or _Chrysalis-State_ for all the Winter, in
which there are no Occasions for Food. This is the constant Method of
many Families of the Insect-Tribe[a].
But there are others, and some of them in their most perfect State too,
that are able to subsist in a kind of Torpitude or Sleeping State,
without any Food at all; by Reason as there is no Action so no Waste of
Body, no Expence of Spirits, and therefore no need of Food[b].
But for others that move and act, and need Food, it is a prodigious
Instinct and Foresight the Creator hath imprinted on them, to lay up
sufficient Food in Summer for the Winter’s[c] Necessities and Occasions.
And it is very pretty to see with what unwearied Diligence all Hands
are at work for that Purpose, all the warmer Months. Of this the Holy
Scripture it self gives us an Instance in the _Ant_, calling that little
Animal _exceeding wise_, Prov. xxx. 24. And the Reason is, ℣. 25. _The
Ants are a People not strong, yet they prepare their Meat in the Summer._
And therefore _Solomon_ sends the Sluggard to this little contemptible
Creature, to learn Wisdom, Foresight, Care and Diligence, Prov. vi. 6, 7,
8. _Go to the Ant, thou Sluggard, consider her Ways, and be wise: which
having no Guide, Overseer, or Ruler, provideth her Meat in the Summer,
and gathereth her Food in the Harvest._
To this Scriptural Example, give me leave to anticipate, and subjoin an
Observation of the farther great Wisdom of this little Creature; and that
is their unparallelled Στοργὴ, their Tenderness, Sagacity, and Diligence
about their Young[d]. ’Tis very diverting, as well as admirable to
see, with what Affection and Care they carry about their Young in their
Mouths, how they expose themselves to the greatest Dangers, rather than
leave their Young exposed or forsaken; how they remove them from Place
to Place in their little Hills, sometimes to this Part, sometimes to
that, for the Benefit of convenient Warmth, and proper Moisture; and
then again withdraw, and guard them against Rain and Cold. Now that this
great Wisdom which the Scriptures attribute unto, and is discernible in
this little Animal, is owing only to the Instinct, or Infusions of the
great Conservator of the World, is evident, because either this Wisdom,
Thought, and Forecast, is an Act of the Animal it self, or of some other
Being that hath Wisdom. But the Animal being irrational, ’tis impossible
it can be its own Act, but must be derived, or received from some wise
Being. And who? What can that be, but the infinite Lord, Conservator and
Governour of all the World?
FOOTNOTES:
[a] It would be endless to enter into Particulars here, because all the
_Papilionaceous_, _Flesh_, and _Ichneumon-Fly_ Tribes, and all others
that undergo the _Nympha_ and _Aurelia_-State, between that of the Egg
and _Mature_-State, (which are very numerous) appertain to this Note. For
a Sample therefore only, I shall take what some may think a mean one, but
if considered, deserves our Admiration, and that is the Sagacity of the
_White Butter-fly Caterpiller_, which having fed it self its due Time,
then retires to Places of Security. I have seen great Trains of them
creeping up the Walls and Posts of the next Houses, where, with the help
of some Cobweb-like Filaments, they hang themselves to the Cielings, and
other commodious Places, and then become _Aureliæ_; in which State and
Places they hang secure from Wet and Cold, till the Spring and warmer
Months, when they are transmuted into Butter-Flies.
[b] I shall not name any of the particular Species of Insects which
live in this State, because they are very numerous, but only remark two
Things observable in their Sagacity in this Matter: 1. That they are not
driven by Stress of Weather to their Retirement, but seem as naturally
to betake themselves thereto, as other Animals do to Rest and Sleep. For
before the Approach of cold Weather, towards the End of Summer, we may
see some Kinds of them flocking together in great Numbers within Doors
(as _Swallows_ do a little before they leave us) as if they were making
ready for their Winter’s Rest. 2. That every Species betakes it self to
a proper convenient Receptacle; some under the Waters to the Bottoms of
Ponds; some under the Earth, below the Frosts; some under Timber, Stone,
&c. lying on the Ground; some into hollow Trees, or under the Bark, or in
the Wood; some into warm and dry Places; and some into dry alone.
[c] There are not many Kinds that thus provide their Food before-hand.
The most remarkable, are the _Ant_ and the _Bee_; concerning the first
of which, _Origen_ hath this Remark, _viz._ _De solertiâ Formicarum,
venturæ hyemi maturè prospiciontium, sibique invicem sub onere sessis
succurrentium; quódque fruges arrosas condunt, ne rursus enascantur, sed
per annum alimento sint, non ratiocinationem Formicarum in causâ debemus
credere, sed almam matrem Naturam bruta quoque sic ornantem, ut etiam
minimis addat sua quædam ingenia._ Orig. cont. Cels. L. 4.
But as for _Wasps_, _Hornets_, _Humble Bees_, and other _Wild-Bees_,
_Vespæ Ichneumons_, and divers others that carry in Materials for Nests
and Food; this is only for the Service of their Generation, for hatching
their Eggs, and nourishing their Young, not for Supplies in Winter;
for they all forsake their Nests towards Winter, and retire to other
Quarters, living (I conceive) without Food all that Time.
[d] _Hos vermiculos ~[Formicarum Ova vulgò vocatos]~ incredibili Στοργὴ
& curâ Formicæ educant, summamque dant operam, ne vel tantillum, quod
spectet eorum vermiculorum educationem atque nutritionem, omittant;
quem in finem fere semper eosdem ore circumportant secum, ne ulla eos
lædet injuria. In museo meo nonnullas istius generis formicas, vitro
terrâ repleto, conclusas cum Vermiculis istis adservabam; ibi non
sine jucunditate spectabam, quo terra fieret in superficie siccior,
eo profundiùs Formicas cum fœtibus suis prorepere: cùm verò aquam
adfunderem, visu mirificum erat, quanto affectu, quanta solicitudine,
quanta Στοργὴ omnem in eo collacarent operam, ut fœtus suos sicciore &
tuto loco reponerent. Sæpiùs vidi, cùm aliquot diebus aquâ caruissent,
atque cùm affuso tantillo aquæ terram illam humectarem, è vestigio
à Formicis fœtus suos eo loci fuisse allatos, quos ibi distinctè
conspiciebam moveri atque fugere humorem. Multoties fui conatus, ut eos
Vermiculos ipse educarem, at semper conatum fefellit eventus: neque ipsas
Formicarum Nymphas alimenti jam non indigas unquam sine ipsis Formicis
potui fotu artificiali excludere._ J. Swammerd. Epilog. ad Hist. Insect.
p. 153.
Sir _Edward King_, who was very curious in examining the Generation of
_Ants_, observes their great Care and Diligence, 1. About their Sperm,
or true Eggs, which is a fine white Substance, like Sugar, which they
diligently gather together into a Heap, when scattered; and on which they
lie in Multitudes. (I suppose, by way of Incubation.) 2. I have observed,
saith he, in Summer, that in the Morning they bring up those of their
Young (call’d Ant-Eggs) towards the Top of the Bank: So that you may from
10 in the Morning, until 5 or 6 Afternoon, find them near the Top——for
the most Part on the South-side the Bank. But towards 7 or 8 at Night,
if it be cool, or likely to rain, you may dig a Foot deep before you can
find them. _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 23. or _Lowthorp_’s _Abridg._ V. 2. p. 7.
and 9.
CHAP. VI.
_Of the Care of INSECTS about their ~Young~._
The other notable Instinct I am to treat of, is the peculiar Art and
Care of the Insect-Tribe, about the Preservation of their Species.
Here I might speak of many Things, but I have occasionally mentioned
divers of them before, under some or other of the general Heads, and
therefore shall fix only upon two Things relating to their special Art
and Care about the Production[a] of their Young, which have not been so
particularly spoken to as they deserve.
One Thing is their singular Providence for their Young, in making or
finding out such proper Receptacles and Places for their Eggs and Seed,
as that they may receive the Advantage of a sufficient Incubation,
and that the Young, when produced, may have the Benefit of proper and
sufficient Food for their Nurture and Education, till they are able to
shift for themselves. It is admirable to see with what Diligence and
Care the several Species of Insects lay up their Eggs or Sperm in their
several proper Places; not all in the Waters, in Wood, or on Vegetables;
but those whose Subsistence is in the Waters[b], in the Water; those to
whom Flesh is a proper Food; in Flesh[c]; those to whom the Fruits[d] or
Leaves of Vegetables are Food, are accordingly reposited, some in this
Fruit, some on this Tree[e], some on that Plant[f], some on another, and
another; but constantly the same Family on the same Tree or Plant, the
most agreeable to that Family. And as for others that require a constant
and greater Degree of Warmth, they are accordingly provided by the
Parent-Animal with some Place in or about the Body of other Animals; some
in the Feathers of Birds[g]; some in the Hair of Beasts[h]; some in the
very Scales of Fishes[i]; some in the Nose[k]; some in the Flesh[l]; yea,
some in the very Bowels[m]; and inmost Recesses of the Bodies of Man
and other Creatures[n]: And as for others to whom none of these Methods
are proper, but make themselves Nests by Perforations in the Earth, in
Wood, or Combs they build, or such like Ways; ’tis admirable to see
with what Labour and Care they carry in, and seal up Provisions, that
serve both for the Production of their Young, as also for their Food and
Nurture when produc’d[o].
The other Piece of remarkable Art and Care about the Production of their
Young, is their Curiosity and Neatness in repositing their Eggs, and in
their Nidification.
As to the first of which, we may observe that great Curiosity, and nice
Order is generally observ’d by them in this Matter. You shall always see
their Eggs laid carefully and commodiously up[p]. When upon the Leaves of
Vegetables, or other Material on Land, always glu’d thereon with Care,
with one certain End lowermost, and with handsom juxta-Positions[q].
Or if in the Waters, in neat and beautiful Rows oftentimes, in that
spermatick, gelatine Matter, in which they are reposited, and that Matter
carefully ty’d and fastned in the Waters, to prevent its Dissipation[r],
or if made to float, so carefully spread and poised, as to swim about
with all possible Artifice.
And as to their other Faculty, that of Nidification, whether it be
exerted by boring the Earth or Wood, or building themselves Cells[s],
or spinning and weaving themselves Cases and Webs, it is all a wonderful
Faculty of those poor little Animals, whether we consider their Parts
wherewith they work, or their Work it self. Thus those who perforate the
Earth, Wood, or such like, they have their Legs, Feet, Mouth, yea, and
whole Body accommodated to that Service; their Mouth exactly formed to
gnaw those handsome round Holes, their Feet as well made to scratch and
bore[t], and their Body handsomely turned and fitted to follow. But for
such as build or spin themselves Nests, their Art justly bids Defiance
to the most ingenious Artist among Men, so much as tolerably to copy the
nice Geometrical Combs of some[u], the Earthen Cells of others, or the
Webs, Nets and Cases[w] woven by others. And here that natural Glue[x]
which their Bodies afford some of them to consolidate their Work, and
combine its Materials together, and which in others can be darted out
at Pleasure, and spun and woven by them into silken Balls[y] or Webs.
I say, this so peculiar, so serviceable a Material, together with the
curious Structure of all Parts ministring to this textrine Power, as mean
a Business as it may seem, is such as may justly be accounted among the
noble Designs and Works of the infinite Creator and Conservator of the
World.
In the last Place, there is another prodigious Faculty, Art, Cunning, or
what shall I call it? that others of those little Animals have, to make
even Nature it self serviceable to their Purpose; and that is the making
the Vegetation and Growth of Trees and Plants, the very Means of the
building of their little Nests and Cells[z]; such, as are the Galls and
Balls found on the Leaves and Branches of divers Vegetables, such as the
Oak, the Willow[aa], the Briar, and some others.
Now this is so peculiar an Artifice, and so far out of the Reach of any
mortal Understanding, Wit, or Power, that if we consider the Matter, with
some of its Circumstances, we must needs perceive manifest Design, and
that there is the Concurrence of some great and wise Being, that hath,
from the Beginning, taken Care of, and provided for the Animal’s Good:
For which Reason, as mean as the Instance may seem, I might be excused,
if I should enlarge upon its Particulars. But two or three Hints shall
suffice.
In the first Place, ’tis certain that the Formation of those _Cases_ and
_Balls_ quite exceeds the Cunning of the Animal it self; but it is the
Act partly of the Vegetable, and partly of some Virulency (or what shall
I call it?) in the Juyce, or Egg, or both, reposited on the Vegetable
by the Parent Animal[bb]. And as this Virulency is various, according
to the Difference of its Animal, so is the Form and Texture of the
Cases and Balls excited thereby; some being hard Shells[cc], some tender
Balls[dd], some scaly[ee], some smooth[ff], some Hairy[gg], some Long,
some Round, some Conical, _&c._[hh]. And in the last Place, let us add,
That those Species of Insects are all endowed with peculiar and exactly
made Parts for this Service, to bore and pierce the Vegetable, and to
reach and inject their Eggs and Juice into the tender Parts thereof.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] The Doctrine of Æquivocal Generation, is at this Day so sufficiently
exploded by all learned Philosophers, that I shall not enter the
Dispute, but take it for granted, that all Animals spring from other
Parent-Animals. If the Reader hath any doubt about it, I refer him to
_Seigneur Redi de Gen. Insect._ and M. _Ray_’s _Wisd. of God_, &c. p.
344. See also before, _Book IV. Ch. 15. Note (a)._
[b] It would be endless to specify the various Species of Insects, that
have their Generation in the Waters. And therefore I shall only observe
of them, 1. That their Eggs are always laid up with great Care, and in
good Order. And also, 2. Where proper and sufficient Food is. 3. That in
their _Nympha_-State in the Waters, they have Parts proper for Food and
Motion; and in many, or most of them, very different from what they have
in their _Mature_-State, a manifest Argument of the Creator’s Wisdom and
Providence. For an Instance, see _Note (r)._
[c] As _Seigneur Redi_ was one of the first that made it his Business to
discard Anomalous Generation, so he tried more Experiments relating to
the Vermination of Serpents, Flesh, Fish, putrified Vegetables; and in
short, whatever was commonly known to be the Nursery of Maggots, more I
say probably, than any one hath done since. And in all his Observations,
he constantly found the Maggots to turn to _Aureliæ_, and these into
_Flies_. But then, saith he, _Dubitare cœpi, utrùm omne hoc vermium in
carne genus, ex solo Muscarum semine, an ex ipsis putrefactis carnibus
oriretur, tantoque magis confirmabar in hoc meo dubio, quanto in
omnibus generationibus——sapiùs videram, in carnibus, antequàm verminare
inciperent, resedisse ejusdem speciei Muscas, cujus propago postea
nascebatur._ Upon this he tells us, he put Fish, Flesh, _&c._ into Pots,
which he covered close from the Flies with Paper, and afterwards (for the
free Air sake) with Lawn, whilst other Pots were left open, with such
like Flesh, _&c._ in them; that the Flies were very eager to get into the
covered Pots; and that they produced not one Maggot, when the open ones
had many. _Fr. Redi de Gener._ _Insect._
Among the Insects that come from the Maggots he mentions, he names
_Culices_. Now from the most critical Observations I have made, I never
observed any sort of _Gnat_ to come from putrified Flesh, Vegetables, or
any other Thing he taxeth with them. So that either he means by _Culex_,
some Fly that we call not by the Name of _Gnat_; or else their _Gnats_ in
_Italy_, vary in their Generation from ours in _England_. For among above
30, near 40 distinct Species of _Gnats_ that I have observed about the
Place where I live, I never found any to lay their Eggs in Flesh, Filth,
_&c._ but the largest Sort, called by _Aldrovand_, _Culices maximi_, by
_Swammerdam_, _Tipulæ terrestres_, lay their Eggs in Meadows, _&c._ under
the Grass; one of the larger middle Sort, in dead Beer, Yeast, _&c._
lying on the Tops, or in the Leaks of Beer-Barrels, _&c._ and all the
rest (as far as ever I have observed) lay and hatch in the Waters, as in
_Note (r)._
The Generation of the Second of these being akin to some of the foregoing
instances, and a little out of the way, may deserve a Place here. This
_Gnat_ lays its Eggs commonly in dead Beer, _&c._ as I said, and probably
in Vinegar, and other such Liquors. Some Time after which, the Maggots
are so numerous, that the whole Liquor stirreth as if it was alive;
being full of Maggots, some larger, some smaller; the larger are the
off-spring of our _Gnat_, the smaller, of a small dark coloured Fly,
tending to reddish; frequent in Cellars, and such obscure Places. All
these _Maggots_ turn to _Aurelia_, the larger of which, of a Tan-Colour,
such as our _Gnat_. This _Gnat_ is of the unarmed Kind, having no Spear
in its Mouth. Its Head is larger than of the common _Gnats_, a longer
Neck, short jointed _Antennæ_, spotted Wings, reaching beyond its slender
_Alvus_; it is throughout of a brown Colour, tending to red, especially
in the Female: The chief Difference between the Male and Female, is (as
in other _Gnats_, yea, most Insects) the Male is less than the Female,
and hath a slenderer Belly, and its _Podex_ not so sharp as the Female’s
is.
[d] The Insects that infest Fruits, are either of the _Ichneumon-Fly_
Kind, or _Phalænæ_. Plums, Pease, Nuts, _&c._ produce some or other
_Ichneumon-Fly_. That generated in the _Plum_ is black, of a middle Size,
its _Body_ near ³⁄₁₀ Inch long, its Tail not much less, consisting of
three Bristles, wherewith it conveys its Eggs into Fruits: Its _Antennæ_,
or Horns, long, slender, recurved; its Belly longish, tapering, small
towards the _Thorax_; _Legs_ reddish; _Wings_ membranaceous, thin and
transparent, in Number 4, which is one Characteristic of the _Ichneumon
Fly_.
The _Pease Ichneumon-Fly_, is very small, Wings large, reaching beyond
the _Podex_; _Antennæ_ long; _Alvus_ short, shaped like an Heart, with
the Point towards the _Anus_; it walketh and flieth slowly. No Tail
appears as in the former; but they have one lieth hidden under the Belly,
which they can at Pleasure bend back to pierce Pease when they are young
and tender, and other Things also, as I have Reason to suspect, having
met with this (as indeed the former two) in divers Vegetables.
_Pears_ and _Apples_ I could never discover any Thing to breed in, but
only the lesser _Phalæna_, about ⁴⁄₁₀ Inch long, whitish underneath;
greyish brown above (dappled with brown Spots, inclining to a dirty Red)
all but about a third Part at the End of the Wings, which is not grey,
but brown, elegantly striped with wavey Lines, of a Gold Colour, as if
gilt; its Head is small, with a Tuft of whitish brown in the Forehead;
_Antennæ_ smooth, moderately long. The _Aurelia_ of this Moth is small,
of a yellowish brown. I know not what Time they require for their
Generation out of Boxes; but those I laid up in _August_, did not become
Moths before _June_ following.
[e] There are many of the _Phalænæ_ and _Ichneumon-Fly_ Tribes, that
have their Generation on the Leaves or other Parts of Trees and Shrubs,
too many to be here reckoned up. The _Oak_ hath many very beautiful
_Phalænæ_, bred in its convolved Leaves, white, green, yellow, brown
spotted prettily, and neatly dappled, and many more besides; and its
Buds afford a Place for Cases, and Balls of various Sorts, as shall be
shewn hereafter; its Leaves expanded, minister to the Germination of
globular, and other sphæroidal Balls, and flat _Thecæ_, some like Hats,
some like Buttons excavated in the Middle, and divers others such like
Repositories, all belonging to the _Ichneumon-Fly_ Kind. And not only the
_Oak_, but the _Maple_ also, the _White-Thorn_, the _Briar_, _Privet_,
and indeed almost every Tree and Shrub.
[f] And as Trees and Shrubs, so Plants have their peculiar Insects. The
_White-Butterfly_ lays its voracious Offspring on Cabbage-Leaves; a very
beautiful reddish ocellated one, its no less voracious black Off-spring
of an horrid Aspect, on the Leaves of Nettles; as also doth a very
beautiful, small, greenish _Ichneumon-Fly_, in Cases on the Leaves of
the same Plant: And to name no more (because it would be endless) the
beautiful _Ragwort-Moth_, whose upper Wings are brown, elegantly spotted
with red and underwings edged with brown; these, I say, provide for their
golden ring’d _Eruce_ upon the _Ragwort-Plant_.
[g] Many, if not most Sort of Birds, are infested with a distinct Kind of
Lice, very different from one another in Shape, Size, _&c._ For Figures
and Descriptions of them, I shall refer to _Signieur Redi of Insects_.
See also _Moufet_, L. 2. _c. 23._ These Lice lay their Nits among the
Feathers of the respective Birds, where they are hatched and nourished;
and as _Aristotle_ saith, would destroy the Birds, particularly
_Pheasants_, if they did not dust their Feathers. _Loco infr. citat._
[h] And as Birds, so the several Sorts of Beasts have their peculiar
Sorts of Lice; all distinct from the two Sorts infesting Man: Only the
_Ass_, they say, is free, because our _Saviour_ rode upon one, as some
think; but I presume it is rather from the Passage in _Pliny_, L. 11.
c. 33. or rather _Arist. Hist. Animal_. L. 3. c. 31. who saith, _Quibus
pilus est, non carent eodem ~[Pediculo]~ excepto Asino, qui non Pediculo
tantùm, verùm etiam Redivio immunis est._ And a little before, speaking
of those in Men, he shews what Constitutions are most subject to them,
and instanceth in _Alcman_ the Poet, and _Pherecydes Syrius_ that died
of the _Pthiriasis_, or Lowly Disease. For which foul Distemper, if
Medicines are desired, _Moufet de Insect._ p. 261. may be consulted. Who
in the same Page hath this Observation, _Animadverterunt nostrates——ubi
Asores insulas à tergo reliquerint, Pediculos confestim omnes tabascere:
atque ubi eas reviserint, iterum innumeros alios subitò oriri._ Which
Observation is confirmed by Dr. _Stubs._ Vid. _Lowth. Abridg._ V. 3. p.
558. And many Seamen have told me the same.
[i] Fishes, one would think, should be free from Lice, by Reason they
live in the Waters, and are perpetually moving in, and brushing through
them; but yet have their Sorts too.
Besides which, I have frequently found great Numbers of long slender
Worms in the Stomachs, and other Parts of Fish, particularly _Codfish_,
especially such as are poor; which Worms have work’d themselves deeply
into the Coats and Flesh, so that they could nor easily be gotten out:
So _Aristotle_, saith of some Fishes, _Ballero & Tilloni Lumbricus,
innascitur, qui debilitat, ~&c.~ Chalcis vitio infestatur diro, ut
Pediculi sub Branchiis innati quàm multi interimant._ Hist. An. L. 8. c.
20.
[k] Of Insects bred in the Nose of Animals, those in the Nostrils of
_Sheep_ are remarkable. I have my self taken out not fewer at a Time than
twenty or thirty rough Maggots, lying among the _Laminæ_ of the Nostrils.
But I could never hatch any of them, and so know not what Animal they
proceed from: But I have no great doubt, they are of the _Ichneumon-Fly_
Kind; and not improbably of that with a long Tail, call’d _Triseta_,
whose three Bristles seem very commodious for conveying its Eggs into
deep Places.
I have also seen a rough whitish Maggot, above two Inches within the
_Intestinum rectum_ of Horses, firmly adhering thereto, that the hard
Dung did not rub off. I never could bring them to Perfection, but suspect
the _Side-Fly_ proceeds from it.
[l] In the Backs of _Cows_, in the Summer-Months, there are Maggots
generated, which in _Essex_ we call _Wornils_; which are first only a
small Knot in the Skin; and I suppose no other than an Egg laid there by
some Insect. By Degrees these Knots grow bigger, and contain in them a
Maggot lying in a purulent Matter: They grow to be as large as the End of
one’s Finger, and may be squeez’d out at a Hole they have always open:
They are round and rough, and of a dirty White. With my utmost Endeavour
and Vigilance, I could never discover the Animal they turn into; but as
they are somewhat like, so may be the same as those in the Note before.
In _Persia_ there are very long slender Worms, bred in the Legs, and
other Parts of Men’s Bodies, 6 or 7 Yards long. In _Philos. Trans._ Mr.
_Dent_, and Mr. _Lewis_, relate divers Examples of _Worms_ taken out of
the Tongue, Gums, Nose, and other Parts, by a Woman at _Leicester_, which
they were Eye-witnesses of. These, and divers others mention’d in the
_Transactions_, may be seen together in Mr. _Lowthorp_’s _Abridg._ Vol.
3. p. 132.
_Narrat mihi vir fide dignus——Casp. Wendlandt——se in Poloniâ,
puero cuidam rustico duorum annorum, Vermiculum album è palbebrâ
extraxisse,——magnitudinis Erucæ.——Similem fere huic casum mihi
~[Schulzio]~ & D. Segero narravit hoc. Anno 1676. chirurgus noster Ant.
Statlender, qui cuidam puero, ex Aure, extraxit Vermiculum talem, qualis
in nucibus avellanis perforatis latitare solet, sed paulò majorem,
coloris albissimi; alteri minores 5 ejusdem generis similiter ex Aure:
Omnes aliquot horas supervixerunt——Vermiculos adhuc viventes oculis
nostris vidimus._ Ephem. Germ. T. 2. Obs. 24. ubi Vermiculi Icon. Many
other Instances may be met with in the same Tome. Obs. 147, 148, 154.
The Worms in _Deer_ are mention’d often among ancient Writers.
_Aristotle_ saith, Σκώληκας μεν τοι πάντες ἔχουσιν, ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ ζῶντας,
&c. _They ~[Deer]~ all have Live Worms in their Heads; bred under the
Tongue, in a Cavity near the ~Vertebra~, on which the Head is plac’d;
their Size not less than of the largest Maggots; they are bred all
together, in number about twenty._ Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 15.
To these Examples may be added the Generation of the _Ichneumon-Fly_
in the Bodies of Caterpillars, and other _Nymphæ_ of Insects. In many
of which, that I have laid up to be hatch’d in Boxes, instead of
_Papilios_, &c. as I expected, I have found a great Number of small
_Ichneumon-Flies_, whose Parent-Animal had wounded those _Nymphæ_, and
darted its Eggs into them, and so made them the Foster-Mother of its
Young. More Particulars of this Way of Generation may be seen in the
great Mr. _Willughby_’s Observations in _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 76. But
concerning the farther Generation of this Insect, I have taken Notice of
other Particulars in other places of these Notes.
[m] The Animals ordinarily bred in the Stomach and Guts, are the three
Sorts of Worms call’d _Lati_, _Teretes_, and _Ascarides_; concerning
which, it would be irksome to speak in Particular, and therefore I shall
refer to _Moufet_, L. 2. c. 31, 32, 33. Dr. _Tyson_’s Anatomy of them in
Mr. _Lowthorp_’s _Abridg._ V. 3. p. 121. _Seignior Redi_’s _Obs_. and
others that have written of them.
And not only _Worms_, but other Creatures also are said to be found in
the Stomach; Instances of which are so innumerable, that I shall only
select a few related by Persons of the best Credit. And first of all, by
some of our own Countrymen. Dr. _Lister_, (whose Credit and Judgment will
hastily be question’d,) gives an Account of true _Caterpillars_, vomited
up by a Boy of nine Years old; and another odd Animal by a poor Man. Mr.
_Jessop_, (another very judicious, curious and ingenious Gentleman,) saw
_Hexapods_ vomited up by a Girl; which _Hexapods_ liv’d and fed for five
Weeks. See _Lowth._ ib. p. 135.
And to Foreigners, it is a very strange Story (but attested by Persons
of great Repute,) of _Catharina Geileria_, that dy’d in _Feb_. 1662, in
the Hospital of _Altenburg_, in _Germany_, who for twenty Years voided by
Vomit and Stool, _Toads_ and _Lizzards_, &c. _Ephemer. Germ._ T. 1. Obs.
103. See also the 109. Observation of a Kitten bred in the Stomach, and
vomited up; of Whelps also, and other Animals, bred in like Manner. But
I fear a Stretch of Fancy might help in some of those last Instances, in
those Days when spontaneous Generation was held, when the Philosophers
seem to have more slightly examined such Appearances than now they do.
But for the breeding of _Frogs_ or _Toads_, or _Lacertæ Aquaticæ_ in the
Stomach, when their Spawn happeneth to be drank, there is a Story in the
second _Tome_ of the _Ephem. Germ._ Obs. 56. that favours it, _viz._ _In
the Year 1667, a ~Butcher’s~ Man going to buy some Lambs in the Spring,
being thirsty, drank greedily of some standing Water, which a while
after, caus’d great Pains in his Stomach, which grew worse and worse, and
ended in dangerous Symptoms. At last he thought somewhat was alive in his
Stomach, and after that, vomited up three live Toads; and so recover’d
his former Health._
Such another Story Dr. _Sorbait_ tells, and avoucheth it seen with his
own Eyes, of one that had a Toad came out of an Abscess, which came upon
drinking foul Water. _Obs._ 103.
[n] Not only in the Guts, and in the Flesh; but in many other Parts of
the Body, Worms have been discover’d. One was voided by Urine, by Mr.
_Mat. Milford_, suppos’d to have come from the Kidneys. _Lowth._ ib.
p. 135. More such Examples _Moufet_ tells of. _Ibid._ So the _Vermes
Cucurbitini_ are very common in the Vessels in Sheeps Livers: And Dr.
_Lister_ tells of them, found in the Kidney of a Dog, and thinks that
the Snakes and Toads, _&c._ said to be found in Animals Bodies, may be
nothing else. _Lowth._ ib. p. 120. Nay, more than all this: In Dr. _Bern.
Verzascha_’s sixth Observation, there are divers Instances of Worms bred
in the _Brain_ of Man. One, a patient of his, troubled with a violent
Headach, and an itching about the Nostrils, and frequent Sneezing; who,
with the Use of a Sneezing-Powder, voided a Worm, with a great deal of
Snot from his Nose. A like Instance he gives from _Bartholine_, of a Worm
voided from the Nose of _O. W._ which he guesseth was the famous _Olaus
Wormius_: Another, from a Country Woman of _Dietmarsh_; and others in
_Tulpius_, _F. Hildanus_, _Schenchius_, &c. These Worms he thinks are
undoubtedly bred in the Brain: But what way they can come from thence,
I can’t tell. Wherefore I rather think, they are such Worms as are
mentioned in _Note (k)_, and even that Worm that was actually found in
the Brain of the _Paris Girl_ (when opened) I guess might be laid in the
_Laminæ_ of the Nostrils, by some of the _Ichneumon_, or other Insect
Kind, and might gnaw its way into the Brain, through the _Os cribiforme_.
Of this he tells us from _Bartholine_, _Tandem cùm tabida obiisset,
statim aperto cranio præsentes Medici totam cerebelli substantiam, quæ ad
dexterum vergit, à reliquo corpore sejunctam, nigrâque tunicâ involutam
deprehenderunt: hæc tunica ruptæ, latentem Vermem vivum, & pilosum,
duobus punctis splendidis loco oculorum prodidit, ejusdem fere molis
cum reliquâ Cerebri portione, qui duarum horaram spacio supervixit._ B.
Verzas. Obs. Medicæ, p. 16.
_Hildanus_ tells us such another Story, _viz._ _Filius Theod. aust
der Roulen, Avunculi mei, diuturno vexabatur dolore capitis.——Deinde
febriculâ & sternutatione exortâ, ruptus est Abscessus circa os
cribrosum——& Vermis prorepsit._ By his Figure of it, the Maggot was an
Inch long, and full of Bristles. _Fabri Hildan. Cent._ 1. Obs.
_Galenus Wierus_ (Physician to the _Princ. Jul. & Cleve_) he saith, told
him, that he had, at divers Times, found Worms in the _Gall-bladder_ in
Persons he had opened at _Dusseldorp_. Id. ib. Obs. 60.
[o] See before _Book IV. Chap. 13. Note (c)._
[p] Some Insects lay up their Eggs in Clusters, as in Holes of Flesh,
and such Places, where it is necessary they should be crowded together;
which, no question, prevents their being too much dried up in dry Places,
and promotes their hatching. But,
[q] As for such as are not to be clustered up, great Order is used.
I have seen upon the Posts and Sides of Windows, little round Eggs,
resembling small Pearl, which produced small hairy Caterpillars, that
were very neatly and orderly laid. And to name no more, the _White
Butterfly_ lays its neat Eggs on the Cabbage Leaves in good Order,
always gluing one certain End of the Egg to the Leaf. I call them neat
Eggs, because if we view them in a Microscope, we shall find them very
curiously furrowed, and handsomely made and adorned.
[r] By Reason it would be endless to specify the various Generation of
Insects in the Water, I shall therefore (because it is little observed)
raise _Pliny_’s Instance of the _Gnat_, a mean and contemned Animal, but
a notable Instance of Nature’s Work, as he saith.
The first Thing considerable in the Generation of this Insect is (for
the Size of the Animal) its vast _Spawn_, being some of them above an
Inch long, and half a quarter Diameter; made to float in the Waters,
and tied to some Stick, Stone, or other fix’d Thing in the Waters, by
a small Stem, or Stalk. In this gelatine, transparent Spawn, the Eggs
are neatly laid; in some Spawns in a single, in some in a double spiral
Line, running round from end to end, as in Fig. 9, and 10; and in some
transversly, as Fig. 8.
When the Eggs are by the Heat of the Sun, and Warmth of the Season
hatched into small Maggots, these Maggots descend to the bottom, and
by means of some of the gelatine Matter of the Spawn (which they take
along with them) they stick to Stones, and other Bodies at the bottom,
and there make themselves little Cases or Cells, which they creep
into, and out of at Pleasure, until they are arrived to a more mature
_Nympha-State_, and can swim about here and there, to seek for what Food
they have occasion; at which Time, they are a kind of Red-worms, above
half an Inch long, as in Fig. 11.
Thus far this mean Insect is a good Instance of the divine Providence
towards it. But if we farther consider, and compare the three States
it undergoes after it is hatched, we shall find yet greater Signals of
the Creator’s Management, even in these meanest of Creatures. The three
States I mean, are its _Nympha-Vermicular_ State, its _Aurelia_, and
_Mature_-State, all as different as to Shape and Accoutrements, as if
the Insect was three different Animals. In its _Vermicular_-State, it is
a Red-Maggot, as I said, and hath a Mouth and other Parts accommodated
to Food: In its _Aurelia_-State it hath no such Parts, because it then
subsists without Food; but in its _Mature_, _Gnat_-State, it hath a
curious well-made Spear, to wound and suck the Blood of other Animals.
In its _Vermicular_-State, it hath a long Worm-like Body, and something
analogous to Fins or Feathers, standing erect near its Tail, and running
parallel with the Body, by means of which resisting the Waters, it is
enabled to swim about by Curvations, or flapping its Body, side-ways,
this way and that, as in Fig. 12.
But in its _Aurelia_-State, it hath a quite different Body, with a
_Club-Head_ (in which the Head, _Thorax_, and Wings of the _Gnat_ are
inclosed) a slender _Alvus_, and a neat _finny Tail_, standing at right
Angles with the Body, quite contrary to what it was before; by which
means, instead of easy flapping side-ways, it swims by rapid, brisk
Jirks, the quite contrary way; as is in some measure represented in Fig.
13. But when it becomes a _Gnat_, no finny Tail, no Club-Head, but all
is made in the most accurate manner for Flight and Motion in the Air, as
before it was for the Waters.
[s] See _Book IV. Chap. 13. Notes (n), (o)._
[t] Thus the Mouths and other Parts of the _Ichneumon-Wasps_ in _Book IV.
Chap. 13. Note (t)._ So the Feet of the _Gryllotalpa_, _ibid._ _Note (s)._
[u] See the last cited Places, _Note (o)._
[w] Of the textrine Art of the _Spider_, and its Parts serving to that
Purpose, see the last cited Place, _Note (x)._
Besides these, _Caterpillars_, and divers other Insects, can emit
Threads, or Webs for their Use. In this their _Nympha-State_, they secure
themselves from falling, and let themselves down from the Boughs of
Trees, and other high Places, with one of these Threads. And in the Cases
they weave, they secure themselves in their _Aurelia-State_.
And not only the Off-spring of the _Phalæna-Tribe_, but there are some
of the _Ichneumon-Fly_ Kind also, endowed with this textrine Art. Of
these I have met with two Sorts; one that spun a Milk-white, long, round,
silken Web, as big as the top of ones Fingers, not hollow within, as
many are, but filled throughout with Silk. These are woven round Bents,
Stalks of Ribwort, &c. in Meadows. The other is a lump of many yellow,
silken Cases, sticking confusedly together on Posts, under Cole-worts,
_&c._ These Webs contain in them, small, whitish Maggots; which turn
to a small, black, _Ichneumon-Fly_, with long, capillary _Antennæ_;
Tan-coloured Legs; long Wings reaching beyond their Body, with a black
Spot near the middle; the _Alvus_, like an Heart; and in some, a small
setaceous Tail. Some of these Flies were of a shining, beautiful green
Colour. I could not perceive any Difference, at least, not specifical,
between the Flies coming from those two Productions.
[x] I have often admired how _Wasps_, _Hornets_, _Ichneumon-Wasps_, and
other Insects that gather dry Materials for building their Nests, have
found a proper matter to cement and glue their Combs, and line their
Cells; which we find always sufficiently context and firm. But in all
Probability, this useful Material is in their own Bodies; as ’tis in
the _Tinea vestivora_, the _Cadew Worm_, and divers others. _Goedart_
observes of his _Eruca_, _Num._ xx. 6. that fed upon _Sallow-Leaves_,
that it made its Cell of the comminuted Leaves, glued together with its
own Spittle, _hæc pulveris aut arenæ instar comminuit, ac pituitoso
quodam sui corporis succo ita maceravit, ut inde accommodatum subeundæ
mutationi instanti locum sibi extruxerit. Domuncula hæc à communi Salicum
ligno nihil differre videbatur, nisi quòd longè esset durior, adeò ut
cultro vix disrumpi posset._
[y] _An ingenious Gentlewoman of my Acquaintance, Wife to a learned
Physician, taking much Pleasure to keep Silk-Worms, had once the
Curiosity to draw out one of the oval Cases, which the Silk-Worm
spins——into all the Silken Wire it was made up of, which, to the great
Wonder as well of her Husband, as her self,——appeared to be, by measure,
a great deal above 300 Yards, and yet weighed but two Grains and an
half._ Boyl Subtil. of Effluv. ch. 2.
[z] Since my penning this, I have met with the most sagacious
_Malpighi_’s Account of _Galls_, &c. and find his Descriptions to
be exceedingly accurate and true, having traced my self many of the
Productions he hath mentioned. But I find _Italy_ and _Sicily_ (his
Book _de Gallis_ being published long after he was made Professor
of _Messina_) more luxuriant in such Productions than _England_, at
least, than the Parts about _Upminster_ (where I live) are. For many,
if not most of those about us, are taken Notice of by him, and several
others besides that I never met with; although I have for many Years as
critically observed all the Excrescences, and other morbid Tumors of
Vegetables, as is almost possible, and do believe that few of them have
escaped me.
As to the Method how those _Galls_ and _Balls_ are produced, the most
simple, and consequently the most easy to be accounted for, is that in
the Gems of Oak, which may be called _Squamous-Oak-Cones_, _Capitula
squamata_, in _Malpighi_: Whose Description not exactly answering our
_English-Cones_ in divers Respects, I shall therefore pass his by, and
shew only what I have observed my self concerning them.
These _Cones_ are, in outward Appearance, perfectly like the Gems, only
vastly bigger; and indeed they are no other than the Gems, encreased in
Bigness, which naturally ought to be pushed out in Length: The Cause of
which Obstruction of the Vegetation is this: Into the very Heart of the
young tender Gem or Bud (which begins to be turgid in _June_, and to
shoot towards the latter end of that Month, or beginning of the next;
into this, I say) the Parent-Insect thrusts one or more Eggs, and not
perhaps without some venomous Ichor therewith. This Egg soon becomes
a Maggot, which eats it self a little Cell in the very Heart or Pith
of the Gem, which is the Rudiment of the Branch, together with its
Leaves and Fruit, as shall be hereafter shewn. The Branch being thus
wholly destroyed, or at least its Vegetation being obstructed, the Sap
that was to nourish it, is diverted to the remaining Parts of the Bud,
which are only the scaly Teguments; which by these Means grow large and
flourishing, and become a Covering to the Insect-Case, as before they
were to the tender Branch and its Appendage.
The _Case_ lying within this Cone, is at first but small, as the Maggot
included in it is, but by degrees, as the Maggot increaseth, so it
grows bigger, to about the Size of a large white Pease, long and round,
resembling the Shape of a small Acorn.
The _Insect_ it self, is (according to the modern Insectologers) of the
_Ichneumon-Fly_ Kind; with four Membranaceous _Wings_, reaching a little
beyond the Body, articulated _Horns_, a large _Thorax_, bigger than the
Belly; the _Belly_ short and conical; much like the Heart of Animals: The
_Legs_ partly whitish, partly black. The _Length_ of the Body from Head
to Tail, about ²⁄₁₀ of an Inch; its _Colour_, a very beautiful shining
Green, in some tending to a dark Copper-Colour. Figures both of the
Cones, Cases, and Insects, may be seen among _Malpighi_’s Cuts of Galls,
Tab. 13. and Tab. 20. Fig. 72. which Fig. 72. exhibits well enough some
others of the _Gall-Insects_, but its _Thorax_ is somewhat too short for
ours.
[aa] Not only the Willow, and some other Trees, but Plants also, as
_Nettles_, _Ground-Ivy_, &c. have Cases produced on their Leaves, by
the Injection of the Eggs of an _Ichneumon-Fly_. I have observed those
Cases always to grow in, or adjoining to some Rib of the Leaf, and their
Production I conceive to be thus, _viz._ The Parent-Insect, with its
stiff setaceous Tail, terebrates the Rib of the Leaf, when tender, and
makes Way for its Egg into the very Pith or Heart thereof, and probably
lays in therewith, some proper Juice of its Body, to pervert the regular
Vegetation of it. From this Wound arises a small Excrescence, which (when
the Egg is hatched into a Maggot) grows bigger and bigger, as the Maggot
increases, swelling on each Side the Leaf between the two Membranes, and
extending it self into the parenchymous Part thereof, until it is grown
as big as two Grains of Wheat. In this Case lies a small, white, rough
Maggot, which turns to an _Aurelia_, and afterwards to a very beautiful
green, small _Ichneumon-Fly_.
[bb] What I suspected my self, I find confirmed by _Malpighi_, who in his
exact and true Description of the Fly bred in the _Oaken Galls_, saith,
_Non sat fuit naturæ tam miro artificio Terebram seu Limam condidisse;
sed inflicto vulnere, vel excitato foramine infundendum exinde liquorem
intra Terebram condidit: quare fractâ per transversam muscarum terebrâ
frequentissimè, vivente animali, guttæ aliquot diaphani humoris
effluunt._ And a little after, he confirms, by ocular Observation,
what he imagin’d before, viz. _Semel prope Junii finem vidi Muscam,
qualem superiùs delineavi, insidentum quercinæ gemmæ, adhuc germinanti;
hærebat etenim foliola stabili ab apice hiantis gemmæ erumpenti;
& convulso in arcum corpore, terebram evaginabat, ipsamque sensam
immittebat; & tumefacto ventre circa terebræ radicem tumorem excitabat,
quem interpolatis vicibus remittebat. In folio igitur, avulsà Muscâ,
minima & diaphana reperii ejecta ova, simillima iis, quæ adhuc in tubis
supererant. Non licuit iterum idem admirari spectaculum, ~&c.~_
Somewhat like this, which _Malpighi_ saw, I had the good Fortune to
see my self once some Years ago: And that was, the beautiful, shining
_Oak-Ball Ichneumon_ strike its _Terebræ_ into an Oak-Apple divers Times,
no doubt to lay its Eggs therein. And hence I apprehend we see many
_Vermicules_ towards the Outside of many of the Oak-Apples, which I guess
were not what the Primitive Insects laid up in the Gem, from which the
Oak-Apple had its Rise, but some other supervenient, additional Insects,
laid in after the Apple was grown, and whilst it was tender and soft.
[cc] The _Aleppo-Galls_, wherewith we make Ink, may be reckoned of this
Number, being hard, and no other than Cases of Insects which are bred in
them; who when come to Maturity, gnaw their Way out of them; which is
the Cause of those little Holes observable in them. Of the Insects bred
in them, see _Philos. Transact._ Nᵒ. 245. Of this Number also are those
little smooth Cases, as big as large Pepper-Corns, growing close to the
Ribs under Oaken-Leaves, globous, but flattish; at first touched with
a blushing red, afterwards growing brown; hollow within, and an hard
thin Shell without. In this lieth commonly a rough, white Maggot, which
becomes a little long winged, black _Ichneumon-Fly_, that eats a little
Hole in the Side of the Gall, and so gets out.
[dd] For a Sample of the tender Balls, I shall choose the globous Ball,
as round, and some as big as small Musket-Bullets, growing close to the
Ribs, under Oaken-Leaves, of a greenish yellowish Colour, with a blush
of red; their Skin smooth, with frequent Risings therein. Inwardly
they are very soft and spongy; and in the very Center is a Case with a
white Maggot therein, which becomes an _Ichneumon-Fly_, not much unlike
the last. As to this Gall, there is one Thing I have observed somewhat
peculiar, and I may say providential, and that is, that the Fly lies
all the Winter in these Balls in its Infantile-State, and comes not
to its Maturity till the following Spring. In the Autumn, and Winter,
these Balls fall down with their Leaves to the Ground, and the Insect
inclosed in them is there fenced against the Winter Frosts, partly by
other Leaves falling pretty thick upon them, and especially by the thick,
parenchymous, spongy Walls, afforded by the _Galls_ themselves.
Another Sample shall be the large _Oak-Balls_, called _Oak-Apples_,
growing in the Place of the Buds, whose Generation, Vegetation and
Figure, may be seen in _Malpig. de Gallis_, p. 24. and Tab. 10. Fig. 33,
_&c._ Out of these Galls, he saith various Species of Flies come, but he
names only two, and they are the only two I ever saw come out of them:
_Frequenter_ (saith he) _subnigræ sunt muscæ brevi munitæ terebrâ. Inter
has aliquæ observantur aureæ, levi viridis tincturâ suffusæ, oblongâ
pollentes terebrâ._ These two differently coloured Flies, I take to be no
other than Male and Female of the same Species. I have not observed Tails
(which are their _Terebræ_) in all, as _Malpighi_ seems to intimate:
Perhaps they were hid in their _Thecæ_, and I could not discover them:
But I rather think there were none, and that those were the Males: But in
others, I have observed long, recurvous Tails, longer than their whole
Bodies. And these I take to be the Females. And in the _Oak-Apples_
themselves, I have seen the _Aureliæ_, some with, some without Tails. And
I must confess, ’twas not without Admiration as well as Pleasure, that
I have seen with what exact Neatness and Artifice, the Tail hath been
wrapt about the _Aurelia_, whereby it is secured from either annoying the
Insect, or being hurt it self.
[ee] See before _Note (z)._
[ff] As in the preceding Note.
[gg] Of the rough or hairy Excrescences, those on the _Briar_, or
_Dog-Rose_, are a good Instance. These _Spongiolæ villosæ_, as Mr. _Ray_,
_Gallæ rumosæ_, as Dr. _Malpighi_ calls them, are thus accounted for by
the latter; _Ex copiosis relictis ovis ita turbatur affluens ~[Rubi]~
succus, ut strumosa fiant complura tubercula simul confusè congesta,
quæ utriculorum seriebus, & fibrarum implicatione contexta, ramosas
propagines germinant, ita ut minima quasi sylva appareat. Qualibet
propago ramos, hinc inde villosos edit. Hinc inde pili pariter crumpunt,
~&c.~_
These Balls are a safe Repository to the Insect all the Winter in its
Vermicular-State. For the Eggs laid up, and hatched the Summer before,
do not come to mature Insects until the Spring following, as Mr. _Ray_
rightly observes in _Cat. Cantab._
As to the _Insects_ themselves, they are manifestly _Ichneumon-Flies_,
having four Wings, their _Alvus_ thick and large towards the Tail;
and tapering up till it is small and slender at its setting on to
the _Thorax_. But the _Alvi_ or Bellies are not alike in all, though
coloured alike. In some they are as is now described, and longer, without
_Terebræ_, or Tails; in some shorter with Tails: And in some yet shorter,
and thick, like the Belly of the _Ant_, or the Heart of Animals, as in
those before, _Note (z)._ But for a farther Description of them, I shall
refer to Mr. _Ray_, _Cat. Plant. circa Cantab._ under _Rosa Sylvest._
[hh] It being an Instance somewhat out of the Way, I shall pitch upon
it for an Example here, _viz._ The _gouty Swellings_ in the Body, and
the Branches of the _Blackberry-Bush_; of which _Malpighi_ hath given us
two good Cuts in Tab. 17. Fig. 62. The Cause of these is manifestly from
the Eggs of Insects laid in (whilst the Shoot is young and tender) as
far as the Pith, and in some Places not so deep; Which for the Reasons
before-mentioned, makes the young Shoots tumify, and grow knotty and
gouty.
The Insect that comes from hence is of the former Tribe, a small, shining
black _Ichneumon-Fly_, about a tenth of an Inch long; with jointed, red,
capillary Horns, four long Wings, reaching beyond the Body, a large
_Thorax_, red Legs, and a short, heart-like Belly. They hop like Fleas.
The Males are less than the Females; are very venereous, endeavouring
a _Coït_ in the very Box in which they are hatch’d; getting up on the
Females, and tickling and thumping them with their Breeches and Horns, to
excite them to Venery.
_The CONCLUSION._
And now these Things being seriously considered, what less can be
concluded, than that there is manifest Design and Forecast in this Case,
and that there must needs be some wise Artist, some careful, prudent
Conservator, that from the very Beginning of the Existence of this
Species of Animals, hath with great Dexterity and Forecast, provided for
its Preservation and Good? For what else could contrive and make such a
Set of curious Parts, exactly fitted up for that special Purpose: And
withal implant in the Body such peculiar Impregnations, as should have
such a strange uncouth Power on a quite different Rank of Creatures? And
lastly, what should make the Insect aware of this its strange Faculty and
Power, and teach it so cunningly and dextrously to employ it for its own
Service and Good?
[Illustration]
[Illustration]