HISTORY OF INSECTS, v ! \ I I x \ \ X \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ X And God made every thing that creep- \ eth upon the earth.— Genesis, I 25. CONCORD: JOHN W. MOORE & CO. 1832. Observe the insect race ordained to keep* The silent sabbath of a half year's sleep! Entomb'd beneath the filmy web they lie, And wait the influence of a kinder sky; When vernal sunbeams pierce the dark retreat, The heaving tomb distends with vital heat ; The full formed brood, impatient of their cell. Start from their trance and burst their silken sheik — Barbauld, THE HISTORY OF INSECTS Insects are so called from a separation in the middle of their bodies, seemingly cut into two parts, and joined together by a small ligature, as we see in wasps and common flies. However small and contemp- tible this class of beings may appear, at first thought yet, when we come to reflect, and carefully investigate, we shall be struck with wonder and as- tonishment, and shall discover, that the smallest gnat that buz- zes in the meadow, is as much a subject of admiration as the 4 largest elephant that ranges the forest, or the most huge whale which ploughs the deep; and when we consider the least crea- ture that we can imagine, myr- iads of which are too small to be discovered without the help of glasses, and that each of their bodies is made up of different organs or parts, by which they receive or retain nourishment, &c. with the power of action, how natural the exclamation, €i O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all. 55 Under these considerations, that they are the work of the same great, good, and Almighty hand that formed us, and that they are all capable of feeling pleasure and 5 pain, surely every little child, as well as older person, ought carefully to avoid every kind of cruelty to any kind of creature, great or small. The supreme court of Judi- cature at Athens punished a boy for putting out the eyes of a poor bird ; and parents and masters should never overlook an instance of cruelty to any thing that has life, however mi mite and seemingly contempti- ble the object may be, " I would not enter on my list of friends, (Though grac'd with polish'd manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility,) the man Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.'* Cowper , 6 FLEA. This very troublesome little animal multiplies very fast among old rags, dirt, straw, and litter, where hogs, cats or dogs sleep ; and in the hair and bris- tles of those creatures ; there- fore, as a means of avoiding such unwelcome neighbors, in the spring the cleanly farmer scrapes up the rubbish about his wood-pile, and around his house and barn, and removes it into his field ; where it also repays him by manuring his lands. They abound in warm coun- tries, particularly in the southern parts of France and Italy. When examined by a oiicros- cope, the flea is a pleasant ob- ject. The body is curiously adorned with a suit of polished armor, neatly jointed, and beset with a great number of sharp pins almost like the quills of a porcupine : it has a small head, large eyes, two horns or feelers, which proceed from the head, and four long legs from the breast ; they are very haixy and long, and have several joints, which fold as it were one with- in another. 8 GRASSHOPPER. Grasshoppers are too common to need description, as they abound almost wherever there is green grass. One summer on- ly is their period of life : they are hatched in the spring, and die in the fall; previous to which, they deposite their eggs in the earth, which the genial warmth of the next season bring to life. They are food for m«uy of the feathered race. DRAGON-FLY. Of these flies, which are cal- led by many, Spindles, there are various species. They all have two large eyes, covering the whole surface of the head. They fly very swiftly, and prey upon the wing, clearing the air of innumerable little flies. The greaj ones live about water, but the smaller are common among hedges, and about gardens, 10 SCORPION. J** 53 *. V ^s^^ / This is one cf the largest of the insect tribe. It is met with in different countries, and of va- rious sizes, from two or three inches to nearly a foot in length : it somewhat resembles a lobster, and casts its skin, as the lobster does its shell. Scorpions are common in hot countries: they are very bold and watchful: when any thing approaches, they erect their tails, and stand ready to inflict the direful sting. n In some parts of Italy and France, they are among the greatest pests that plague man- kind: they are very numerous, and are most common in old houses, in dry or decayed walls, and among furniture, insomuch that it is attended with much danger to remove the same: their sting is generally a very deadly poison, though not in all cases, owing to a difference of malignity of different ani- mals, or some other cause. In the time of the children of Israel, scorpions w r ere a plague in Egypt and Canaan, as ap- pears by the sacred writings. See Deuteronomy, viii. 15, and other passages. it HONEY-BEE. his is an extraordinary > curi- and remarkably industrious ous little insect to which mankind are indebted for one of the most palatable and wholesome sweets which nature affords ; and which was one of the choice ar- ticles with which the promised land was said to abound. In every hive of bees 3 there are three kinds: the queen, the drones and the laborers : of these last, there are by far the great- 13 est number: and as cold weath- er approaches, they drive from the hives and destroy the drones that have not labored in summer and will not let them eat in win- ter. If bees are examined through a glass hive, all appears at first like confusion ; but on a more careful inspection, every animal is found regularly em- ployed. It is very delightful, when the maple and other trees are in bloom, or the clover in the meadows, to be abroad and hear their busy hum. " Brisk as the busy bee among learning's flowers, Employ thy youthful sunshine hours." 14 ELEPHANT-BEETLE. The Elephant-beetle is the largest of this kind hitherto known, and is found in South America, particularly in Guinea, about the rivers Surinam and Oroonoko. It is of a black col- or, and the whole body is cov- ered with a shell, full as thick and as strong as that of a small crab. There is one preserved in the museum that measures more than six inches. 15 BUTTERFLY Of butterflies there are raanv kinds. How wonderful the va- rious changes of this class of insects! The butterflies lay their eggs: from these hatch out worms or catter- pillars, which change their skins several times, and finally, be- come aurelise, chrysales, 01 silk-worms, out of which come the beautiful butterflies. I A B C D E F H I J K L N O P Q R ' U V W X YZ&. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0.