NATURAL HISTORY

OF

INSECTS.

THE name of Insect is derived from the circumstance of the individuals which bear it having, in general, a separation in the middle of their bodies, by which they are cut, as it were into two parts. Insects breathe through pores arranged along their sides, and have no heart or arteries. Nearly all of them, with the exception of spiders, and a few others of the apterous tribe, undergo three changes at different periods of their existence. The animal is first produced as an egg; from these eggs proceed the larvæ, grubs, or caterpillars; which, as soon as they are perfected, take a new form, that of the pupa or chrysalis; and lastly, from the chrysalis emerges the perfect animal.

By Linnæus Insects are divided into seven orders:

1. Coleopterous Insects, so called from two Greek words, which signify the wings being sheathed. These have crustaceous elytra, or shells, which shut together, and form a longitudinal suture down the back. Such as Beetles, Lady Birds, and Earwigs.

2. Hemipterous Insects, of which the Cockroach and Locust may be taken as specimens. They are so named because their upper wings are half crustaceous and half membranaceous, not divided by a longitudinal suture, but incumbent on or cros. ed over each other.

3. Lepidopterous Insects, or scaly-winged, because the four wings are covered with fine scales, seeming like powder or meal. This class includes Butterflies and Moths.

4. Neuropterous Insects. These take their denomination from their having four membranaceous, transparent, naked wings, in which the membranes cross each other like network; as is to be seen in the Dragon Fly. The tail is stingless.

5. Hymenopterous Insects. These, in general, have four membranaceous naked wings, not so much resembling network as the wings of the Neuroptera, and, except in the male, the tail is armed with a sting. The Bee, the Wasp, and the Ant, are of this tribe. In some of the genera, the neuters, and in others the males and females are without wings.

6. Dipterous Insects. These, as may be seen in the House Fly and the Gnat, have only two wings, each of which has a poiser or balancer.

7. Apterous Insects. Such as are wingless. An order which includes many tribes: among these are the Flea, the Spider, the Scorpion, the Crab, and the Centipede.

THIS insect, which is the largest that Great Britain produces, belongs, in the Linnæan classification, to the order Coleoptera. From the point of its jaws to the extremity of its abdomen, it sometimes measures three inches. It is of a dark brown colour, with the exception of the jaws, which are occasionally as red as coral. When this occurs the animal has a very beautiful appearance. The Stag Beetle may easily be distinguished by these jaws, which resemble the horns of a stag. In some districts of the south of England it is very common in oak and willow trees. It flies abroad, and feeds upon the leaves, only in the evening, and is principally seen in the month of July. The mandibles, those of the male in particular, are so strong that it can pinch with them severely. It is a popular belief in Germany that this insect carries burning coals into houses, by means of its jaws, and that many dreadful fires have been caused by this singular propensity. On this subject, however, we may be allowed to be incredulous. One very curious circumstance respecting the Stag Beetle is an ascertained fact. Mr. Bingley frequently found several of their heads near together, and alive, while the trunks and abdomens were no where to be seen; and at other times only the abdomens were gone, and the heads and

trunks were left. As the insect does not fly until the birds have retired to rest, it appears to be difficult to account for this. A friend of Mr. Bingley suggested that, as they are among the fiercest of the insect tribes, it might arise from their fighting with each other; but he confessed himself at a loss to discover what became of the abdomens. Indeed, his mode of explaining the matter strongly reminds us of the Irishman's story of two cats, which being shut up in a garret at night, fought and devoured each other; so that, in the morning, nothing was to be found of them but the tip of an ear and part of a tail.

THIS well known and mischievous insect is of the Beetle tribe. Towards sunset it may be seen flying about places where there are trees, and it not unfrequently strikes the faces of persons who are walking. It eats the leaves of all kinds of fruit trees, and of the willow, beech, lime, and sycamore. Being excessively voracious, Cockchafers, when numerous, become an absolute scourge. In 1688 the county of Galway was infested by such innumerable swarms of them that they entirely darkened the air for the space of two or three square miles, and made the trees, for a circuit of many miles, as bare at midsummer as though it had been the depth of winter. It is, however, not often that they are seen in such numbers. But, in their larva state, they every year do very serious injury to the farmer. In that form they live four years under ground, during the

whole of which time they live on the roots of trees and plants, and, as they are insatiably voracious, their ravages are often highly destructive. Crowds of

them work between the soil and the turf in rich meadows, and so completely devour the roots of the grass that the turf will roll up as easily as if it had been pared off with a turfing knife. Many acres of beautiful meadow land are thus ruined. Were it not for the birds, particularly the rooks and jays, the Cockchafer would multiply to such a degree as to become an intolerable nuisance.

THE above insect is the largest of its species, and is almost the size of a hen's egg. It is a native and plague of the warm parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. This, and indeed all the other species of Cockroaches, are a race of pestiferous beings, equally noisome and mischievous to natives or strangers. These filthy and voracious insects fly out in the evenings, plunder and defile all kinds of victuals, dressed and undressed, and damage all sorts of clothing, every thing made of leather, books, paper, and various other articles. They fly into the flame of candles, and sometimes into the dishes; and they are very fond of ink