by which they extract the juices from animal or vegetable substances. The proboscis of insects is a machine of a very complicated nature. In butterflies, the proboscis is situated precisely between the two eyes. Though some of them exceed three inches in length, they occupy but a small space. When a butterfly is not in quest of food, the proboscis is rolled up in a spiral form, similar to that of a watch-spring, each successive ring covering the one which precedes. The substance of the proboscis has some resemblance to that of horn. It tapers from the base to the extremity. It is composed of two similar and equal parts, each of which is concave, and, when joined, form three distinct tubes. Reaumur has rendered it probable, that these tubes enable the animals to extract the juices of plants, to conduct air into their bodies, and to convey the sensation of smelling. Hence the proboscis of insects is an instrument which serves them for a mouth, a nose, and a windpipe.

The upper part of the trunk or body of insects is called the thorax, and the under part the abdomen or belly. The abdomen contains the stomach and other viscera. It consists of several rings or segments, and is perforated with spiracula, or tubes, which supply the want of lungs. The abdomen is terminated by the tail, which, in some insects, is armed with a sting, a forceps, a bristle, or a kind of claw with a moveable thumb.

The legs are composed of three parts, connected to each other by joints, and represent the thighs, shanks, ankles, and feet of larger animals.

The wings of insects are so diversified in number, consistence, and colour, that Linné has made them the foundation of the seven orders or divisions into which he divides this numerous class of animals. Some insects are furnished with four, and others

9

with two wings, and some of them are entirely destitute of these instruments of motion.

The first order Linné distinguishes by the name of coleoptera, or those insects with four wings whose upper pair consist of a hard, crustaceous, or horny substance. These cover and defend the under pair, which are of a more soft and flexible texture. This order comprehends the whole of what is properly called scarabæi, or the beetle tribe. Like other winged insects, all the beetles live for some time in the form of caterpillars, or grubs:

See the proud giant of the beetle race ;
What shining arms his polished limbs enchase!
Like some stern warrior formidably bright
His steely sides reflect a gleaming light:
On his large forehead spreading horns he wears,
And high in air the branching antlers bears:
O'er many an inch extends his wide domain,
And his rich treasury swells with hoarded grain.

BARBAULD.

It is here worthy of remark, that the same animals, when in the state of caterpillars, live in a different manner, and feed on substances of a very dif ferent kind from those they consume after their transformation into flies. The caterpillars of the garden-beetle, cockchafer, &c. lead a solitary life, under ground, and consume the roots of plants. Those of others feed upon putrid carcases, every kind of flesh, dried skins, rotten wood, the dung of men and quadrupeds, and the small insects called pucerons, or vine-fretters. But after their transformation into flies, many of the same animals, which formerly fed upon dung and putrid carcases, are nourished by the purest nectareous juices extracted from fruits and flowers. The creatures themselves, with regard to what may be termed individual animation, have suffered no alteration.

But the fabric of their bodies, their instruments of motion, and the organs by which they take their food, are materially changed. This change of structure, though the animals retain their identity, produces the greatest diversity in their manners, their economy, and the powers of their bodies. In the caterpillar state, these animals are extremely voracious, and, in many instances, acquire a greater magnitude than they possess after transformation; but they are incapable of multiplying their species, and of receiving nourishment from the same kinds of food. Besides, many caterpillars, previous to their transformation, live even in a different element. The ephemeron fly, when in the caterpillar state, lives no less than three years in the water, and extracts its nourishment from earth and clay. After transformation, this animal seldom exists longer than one day, during which the species is propagated, and myriads of eggs are deposited on the surface of the water. These eggs produce worms or caterpillars, and the same process goes perpetually round.

The second order of insects, denominated hemiptera, have likewise four wings. But the upper pair, instead of being hard and horny, rather resemble fine vellum. They cover the body horizontally, and do not meet in a direct line, forming a ridge or suture, as in the beetle tribe. The whole of this order are furnished with a proboscis or trunk for extracting their food.

This order comprehends several genera or kinds, some of which I shall mention in a cursory manner. -The blatta, or cockroach, is an animal which avoids the light, and is particularly fond of meal, bread, putrid bodies, and the roots of plants. It frequents bakers shops and cellars, and flies the approach of danger with great swiftness.-The head

of the mantis, or camel-cricket, appears from its continual nodding motion, to be slightly attached to the thorax. This insect is regarded by the Africans as a sacred animal; because it frequently assumes a praying or supplicating posture, by resting on its hind feet, and elevating and folding the first pair. The gryllus comprehends a number of species, some of which are called grasshoppers, others locusts, and others crickets. The caterpillars of the grylli, have a great resemblance to the perfect insects, and, in general, live under ground. Many of these insects feed upon the leaves of plants. Others, which live in houses, prefer bread, and every kind of farinaceous substance.-The foreheads of several of the genus, called fulgora, or fire-fly, especially of those that inhabit China, and other hot climates, emit a very lively shining light during the night, which often alarms those who are unacquainted with the cause of the appearance. -To this insect Thomson alludes in his view of the torrid zone:

From Menam's orient stream, that nightly shines
With insect lamps.

And Mrs. Barbauld:

Some shoot like living stars, athwart the night,
And scatter from their wings a vivid light,

To guide the Indian to his tawny loves,

As thro' the woods with cautious steps he moves.

The caterpillars of some of the genus called cicada, or flea-locust, discharge a kind of froth or saliva from the anus and pores of the body, under which they conceal themselves from the rapacity of birds and other enemies.-The papa, or water scorpion, frequents stagnant waters. It lives chiefly on aquatic insects, and is exceedingly voracious.-Many species of the cimex, or bug, feed upon the juices of

plants, and others upon the blood of animals. Some of them are found in waters, and others frequent houses, among which, though it wants wings, is the bed-bug, a pestiferous insect, which is too well known, and too generally diffused. The bugs differ from other insects by their softness; and most of them emit a very fetid smell.-The insect called aphis, or tree-louse, is very common. There are a great many species, denominated from the trees and plants which they infest: they are viviparous in summer, and oviparous in autumn. Numbers of those called vine-fretters are devoured by the ants, on account, it is supposed, of a sweet liquor with which their bodies are perpetually moistened. The caterpillars of the chermes, have six feet, and are generally covered with a hairy or woolly substance. The winged insects leap or spring with great agility, and infest a number of different trees and plants: the females, by means of a tube at the termination of their bodies, insert their eggs under the surface of the leaves, and the worms, when hatched, give rise to those tubercles, or galls, with which the leaves of the ash, the fir, and other trees, are sometimes almost entirely covered.-I shall proceed further in this subject, and finish the remaining orders of the insect tribes in my next paper.

VOL. I.