An Introduction to Entomology E-Book

William Kirby

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• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 727

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

One principal cause of the little attention paid to Entomology in this country, has doubtless been the ridicule so often thrown upon the science. The botanist, sheltered now by the sanction of fashion, as formerly by the prescriptive union of his study with medicine, may dedicate his hours to mosses and lichens without reproach; but in the minds of most men, the learned as well as the vulgar, the idea of the trifling nature of his pursuit is so strongly associated with that of the diminutive size of its objects, that an entomologist is synonymous with every thing futile and childish. Now, when so many other roads to fame and distinction are open, when a man has merely to avow himself a botanist, a mineralogist, or a chemist-a student of classical literature or of political economy-to ensure attention and respect, there are evidently no great attractions to lead him to a science which in nine companies out of ten with which he may associate promises to signalize him only as an object of pity or contempt. Even if he have no other aim than self-gratification, yet "the sternest stoic of us all wishes at least for some one to enter into his views and feelings, and confirm him in the opinion which he entertains of himself:" but how can he look for sympathy in a pursuit unknown to the world, except as indicative of littleness of mind?

Leseprobe

An Introduction to Entomology

An Introduction to EntomologyPREFACE.LETTER I.LETTER II.LETTER III.LETTER IV.LETTER V.LETTER VI.LETTER VII.LETTER VIII.LETTER IX.LETTER X.LETTER XI.LETTER XII.LETTER XIII.LETTER XIV.LETTER XV.FOOTNOTES:NotesCopyright

An Introduction to Entomology

William Kirby, William Spence

PREFACE.

One principal cause of the little attention paid to Entomology in this country, has doubtless been the ridicule so often thrown upon the science. The botanist, sheltered now by the sanction of fashion, as formerly by the prescriptive union of his study with medicine, may dedicate his hours to mosses and lichens without reproach; but in the minds of most men, the learned as well as the vulgar, the idea of the trifling nature of his pursuit is so strongly associated with that of the diminutive size of its objects, that anentomologistis synonymous with every thing futile and childish. Now, when so many other roads to fame and distinction are open, when a man has merely to avow himself a botanist, a mineralogist, or a chemist—a student of classical literature or of political economy—to ensure attention and respect, there are evidently no great attractions to lead him to a science which in nine companies out of ten with which he may associate promises to signalize him only as an object of pity or contempt. Even if he have no other aim than self-gratification, yet "the sternest stoic of us all wishes at least for some one to enter into his views and feelings, and confirm him in the opinion which he entertains of himself:" but how can he look for sympathy in a pursuit unknown to the world, except as indicative of littleness of mind[1]?Yet such are the genuine charms of this branch of the study of nature, that here as well as on the continent, where, from being equally slighted, Entomology now divides the empire with her sister Botany, this obstacle would not have been sufficient to deter numbers from the study, had not another more powerful impediment existed—the want of a popular and comprehensive Introduction to the science. While elementary books on Botany have been multiplied amongst us without end and in every shape, Curtis's translation of theFundamenta Entomologiæ, published in 1772; Yeats'sInstitutions of Entomology, which appeared the year after; and Barbut'sGenera Insectorum, which came out in 1781—the two former in too unattractive, and the latter in too expensive a form for general readers—are the only works professedly devoted to this object, which the English language can boast.Convinced that this was the chief obstacle to the spread of Entomology in Britain, the authors of the present work resolved to do what was in their power to remove it, and to introduce their countrymen to a mine of pleasure, new, boundless, and inexhaustible, and which, to judge from their own experience—formed in no contracted field of comparison—they can recommend as possessing advantages and attractions equal to those held forth by most other branches of human learning.The next question was, in what way they should attempt to accomplish this intention. If they had contented themselves with the first suggestion that presented itself, and merely given a translation of one of the many Introductions to Entomology extant in Latin, German and French, adding only a few obvious improvements, their task would have been very easy; but the slightest examination showed that, in thus proceeding, they would have stopped far short of the goal which they were desirous of reaching.—In the technical department of the science they found much confusion, and numerous errors and imperfections—the same name sometimes applied to parts anatomically quite different, and different names to parts essentially the same, while others of primary importance were without any name at all. And with reference to the anatomy and physiology of insects, they could no where meet with a full and accurate generalization of the various facts connected with these subjects, scattered here and there in the pages of the authors who have studied them.They therefore resolved to begin, in some measure,de novo—to institute a rigorous revision of the terms employed, making such additions and improvements as might seem to be called for; and to attempt a more complete and connected account of the existing discoveries respecting the anatomical and physiological departments of the science than has yet been given to the world:—and to these two points their plan at the outset was limited.It soon, however, occurred to them, that it would be of little use to write a book which no one would peruse; and that in the present age of love for light reading, there could not be much hope of leading students to the dry abstractions of the science, unless they were conducted through the attractive portal of the economy and natural history of its objects. To this department, therefore, they resolved to devote the first and most considerable portion of their intended work, bringing into one point of view, under distinct heads, the most interesting discoveries of Reaumur, De Geer, Bonnet, Lyonet, the Hubers, &c., as well as their own individual observations, relative to the noxious and beneficial properties of insects; their affection for their young; their food, and modes of obtaining it; their habitations; societies; &c. &c.: and they were the more induced to adopt this plan, from the consideration, that, though many of the most striking of these facts have before been presented to the English reader, a great proportion are unknown to him; and that no similar generalization (if a slight attempt towards it in Smellie'sPhilosophy of Natural History, and a confessedly imperfect one in Latreille'sHistoire Naturelle des Crustacés et des Insectesbe excepted) has ever been attempted in any language.—Thus the entire work would be strictly on the plan of thePhilosophia Entomologicaof Fabricius, only giving a much greater extent to theŒconomiaandUsus, and adverting to these in the first place instead of in the last.The epistolary form was adopted, not certainly from any idea of their style being particularly suited to a mode of writing so difficult to keep from running into incongruities: but simply because this form admitted of digressions and allusions called for in a popular work, but which might have seemed misplaced in a stricter kind of composition;—because it is better suited to convey those practical directions, which in some branches of the pursuit the student requires;—and lastly, because by this form, the objection against speaking of the manners and economy of insects before entering upon the definition of them, and explaining the terms of the science—a retrograde course, which they have chosen from their desire to present the most alluring side of the science first—is in great measure, if not wholly, obviated.Such is the plan which the authors chalked out for themselves—a plan which in the execution they have found so much more extensive than they calculated upon, that, could they have foreseen the piles of volumes through which it has entailed upon them the labour of wading, often to glean scarcely more than a single fact—the numerous anatomical and technological investigations which it has called for—and the long correspondence, almost as bulky as the entire work, unavoidably rendered necessary by the distant residence of the parties—they would have shrunk from an undertaking, of which the profit, if by great chance there should be any, could not be expected to repay even the cost of books required in it, and from which any fame must necessarily be confined to a very limited circle. But having entered upon it, they have persevered; and if they succeed in their grand aim, that of making converts amongst their countrymen to a study equally calculated for promoting the glory of God and the delight and profit of man, they will not deem the labour of the leisure hours of six years ill bestowed.And here it may be proper to observe, that one of their first and favourite objects has been to direct the attention of their readers "from nature up to nature's God." For, when they reflected upon the fatal use which has too often been made of Natural History, and that from the very works and wonders of God, some philosophists, by an unaccountable perversion of intellect, have attempted to derive arguments either against his being and providence, or against the Religion revealed in the Holy Scriptures, they conceived they might render some service to the most important interests of mankind, by showing how every department of the science they recommend illustrates the great truths of Religion, and proves that the doctrines of the Word of God, instead of being contradicted, are triumphantly confirmed by his Works."To see all things in God" has been accounted one of the peculiar privileges of a future state; and in this present life, "to see God in all things," in the mirror of the creation to behold and adore the reflected glory of the Creator, is no mean attainment; and it possesses this advantage, that thus we sanctify our pursuits, and, instead of loving the creatures for themselves, are led by the survey of them and their instincts to the love of Him who made and endowed them.Of their performance of the first part of their plan, in which there is the least room for originality, it is only necessary for the authors to say that they have done their best to make it as comprehensive, as interesting, and as useful as possible: but it is requisite to enter somewhat more fully into what has been attempted in the anatomical, physiological, and technical parts of the work.As far as respects the general physiology andinternalanatomy of insects, they have done little more than bring together and combine the observations of the naturalists who have attended to these branches of the science: but theexternalanatomy they have examined for themselves through the whole class, and, they trust, not without some new light being thrown upon the subject; particularly by pointing out and giving names to many parts never before noticed.In theTerminology, or what, to avoid the barbarism of a word compounded of Latin and Greek, they would beg to call theOrismologyof the science, they have endeavoured to introduce throughout a greater degree of precision and concinnity—dividing it intogeneralandpartialOrismology;—under the former head defining such terms as relate toSubstance,Resistance,Density,Proportion,Figure,Form,Superficies, (under which are introducedSculpture,Clothing,Colour, &c.)Margin,Termination,Incision,Ramification,Division,Direction,Situation,Connection,Arms, &c.; and under the latter those that relate to the body and its parts and members, considered in its great subdivisions ofHead,Trunk, andAbdomen. In short, they may rest their claim of at least aiming at considerable improvement in this department upon the great number of new terms, and alterations of old ones, which they have introduced—in external Anatomy alone falling little short of 150. If it should be thought by any one that they have made too many changes, they would remind him of the advice of Bergman to Morveau, when reforming the nomenclature of Chemistry, the soundness of which Dugald Stewart has recognised—"Ne faites grace à aucune dénomination impropre. Ceux qui savent déjà, entendront toujours; ceux qui ne savent pas encore, entendront plutôt."Throughout the whole publication, wherever any fact of importance not depending on their own authority is mentioned, a reference to the source whence it has been derived is generally given; so that, if the work should have no other value, it will possess that of saving much trouble to future inquirers, by serving as an index to direct them in their researches.The authors are perfectly sensible that, notwithstanding all their care and pains, many imperfections will unavoidably remain in their work. There is no science to which the adage,Dies diem docet, is more strikingly applicable than to Natural History. New discoveries are daily made, and will be made it is probable to the end of time; so that whoever flatters himself that he can produce a perfect work in this department will be miserably disappointed. The utmost that can reasonably be expected from naturalists is to keep pace with the progress of knowledge, and this the authors have used their best diligence to accomplish. Every new year since they took the subject in hand up to the very time when the first sheets were sent to the press, numerous corrections and alterations have suggested themselves; and thus they are persuaded it would be were they to double the period of delay prescribed by Horace. But Poetry and Natural History are on a different footing; and though an author can plead little excuse for giving his verses to the world while he sees it possible to polish them to higher excellence, the naturalist, if he wishes to promote the extension of his science, must be content to submit his performances to the public disfigured by numerous imperfections.In the introductory letter several of the advantages to be derived from the study of Entomology are pointed out; but there is one, which, though it could not well have been insisted upon in that place, is too important to be passed over without notice—its value in the education of youth.All modern writers on this momentous subject unite in recommending in this view, Natural History: and if "the quality of accurate discrimination—the ready perception of resemblances amongst diversities, and still more the quick and accurate perception of diversity in the midst of resemblances—constitutes one of the most important operations of the understanding; if it be indeed the foundation of clear ideas, and the acquisition of whatever can be truly called knowledge depends most materially on the possession of it:"—if "the best logic be that which teaches us to suspend our judgements;" and "the art of seeing, so useful, so universal, and yet so uncommon, be one of the most valuable a man can possess,"—there can be no doubt of the judiciousness of their advice. Now of all the branches of Natural History, Entomology is unquestionably the best fitted for thus disciplining the mind of youth; and simply from these circumstances, that its objects have life, are gifted with surprising instincts admirably calculated to attract youthful attention, and are to be met with every where. It is not meant to undervalue the good effects of the study of Botany or Mineralogy: but it is self-evident that nothing inanimate can excite such interest in the mind of a young person as beings endowed with vitality, exercising their powers and faculties in so singular a way; which, as Reaumur observes, are not only alive themselves, but confer animation upon the leaves, fruits, and flowers that they inhabit; which every walk offers to view; and on which new observations may be made without end.Besides these advantages, no study affords a fairer opportunity of leading the young mind by a natural and pleasing path to the great truths of Religion, and of impressing it with the most lively ideas of the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator.Not that it is recommended to make children collectors of insects, nor that young people, to the neglect of more important duties and pursuits, should generally become professed Entomologists; but, if the former be familiarized with their names, manners, and economy, and the latter initiated into their classification, it will be an excellent method of strengthening their habits of observation, attention, and memory, equal perhaps, in this respect, to any other mental exercise: and then, like Major Gyllenhal, who studied Entomology under Thunberg about 1770, and after an interval of twenty years devoted to the service of his country, resumed his favourite pursuit with all the ardour of youth, and is at this time giving to the world a description of the insects of Sweden invaluable for its accuracy and completeness—they would be provided in their old age with an object capable not merely of keeping off thattædium vitæso often inseparable from the relinquishment of active life, but of supplying an unfailing fund of innocent amusement, an incentive to exercise, and consequently no mean degree of health and enjoyment.Some, who, with an ingenious author[2], regard as superfluous all pains to show the utility of Natural History in reference to the common purposes of life, asking "if it be not enough to open a source of copious and cheap amusement, which tends to harmonize the mind, and elevate it to worthy conceptions of nature and its Author? if a greater blessing to a man can be offered than happiness at an easy rate unalloyed by any debasing mixture?"—may think the earnestness displayed on this head, and the length which has been gone in refuting objections, needless. But Entomology is so peculiarly circumstanced, that without removing these obstacles, there could be no hope of winning votaries to the pursuit. Pliny felt the necessity of following this course in the outset of his book which treats on insects, and a similar one has been originally called for in introducing the study even to those countries where the science is now most honoured. In France, Reaumur, in each of the successive volumes of his immortal work, found it essential to seize every opportunity of showing that the study of insects is not a frivolous amusement, nor devoid of utility, as his countrymen conceived it; and in Germany Sulzer had to traverse the same road, telling us, in proof of the necessity of this procedure, that on showing his works on insects with their plates to two very sensible men, one commended him for employing his leisure hours in preparing prints that would amuse children and keep them out of mischief, and the other admitted that they might furnish very pretty patterns for ladies' aprons! And though in this country things are not now quite so bad as they were when Lady Glanville's will was attempted to be set aside on the ground of lunacy, evinced by no other act than her fondness for collecting insects, and Ray had to appear at Exeter on the trial as a witness of her sanity[3], yet nothing less than line upon line can be expected to eradicate the deep-rooted prejudices which prevail on this subject. "Old impressions," as Reaumur has well observed, "are with difficulty effaced. They are weakened, they appear unjust even to those who feel them, at the moment they are attacked by arguments which are unanswerable; but the next instant the proofs are forgotten, and the perverse association resumes its empire."The authors do not know that any curiosity will be excited to ascertain what share has been contributed to the work by each of them; but if there should, it is a curiosity they must be excused from gratifying. United in the bonds of a friendship, which, though they have to thank Entomology for giving birth to it, is founded upon a more solid basis than mere community of scientific pursuits, they wish that, whether blame or praise is the fate of their labours, it may be jointly awarded. All that they think necessary to state is, that the composition of each of the different departments of the work has been, as nearly as possible, divided between them;—that though the letter, or series of letters, on any particular subject, has been usually undertaken by one, some of the facts and illustrations have generally been supplied by the other, and there are a few to which they have jointly contributed;—and that, throughout, the facts for which no other authority is quoted, are to be considered as resting upon that of one or other of the authors, but not always of him, who, from local allusions, may be conceived the writer of the letter in which they are introduced, as the matter furnished by each to the letters of the other must necessarily be given in the person of the supposed writer.In acknowledging their obligations to their friends, the first place is due to Simon Wilkin, Esq. of Costessey near Norwich, to whose liberality they are indebted for almost all the plates which illustrate and adorn the work; most of which have been drawn and engraved by his artist Mr. John Curtis, whose intimate acquaintance with the subject has enabled him to give to the figures an accuracy which they could not have received from one less conversant with the science. Nor is the reader less under obligation to Mr. Wilkin's liberality than the authors, who, if the drawings, &c. had been to be paid for, must necessarily have contented themselves with giving a much smaller number.To Alexander MacLeay, Esq. they are under particular obligations, for the warm interest he has all along taken in the work, the judicious advice he has on many occasions given, the free access in which he has indulged the authors to his unrivalled cabinet and well-stored library, and the numerous other attentions and accommodations by which he has materially assisted them in its progress.To the other friends who have kindly aided them in this undertaking in any way, they beg here to offer their best thanks.

LETTER I.

Dear Sir,

I cannot wonder that an active mind like yours should experience no small degree of tedium in a situation so far removed, as you represent your new residence to be, from "the busy hum of men." Nothing certainly can compensate for the want of agreeable society; but since your case in this respect admits of no remedy but patience, I am glad you are desirous of turning your attention to some pursuit which may amuse you in the intervals of severer study, and in part supply the void of which you complain. I am not a little flattered that you wish to be informed which class in the three kingdoms of nature is, in my opinion, most likely to answer your purpose; at the same time intimating that you feel inclined to give the preference to Entomology, provided some objections can be satisfactorily obviated, which you have been accustomed to regard as urged with a considerable semblance of reason against the cultivation of that science.

Mankind in general, not excepting even philosophers, are prone to magnify, often beyond its just merit, the science or pursuit to which they have addicted themselves, and to depreciate any that seems to stand in competition with their favourite: like the redoubted champions of romance, each thinks himself bound to take the field against every one that will not subscribe to the peerless beauty and accomplishments of his own Dulcinea. In such conflict for pre-eminence I know no science that, in this country, has come off worse than Entomology: her champions hitherto have been so few, and their efforts so unavailing, that all her rival sisters have been exalted above her: and I believe there is scarcely any branch of Natural History that has had fewer British admirers. While Botany boasts of myriads, she, though not her inferior either in beauty, symmetry, or grace, has received the homage of a very slender train indeed. Since therefore the merits of Entomology have been so little acknowledged, you will not deem it invidious if I advocate the cause of this distressed damsel, and endeavour to effect her restoration to her just rights, privileges, and rank.

Things that are universally obvious and easy of examination, as they are the first that fall under our notice, so are they also most commonly those which we first feel an inclination to study; while, on the contrary, things that must be sought for in order to be seen, and which when sought for avoid the approach and inquiring eye of man, are often the last to which he directs his attention. The vegetable kingdom stands in the former predicament. Flora with a liberal hand has scattered around us her charming productions; they every where meet and allure us, enchanting us by their beauty, regaling us by their fragrance, and interesting us as much by their subservience to our luxuries and comfort, as to the necessary support and well-being of our life. Beasts, birds, and fishes also, in some one or other of these respects, attract our notice; but insects, unfortunate insects, are so far from attracting us, that we are accustomed to abhor them from our childhood. The first knowledge that we get of them is as tormentors; they are usually pointed out to us by those about us as ugly, filthy, and noxious creatures; and the whole insect world, butterflies perhaps and some few others excepted, are devoted by one universal ban to proscription and execration, as fit only to be trodden under our feet and crushed: so that often, before we can persuade ourselves to study them, we have to remove from our minds prejudices deeply rooted and of long standing.

Another principal reason which has contributed to keep Entomology in the back ground arises from the diminutive size of the objects of which it treats. Being amongst the most minute of nature's productions, they do not so readily catch the eye of the observer; and when they do, mankind in general are so apt to estimate the worth and importance of things by their bulk, that because we usually measure them by the duodecimals of an inch instead of by the foot or by the yard, insects are deemed too insignificant parts of the creation, and of too little consequence to its general welfare, to render them worthy of any serious attention or study. What small foundation there is for such prejudices and misconception, I shall endeavour to show in the course of our future correspondence; my object now, as the champion and advocate of Entomology, is to point out to you her comparative advantages, and to remove the veil which has hitherto concealed those attractions, and that grace and beauty, which entitle her to equal admiration at least with her sister branches of Natural History.

In estimating the comparative value of the study of any department in this branch of science, we ought to contrast it with others, as to the rank its objects hold in the scale of being; the amusement and instruction which the student may derive from it; and its utility to society at large. With respect to public utility, the study of each of the three kingdoms may perhaps be allowed to stand upon nearly an equal footing; I shall not, therefore, enter upon that subject till I come to consider the questionCui bono?and to point out the uses of Entomology, but confine myself now to the two first of these circumstances.

As to rank, I must claim for the entomologist some degree of precedence before the mineralogist and the botanist. The mineral kingdom, whose objects are neither organized nor sentient, stands certainly at the foot of the scale. Next above this is the vegetable, whose lovely tribes, though not endued with sensation, are organized. In the last and highest place ranks the animal world, consisting of beings that are both organized and sentient. To this scale of precedence the great modern luminary of Natural History, notwithstanding that Botany was always his favourite pursuit, has given his sanction, acknowledging in the preface to hisFauna Suecica, that although the vegetable kingdom is nobler than the mineral, yet the animal is more excellent than the vegetable. Now it is an indisputable axiom, I should think, that the more exalted the object the more excellent the study. By this observation, however, I would by no means be thought to depreciate or discountenance the study either of plants or minerals. All the works of our Creator are great, and worthy of our attention and investigation, the lowest in the scale as well as the highest, the most minute and feeble, as well as those that exceed in magnitude and might. Nor ought those whose inclination or genius leads them to one department, to say to those who prefer another—"we have no need of you"—for each in his place, by diffusing the knowledge of his works and adding to the stock of previous discoveries, contributes to promote the glory of the Great Architect of the universe and the good of his creatures.

It is not my wish to claim for my favourite science more than of right belongs to her; therefore, when the question is concerning rank, I must concede to the higher orders of animals, I mean Fishes, Amphibia, Birds, and Quadrupeds, their due priority and precedence. I shall only observe here, that there may exist circumstances which countervail rank, and tend to render the study of a lower order of beings more desirable than that of a higher: when, for instance, the objects of the higher study are not to be come at or preserved without great difficulty and expense; when they are few in number; or, when they are already well ascertained and known: circumstances which attach to the study of those animals that precede insects, while they do not attach to the study of insects themselves.

With regard to the amusement and instruction of the student, much doubtless may be derived from any one of the sciences alluded to: but Entomology certainly is not behind any of her sisters in these respects; and if you are fond of novelty, and anxious to make new discoveries, she will open to you a more ample field for these than either Botany or the higher branches of Zoology.

A new vertebrate animal or plant is seldom to be met with even by those who have leisure and opportunity for extensive researches; but if you collect insects, you will find, however limited the manor upon which you can pursue your game, that your efforts are often rewarded by the capture of some non-descript or rarity at present not possessed by other entomologists, for I have seldom seen a cabinet so meagre as not to possess some unique specimen. Nay, though you may have searched every spot in your neighbourhood this year, turned over every stone, shaken every bush or tree, and fished every pool, you will not have exhausted its insect productions. Do the same another and another, and new treasures will still continue to enrich your cabinet. If you leave your own vicinity for an entomological excursion, your prospects of success are still further increased; and even if confined in bad weather to your inn, the windows of your apartment, as I have often experienced, will add to your stock. If a sudden shower obliges you at any time to seek shelter under a tree, your attention will be attracted, and the tedium of your station relieved, where the botanist could not hope to find even a new lichen or moss, by the appearance of several insects, driven there perhaps by the same cause as yourself, that you have not observed before. Should you, as I trust you will, feel a desire to attend to the manners and economy of insects, and become ambitious of making discoveries in this part of entomological science, I can assure you, from long experience, that you will here find an inexhaustible fund of novelty. For more than twenty years my attention has been directed to them, and during most of my summer walks my eyes have been employed in observing their ways; yet I can say with truth, that so far from having exhausted the subject, within the last six months I have witnessed more interesting facts respecting their history than in many preceding years. To follow only the insects that frequent your own garden, from their first to their last state, and to trace all their proceedings, would supply an interesting amusement for the remainder of your life, and at its close you would leave much to be done by your successor; for where we know thoroughly the history of one insect, there are hundreds concerning which we have ascertained little besides the bare fact of their existence.

But numerous other sources of pleasure and information will open themselves to you, not inferior to what any other science can furnish, when you enter more deeply into the study. Insects, indeed, appear to have been nature's favourite productions, in which, to manifest her power and skill, she has combined and concentrated almost all that is either beautiful and graceful, interesting and alluring, or curious and singular, in every other class and order of her children. To these, her valued miniatures, she has given the most delicate touch and highest finish of her pencil. Numbers she has armed with glittering mail, which reflects a lustre like that of burnished metals[4]; in others she lights up the dazzling radiance of polished gems[5]. Some she has decked with what looks like liquid drops, or plates of gold and silver[6]; or with scales or pile, which mimic the colour and emit the ray of the same precious metals[7]. Some exhibit a rude exterior, like stones in their native state[8], while others represent their smooth and shining face after they have been submitted to the tool of the polisher: others, again, like so many pygmy Atlases bearing on their backs a microcosm, by the rugged and various elevations and depressions of their tuberculated crust, present to the eye of the beholder no unapt imitation of the unequal surface of the earth, now horrid with mis-shapen rocks, ridges, and precipices—now swelling into hills and mountains, and now sinking into valleys, glens, and caves[9]; while not a few are covered with branching spines, which fancy may form into a forest of trees[10].

What numbers vie with the charming offspring of Flora in various beauties! some in the delicacy and variety of their colours, colours not like those of flowers evanescent and fugitive, but fixed and durable, surviving their subject, and adorning it as much after death as they did when it was alive; others, again, in the veining and texture of their wings; and others in the rich cottony down that clothes them. To such perfection, indeed, has nature in them carried her mimetic art, that you would declare, upon beholding some insects, that they had robbed the trees of their leaves to form for themselves artificial wings, so exactly do they resemble them in their form, substance, and vascular structure; some representing green leaves, and others those that are dry and withered[11]. Nay, sometimes this mimicry is so exquisite, that you would mistake the whole insect for a portion of the branching spray of a tree[12]. No mean beauty in some plants arises from the fluting and punctuation of their stems and leaves, and a similar ornament conspicuously distinguishes numerous insects, which also imitate with multiform variety, as may particularly be seen in the caterpillars of many species of the butterfly tribe (Papilionidæ), the spines and prickles which are given as aNoli me tangerearmour to several vegetable productions.

In fishes the lucid scales of varied hue that cover and defend them are universally admired, and esteemed their peculiar ornament; but place a butterfly's wing under a microscope, that avenue to unseen glories in new worlds, and you will discover that nature has endowed the most numerous of the insect tribes with the same privilege, multiplying in them the forms[13], and diversifying the colouring of this kind of clothing beyond all parallel. The rich and velvet tints of the plumage of birds are not superior to what the curious observer may discover in a variety ofLepidoptera; and those many-coloured eyes which deck so gloriously the peacock's tail are imitated with success by one of our most common butterflies[14]. Feathers are thought to be peculiar to birds; but insects often imitate them in their antennæ[15], wings[16], and even sometimes in the covering of their bodies[17].—We admire with reason the coats of quadrupeds, whether their skins be covered with pile, or wool, or fur; yet are not perhaps aware that a vast variety of insects are clothed with all these kinds of hair, but infinitely finer and more silky in texture, more brilliant and delicate in colour, and more variously shaded than what any other animals can pretend to.

In variegation insects certainly exceed every other class of animated beings. Nature, in her sportive mood, when painting them, sometimes imitates the clouds of heaven; at others, the meandering course of the rivers of the earth, or the undulations of their waters: many are veined like beautiful marbles; others have the semblance of a robe of the finest net-work thrown over them; some she blazons with heraldic insignia, giving them to bear in fields sable—azure—vert—gules—argent and or, fesses—bars—bends—crosses—crescents—stars, and even animals[18]. On many, taking her rule and compasses, she draws with precision mathematical figures; points, lines, angles, triangles[19], squares, and circles. On others she portrays, with mystic hand, what seem like hieroglyphic symbols, or inscribes them with the characters and letters of various languages, often very correctly formed[20]; and, what is more extraordinary, she has registered in others figures which correspond with several dates of the Christian era[21].

Nor has nature been lavish only in the apparel and ornament of these privileged tribes; in other respects she has been equally unsparing of her favours. To some she has given fins like those of fish, or a beak resembling that of birds[22]; to others horns, nearly the counterparts of those of various quadrupeds. The bull[23], the stag[24], the rhinoceros[25], and even the hitherto vainly sought for unicorn[26], have in this respect many representatives amongst insects. One is armed with tusks not unlike those of the elephant[27]; another is bristled with spines, as the porcupine and hedge-hog with quills[28]; a third is an armadillo in miniature; the disproportioned hind legs of the kangaroo give a most grotesque appearance to a fourth[29]; and the threatening head of the snake is found in a fifth[30]. It would, however, be endless to produce all the instances which occur of such imitations: and I shall only remark that, generally speaking, these arms and instruments in structure and finishing far exceed those which they resemble.

But further, insects not only mimic, in a manner infinitely various, every thing in nature, they may also with very little violence be regarded as symbolical of beings out of and above nature. The butterfly, adorned with every beauty and every grace, borne by radiant wings through the fields of ether, and extracting nectar from every flower, gives us some idea of the blessed inhabitants of happier worlds, of angels, and of the spirits of the just arrived at their state of perfection. Again, other insects seem emblematical of a different class of unearthly beings: when we behold some tremendous for the numerous horns and spines projecting in horrid array from their head or shoulders;—others for their threatening jaws of fearful length, and armed with cruel fangs: when we survey the dismal hue and demoniac air that distinguish others, the dens of darkness in which they live, the impurity of their food, their predatory habits and cruelty, the nets which they spread, and the pits which they sink to entrap the unwary, we can scarcely help regarding them as aptly symbolizing evil demons, the enemies of man, or of impure spirits for their vices and crimes driven from the regions of light into darkness and punishment[31].

The sight indeed of a well-stored cabinet of insects will bring before every beholder not conversant with them, forms in endless variety, which before he would not have thought it possible could exist in nature, resembling nothing that the other departments of the animal kingdom exhibit, and exceeding even the wildest fictions of the most fertile imagination. Besides prototypes of beauty and symmetry, there in miniature he will be amused to survey (for the most horrible creatures when deprived of the power of injury become sources of interest and objects of curiosity), to use the words of our great poet,

... all prodigious thingsAbominable, unutterable, and worseThan fables yet have feign'd, or fear conceiv'd,Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimæras dire.

But the pleasures of a student of the science to which I am desirous of introducing you, are far from being confined to such as result from an examination of the exterior form and decorations of insects: for could these, endless as they seem, be exhausted, or, wonderful as they are, lose their interest, yet new sources, exuberant in amusement and instruction, may be opened, which will furnish an almost infinite fund for his curiosity to draw upon. The striking peculiarity and variety of structure which they exhibit in their instruments of nutrition, motion, and oviposition; in their organs of sensation, generation, and the great fountains of vitality,—indeed their whole system, anatomically considered, will open a world of wonders to you with which you will not soon be satiated, and during your survey of which you will at every step feel disposed to exclaim with the Roman naturalist—"In these beings so minute, and as it were such non-entities, what wisdom is displayed, what power, what unfathomable perfection[32]!" But even this will not bring you to the end of your pleasures: you must leave the dead to visit the living; you must behold insects when full of life and activity, engaged in their several employments, practising their various arts, pursuing their amours, and preparing habitations for their progeny: you must notice the laying and kind of their eggs; their wonderful metamorphoses; their instincts, whether they be solitary or gregarious; and the other miracles of their history—all of which will open to you a richer mine of amusement and instruction, I speak it without hesitation, than any other department of Natural History can furnish. A minute enumeration of these particulars would be here misplaced, and only forestall what will be detailed more at large hereafter; but a rapid glance at a very few of the most remarkable of them, may serve as a stimulus to excite your curiosity, and induce you to enter with greater eagerness into the wide field to which I shall conduct you.

The lord of the creation plumes himself upon his powers of invention, and is proud to enumerate the various useful arts and machines to which they have given birth, not aware that "He who teacheth man knowledge" has instructed these despised insects to anticipate him in many of them. The builders of Babel doubtless thought their invention of turning earth into artificial stone, a very happy discovery[33]; yet a little bee[34]had practised this art, using indeed a different process, on a small scale, and the white ants on a large one, ever since the world began. Man thinks that he stands unrivalled as an architect, and that his buildings are without a parallel among the works of the inferior orders of animals. He would be of a different opinion did he attend to the history of insects: he would find that many of them have been architects from time immemorial; that they have had their houses divided into various apartments, and containing staircases, gigantic arches, domes, colonnades, and the like; nay, that even tunnels are excavated by them so immense, compared with their own size, as to be twelve times bigger than that projected by Mr. Dodd to be carried under the Thames at Gravesend[35]. The modern fine lady, who prides herself on the lustre and beauty of the scarlet hangings which adorn the stately walls of her drawing-room, or the carpets that cover its floor, fancying that nothing so rich and splendid was ever seen before, and pitying her vulgar ancestors, who were doomed to unsightly white-wash and rushes, is ignorant all the while, that before she or her ancestors were in existence, and even before the boasted Tyrian dye was discovered, a little insect had known how to hang the walls of its cell with tapestry of a scarlet more brilliant than any her rooms can exhibit[36]; and that others daily weave silken carpets, both in tissue and texture infinitely superior to those she so much admires. No female ornament is more prized and costly than lace, the invention and fabrication of which seems the exclusive claim of the softer sex. But even here they have been anticipated by these little industrious creatures, who often defend their helpless chrysalis, by a most singular covering, and as beautiful as singular, of lace[37]. Other arts have been equally forestalled by these creatures. What vast importance is attached to the invention of paper! For near six thousand years one of our commonest insects has known how to make and apply it to its purposes[38]; and even pasteboard, superior in substance and polish to any we can produce, is manufactured by another[39]. We imagine that nothing short of human intellect can be equal to the construction of a diving-bell or an air-pump—yet a spider is in the daily habit of using the one, and, what is more, one exactly similar in principle to ours, but more ingeniously contrived; by means of which she resides unwetted in the bosom of the water, and procures the necessary supplies of air by a much more simple process than our alternating buckets[40]—and the caterpillar of a little moth knows how to imitate the other, producing a vacuum, when necessary for its purposes, without any piston besides its own body[41]. If we think with wonder of the populous cities which have employed the united labours of man for many ages to bring them to their full extent, what shall we say to the white ants, which require only a few months to build a metropolis capable of containing an infinitely greater number of inhabitants than even imperial Nineveh, Babylon, Rome, or Pekin, in all their glory?

That insects should thus have forestalled us in our inventions ought to urge us to pay a closer attention to them and their ways than we have hitherto done, since it is not at all improbable that the result would be many useful hints for the improvement of our arts and manufactures, and perhaps for some beneficial discoveries. The painter might thus probably be furnished with more brilliant pigments, the dyer with more delicate tints, and the artisan with a new and improved set of tools. In this last respect insects deserve particular notice. All their operations are performed with admirable precision and dexterity; and though they do not usually vary the mode, yet that mode is always the best that can be conceived for attaining the end in view. The instruments also with which they are provided are no less wonderful and various than the operations themselves. They have their saws, and files, and augers, and gimlets, and knives, and lancets, and scissors, and forceps, with many other similar implements; several of which act in more than one capacity, and with a complex and alternate motion to which we have not yet attained in the use of our tools. Nor is the fact so extraordinary as it may seem at first, since "He who is wise in heart and wonderful in working" is the inventor and fabricator of the apparatus of insects; which may be considered as a set of miniature patterns drawn for our use by a Divine hand. I shall hereafter give you a more detailed account of some of the most striking of these instruments; and if you study insects in this view, you will be well repaid for all the labour and attention you bestow upon them.

But a more important species of instruction than any hitherto enumerated may be derived from entomological pursuits. If we attend to the history and manners of insects, they will furnish us with many useful lessons in Ethics, and from them we may learn to improve ourselves in various virtues. We have indeed the inspired authority of the wisest of mankind for studying them in this view, since he himself wrote a treatise upon them, and sends his sluggard to one for a lesson of wisdom[42]. And if we value diligence and indefatigable industry; judgement, prudence, and foresight; economy and frugality; if we look upon modesty and diffidence as female ornaments; if we revere parental affection—of all these, and many more virtues, insects in their various instincts exhibit several striking examples, as you will see in the course of our correspondence.

With respect to religious instruction insects are far from unprofitable; indeed in this view Entomology seems to possess peculiar advantages above every other branch of Natural History. In the larger animals, though we admire the consummate art and wisdom manifested in their structure, and adore that Almighty power and goodness which by a wonderful machinery, kept in motion by the constant action and re-action of the great positive and negative powers of Nature, maintains in full force the circulations necessary to life, perception, and enjoyment; yet as there seems no disproportion between the objects and the different operations that are going on in them, and we see that they afford sufficient space for the play of their systems, we do not experience the same sensations of wonder and astonishment that strike us when we behold similar operations carried on without interruption in animals scarcely visible to the naked eye. That creatures, which in the scale of being are next to non-entities, should be elaborated with so much art and contrivance, have such a number of parts both internal and external, all so highly finished and each so nicely calculated to answer its end; that they should include in this evanescent form such a variety of organs of perception and instruments of motion, exceeding in number and peculiarity of structure those of other animals; that their nervous and respiratory systems should be so complex, their secretory and digestive vessels so various and singular, their parts of generation so clearly developed, and that these minims of nature should be endowed with instincts in many cases superior to all our boasted powers of intellect—truly these wonders and miracles declare to every one who attends to the subject, "The hand that made us is divine." We are the work of a Being infinite in power, in wisdom, and in goodness.

But no religious doctrine is more strongly established by the history of insects than that of a superintending Providence. That of the innumerable species of these beings, many of them beyond conception fragile and exposed to dangers and enemies without end, no link should be lost from the chain, but all be maintained in those relative proportions necessary for the general good of the system; that if one species for a while preponderate, and instead of preserving seem to destroy, yet counterchecks should at the same time be provided to reduce it within its due limits; and further, that the operations of insects should be so directed and overruled as to effect the purposes for which they were created and never exceed their commission: nothing can furnish a stronger proof than this, that an unseen hand holds the reins, now permitting one to prevail and now another, as shall best promote certain wise ends; and saying to each, "Hitherto shalt thou come and no further."

So complex is this mundane system, and so incessant the conflict between its component parts, an observation which holds good particularly with regard to insects, that if instead of being under such control it were left to the agency of blind chance, the whole must inevitably soon be deranged and go to ruin. Insects, in truth, are a book in which whoever reads under proper impressions cannot avoid looking from the effect to the cause, and acknowledging his eternal power and godhead thus wonderfully displayed and irrefragably demonstrated: and whoever beholds these works with the eyes of the body, must be blind indeed if he cannot, and perverse indeed if he will not, with the eye of the soul behold in all his glory the Almighty Workman, and feel disposed, with every power of his nature, to praise and magnify

"Him first, Him last, Him midst, Him without end."

And now having led you to the vestibule of an august temple, which in its inmost sanctuary exhibits enshrined in glory the symbols of the Divine Presence, I should invite you to enter and give a tongue to the Hallelujahs, which every creature in its place, by working his will with all its faculties, pours forth to its great Creator: but I must first endeavour to remove, as I trust I shall effectually, those objections to the study of these interesting beings which I alluded to in the outset of this letter, and this shall be the aim of my next address.

I am, &c.

LETTER II.

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

In my last I gave you a general view of the science of Entomology, and endeavoured to prove to you that it possesses attractions and beauty sufficient to reward any student who may profess himself its votary. I am now to consider it in a less alluring light, as a pursuit attended by no small degree of obloquy, in consequence of certain objections thought to be urged with great force against it. To obviate these, and remove every scruple from your mind, shall be the business of the present letter.

Two principal objections are usually alleged with great confidence against the study and pursuit of insects. By some they are derided as trifling and unimportant, and deemed an egregious waste of time and talents; by others they are reprobated as unfeeling and cruel, and as tending to harden the heart.

I. I shall begin with the first of these objections—that the entomologist is a mere trifler. As for the silly outcry and abuse of the ignorant vulgar, who are always ready to laugh at what they do not understand, and because insects are minute objects conclude that the study of them must be a childish pursuit, I shall not waste words upon what I so cordially despise. But since even learned men and philosophers, from a partial and prejudiced view of the subject, having recourse to this common-place logic, are sometimes disposed to regard all inquiry into these minutiæ of nature as useless and idle, and the mark of a little mind; to remove such prejudice and misconceptions I shall now dilate somewhat upon the subject ofCui bono?

When we see many wise and learned men pay attention to any particular department of science, we may naturally conclude that it is on account of some profit and instruction which they foresee may be derived from it; and therefore in defending Entomology I shall first have recourse to theArgumentum ad verecundiam, and mention the great names that have cultivated or recommended it.

We may begin the list with the first man that ever lived upon the earth, for we are told that he gave a name to every living creature[43], amongst which insects must be included; and to give an appropriate name to an object necessarily requires some knowledge of its distinguishing properties. Indeed one of the principal pleasures and employments of the paradisiacal state was probably the study of the various works of creation[44]. Before the fall the book of nature was the Bible of man, in which he could read the perfections and attributes of the invisible Godhead[45], and in it, as in a mirror, behold an image of the things of the spiritual world. Moses also appears to have been conversant with our little animals, and to have studied them with some attention. This he has shown, not only by being aware of the distinctions which separate the various tribes of grasshoppers, crickets &c. (Gryllus, L.) into different genera[46], but also by noticing the different direction of the two anterior from the four posterior legs of insects; for, as he speaks of them as going upon four legs[47], it is evident that he considered the two anterior as arms. Solomon, the wisest of mankind, made Natural History a peculiar object of study, and left treatises behind him upon its various branches, in whichcreeping thingsor insects were not overlooked[48]; and a wiser than Solomon directs our attention to natural productions, when he bids usconsiderthe lilies of the field[49], teaching us that they are more worthy of our notice than the most glorious works of man: he also not obscurely intimates that insects are symbolical beings, when he speaks of scorpions as synonymous with evil spirits[50]; thus giving into our hands a clue for a more profitable mode of studying them, as furnishing moral and spiritual instruction.

If to these scriptural authorities we add those of uninspired writers, ancient and modern, the names of many worthies, celebrated both for wisdom and virtue, may be produced. Aristotle among the Greeks, and Pliny the elder among the Romans, may be denominated the fathers of Natural History, as well as the greatest philosophers of their day; yet both these made insects a principal object of their attention: and in more recent times, if we look abroad, what names greater than those of Redi, Malpighi, Vallisnieri, Swammerdam, Leeuwenhoek, Reaumur, Linné, De Geer, Bonnet, and the Hubers? and at home, what philosophers have done more honour to their country and to human nature than Ray, Willughby, Lister, and Derham? Yet all these made the study of insects one of their most favourite pursuits; and, as if to prove that this study is not incompatible with the highest flights of genius, we can add to the list the name of one of the most sublime of our poets, Gray, who was very zealously devoted to Entomology. As far therefore as names have weight, the above enumeration seems sufficient to shelter the votaries of this pleasing science from the charge of folly.

But we do not wish to rest our defence upon authorities alone; let the voice of reason be heard, and our justification will be complete. The entomologist, or, to speak more generally, the naturalist (for on this question ofCui bono?every student in all departments of Natural History is concerned), if the following considerations be allowed their due weight, may claim a much higher station amongst the learned than has hitherto been conceded to him.

There are two principal avenues to knowledge—the study of words and the study of things. Skill in the learned languages being often necessary to enable us to acquire knowledge in the former way, is usually considered as knowledge itself; so that no one asksCui bono?when a person devotes himself to the study of verbal criticism, and employs his time in correcting the errors that have crept into the text of an ancient writer. Indeed it must be owned, though perhaps too much stress is sometimes laid upon it, that this is very useful to enable us to ascertain his true meaning. But after all, words are but the arbitrary signs of ideas, and have no value independent of those ideas, further than what arises from congruity and harmony, the mind being dissatisfied when an idea is expressed by inadequate words, and the ear offended when their collocation is inharmonious. To account the mere knowledge of words, therefore, as wisdom, is to mistake the cask for the wine, and the casket for the gem. I say all this because knowledge of words is often extolled beyond its just merits, and put for all wisdom; while knowledge of things, especially of the productions of nature, is derided as if it were mere folly. We should recollect that God hath condescended to instruct us by both these ways, and therefore neither of them should be depreciated. He hath set before us his word and his world. The former is the great avenue to truth and knowledge by the study ofwords, and, as being the immediate and authoritative revelation of his will, is entitled to ourprincipalattention; the latter leads us to the same conclusions, though less directly, by the study ofthings, which stands next in rank to that of God's word, and before that of any work of man. And whether we direct our eyes to the planets rolling in their orbits, and endeavour to trace the laws by which they are guided through the vast of space, whether we analyse those powers and agents by which all the operations of nature are performed, or whether we consider the various productions of this our globe, from the mighty cedar to the microscopic mucor—from the giant elephant to the invisible mite, still we are studying the works and wonders of our God. The book, to whatever page we turn, is written by the finger of him who created us; and in it, provided our minds be rightly disposed, we may read his eternal verities. And the more accurate and enlarged our knowledge of his works, the better shall we be able to understand his word; and the more practised we are in his word, the more readily shall we discern his truth in his works; for, proceeding from the same great Author, they must, when rightly interpreted, mutually explain and illustrate each other.

Who then shall dare maintain, unless he has the hardihood to deny that God created them, that the study of insects and their ways is trifling or unprofitable? Were they not arrayed in all their beauty, and surrounded with all their wonders, and made so instrumental (as I shall hereafter prove them to be) to our welfare, that we might glorify and praise him for them? Why were insects made attractive, if not, as Ray well expresses it, that they might ornament the universe and be delightful objects of contemplation to man[51]? And is it not clear, as Dr. Paley has observed, that the production of beauty was as much in the Creator's mind in painting a butterfly or in studding a beetle, as in giving symmetry to the human frame, or graceful curves to its muscular covering[52]? And shall we think it beneath us to study what he hath not thought it beneath him to adorn and place on this great theatre of creation? Nay, shall we extol those to the skies who bring together at a vast expense the most valuable specimens of the arts, the paintings and statues of Italy and Greece, all of which, however beautiful, as works of man, fall short of perfection; and deride and upbraid those who collect, for the purpose of admiring their beauty, the finished and perfect chef-d'œuvres of a Divine artist? May we gaze with rapture unblamed upon an Apollo of Belvedere, or Venus de Medicis, or upon the exquisite paintings of a Raphael or a Titian, and yet when we behold with ecstasy sculptures that are produced by the chisel of the Almighty, and the inimitable tints laid on by his pencil, because an insect is the subject, be exposed to jeers and ridicule?

But there is another reason, which in the present age renders the study of Natural History an object of importance to every well-wisher to the cause of Religion, who is desirous of exerting his faculties in its defence. For as enthusiasm and false religion have endeavoured to maintain their ground by a perversion of the text ofscripture, so also the patrons of infidelity and atheism have laboured hard to establish their impiety by a perversion of the text ofnature. To refute the first of these adversaries of truth and sound religion, it is necessary to be well acquainted with thewordof God; to refute the second, requires an intimate knowledge of hisworks; and no department can furnish him with more powerful arguments of every kind than the world of insects—every one of which cries out in an audible voice, There is a God—he is Almighty, all-wise, all-good—his watchful providence is ever, and every where, at work for the preservation of all things.

But since mankind in general are too apt to look chiefly at this world, and to regard things as important or otherwise in proportion as they are connected with sublunary interests, and promote our present welfare, I shall proceed further to prove that the study of insects may be productive of considerable utility, even in this view, and may be regarded in some sort as a necessary or at least a very useful concomitant of many arts and sciences.