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SKETCHES OF INSECTS, PICTORIAL AND POETICAL. 

 BY EDWIN LEES, M. E. S. 



Honorary Curator of the Worcestershire Natural History Society. 



" Shall the poor worm that shocks thy sight, 

 The humblest form in nature's train, 

 Thus rise in new-born lustre bright, 

 And yet the emblem teach in vain ?" 



Having before descanted on the importance of entomology, 

 whether considered as an amusement or a study, I pass on to 

 consider the economy of insects, and the " transformations" or 

 stages of development exhibited by their different tribes. This 

 will be found no less interesting than their physiology. En- 

 tomology, as a science, may have been but little regarded by us, 

 and among the busy world it has few votaries; — those who are 

 striving for the emoluments of life, — those who are panting for the 

 glittering honours upon the steepy precipice of fame — those who 

 are " seeking the bubble reputation in the cannon's mouth," have 

 confessedly but few opportunities for attending to the mechanism 

 of an insect's wing, and no leisure, but in the moment of irritation, 

 to crush the poor sparkler that has unwittingly intruded upon 

 their attention. But we shall be poor logicians, and feeble 

 reasoners in the school of philosophy, if we thence conclude 

 that there is nothing deserving the attention of a rational being 

 in the economy of the insect world. 



Dr. Franklin has not unaptly compared our busy world to an 

 ant's nest. If we examine it, there is the same hurry, bustle, 

 and contention — and the same selfishness and injustice is dis- 

 played, though on a smaller scale. An ant who, after a long 

 excursion, has obtained a maggot, a fly, or a piece of fruit, is 

 robbed of the object of his efforts at the very door of his mansion, 

 and the credit of his labours is assigned to another. Some 

 happy pismire who has carried a long straw for a considerable 

 time, by an unhappy mischance drops it in the crowd, and loses 

 it for ever, while in the contention that ensues, some ignoble, and 

 perhaps lazy insect, who has never wandered a foot from the 

 ant-hill, becomes possessed of the valued rod of office. And 

 yet all this strife, bustle, and perplexity, resolves itself into no 

 apparent useful purpose, — the ant-hill may be made a few inches 

 higher, or a host of unemployed manufacturers may emigrate to 

 find a new field for the exercise of their labour; — but nothing at 

 all commensurate with the apparent toil, labour, and excitement, 

 results from the efforts we witness. The moralist, then, may, 

 without compromising his dignity, find a lesson deserving his 



