PROC. ENT. SOC. WASH., VOL. 24, NO. 7-8, OCT.-NOV., 1922 195 



"Come hither, boy, we'll hunt today, 



The bookworm, ravening beast of prey, 



***** 



Dreadful his head with clustering eyes 

 With horns without, and tusks within, 

 And scales to serve him for a skin." 



and so on, for a hundred lines. It seems possible, however, that 

 the poet had in mind Lepisma saccharina^ a figure and account 

 of which was published previous to Parnell's time, by Robert 

 Hooke in his "Micrographia" (London, 1665). Entomologists 

 of the present day, of course, recognize the Lepismae as impor- 

 tant enemies of books and paper goods. 



An amusing quatrain on the book-worm is by Robert Burns. 

 It seems the poet had entered a splendid library, wherein he 

 found an uncut but beautifully bound copy of Shakespeare, in 

 a badly worm-eaten condition, which elicited the following: 



"Through and through the inspired leaves 

 Ye maggots, make your windings, 

 But, oh! respect his lorship's taste, 

 And spare his golden bindings." 



Every child'is familiar with the rhymes warning the lady-bird 

 of imminent and disastrous conflagration, but what seems to be 

 the earliest mention of a similar verse among English poets 

 occurs in John Gay, who wrote this in 1714: 



"This lady-fly I take from off the grass, 

 Whose spotted back might scarlet red surpass, 

 'Fly, lady-bird, north, south, or east, or west, 

 Fly where the man is found that I love best." 



The Shepherd's Week. 



Numerous versions of this occur throughout Europe and the 

 following is said to be from the Chinese, but sounds like a 

 "Mother Goose Melody": 



"Ladybug, ladybug, fly away, do, 

 Fly to the mountains and feed upon dew. 

 Feed upon dew, and sleep on a rug, 

 And then run away like a good little bug." 



An entirely original and different poem is by Southey, who 

 apostrophizes a Coccinellid under the title of "burnie bee," a 

 provincial vulgar name for the insect: 



"Blithe son of summer, furl thy filmy wing, 



Alight beside me on this bank of moss; 

 Yet to its sides the lingering shadows cling, 



And sparkling dews the dark-green tufts emboss." 



Then the poet proceeds to offer liquid refreshments: 



