CH. XXIII.] HINTS FOR STUDENTS. 301 



same kind, Carahus auratus, is supposed to kill the 

 females of the common cockchafers, when about to 

 lay their eggs, and thus preserve the farmer from 

 some hundreds of destructive grubs, the ravages of 

 w^hich we have described in a former chapter. 

 There are also many others equally valuable in the 

 same point of view, as, for example, the ichneumon- 

 fly, the ant-lion (noticed in the former volume), &c. 

 &c. But, without a knowledge of the science of 

 entomology, how would it be possible to distinguish 

 between those which are serviceable and those 

 which are injurious to man? Others are of use, as 

 food and as medicine to man : some of the wood- 

 feeding larvae were considered both by the ancients 

 and by some modern nations as great delicacies. 

 Madame Merian informs us that the natives of Suri- 

 nam roast and eat those of the Curculio palmarum, as 

 something very exquisite. An Indian king, it is 

 said, set before his Grecian guests a roasted worm 

 taken from a plant, which was probably the same 

 larva. Its taste is said to be similar to sugared 

 cream or sweet almond paste. , Dr. Darwin sup- 

 poses that the larvae of the cockchafers might prove, 

 if properly cooked, a dehcious meal, and several 

 others are also edible. On this, however, little 

 stress need be laid, as modern refinement appears 

 to have greatly diminished, if not altogether to have 

 abolished, the taste for such delicacies of the insect 

 race. 



But not only does the study of insects tend in va- 

 rious ways to the good of mankind, it is also a sub- 

 ject of great interest as an endless amusement to 

 the mind. The habits and economy of each separ- 

 ate species diifer so greatly, and each single species 

 offers so much material for thought, that it has been 

 said, were man's life even longer than it is, it would 

 not be sufficient to attain a thorough knowledge of 

 the peculiar mode of life even of one insect. The 

 following considerations will, however, show the al- 



Vol. II.— C c 



