﻿43 6 



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H 



NAT 



R AL 



H 



TOR 





This infect is of the torpid fort, and performs all the neceflary offices of life 



and then lives almoft motionlefs for the 



imaica* where it is faid to 



while it is (mail : but it foon 



u io niian ; uui. iu iuv«i ^iwwo iaigo 3 **i*~* ****** *.. 



ning part of life. It is now pretty common in J 



have been introduced from the main continent, 



chiefly upon the prickly- pear in that ifland, that parti 



Tuna, on which they commonly breed, being very rare 



not many years ago 



it breeds 



fpecies called 

 They are 



ly found wrapt up in fmall tufts of delicate white down, which yields 



com 



ike 



a 



cobweb ; and flicks pretty clofe to the fides of the infect, immediately above th 



leg 



Pi 



f it had grown out of that part of the body. They live chiefly upon fuc 



but 



molt commonly found 



pon 



thofe of the Caft 



tribe 



which generally fupply them both with faftenings and a defence : for which rea- 

 (on. the Indians, who are the only people that raife them, propagate large quan- 



tities of the mofl harmlefs 



of that clafs 



breed the 



upo 



as it 



ffords a better opportunity both for managing and collecting them. But their fi 



quent harvefl 



d the heavy rains that fall in thofe countries, would render all 



their induftry, in this refpect, ufelefs ; did they not always take care to pre/erve and 



protect a fufficient flock of breeders j which is generally done in the following 



manner, vtz. 



Every Indian who 



plots of Tuna (a), to feed his infects 



ufadtures Cocheneal, is fupplied with 



regular 



walks 



d when he apprehends the fea- 



fons are fetting in, he cuts off fome of the befl furnifhed branches, and pi 



them in his nurfery-houfe (b) y leaving 



the 



infects on the remaining part of the 

 be collected by the proper workmen, who brufh 'em off very carefully; and 



gather them in fmall bafket 



cloaths, to be dried and prepared for the market 



while the others fwell and breed very copioufly on the protected pi 



feafons are quite over, and the weather again fettled, thefe . . w „, 



fixed a-new on the plants in the walks, where they fpread and increafe until the fol 



But when the 

 alfo brufhed off and 



lowi o 

 would 



crop: for in thofe countries the rains fall chiefly 



flated feafons, and 



fh away the infects if they had not been gathered or protected 



The dye obtained from thefe infects formerly ufed to be prepared, by pound- 



nd fteeping the pulp in the deco&ion of the Texuatla (c), or that 



ing them, and lteeping 



of fome other plants, which they obferved to heighten the colour : this was left 

 to fettle at leifure, and afterwards made into cakes and dried for the market. 

 But of late they have found both a better and a more exped 





method of 



fe 



thed) 



pre 



the ba king- (tones 



which is by drying the infers whole, either in an oven, or upon 





ARTICLE 



III. 





Of the Neuropterae, or fuch as have all their wings thin and membranous, and vari- 



'ijly interwoven with Jlrong tendinous ribs 



ANORPA 1. Major fcutd peBorale utrinque alatd t a- 



culeo fimplici. Tab. 43. f. 15. 





The larger Panorpa. 



This infect is generally about three quarters of an inch, or better, in length, and 

 above a quarter in breadth. The head is nearly as wide as the body of the fly, and ad- 

 orned with a pair of large round eyes, fituated laterally ; leaving a large intermediate 

 fpace which is marked with three prominent glands. The feelers are fmall, and the 



probofcis long, {lender, and delicate. 



Thzfcuta of the thorax is pretty large, and 

 throws out a ftrong margin on both fides ; but joins to a more contracted one behind, 



which covers the fore-part of the belly, from whence it emits its large membranous 



wings. The body from this part back, contracts gradually, and, at length, terminates 



(a) See Catlus. (b) Thefe are fpacious meds, well filled with rich mould, and covered with 



thatch, in which the breeders are preferved and fupplied with proper nourifhment, daring the incle- 

 mency of the feafons. — * • • ■ ■ 



(c) It is, probably, a fpecies of the Melajloma, or fome milky plant. 



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