228 Linnccan Society. 



LJNNjEAN society. 



March 2. — An additional portion of Mr. Vigors' s paper ctt 

 the Orders and Families of Birds was read this evening, as 

 well as on the 16th ; it is not however concluded. 



March 16.— Among the presents received were the first 

 two volumes of the valuable English Flora, just published by 

 the much esteemed President of the Society. 



The following communications were read : 



Description of Erythrina Secundiflora. By Don Felix Avel- 

 lar Brotero, Emeritus Professor of Botany in the University 

 of Coimbra, For. Mem. of the Society. 



On the insect called Oislrus by the ancient Greeks, and 

 Asilus by the Romans. By W. S. MacLeay, Esq. F.L.S. 

 Communicated by the Zoological Club of the Linnaean So- 

 ciety. In this paper, which may interest the lovers of classi- 

 cal antiquity as well as of natural history, Mr. MacLeay has 

 produced many interesting proofs that the (Estrus of the an- 

 cients, 



— cui nonien Atilo 



Romanum est, CEstron Graii vertere vocantes," (Virg. Geor. II. J 



was not the insect to which this name is now given, but a 

 Tabanus. Olivier first observed that it was different from the 

 (Estrum of the moderns. Pliny uses the name Tabanus 

 for the Muxty, which Aristotle says is nearly related to (Eslrns, 

 both being efx.7rgoo-&;vxsvTgx ; it cannot therefore be the modern 

 (Estrus : he also says that both are bloodsuckers, which agrees 

 with the LinnEean Tabani, but is wholly inapplicable to the 

 modern (Estrus. As the insect is too well known for its name 

 to have been forgotten or misapplied, there can be little doubt 

 that the Latin Tabanus, the Italian Tabano, Spanish Tavano, 

 and French Taon are identical, which latter name Mouffet 

 gives as the same with the English Breese*, Clegg and dinger, 

 mentioned by Shakspeare, who speaking of Cleopatra, says : 



" The Brize upon her, like a cow in .June, 

 foists sail and flies." 



Some elucidation is also brought from Homer, and the Pro- 

 metheus of iEschylus, and it is observed that Virgil describes 

 the Asilus or (Estrus as abundant and acerba sona?is, whereas 



• This name appears to be of great antiquity in all the Teutonic dialects. The 

 Anglo-Saxon has Bjiioya, [Ital. Brissio], and Bnimra, which latter Junius gives 

 from one of his ancient glossaries D; and Skinner says " apud Higginium solum 

 occurrit." They render 25re and < 2Bricrff, (Estrum, Asilus, and Tabaitus ; as does 

 Kilian the Belgic <23lt*mmc and 23l"cm!H\ In the Suio-Gothic we find Sromj?, 

 which Jhre explains by crabro; as our .lilfric renders (Estrus beaj hynnette. — 

 Jinn. 



