86 Mr. Foggo on an Insect found in the wood of a Tabic. 



very fine dust which covered the whole of the under leaf. 

 On examination, it was found to have proceeded from a hole 

 in the upper leaf, and to have been occasioned by the insect, 

 in attempting to escape from its confinement. It had pene- 

 trated the under leaf to the depth of ^ of an inch. Fortu- 

 nately, the table was in the possession of Mr. Robert Strong, 

 junior, a gentleman who could well appreciate the value of 

 the incident. Mr. Strong carefully removed the insect from 

 its cell, and found it dead, no doubt suffocated, the circula- 

 tion of air in the room recoiling upon it the dust which its 

 own exertions had made. Having taken proper precautions, 

 he has so far succeeded, as now to have it in a tolerable state 

 of preservation, with the exception of the antennae and palpi, 

 which gave way in the process. See Plate II. Fig. 4. It is 

 in length rather more than an inch, exclusive of the horn-like 

 process which gives the generic name, and is two lines long. 

 When the animal was discovered, the antennae were reflected, 

 lying close to the back, and reached to the anterior of the last 

 segment of the abdomen. One of the palpi is still attached to 

 the head; it is of a yellow colour, increasing in thickness towards 

 the tip. The head is rather compressed than globular, with 

 a large yellow protuberance behind each eye. The throat, 

 trunk, and part of the head are covered with short stiff brown 

 hairs. The scutellum is ovato-acuminated, of a dark brown 

 colour ; the thighs and anterior segments of the abdomen are 

 also of a brown colour, the rest yellow. The vagina extends 

 about three lines beyond the extremity of the horn. 



Within these few years, several instances exactly similar 

 to the above have been published, but as yet no satisfactory 

 explanation has been given. By some naturalists, they have 

 been considered quite analogous to the well-known facts of 

 reptiles being found alive in solid rocks, and have been re- 

 ferred to the same cause, a temporary suspension of the vital 

 functions. The circumstances, however, are essentially dif- 

 ferent. We have reason to believe, that the reptiles were 

 enclosed in the same state as when they were discovered. 

 But with respect to the insects, in whatever state they enter- 

 ed the tree, they must have undergone some of the different 

 processes of transformation. It becomes, therefore, interest- 

 ing to ascertain in what state the animal has existed during 



