8 THE LIFE OF AN INSECT. 



the whole of one summer they scarcely ever ceased 

 tapping night and day. Birds have their calls to 

 their companions, and animals have theirs, yet we 

 do not draw from these the wild supposition that 

 they foretell death or such like disasters. Why, 

 then, should the love-tap of an insignificant beetle 

 have received such an interpretation ? It is hard 

 indeed to tell. 



Now all these feelings about insects, contempt, 

 abhorrence, and terror, arise in one common cause, 

 and that is ignorance. A very small acquaintance 

 with the contents of the little work upon which 

 we are now entering, would suffice to dispel them 

 all. It may be, perhaps, difficult to overcome 

 what is called a " natural aversion " to any object, 

 especially to an unfortunate insect ; but when it is 

 overcome, and when we learn, for the first time, 

 all the extraordinary actions, habits, and instincts, 

 of this portion of the great creation, admiration 

 will take the place of contempt, and even a 

 humble sort of affection that of the terror and 

 aversion produced by them before. 



With the readers permission, then, we will 

 proceed to take him with us as we describe the 

 various stages of the Life of an Insect, from the 



