3>4 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Insects. 



ia acted upon by a strong muscle with which it is 

 surrounded, and which by its contraction forces the 

 fluid through the tube. 



As in tlie case of snakes, the poison of the bee and 

 wcsn appears to have acid properties, and will 

 chanee vegetable blues to red. 



Instances are on record in which persons have 

 lost their lives from the attack of a horde of bees ; 

 and aerious results from their sfmgs are by no 

 means of uncommon occurrence. To small animals 

 it is fatal ; and Fontana considers a single grain 

 sufficient to destrov a piijeon. 



FiiJ. 34ii" exhibits the strticture of the stin? of 

 the common bee : a, the terminal ring of the ab- 

 domen, cut open so as to expose the recess in which 

 the sling and its appendages are seen ; b. the sling 

 and ils Rpjjendages removed from the abdomen ; 

 c. a profile of the sting and appendages : all are 

 greatly magnified, but in different degrees. Fig. 

 3488 shows the poison-bag of the bee attached to 

 the base of the sting, highly magnified. 



From this digiession respecting the sting of the 

 bee, we pass to other groups of ovipositing insects; 

 and the u:all-flies (Cynips), of which the species are 

 very numerous, will engage notice. 



Whoever looks at a willow tree will see on its 

 leaves, often very abundantly, oval reddish or brown 

 tubercles or elev'alions ; on opening these each will 

 be found to contain a minute larva : oak-apples, as 

 they are popularly called, are familiar to every one ; 

 these again are tenanted within by larvse : in both 

 these instances the larva is that of a species of the 

 Cynips family. 



Similar excrescences, in the form of little round 

 berries, may be seen on the leaves of the oak, 

 produced by the Cynips Quercus-folii. (Fig. 

 3-i8!).) 



The Cynips lays her eggs by means of a long ovi- 

 positor, which in some species is conspicuous at all 

 times, but in most is coiled up spirally within the 

 abdomen, and invisible until protruded, when it 

 appears like a very slender curved needle, longer | 

 than the body of the insect itself. The mechanism 

 by which it is darted out is analogous to that con- 

 nected with the tongue of the woodpecker, and it is 

 completely under the control of the insect. Fig. 

 3490 represents the ovipositor of a species of Cynips 

 greatly magnified. Fig. 3491 shows the mode in 

 which it is coiled up in the abdomen, and the fly 

 itself, highly magnified. By means of this instru- 

 ment the Cynips pierces the outer skin or cuticle of 

 the leal', or twig, and introduces her egg, accom- 

 panied, probably, by some secretion capable of 

 derancfins: the organic actions of the circulatory and 

 secretory vessels, for in a short time the egg becomes 

 surrounded by a thickened layer, which gradually 

 increases, assuming different forms according to the 

 species of Cynips, and of the tree it has selected. 

 The gall tubercle may be then considered as the result 

 of diseased action on the part where the puncture 

 has been made ; but what it positively is that pro- 

 duces that diseased action, and how it is that the 

 same kind of gall should invariably be produced by 

 the same insect, are points respecting which we are 

 in the dark. Besides, in many instances it is not 

 a mere nut or apple that is produced, but a truly 

 morbid excrescence, with unnatural filaments like 

 rao« growing over it. Look at the Bedeguar- 

 call of the dog-rose, produced by the Cynips Uosse. 

 This is so common that it must be familiar to all ; 

 it is a sort of ball or apple, covered with red mossy 

 filaments, on the stems of wild dog-roses. This sin- 

 gular excrescence results from several punctures, 

 and the deposition of as many eggs, and is often of 

 considerable size. In this the larvae live, each 

 lodged in its own cell, and as they there pass the 

 winter, the thick mos.sy covering preserves them 

 from the intense severity of the cold, and is the 

 more necessary, as the hedges are bare of leaves, 

 and aftord but little shelter, besides which the ex- 

 crescence is often seated high, and exposed to the 

 wind. Early in the spring the larvae undergo their 

 change into the pupa state, previously to which they 

 work their way out of the dried and indurated gall- 

 nut by means of their sharp mandibles, and in 

 summer undergo their final change into the winged 

 state, to decorate in their turn the rose-trees with 

 other mossy balls. 



The filaments which compose the mossy covering 

 in question are individually slender and branched, as 

 seen at Fig. 3492. Fig. 3493 represents the bede- 

 guar-gall of the wild rose, much less than the ordi- 

 nary size. 



Another species, the Cynips Quercus-gemmae, 

 produces very singular galls, termed from their 

 scaled appeamnce artichoke-galls. They are placed 

 on the twigs, and might be mistaken for buds; in 

 size they exceed a filbert, and are composed exter- 

 nally of concentric leaves, overlapping each other 

 like" pointed scales, and are evidently intended as 

 a means of protecting the larvse within from the 

 cold of winter. To theorize on the mode in which 

 these leaflets are produced is useless; however, it 



may be they are rapidly formed, as indeed are all 

 other galls, and soon acquire their full growth. 

 Fig. 3494 exhibits these artichoke-galls of the oak, 

 with the Cynip that makes them, of the natural 

 size; a, the ovipositor magnified. 



A structure in some respects similar is produced 

 on the stalk of the Dyer's Broom by the Cynips 

 Geni.stae. These galls, "which very in size from that 

 of a filbert to a walnut, are generally of a globular 

 sliape, the stem passing through the centre ; exter- 

 nally it is composed of a multitude of leaflets, each 

 rolled up, the point ending in a bristle. Internally 

 its substance is fleshy, and on it feed multitudes of 

 larvje so minute as to be discerned with difiiculty. 

 It would seem that the buds of the branch bearing 

 this gall never push out into shoots but only de- 

 velope leaves, which are all rolled up and turned 

 round the stem, indicative of a general morbid 

 action. 



Fig. 3495 represents the leafv galls of the Dyer's 

 Broom: A, one of the- galls; fi, a leaflet from it, 

 magnified. 



A very remarkable gall, but by no means com- 

 mon, is produced on the oak by a species of Cynips. 

 It appears in the form of a woolly or cottony sub- 

 stance around the twig at the origin of the leaves, 

 and might be mistaken for a cluster of the Aphis 

 lanata, covered with their white down. Internally 

 the gall resembles in substance the bedeguar of the 

 rose, but the cells in which the larvae are lodged are 

 not so irregularly scattered, but arranged at the 

 offgoings of the leaf-stalks ; there are also small 

 isolated groups of cells. "The woolly covering is 

 analogous to the moss which invests the bedeguar of 

 the rose, and is probably intended also as a pro- 

 tection against cold. Fig. 3496 represents the woolly 

 gall of the oak, less than the natural size. 



The young shoots of the hawthttrn are subject to 

 the attacks of a fly, not a Cynips, but probably a 

 Cecidomya, which produces a semitrail, formed by 

 a crowded bunch of leaves, which appear curled and 

 half withered, and, as it were, crumpled up together ; 

 the twig which they terminate is stunted, and the 

 intertwined leaves, moreover, are covered with mi- 

 nute spines ; among these leaves numerous minute 

 white larvae work their way, keeping, however, in 

 the centre of the foliage which encloses them. This 

 kind of semi-gall is represented at Fig. 3497. 



Those galls of the oak called oak-apples, so often 

 seen on the slender twigs, are formed by a species 

 of Cynips (Cv'nips Quercfls), and often attain to a 

 large size. They are more or less rounded like a 

 small apple, but less regular and with indentations 

 on the surface ; the skin, however, is smooth and of 

 a greenish yellow, more or less tinged with a ruddy 

 hue. At the time of their first formation they have 

 a few leaflets at the base, but these soon fall off. 

 Their substance is fleshy. If one of these oak- 

 apples be split vertically, a number of granules will 

 be seen, in each of which is a minute larva: and ! 

 running to these granules from the stem are an 

 equal number of fine fibres, of which the granules 

 are the termination. It is probable that these fibres 

 are the nervures of what would have been leaves, 

 and Reaumur thinks that they do carry sap to 

 nourish the morbid excrescence, or gall-nut. The 

 perfect insect makes its appearance in June or the 

 beginning of July. Fig. 3498 shows two oak-apples 

 on the twig of an oak, and one cut open vertically, 

 displaying the granules and their vessels. 



Galls are often to be found on the bark of the 

 oak at the line of junction between the root and 

 stem. They are similar in structure to the oak- 

 apple, and are probably produced by the same or 

 a closely allied species, and at a season of the year 

 in which the buds or young twigs are unfit for the 

 reception of eggs. These kinds of galls are shown 

 at Fig. 3499. 



Clusters of very curious galls are often found 

 on the oak, which in size and appearance a 

 good deal resemble the oak-apple, but which are 

 really very different. Each of these galls contains 

 but a single larva ; the outer surface is hard, woody, 

 and yellowish : beneath this the structure is fleshy 

 and spongy, and in the centre of the fleshy inside is 

 a small hard case, or inner gall, in which the larva 

 will be found to reside ; numbers of these galls, from 

 two to seven or eight, each distinctly separated from 

 its neighbour, are frequent on the extremity of the 

 branches. 



The willow often exhibits galls of a very similar 

 structure, with this difference, that, instead of one 

 cell only, there are several, irregularly distributed 

 through the inner fleshy substance. These {jails 

 are seated either on the body of a branch or at its 

 extremity ; they are covered with a smoother bark 

 than that of the branch upon which they grow. 

 Fig. 3500 represents the Woody gall on a willow- 

 branch. 



The name of Currant galls has been given to 

 several kinds, but particularly to those which grow 

 on the catkins of the oak ; they adhere to the catkins, 

 which -hang more or less thickly loaded with them, 



bearing no little degree of resemblance to straggling 

 bunches of currants or bii'd-cherries. They appear 

 to be produced by a species of Cynips closely allied 

 to that which causes the small round galls on the 

 leaf of the oak. Fig. 3501 represents these pendent 

 currant galls. 



We may here notice the galls of commerce, so 

 valuable as one of the ingredients used for dyeing, 

 and so remarkable for their astringent quality and 

 bitterness. These are the production of a species of 

 Cynips, and occur chiefly on the quercus infectoria: 

 they vary in size and quality, the largest equalling a 

 nutmeg in magnitude, while others are not much 

 larger than a pea, and no doubt they aje produced 

 by a distinct species of fly. The surface is generally 

 covered with irregular lines and little ridges, and 

 their external crust is hard and woody. One variety 

 is white or yellow, another dusky olive green, grey, 

 or nearly black. The white variety is the largest, 

 but the least esteemed, and is often pierced with a 

 small aperture, through which the insect had made 

 its exit. These are obtained in Syria and Cyprus. 

 The best or dark galls are imported from Aleppo 

 and Smyrna. 



Galls enter into the list of articles of the Materia 

 Medica, but their employment is very limited. They 

 are used in making ink. 



Galls are not exclusively the production of the 

 Cynips family of insects. It appears that certain 

 species of beetles, called Weevils (Curcuiio), have 

 the power of introducing their eggs into the sub- 

 stance of leaves, or beneath the cuticle of bark. 

 Kiiby and Spence have ascertained that tubercles 

 found on the roots of charlock (Sinapis arvensis) are 

 due to the operation of a species of weevil (Curcuiio 

 contractus). The roots of the hollyhock (Alsea rosea) 

 are often much injured, and all covered with rough 

 excrescence.s, which contain the larvaj of other spe- 

 cies; and those on the roofs of cabbage-plants are 

 tenanted by larv* also ; others dwell in woody galls 

 on the leaves of the Guelder rose, the lime, and 

 beech. The hawthorn also is subject fo galls pro- 

 duced by weevil. One of these is desciibed by Mr 

 Kennie as placed at the extremity of a branch, and 

 enfolded by a bundle of leaves, which on being 

 opened displayed a brownish rounded woody sub- 

 stance, resembling the galls of some of the Cynips 

 tribe. On being opened a small yellowish grub 

 appeared coiled up, and feeding on the exuding 

 juices of the tree ; it was placed in a pasteboard 

 box with a fresh shoot of hawthorn, but it made no 

 attempts to construct a cell, or attack the fresh 

 shoot— a proof that the egg was originally introduced 

 by the puncture of the parent. Yet though thus 

 exposed to the air, and deprived of a great portion 

 of its nutriment by the loss of a portion of its cell 

 and the drying of the rest, it went through its 

 changes, and at last appeared in the form of a small 

 ereyish brown beetle of the Weevil family. Mr. 

 Rennie adds that in 1830 these galls were very 

 abundant during the summer. Fig. 3502 represents 

 the gall of this species of weevil on the hawthorn: 

 «, the gall opened to show the grub. 



Besides Weevils, there are certain two-winged 

 flies, as the thistle-fly (Tephritis Cardui), which pro- 

 duce woody galls on the thistle ; or, as another spe- 

 cies does, on the common white briony (Brionia 

 dioica). In the latter, the fly lays its eggs near a 

 joint of the stem ; the grubs live upon its substance, 

 and tlie joint swells into an oval excrescence fur- 

 rowed in several places. We have already alluded 

 fo the semigalls or partial galls of the gall-gnats 

 (Cecidomyae). 



Many species of Aphis produce partial galls, or 

 cells, on the leaves of trees and plants, which serve 

 as 'procreant cradles.' In some cases the.se cells are 

 complete without any aperture, in others they are 

 in the form of inflated vesicles with a narrow open- 

 ing on the under side of the leaf, fhe convex surface 

 of fhe vault rising on the upper side. We often see 

 this distortion of the leaf in the mountain ash (Py- 

 rus aucuparia). Often indeed the cells are very 

 large, and, though open underneath at first, the ori- 

 fice becomes iilfiniafcly closed, in consequence of 

 fhe repeated punctures made by the insect round its 

 edge, from which the sap is exuded, and which are 

 followed by a diseased action which soon ends in 

 the closure of fhe aperture. If the cell be examined 

 in its early stage, it will be found to contain a 

 single pregnant female ; but if when closed up, a nu- 

 merous brood will meet the eye, and these, by the 

 punctures they make in order to obtain nutriment, 

 extend the influence of the deranged action of the 

 leaf, and enlarge the walls of their domicile. The 

 species in question is the Aphis sorbi ; Fig. 3503, 

 magnified. 



I,et us at once, however, prevent any miscon- 

 struction respecting the cells or excrescences pro- 

 duced by the aphides; these insects do not punc- 

 ture fhe cuticle of fhe leaf with an ovipositor, and 

 deposit an egg in the orifice made ; on the contrary, 

 it is with the beak that they puncture plants, and 

 that for fhe sake of food, though, as often liappen^ 



