Insects.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



383 



When a termites' hive is disturbed or broken open, 

 the workers retreat, and the soldiers rush with ala- 

 crity to the breach, their numbers continually in- 

 creasing. They attack and bite with inveterate 

 fury, and, beins: blind, seize everything they come 

 in contact with. If they seize the legs of persons, 

 as they often do those of the negroes, they make 

 their large mandibles meet in the flesh, and will not 

 let go their hold, even though torn limb from limb. 

 When their disturber retires, they collect themselves 

 and return to the citadel, and the labourers then 

 come forward and commence repairing the damage, 

 each bearing a load of tempered clay; and though 

 millions are engaged at once, they appear never to 

 obstruct each other's movements. 



These clay houses of the termites are solid and 

 strong, and last for years, generation succeeding to 

 generation ; and in order to keep up a due succes- 

 sion of living myriads, a male and female, at the 

 time of the great ' swarming,' are secured and made 

 prisoners within a royal ceil. In a short time, the 

 male, as it would appear, dies, and the female, as in 

 the case of the founder of a new colony, commences 

 the laying of her eggs. Thus a perpetual supply of 

 workers or soldiers is maintained, and the loss from 

 the departure of the winged males and females, at 

 the periodical swarming times, counterbalanced. 



Several species of termites, as Termes atrox, and 

 Termes mordax of Smeathman, build their nests in 

 the form of pillars of clay, with a conical mushroom- 

 shaped capital ; internally they contain numerous 

 cells and galleries. Groups of five or six of these 

 turrets are often to be seen in the woods at the foot 

 of a tree ; they are very strongly and solidly con- 

 structed. Fig. 3670 represents Termes bellicosus in 

 the winged state. Fig. 3671, the queen distended 

 with eggs. Fig. 3672, a, a covered-way and nest, in a 

 tree, of the Termes aborum ; b, a section of the great 

 domed nest of Termes bellicosus ; c, a nest of the 

 same, entire. Fig. 3673, a group of turret nests of 

 Termes mordax ; one nest is represented as cut 

 through, to show its interior. 



Of the ravages made by termites in the hotter 

 climates, travellers give extraordinary accounts. 

 These insects destroy the furniture of houses, and 

 even the houses themselves ; books, papers, cloth, 

 linen, boots and shoes are all devoured : shelves 

 and wainscoting disappear before them, and the 

 solid roof-beams are eaten through and through till 

 ready to fall. They work insidiously in the night, 

 and in the morning the effects of their visitation are 

 but too manifest. Forbes (in his ' Oriental Me- 

 moirs'), Humboldt (in his ' Pol. Essay on New 

 Spain'), Smeathman, Kaempfer (in his 'Hist. Japan'), 

 Percival (in his account of Ceylon), and other 

 writers, bear abundant testimony to the terrible de- 

 structiveness of these tiny but innumerable pests. 



We must not, however, linger; it is time to pass 

 on to other groups in our pictorial cabinet. 



Several coleopterous insects demand a cursory 

 glance. From the earliest times two species of Sca- 

 rabieus, the Ateuehus .i^gyptiacus, according to 

 Latreille, and the Ateuehus sacer of Olivier, were 

 worshipped, and adopted as symbols, by the ancient 

 Egyptians; the former beetle is of a beautiful green 

 with a golden gloss, and is found in Sennaar. Like 

 the rest of its tribe it encloses its eggs in balls of 

 dung, which it rolls along by means of its hind-feet, 

 until it has found holes adapted to receive them, or 

 spots in which it can bury them. The Ateuehus 

 sacer is black, with the thorax dotted with little 

 pits. It is common in Egypt and the southern 

 countries of Europe. 



On all the monuments of Ejypt the scarabaeus 

 may be seen, sometimes with the wings closed, and 

 sometimes extended, with a ball between their 

 fore-limbs: — charms, and amulets of gold, and pre- 

 cious stones, were made in the form of these insects, 

 which were worn suspended to the neck, and en- 

 tombed with the mummies; and large figures, ela- 

 borately carved in green-coloured basalt, or verd- 

 antique, have been found in the temples and places 

 of sepulture, occasionally adorned with hieroglyphic 

 characters. Fig. 3674 shows four of these repre- 

 sentations from Egyptian monuments ; and Fig. 

 3675, a colossal beetle sculptured in greenish- 

 coloured granite, preserved in the British Museum. 



The family Scarabaeidae, including the genera into 

 which it is divided, as Sisyphus, Geotriipes,&c., &c., 

 belongs to the lamellicorn section of the Coleoptera, 

 and to the same section belongs the Chaffer (Me- 

 lolontha vulgaris), to the ravages of which we have 

 already alluded. The stag-beetle (Lucanuscei-vus) 

 is also within the limits of the lamellicorn section. 

 This beetle is remarkable for the development of the 

 mandibles in the male. Latreille says we may pre- 

 sume that the larva of this species, which passes 

 some years in the interior of the oak before under- 

 );oing its last transformations, is the Cossus of the 

 Romans, who regarded it as one of the delicacies of 

 the table. Some, however, suspect it to have been 

 the larva of a Curculio ((!. coriarius). They fat- 

 tened it with flour, and highly esteemed its delicate 



flavour. Fig. 3676 shows a comparison of the male 

 with the female stag-beetle. Fig. 3677 represents 

 the Lamia amputator (Cerambyx amputator), one 

 of the ' Longicornes' of Latreille. It is very destruc- 

 tive to growing trees, from its habit of eating round 

 a twig or branch, thus cutting oft' the course of the 

 sap; the part above con.sequently perishes. The 

 insect is represented in the act of making its circular 

 incision. 



Fig. 3G78 represents the nut-weevil (Balaninus 

 nuciim), one of the Ciirculionidso, a family remark- 

 able for the shape of the head, which projects into 

 a long snout or rostrum, bearing the antennae, and 

 furnished at the top with a minute pair of horizontal 

 jaws. This instrument is used for boring into nuts 

 and filberts, &c., while they are yet soft, and de- 

 positing an egg in the hole it has made ; the larva 

 feeds on the kernel. A, shows the tip of the rostrum ; 

 magnified ; a a, the jaws ; B, side view of the same ; 

 C, larva ; D, pupa. 



An allied Ibrra is represented by the genus Brentus 

 (Curculio, Linn.), in which are several insects of 

 most remarkable form, all confined to the hotter 

 <;limates, with the exception of one species, which 

 is Italian. Of their habits little is known ; they 

 are generally found on trees, or under the bark. 

 Fig. 3679 represents Brentus Temminckii, Kliig, a 

 native of Java. 



Of carnivorous beetles, we may notice the Cteno- 

 soma macilentum, the example of a South American 

 genus, of the family Cicindelidae. This species is 

 about half an inch in length, and of a bronzy black 

 colour. The elytra are punctured, and have a trans- 

 verse yellow band. Fig. 3680 represents the Cteno- 

 soma macilentum ; a. natural length. 



The following carnivorous beetles are British. 

 A rare species of the genus Calatnus, family Har- 

 palidae, is occasionally to be met with ; it is the Ca- 

 lathus latus : other species are common, and may 

 be found under stones or rubbish, or by the sides of 

 pathways. Upwards of twenty species, almost all 

 European, are enumerated. Fig. 3681 represents 

 Calathus latus. 



A family of highly carnivorous insects are de- 

 signated by the title of Carabidae, of which the 

 genera Carabus, Tefflus, Proceras, Procrustes, and 

 Calasoma, contain the largest examples of car- 

 nivorous Coleoptera. The Carabus violaceus is very 

 common ; of a black colour, with violet and copper 

 reflexions. It feeds upon other insects and worms, 

 which it seizes with great avidity, and holds in its 

 sharp mandibles with a tenacious grasp. Other 

 species are the C. Hortensis, C. catenulatus, C. 

 cancellatus, &c. : upwards of 120 species have been 

 described. 



The genus Calasoma is closely allied to Carabus, 

 and contains our finest and largest British example 

 of the Carabidae, viz., the Calasoma sycophanta. It 

 is about an inch long; the head, thorax, and under 

 parts are of a beautiful blue ; the elytra green, with 

 red reflexions ; the limbs black. It is far more 

 common in France and Germany than in England. 

 Fig. 3682 represents this brilliant species. 



We have already alluded to the Blaps mortisaga, 

 common in grave-yards, damp and foul cellars, and 

 dark places. It is of omnivorous appetite, and will 

 feed on putrescent animal matters. A rather more 

 uncommon species, Blaps obtiisa, is represented at 

 a, Fig. 3683 ; b, one of the antennae magnified. 



Certain Coleoptera are remarkable for the soft- 

 ness of the body generally, and the flexibility of 

 the elytra, as Meloe, Cantharis, Lagria, &c. These 

 insects are arboreal in their habits, and feed on 

 vegetables. A species of the genus Lagria is com- 

 mon in our islands, frequenting wooded places, and 

 is very abundant on the hawthorn. It is of an oval 

 form, with a narrow head and thorax. These, as 

 well as the body beneath, the antenna; and legs, are 

 black; the elytra are yellowish, soft, and covered 

 with very short down. Fig. 3684 represents this 

 species, the Lagria hirta : o, natural length ; h, one 

 of the antennae; c, tarsus of fore-limb ; d, tarsus of 

 hind-limb. 



Leaving these examples of the more oidinary 

 forms of Coleoptera, we may here advert to the lu- 

 minosity of insects : several coleopterous insects are 

 luminous at night, emitting from some part of their 

 bodies a gleaming light, supposed to be phosphores- 

 cent and in some species of exceeding brilliancy. 



In our country the glowworm, the wingless female 

 of a beetle, Lampyris noctihica, is well known ; and 

 in the southern parts of our island may be seen at 

 night during the months of July and August, 

 gemming the mossy couches with brilliant stars. 

 The light proceeds from the abdomen ; but though 

 by far the most intense in the female, if is not al- 

 together ab.^ent in the male, or even in the larvae. 

 The end to be answeivd by this phosphorescence is 

 not very clear. Fig. 3685 represents llie winged 

 male and wingless females of Lampyris. Fig. 3686, 

 the head of the male glowworm. 



Mr. Reiinie (in ' Journ. Hoy. List.,' 0('t. 1830) 

 describes a singular caudal instrument in the larva 



|i 



of the glowworm, capable of being protruded at 

 pleasure, in the form of a brush of filaments, or soft 

 rays, themselves individually retractile or extensible, 

 by means of which it clears its body from various 

 extraneous particles. He observed the larva to 

 bend back its tail, and suck up into a sort of funnel- 

 shaped cavity, formed by the converging rays, par- 

 ticles of dust, or other impurities, till the cavity 

 could hold no more ; then by a sort of vermicular 

 movement of the rays, the accumulated matter was 

 rejected, so as to be out of the insect's way. He 

 also assures us that snails constitute the food of the 

 larva of the glowworm, and that after the repast it 

 cleanses itself from slime by means of its caudal 

 apparatus. Fig. 3687 shows a magnified view of 

 the cleansing instrument, opened and closed. Fig. 

 3688 the larva of the glowworm using its cleansing 

 instrument. Fig. 3688* the larva of the glowworm 

 devouring a snail. 



In France a distinct species, Lampyris splendidula, 

 is common. In Italy a beautiful fire-fly, Pygo- 

 lampis Italica, of which both the male and the 

 female are winged, is still more brilliant; in some 

 parts it is very abundant, and when numbers are 

 seen flitting at night among the groves, the effect 

 produced is extremely beautiful. 



The thick antennae of the Paussus sphocrocerus aie 

 luminous; and in the eyes of some moths, as the 

 Cossus ligniperda, the same property has been no- 

 ticed. It is, however, in the warmer regions of 

 South America, and in the West India Islands, 

 where the most brilliant of these luminous insects 

 exist — radiant lamps of night — 



" Now motionless and dark, cludin;; searcli, 

 Self-shrouded, and anon starring' the aky," 



Most have heard of the fire-fly of the West Indies. 

 It is a species of beetle, Elater noctilucus, about an 

 inch in length. It gives out its principal light from 

 two transparent eye-like tubercles on the thorax, 

 and there are also other luminous spots concealed 

 under the elytra when closed, but apparent while 

 the insect is on the wing, at which time it appears 

 adorned with four biilliant gems of rich golden 

 radiance. A paler light also shines out between 

 the abdominal segments. 



The Caiibs of Domingo, a race whose memory is 

 now passing away, were formerly accustomed to use 

 these living lamps, during their evening household 

 occupations. In travelling at night they fastened 

 them to their feet, and in fishing or hunting during 

 darkness required no other flambeau. The fondness 

 of these fire-flies for gnats, which they greedily de- 

 vour, led to their encouragement in houses and 

 rooms, for the sake of a service of no little import- 

 ance. 



Southey, in his poem of ' Madoc,' has introduced 

 this insect as furnishing the lamp by the light of 

 which Coatel rescued the British hero from the 

 hands of the Mexican priests : — • 



*'She lieckon'd and descended, and drew out 

 From underneath her vest a cag:e. or net 

 It rather mijjht be called, so fine ilie twin's 

 Which knit it — where, contined, two fire-llies gave 

 Their lustre. By that li^jht did Mndoc (Irst 

 Uchold the features of his lovely guide." 



This species, as well as the Elater ignitus, and 

 others, are common in the intertropical latitudes of 

 South America, as well as in the islands. Fig. 3689 

 represents the Elater noctilucus. 



If the accounts of some writers are to be ac- 

 credited, the Elater noctilucus must yield the palm 

 of brilliancy to an insect of the homopterous group 

 or order, the Fulgora laternaria, or lantern-fly. It 

 is a native of South America, about two inches and 

 a half long, and about five inches in the expanse 

 of its wings, having a hollow transparent projection 

 from the head, seven or eight lines long, which is 

 the organ whence the effulgence is said to issue. 

 Madame Merian states that the first discovery which 

 she made respecting the luminosity of these insects, 

 caused her no small alarm. The Indians had brought 

 her several, which in daylight exhibited no extra- 

 ordinary appearance. She put them into a box 

 until she should have an opportunity of drawing 

 them, and placed it on a table in her apartment. 

 In the middle of the night the confined insects 

 made such a noise as to awake her, and she opened 

 the box, which, to her great astonishment, seemed 

 in a blaze ; letting it fall in her fright, she was not 

 less surprised to see each of the insects glowing as 

 if on fire. According to her story, the light of a 

 single insect is sufficient to read by. Unfortunately 

 for Madame Merian her veracity is very qaestiori- 

 able. Recent naturalists who have travelled in 

 South America, and are well acquainted with this 

 insect, assert the whole account to be completely 

 fabulous. Sieber, a practised entomologist, took 

 numbers of Fulgorae during his stay in the Brazils, 

 where he resided for several years, and treats Madame 

 Merian's story as unworthy of notice.!- We our- 

 selves have been positively assured by observers of 



t Dr. Hancock, Dr. IJurmeisier, Prince Maximilian Df Neuwicd, 

 deny the luminosity of this insect. They had abrind.int oppt>r:i!.iitie» 

 of seeing it in its native regions. 



