818 



A HISTORY OF 



came to pay us a visit in our fortification. It 

 was about day-break when the advanced 

 guard of this famished crew entered the 

 chapel, where some negro servants were 

 asleep upon the floor. The men were quick- 

 ly alarmed at the invasion of this unexpected 

 army, and prepared, as well as they could, 

 for a defence. While the foremost battalion 

 of insects had already taken possession of the 

 place, the rear-guard was more than a quar- 

 ter of a mile distant. The whole ground 

 seemed alive, and crawling with unceasing 

 destruction. After deliberating a few mo- 

 ments upon what was to be done, it was re- 

 solved to lay a large train of gunpowder along 



the path they had taken : by this means mil- 

 lions were blown to pieces; and the rear- 

 guard perceiving the destruction of their 

 leaders, thought proper instantly to return 

 and make back to their original habitation." 

 The order which these ants observe, seems 

 very extraordinary ; whenever they sally forth, 

 fifty or sixty larger than the rest are seen to 

 head the band, and conduct them to their 

 destined prey. If they have a fixed spot 

 where their prey continues to resort, they 

 then form a vaulted gallery, which is some- 

 times a quarter of a mile in length; and yet 

 they will hollow it out in the space of ten or 

 twelve hours.* 



CHAPTER CXX1V. 



OF THE BEETLE, AND ITS VARIETIES. 



HITHERTO we have been treating of 

 insects with four transparent wings, we now 

 come to a tribe with two transparent wings, 

 witli cases that cover them close while at 

 rest, but which allow them their proper play 

 when flying. The principal of these are the 

 Beetle, the May-bug, and the Cantharis. 

 These are all bred like the rest of their or- 

 der, first from eggs, then they become grubs, 

 then a chrysalis, in which the parts of the 

 future fly are distinctly seen; and, lastly, the 

 animal leaves its prison, breaking forth as a 

 winged animal in full maturity. 



Of the Beetle there are various kinds ; all, 

 however, concurring in one common forma- 

 tion of having cases to their wings, which are 

 the more necessary to those insects, as they 

 often live under the surface of the earth, in 

 holes which they dig out by their own indus- 



(a) But far exceeding in wisdom and policy the Bee, 

 the Ant, or the Beaver, is the White Ant, inhabiting the 

 plains of East India, Africa, and South America. The 

 animals of this extraordinary community consist of work- 

 ing insects or labourers, about half an inch long, having 

 six feet, and no eyes ; fighting insects or soldiers, about 

 an inch long, with a large head, and no eyes; and the 

 perfect male and female insect, which alone are furnished 

 with wings. They build pyramidal structures, ten or 



try. These cases prevent the various inju- 

 ries their real wings might sustain, by rubbing 

 or crushing against the sides of their abode. 

 These, though they do not assist flight, yet 

 keep the internal wings clean and even, and 

 produce a loud buzzing noise when the ani- 

 mal rises in the air. 



If we examine the formation of all animals 

 of the beetle kind, we shall find, as in shell- 

 fish, that their bones are placed externally, 

 and their muscles within. These muscles 

 are formed very much like those of quadru- 

 peds, and are endued with such surprising 

 strength, that, bulk for bulk, they are a thou- 

 sand times stronger than those of a man. 

 The strength of these muscles is of use in 

 digging the animal's subterraneous abode, 

 where it is most usually hatched, and to 

 which it most frequently returns, even after 



twelve feet in height, and divided into appropriate apart- 

 ments. These are so firmly cemented together, that they 

 will easily bear the weight of four or five men to stand 

 upon them : and in the vast plains of Senegal, they ap- 

 pear like the huts of -the natives. After impregnation, 

 the abdomen of the female grows to a prodigious bulk, 

 and she actually protrudes to the amount of eight thou- 

 sand eggs in twenty-four hours. 



