298 CLASS V. INSECTS. 



brilliancy of colouring, has also given to others a certain 

 share of strength and armour for their necessary defence, 

 or for the means of procuring their food. The wasp and 

 the bee have formidable stings ; the beetle kind have gene- 

 rally a strong shelly covering ; and ants, particularly the 

 termites, have powerful teeth. The most delicate insects, 

 such as caterpillars, are furnished with hairs which serve 

 to break the force of shocks which they are liable to re- 

 ceive, as well as to weaken the effects of external annoy- 

 ance. The generality of insects are likewise quick in 

 flight to avoid impending danger : some by the assistance 

 of their wings ; others by means of threads which they 

 can throw out, and by which they suspend themselves 

 till the danger is past ; and others still, as the grasshopper, 

 are able to leap a considerable distance. Thus every 

 species, however minute, is furnished with certain appro- 

 priate means for self-preservation. 



But, if we examine the various organs with which insects 

 are supplied, and the instruments which they use, our 

 admiration will be still more excited. The silkworm (the 

 most valuable of all the class) is so completely formed for 

 spinning, by its two distaffs and fingers for drawing out 

 the thread, that the utmost efforts of art to accomplish 

 the same end are only an imitation of nature. The spider 

 fabricates nets and webs, and is, therfore, provided with 

 implements for that purpose ; the wasp, by means of two 

 small saws which spring from the angles of the mouth, 

 procures what materials are necessary for the construction 

 of its cell ; while bees are furnished with a variety of 

 tools or instruments, indispensably necessary to the form- 

 ation of their combs, and the collection of their honey. 

 Nothing, indeed, can be more wonderfully constructed 

 than the trunk of the bee ; by means of which the animal 

 is fitted for extracting the honied balsam, even from herbs 

 of the most deleterious quality. 



In a variety of respects, the structure of the eye in in- 

 sects is different from that of other creatures ; its own 

 rigidity protects it against external injuries ; and its 



