198 EYES OF INSECTS. 



this general character of dull opacity, thus observable in the 

 eyes of Insects, there are however a few exceptions, though 

 these are none of the most pleasing sort. 



There is the eye (as a larva) of that Bug-destroyer, (albeit a 

 Bug himself,) the Eeduvius personatus, with its dark pupil and 

 blood-red iris, illumined with a glare of fierceness. And some- 

 what resembling in colour and expression, is that of the Scor- 

 pion, from the gaze of which, if of augmented size, we should 

 recoil with horror. The golden eyes of the beautiful lace- 

 winged Fly ; the eyes, painted in stripes, of many of the Gad- 

 Flies ; the flower-like eyes of another Insect, an exotic, are 

 all beautiful varieties of the optic organ, though in point of 

 expression they may rank no higher than the less ornamented 

 instruments furnished commonly to the Insect crew. 



Many species of nocturnal Moths sail through the dark 

 ocean of night, carrying lanterns at their prows in the shape 

 of eyes, which, black or brown by day, become glowing 

 sparks in the gloom. These perhaps are the only Insect eyes 

 which may be strictly called luminous ; but those of the fierce 

 Dragon Fly, and of its gentle prey, the white Garden Butterfly,' 

 display in day -light a more than ordinary share of crystalline 

 transparency. 



Of eyelids, Insects, we believe, are wholly destitute, but they 

 are often amply provided with eye-lashes, or with what stands 

 them in the stead of those protective appendages. Their pur- 

 pose in defending the concave surface of the eye from dust and 



