648 



ENTOMOLOGY. 



treats of insects. Mis observations are chiefly copied from 

 the work of Aristotle. In his da)-, the culture of silk- 

 worms was an object of attention. He says that garments 

 of silk were much admired in his days by the fair sex, 

 as it shewed their form to advantage from the delicacy 

 of its texture. 



From the time of Pliny till the overthrow of the Ro- 

 man empire, the study seems not to have been totally dis- 

 regarded ; but we are ignorant what steps were advan- 

 ced during that period. Amongst the writers were Ti- 

 ms, .litius, Alexander, Oribasius, Trallian and Paulus 

 Egineta, who lived between the fourth and seventh cen- 

 tury. Between the ninth and twelfth century, some of 

 the Arabian botanists distinguished themselves as ento- 

 mologists. The principal were Rhazes, Avicenna, Aven- 

 •/.oar, and Averrhoes. From this period till the fifteenth 

 century, a few obscure writers, scarcely worthy of notice, 

 appeared, viz. Myrepsus, Platerus, &c. 



Albertus Magnus wrote a general zoological work, en- 

 titled, De Anamalibus, part of which treats of insects. 

 He died 1280, but his work did not appear till the year 

 1619, being printed at Venice. 



In 1549, Agricola published his work, De Animalibus 

 Subterraneis, which contains a systematic arrangement 

 of insects. He reduces all insects to three principal 

 classes, viz. 1. Those that walk; 2. Those that fly; and 

 3. Those furnished with swimming feet ; and describes 

 a number of species. 



In 1552, Edward Wotton published a work, entitled, 

 De Differentiis Animalium, in which he treats largely on 

 insects. The book is in folio, and appeared three years 

 before the author's death. 



In 1555, Rondeletius of Montpellier gave his valuable 

 work, " Universa aquatilium Historia fiars altera," to the 

 world, in which he treats of insects, which he accompa- 

 nies with wood cuts. 



In 1599, in folio, was published at Naples, " Fcrrante 

 Imtierato dell' Historia Naturale libri 28." 



In 1602, a very voluminous work was published, enti- 

 tled De Animalibus In&ectis, by the " indefatigable com- 

 piler" Aldrovandus. Donovan is inclined to give him 

 considerable credit. He has certainly acquitted himself 

 in collecting together the undigested observations of the 

 ancients ; but from his entire ignorance of the subject, 

 he has necessarily fallen into all the errors of his prede- 

 cessors : we must, however, allow, that he has acted with 

 candour, having rarely omitted to mention his authori- 

 ties. He was professor of medicine at Bologna, and em- 

 ployed much of his time in the study of insects, and ex- 

 pended large sums of money in acquiring specimens, and 

 employing' artists to figure them. He is stated to have 

 paid two hundred florins annually to an artist, who was 

 occupied solely in the delineation of insects. He divides 

 insects into two great orders, 1. Terrestrial; 2. Aquatic, 

 which he terms Insecta farica, and JVon farica : these he 

 divides into sub-orders, from the number and situation 

 of their wings and feet. His figures are but rudely ex- 

 pressed, which is excusable. At this time a taste for 

 more expensive embellishments began to prevail ; but 

 as the art of engraving on copper had scarcely emerged 

 from its infancy, these works were exclusively produced 

 by artists themselves. 



In 1612, the Historia Animalium Sacra, by Wolfang 

 Frenzius, dividing insects into three classes, 1. Aeria, 2. 

 Aijuatka, 3. Terrea, and containing several new obser- 

 vations, appeared: and three years afterwards, in the 

 year 1616, at Rome, a pamphlet of about one hundred 



pages, in Latin, entitled, De Formica, by Jeremiah 

 Wilde. 



In 1622, a work but remotely relating to insects, in 

 4to, appeared in Edinburgh, bearing the following title, 

 Hieroglyphic a Animalium Terrestrium, &c. qua in Scrip- 

 turis Sacris inveniuntur et plurium aliorum, cttm eoruni 

 intrr/irctationibus ; which, being the first work relating 

 to insects published in Britain, is not unworthy of notice 

 as a curiosity. 



In 1630, a thin quarto, by Hocfnagle, was published 

 under the title of Diruersa Inscctorum volatilium Iconcs 

 ad vivum depict a, per D. J. Hoefnagle, typisque manda- 

 te a A r icolao Johanni Vischcr, containing 326 figures, 

 some of which are very indifferent. He has not adopted 

 any particular mode of arrangement, but contented him- 

 self with delineating them in the states presented by 

 chance, not always following them throughout their pro- 

 gressive changes. 



In 1634, Thomas MoufTet published his Inscctorum 

 sive minimorum Animalium Thcatrum, which appears to 

 be the second work on entomology published in our 

 country. This work, as its title indicates, is written in 

 the Latin language ; it appeared in London in one vo- 

 lume folio, and contains numerous wooden cuts, rudely 

 executed, accompanied by long, tedious, and often ridi- 

 culous and fanciful descriptions of the species. The 

 first seven chapters (capita,) are occupied with heavy 

 details concerning the common hive bee (Apis Mellifica.) 

 The eighth is entitled, De Vespis. The ninth, De Cra- 

 bronc et Tenthredinc, which includes the humble bees 

 (Bombi). The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth, De Muscis, 

 which includes, with several dipterous (or two-winged 

 insects) many hymenopterous, as well as neuropterous 

 insects. The thirteenth, De Culicibus. The fourteenth, 

 DePapilionibus, which occupies two hundred pages, the 

 margins being embellished with 112 wooden figures, 

 executed in the rudest style, yet in most instances toler- 

 ably intelligible to the skilful entomologist. The fifteenth, 

 De Cicindela, including the glow-worm (Lampyris,) and 

 several others. The sixteenth, De Locustis. The se- 

 venteenth, De Cicadis et Gryllis. The eighteenth, De 

 Blattis. The nineteenth, De Buprcstide et Cerambice. 

 The twentieth, De Cantharide. The twenty-first, De Sca- 

 rabxis, which includes many of the larger beetles, (Co- 

 leoptera). The twenty-second, De Scarabteis Minoribus. 

 The twenty third, De Froscarabaoet Scarabao Aquatico. 

 The twenty-fourth, De Gryllotalpa. The twenty-fifth, 

 De Phryganea. The twenty-sixth, De Tipula. The 

 twenty-seventh, De Forfcula sive auricularia. The twen- 

 ty-eighth, De Scorpio, Formica, et Pediculis alatis. And, 

 lastly, the twenty-ninth, De Cimice Sytvcstri. Afterthese, 

 we arrive at the second book, which treats of apterous 

 insects, (those wanting wings), amongst which he places 

 all sorts of Larva (or caterpillars) of other species be- 

 longing to winged insects, and likewise many of the 

 vermes, &c. We must apologise to the reader for taking 

 up so much of his time with dry statements of the heads 

 of this work; but as it was one of the first produced in 

 this country, we trust he will not consider it as entirely 

 uninteresting; and as a specimen of his style and notions 

 relative to insects, we may quote the following, which 

 speaks of a species of Mantis, (probably M. religiosa or 

 Oratorio.) : " Pectus habct longum, tenue, cuculo tectum, 

 caput simplex ; oculos sanguineos, satis magnos, anten- 

 nas breves, pedes sex locustarum more, sed anteriores 

 multo crassiorcs longiorcsque cxteris, quos quia junc- 

 los plerumque clcvat (precantium ritu) a nostratibus 



