INDIRECT INJURIES CAUSED BY INSECTS. 125 



must endeavour to trace it in the country in which it received 

 its name and character. This country was certainly Greece ; 

 and there such an animal, retaining nearly its old name, and ac- 

 cused of being the cause of the same injury to cattle, still exists. 

 For Belon informs us, that on Mount Athos there is found 

 a winged insect like the blister-beetle, but yellow, larger, 

 and of a very offensive smell, which feeds upon various plants, 

 and is called Voupristi by the caloyers or monks, who assert 

 that when horses or other cattle even feed upon the herbs which 

 the animals have touched they die from inflammation, and 

 that it is an immediate poison to oxen.^ This, therefore, 

 most probably was the Buprestis of the Greek writers ; and 

 as Pliny usually compiled from them, it may be regarded as 

 his also, which he tells us was a caustic insect, and prepared 

 in the same manner as the blister-beetle.^ He further ob- 

 serves that it was scarce in Italy. The Greek insect of 

 Mount Athos M. Latreille supposes to be a Mylabris, and in 

 this I agree with him; and, therefore, this is the proper 

 genus to which the original Greek Buprestis, the true type of 

 the insect in question, ought to be referred, and not Meloe. 



Whether this animal be really guilty to the extent of which 

 it is accused, admits of considerable doubt ; but as I have not 

 the means of ascertaining this, I shall leave the question for 

 others who are better informed to decide. 



But of all our cattle none are more valuable and important 

 to us than our flocks ; to them we look not only for a prin- 

 cipal part of our food, but also for clothing and even light. 

 Thick as is their coat of wool, it does not shield them from 

 the attack of all-subduing insects : on the contrary, it affords 

 a comfortable shelter to one of their enemies of this class, 

 regarded by Linne as a species of Hippohosca^ but properly 

 separted from that genus by Latreille under the name of Me- 

 lophagus.^ This is commonly called the sheep-louse, and is 

 so tenacious of life, that we are told by Kay it will exist in a 

 fleece twelve months after it is shorn, and its excrements are 

 said to give a green tinge to the wool very diflicult to be dis- 



1 Observations de plusieurs Singularites, Bcc. 1. i. c. 45. p. 73. of the edition 

 in Sir Joseph Banks's library. 



2 Hist. Nat. 1. xxix. c. 4. 3 See Curtis, Brit. Ent. t. 142. 



