M O R 
left among his papers Memoirs of his Life, written by 
himfelf, in which he made fuch free Confeflions of mif- 
condudt, that his widow, through regard to his memory, 
committed them to the flames. 
MOR'DECAI, [Heb. bitter.] A man’s name. 
MORDEL'LA, f. in entomology, the Nibbler ; a ge¬ 
nus of coleopterous infects. Generic characters—An¬ 
tennae moniliform, orpeftinate; head defleCted and bent 
under the neck ; wing-cafes curved downwards towards 
the tip : at the bafe of the abdomen, and before the 
thighs, is a broad lamina. There are thirty-four lpecies, 
divided into two fedtions. 
I. Antennas moniliform; fore-feelers clavate, hind- 
feelers filiform. 
1. Mordella aculeata: tail ending in a fliarp point. 
This is the moll common of the Britilh fpecies, meafuring 
from a quarter to half an inch in length. It is entirely 
black, and of a fmooth furface; the abdomen is com- 
prefled, and terminates in a fpine or fliarp procefs, ex¬ 
tending beyond the wing-fheaths : the legs are rather 
long; and the infedt, when difturbed, has the power of 
leaping or fpringing to a fmall diftance. It is ufually 
found on plants, in gardens, and other places. It is ob- 
ferved to vary occafionally in colour, having the wing- 
fheaths fometimes marked with two tranfverfe cinereous 
bars. 
2. Mordella fafciata: tail ending in a point; body 
black; Ihells with two cinereous bands. It is found on 
flowers in the fouthern parts of Europe. 
3. Mordella pundlata: tail ending in a point; wing- 
Ihells black, with four yellow dots, the firft lunate. It 
inhabits South America. The head is brown ; thorax 
yellowifli, villous, with four brown dots before, and waved 
itreaks behind; fliells truncate; body grey; fpine at the 
end of the abdomen black. 
4. Mordella teftacea : black; fhells teftaceous,and edged 
with black. Inhabits Africa, on the Daucus. 
5. Mordella ventralis: tail ending in a fpine ; the body 
is black, abdomen fulvous. Inhabits Germany. 
6 . Mordella abdominalis: tail ending in a fpine ; body 
black; the thorax and abdomen fulvous. It is found in 
many parts of Europe. 
7. Mordella humeralis: black; fliells yellowifli at the 
bale. It is found in this country, and other parts of 
Europe, on flowers. 
3 . Mordella lateralis: black; mouth, fides of the tho¬ 
rax, and legs, teftaceous. It is found in Holface, on 
flowers. 
9. Mordella frontalis: black ; front and legs yellowifli. 
Inhabits Europe. 
10. Mordella atra: black, immaculate ; tail not fpinous. 
Found in Denmark. 
11. Mordella thoracica : black s'-head and thorax yel¬ 
low. This is found in divers parts of Europe. 
12. Mordella ruficolis: black; mouth, thorax, and legs, 
yellow. It is found in France, and relembles the laft. 
13. Mordella flava: } r ellow; fliells tipt with black. 
Found on umbellate flowers in feveral parts of Europe. 
14. Mordella tricufpidata: yellow; abdominal lamina 
blue; thorax tricul'pidate behind; fhells with three black 
dots. It is found in Siberia. 
15. Mordella murina : pubefcent; undulate, and cine¬ 
reous ; the thorax has three black dots. 
16. Mordella pundlata: glofty black; fliells with three 
white dots. It js found in Germany. 
17. Mordella oxvacanthse: teftaceous; head black; 
thorax brown. It inhabits England, and is found on 
the flowers of the Crataegus oxyacantlia. 
18. Mordella melanopus •. biack ; fliells, thorax, head, 
and legs, teftaceous. This is alfo an Englilh inledt. 
19. Mordella bicolor: black; fliells teftaceous, tipt 
with black, a black band in the middle. Native of 
England. 
20. Mordella perlata: glofiy black, fub-villo.us 5 hinder 
Vox.. XV. No. 1084. - 
M O R 789 
margin of the thorax, and four fpots on the thorax,pearled. 
It is found among the Alps. 
21. Mordella rafipes: brown; legs ferruginous. Inha¬ 
bits France. 
22. Mordella clavicornis: entirely piceous ; the an¬ 
tennae clavate. Found in England, on the flowers of the 
Rhseum rhabarbarum, and lias been thought not to be¬ 
long to this genus. 
II. Antennas pectinate ; the feelers uniform. 
23. Mordella fubdiptera: fliells very fliort, ovate, vault¬ 
ed, palifli. It inhabits Provence. Antennas yellow; tho¬ 
rax gibbous, black; w’ings exferted, longer than the body, 
whitifh with a brown fpot in the middle; legs dufky, pale 
rufous at the tip ; abdomen of the male black, of the fe¬ 
male pale, with a black tail. 
24. Mordella ferruginea: rufous ; breaft, tail, and legs, 
black. It inhabits the Eaft Indies. The antennae are 
black; the wings brown. 
25. Mordella nafuta: body entirely black, immacu¬ 
late. It inhabits Japan, and has been defcribed by 
Thunberg. 
26. Mordella pedtinata: rufous; antennas black; head 
rufous; eyes black ; thorax narrower before, pointed be¬ 
hind; fliells black at the bafe, with a cinereous blotch in 
the middle; wings black; legs rufous, and joints black. 
Inhabits America. 
27. Mordella paradoxa : black ; fides of the thorax and. 
fliells teftaceous. Inhabits the umbellate plants of Europe. 
28. Mordella flabellata : teftaceous; mouth, breaft, and 
back of the abdomen, black. It inhabits Italy. The an¬ 
tennas are black; the firft joint ferruginous; head tefta¬ 
ceous; mouth black; abdomen very obtiife, teftaceous, 
black on the back. 
29. Mordella pundlata : thorax teftaceous, dotted with 
black; fliells black-edged. Inhabits Cayenne. The an¬ 
tennas are black; dots on the thorax 4, 1,2; margin and 
future of the fliells teftaceous, with a black dot at the 
tip; the legs are black; flianks teftaceous at the bafe. 
30. Mordella fex-rnaculata: black; thorax ferruginous; 
fliells teftaceous, with three black fpots on each. It is 
found in America. 
31. Mordella bi-maculata: ferruginous; breaft black; 
fliell teftaceous, with a black fpot. Inhabits Hungary. 
32. Mordella dimidiata: black; the fliells on the upper 
half are yellow. The body is of a glofiy black, except the 
upper half of the wing-fliells; the abdomen is very ob- 
tufe, and almoft truncate. 
33. Mordella limbata : ferruginous ; the crown, difk of 
the thorax, and fliells, black. 
34. Mordella populnea: black: fliells teftaceous with 
three black bands, the firft annular. It is found in Ger¬ 
many, on the poplar-tree, whence it derives its name. 
MORDEL'LES, a town of France, in the department 
of the Ille and Vilaine, and chief place of a canton, in 
the diftridt of Rennes. The place contains 2292, and the 
canton 6664, inhabitants. 
MOR'DEN COL'LEGE. See Greenwich, vol. ix. p. 9. 
MOR'DENT, adj. [ ryordeo , Lat. to bite.] Biting; pun¬ 
gent; acrid. Scott. 
MOR'DICANCY, f. Biting quality.—The mordtcancy 
thus allayed, be lure to make the mortar clean. Evelyn. 
MOR'DICANT, adj. [tnordco, Lat.] Biting; acrid.— 
He prefumes, that the mordicmit quality of bodies mult 
proceed from a fiery ingredient; whereas the light and 
inflammable parts mull be driven away by that time the 
fire has reduced the body to allies. Boyle. 
To MOR ,- DICATE, v. a. [mordeo , Lat. to bite.] To 
bite ; to fling. Cole. 
MORDICA'TION, f. The act of corroding or biting. 
-—Another caufe is nwrdication of the orifices, efpecially 
of the mefentery veins; as any thing that is fliarp and 
biting doth provoke the part to expel, and milliard pro- 
voketh fneezing. Bacon. 
MOR'DICATIVE, adj. Biting; flinging. Cole. 
9 P MOR'DINGTON, 
