The HISTORY of INSECTS. 
*« of mutation, before it had taken its proper 
‘* quantity of nourifhment.’’ As this argu- 
ment appeared to him moft inconteftible and 
evident, he afterwards, in the twenty-ninth 
and thirtieth experiments of his fecond volume, 
where he defcribes fuch. another imperfect 
animal, and one with wings, does not men- 
tion one word of this falfe propofition, but 
pafles it over in filence, as if fufficiently proved, 
and not liable to contradiétion. 
Since in the places here cited two animals 
are exhibited, one of which, namely; the fe- 
male, is always, by an invariable law of. na- 
ture, tranfmuted without wings, Tab. XX XIII. 
fig. vi~ whilft the other, which is the male, 
never appears without them. No. v1. not only 
the genuine foundation of all natural mutations 
is overturned, and rendered obnoxious to chance, 
by the idle comments which we have extracted 
from Goedaert, but the road to truth is alfo 
rendered impraéticable, at leaft to the unfkilful. 
Goedaert himfelf could not avoid the confe- 
quences of fuch rafh and idle fictions; he has 
thence fallen. into two other miftakes. The 
firft is feen in the pains he muft have been at 
to fupply his Caterpillars with food as long as 
they required it. The fecond, his omitting, on 
this account, fome very curious experiments ; 
for, infatuated with his own prejudices, he 
neglected the true knowledge he might have 
acquired by his experiments, to adopt a falfe 
reafoning; fo that he could never afterwards 
by his experiments come to know, that the 
{pecies of Caterpillars he defcribes, are never 
changed. after any other manner; the male 
Caterpillar becoming conftantly a tender infec, 
furnifhed with wings, and the female a coarfe 
and. big-bellied one without any. 
The obferyation made in the place here cited 
appears to be of the utmoft importance, viz. 
‘That the male of the nocturnal Butterfly is 
“is always provided with wings, whereas the 
-** female never has any ;” fo that the male can. 
enjoy the {weet refrefhments which the free 
air affords, and ramble at pleafure over the 
{miling fields and fragrant flowers, when, on 
the other hand, the care at home, and ma- 
nagement of the fruits of wedlock, are com- 
mitted to the female only; for which reafon, 
fhe is always found with the hinder part of 
her body thruft out, in order, as it were, to 
induce the male to. do his duty; ‘nor does the 
male feem indifpofed to perpetuate his f{pecies. 
Nature, therefore, intended to afford us in thefe 
infects the moft ftriking examples of an af- 
fectionate mother, and a careful father; and 
perhaps, as the flothful were formerly refered 
to. the ant, as a pattern of induftry, married 
people, that neglect the duties of their ftate, 
may, with equal propriety, be defired to con-. 
fider this other little infect as a model of con- 
jugal folicitude. 
_ As it fufficiently appears from our experi- 
ments, which contradict thofe of Goedaert, 
(though that very obfervant author has taken 
the right method in making them, and hath 
15 
given tolerably accurate figures) what falfe 
confequences he has deduced from thence, 
and, by that means, rendered the {trongeft 
bafis of the origin of infects wholly fubject to 
chance ; we fhall now reftore this foundation; 
whereon, as on a rock, depends the whole 
fabrick of the tranfmutations of infects, and 
fhall lay down the following as undoubted 
axioms. Firft, that the Caterpillar cannot be 
changed before the time appointed by nature; 
that is, the laft moment of its growth. Se- 
condly, that although Caterpillars may be 
transformed before they leave off feeding, yet 
this has no effect to caufe any change in their 
form. We muft however acknowledge that 
fome difference in fize may arife from 
hence, which we muft obferve hath not 
been noticed by Goedaert, nor, hitherto, by 
any other perfon. Wherefore, thirdly, we by 
no means think it neceflary that the Caterpil- 
lar fhould be fed until it ceafes to eat of its 
own accord; for at the time when it is to un- 
dergo a change, the bufinefs of feeding is not 
only unneceflary and difficult, but entirely ufe- 
lefs. Confequently, the conclufions of Goe- 
daert before mentioned, have not been drawn 
from the nature of things, but from his own 
falfe and chimerical notions. For he, not 
having examined his experiments with deli- 
beration and diligence, deceived himfelf and 
others. she hit 
We may take it for granted, that as foon as 
the Caterpillars have arrived at their utmoft 
growth, that is, when all the limbs under the 
{kin have grown to a proper fize, they have 
not only power and ability, but alfo, if I may. 
be allowed the expreffion, a free and abfolute. 
will to begin their mutation, with this reftric- 
tion only, that they cannot omit or avoid it; 
fince the budding limbs, which demand, as 
it were, to be changed into the Nymph, in 
procefs of time, burfts the fkin, though they 
can feed for a confiderable time afterwards : 
but then, as I have before obferved, this fur- 
ther feeding is of no other ufe but to make the 
creature larger or {maller, for from that time 
not even the leaft of their limbs is increafed in 
length. This Harvey hath alfo remarked, in 
his treatife of the generation of animals, From 
hence it alfo follows, that thefe animalcules, 
now grown to perfection, attaining the age of 
maturity, and fit for the copulative ftate; apply 
themfelves folely to propagating their {pecies, 
in the execution whereof fome particulars are 
fo aftonifhing, that they deferve everlafting 
admiration. 
Nature performs the whole procefs of gene- 
ration in thefe infects in fo clear and open a 
manner, that by the afliftance thereof it fhould 
feem as if we could penetrate into the true 
foundations (though hitherto buried in dark- 
nefs) of the generation of other animals, 
which we {hall evidently demonftrate, when 
we have time and opportunity for further ex- 
periments. 
That 
