The el S TOR ¥ of bnosbee Ts. 3 
“ thrown off the outward {kin like a flough, 
*¢ the Aurelia appears as a new creature. ‘The 
*< throwing off the old, and affuming this new 
‘< form, is completed in the {pace of one mi- 
“ nute and ten feconds; and it is thus done, 
“¢ as I happened to fee it. ‘The motion of the 
«heart is very quick at firft, and the whole 
** frame of the body appears convulfed ; fo 
*‘ that the feveral circular folds of the feg- 
** ments emerge, and by the tranfverfe con- 
** ftruction of the fides, the external fkin is 
“‘ feparated from the inner; hence, upon 
“making an effort, and thrufting the body, 
** which now appears particularly thick to- 
** wards the head, the fkin is driven back- 
“* ward, and downward ; and the portions of 
** the trachea, being feparated from their ex- 
“* ternal proper orifices, are thrown away with 
‘* the fkin, which is then caft off. By this 
“ motion, a cleft or opening is made in the 
*« back near the head, and through the aper- 
** ture, the reft of the body makes its way 
“out; the fkin being, by degrees, drawn 
‘“« back towards the fundament: This procefs 
“* is affifted greatly by a yellow kind of ichor, 
“or fluid, which breaks forth from the cavi- 
*< ties of the fkull; and the Aurelia, or Nymph, 
‘© appears then free and difengaged. 
“© Whilft the infect is making its paflage 
** out, the horns, or antenne, which are 
** thicker and more flimy than the reft, are 
** feparated from the Aurelia’s body, and are 
** torn, as it were, out of two cavities of the 
** fkull, beyond the place where they are in- 
** ferted ; and their length, as they become 
** unfolded, occupies the fame place, which 
** the two mufcles of the jaws formerly had. 
** The wings alfo, and the legs appear to be 
** circumfcribed in their limits; the wings are 
** drawn from their fituation near the fore-legs 
** inthe Silk-Worm ; and the legs, from the 
** lateral parts of the back, which were before 
of a purple colour. But as thefe unfolded 
“* parts are yet mucous, they eafily ftick to 
** each other, and, infenfibly growing dry, 
“* they become fo clofely united, that the Au- 
** relia appears like one entire garment. Now, 
** as thefe parts are peculiar to the Butterflies, 
“ and are deftined for their ufe, fhe nature of 
** the Butterflies feems to be, to emerge fooner 
“ from the ftate of the Worm, than is com- 
** monly believed, and to be earlier implanted 
*‘ init; for evidently in the Silk-Worm, the 
** beginnings of the wings, may be feen under 
*¢ the fecond and third ring of the body, before 
“« the texture of the web. The.antenne, or 
‘** horns, aré likewife delineated on the fkull ; 
** and the web being finifhed, they have their 
*< own termination ; nor will it be improper to 
*€ doubt, that the new kind of life in the Au- 
“* relia, is only a mafk or veil of the Butterfly, 
** which is already perfect within; intended 
** that it fhould not be ftruck or deftroyed by 
* external injuries, but might grow {trong, 
** and ripen, as a foetus in the womb.” Thus 
far Malpighius, whofe laft-recited words an- 
{wer to thofe moft evident experiments, which 
I have formerly exhibited to the noble Lau- 
rence Magallotti; when he-was_ travelling 
through our part of the Netherlands, with his 
moft ferene highnefs the Grand Duke of Tut 
cany, as I have before related. In this trea- 
tife I advance nothing particular concerning 
the Silk-Worm, except the figures of the brain, 
{pinal marrow, and male organs of generation; 
which may be feen in Tab. XXVIII. fig. rir. 
Among the Butterflies which I have caught 
in the woods and fields, or on trees, flowers, 
and plants, and which I keep in my cabinet ; 
there are feveral, which have been already de- 
{cribed by Aldrovandus, Mouffet, Goedaert, 
and others: I fhall therefore pafs thefe over, 
without enumerating their Caterpillars in this 
place. Among Caterpillars, fome are hairy, 
others naked; fome have tails; others have 
antenne, or horns, fpines, wreaths, {pots, 
grooves, tubercles, tufts of hair, and, as it 
were, brufhes; fome are diftinguifhed by 
many, others with fewer colours ; and a like 
difference is found in their feet. Some have 
heads like hogs, cats, and mice; others carry 
on them marks, as it were, of diftin@ion ; 
and fome again are formed in different man- 
ners, and exhibit incomprehenfible reprefen- 
tations; fo that they cannot be defcribed by 
any detail of words; for which reafon, Goe- 
daert publithed them in their native colours. 
In the mean time, whilft we are confider- 
ing the glittering beauty of the Butterflies, we 
cannot but declare, that the confpicuous and 
beautiful tails of peacocks, and the fhowy fea= 
thers of the Oftrich, cannot be compared with 
the ornaments of thefe little creatures. Are 
not the wings of Butterflies moft beautifully 
fet, as it were, with pearls and diamonds, 
and with the turquoife, fapphires, and rubies, 
which increafe their fplendor. to fuch a degree, 
that their bafe bein g@ made, as it were, of the 
fubftance of mother-of-pearl, and covered 
with plates of gold, filver, copper, or molten 
brafs, furpafs the colours of the rainbow, by 
the bright reflexions of the rays ? That thefe 
little creatures might be exalted to the utmoft 
height of beauty, nature has favoured them 
with four wings; one of which beautifully re- 
prefents the other, as it were, in a mirror of 
looking-elafs ; whereas they might have flown 
with only two, and that moft {wiftly, and have 
cut the air in infinite meanders, furpaffing all 
imagination ; as any one inay fee on opening 
the under pair of wings. Some of the Butter- 
flies, which I preferve in my cabinet, have 
oval, others round wings ; fome oblong, and 
fome ferrated ; but, which is a very rare thing, 
one of them has wings on one fide membra- 
nous, and on the other, only covered with the 
feathery or fcaly duft; fo that they. confit - 
partly of a bare membrane, and partly of one 
fet with thefe feathers. 1 have likewife fome, 
the lower wings of which terminate, as ig 
were, in an acute tail; and in others they ter- 
minate in-balls, or as if they had knobs on 
their tops: all thefe are diurnal. I proceed 
now to the nc€turnal Butterflies, 
3 In 
