An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. 3 or Elements of the Natural History of the Insects

As the _head_ of insects is the principal seat of the organs of _sensation_, so is the _trunk_ of those of _motion_; and in it are contained the muscles by which they are moved:...

namely, its _articulation with the trunk_, or rather with its anterior segment, the _prothorax_.--M. Cuvier makes _two_ principal kinds of articulation of the head upon the prot...

On a former occasion I gave you a general idea of what has been called, perhaps not improperly, the _metamorphosis_ of insects[61]; but since that time much novel and interestin...

What is an insect? This may seem a strange question after such copious details as have been given in my former Letters of their history and economy, in which it appears to have...

I shall say something next upon the _age_ of larvæ, or the period intervening between their exclusion from the egg and their becoming pupæ. This is exceedingly various, but in e...

Having shown you our little animals in every state, and traced their progress from the egg to the perfect insect, I must next give you some account of their _structure_ and _ana...

I should next say something upon the spiracles, or breathing-pores, or any other external apparatus for the purpose of _respiration_, in larvæ; but I think it will be best to re...

their _sculpture_ also, and _pubescence_. Thus the elytra of the females of many of the larger water-beetles (_Dytiscus_) are deeply furrowed, while those of the males are quite...

that receives the pedicle of the abdomen. The shape of these orifices, both of the trunk and abdomen, varies in different genera: thus, in the bee it is triangular, with the ver...

i. Spiders, _Phalangia_, scorpions, lice, _Poduræ_, sugar-lice (_Lepisma_), mites, centipedes, millepedes, &c. come under the _first_ subdivision. The larvæ of the first six tri...

the larva, through which no _trace_ of the perfect insect can be _discovered_. These, which Linné termed _coarctate_ pupæ, include a large proportion of the _dipterous_ genera;...

locomotive, yet I must not omit some notice of their _motions_. As the legs of insects in this state are folded within a common or partial integument, of course none of the pupæ...

larva of a _Tinea_ of Linné, but of a different habit from that of most subcutaneous ones), has no true legs, and eighteen prolegs without any claws. Another subcutaneous larva,...

of insects occur in their _bodily_ structure; but there are others of a somewhat higher description observable in their _character_. You may smile at the idea of character in be...

[1238] For Mandibles of _Locusta_ see PLATE VI. FIG. 6. c´. of _Lampyris_ Oliv. _Ins._ no. 28. _t._ i. _f._ 1. of _Buprestis_, _Ibid._ no. 32. _t._ iii. _f._ 17. of _Lucanus_, _...

When the insect has quitted the exuviæ of the pupa, it has attained the last stage of its existence. It is now termed an _Imago_, or perfect insect; and is capable of propagation.

subject I am next going to enter upon,--the _Moulting_, namely, of Larvæ; or their changes of skin. This, indeed, is a subject so replete with interest, and which so fully displ...

with a set of minute slender horny hooks, crotchets, or _claws_, of different lengths, somewhat resembling fish-hooks; which either partially or wholly surround the apex like a...

generally, with _pubescence_, or hairs of various kinds--a circumstance which seems to have more than one object. In _Parnus_, _Heterocerus_, _Gerris_, _Argyroneta aquatica_, an...

omit to say something concerning their _Colour_. For though those which live in darkness, in the earth, in wood, in fruits, &c. are, with few exceptions[454], of an uniform whit...

iii. _Nympha._ Under this denomination are included all insects that undergo only a partial metamorphosis, and are active in their pupa state, corresponding with the _Pupa semic...

Before I confine my observations to the _head_ of insects, which I propose to consider separately in the present letter, I must premise a few words upon their _body_ in general,...

The _abdomen_ of insects, which we are next to consider, is the _third_ great section of the body, and is the seat of the organs of generation, as well as of a principal part of...

different _colour_. Thus, in the order _Coleoptera_, the elytra of the male of _Rhagium meridianum_ F. are testaceous, and those of the female black. _Leptura rubra_ of Linné, w...

called[563], of insects of the _Aptera_ order, and of the class _Arachnida_: as, lice, _Poduræ_, _Lepismidæ_, centipedes, millipedes, mites, harvest-men, spiders, scorpions, &c....

bespeak your attention,--the _Growth_, I mean, and size of Insects in this state. As to _size_, larvæ differ as much as insects in their perfect state: these last, however, neve...

The _Larva_ state is that in which insects exist immediately after their exclusion from the egg (or from the mother in ovo-viviparous species), in which they usually eat voracio...

We have now traced our little animals through their egg and larva states, and have arrived at the third stage of their existence, _the Pupa State_. This, to include all, can onl...