. Insect transformations . St Pierre whoremarks, that Nature seldom permits philosophers topeep to the bottom of her basket; and we have already * Diet. Class. dHist. Nat. x, Tlie German term is Bildende Kraft, i. e. Vis forma-trix, or formntiinis. t lleroldt, quoted by Kirby and ?pence, iii, S3.§ Quoted by Kirby and Spence. EMBRYO BUTTERFLIES. 133 recorded many instances, besides the one under con-sideration, of tiicir strange mistakes in guessing atwiiat they cannot tatiiom. We prefer following Swam-merdam, Reaumur, and Bonnet, in recording whatcan be actually seen on examining
. Insect transformations . St Pierre whoremarks, that Nature seldom permits philosophers topeep to the bottom of her basket; and we have already * Diet. Class. dHist. Nat. x, Tlie German term is Bildende Kraft, i. e. Vis forma-trix, or formntiinis. t lleroldt, quoted by Kirby and ?pence, iii, S3.§ Quoted by Kirby and Spence. EMBRYO BUTTERFLIES. 133 recorded many instances, besides the one under con-sideration, of tiicir strange mistakes in guessing atwiiat they cannot tatiiom. We prefer following Swam-merdam, Reaumur, and Bonnet, in recording whatcan be actually seen on examining the structure ofcaterpillars. In a chapter of Swamnierdams Book of Nature,quaintly headed An animal in an animal, or thebutterfly hidden in the caterpillar, we find the fol-lowing details respecting the caterpillar of the largecabbage butterfly [Ponlia bvassica). The egg ofthis insect is of a yellow colour, Hask shaped, andmarked with fifteen ribs, converging towards thesmaller end, and extending a little beyond it. The. Egg of the large cabbage butterfly {Pontin brassica), mngnified. caterpillar, but too well known from its ravages, hassixteen feet, a vellow line along the back, and anotheron each side, tlie rest ol the body being bluish gray,spotted with black; and the whole surface sprinkledwith thin, short, whitish hairs.* In order, continues Swammerdam, to discoverplainly that a butterfly is inclosed and hidden in the * l>;iy, Cat. Cantab., quoted by Swammerdam. See fig. a,page 62. VOL. vr. 12 134 INSECT TRANSFORMATIONS. skin of this caterpillar, the following operation mustbe used. One must kill a full-grown caterpillar, tie athread to its body, and dip it for a minute or two intoboiling water. The outer skin will, after this, easilyseparate, because the tluids, between the two skins,are by this means raretied and dilated, and thereforethey break and detach both the vessels and the fibreswherewith they were united together. By this meansthe outer skin of the caterpil
Size: 1448px × 1726px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookidinsecttransforma00inr, booksubjectinsects
