The Natural History of Remarkable Insects, with Their Habits and Instincts (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1822. Excerpt: ... grasshopper, -with which it eats through, and enlarges the opening, till it gets out. I ts body, which is turned like a screw, takes up no more than the space of a quarter of an inch; but when it is unfolded, it becomes half an inch in length; while its wings, that seemed to occupy the smallest space, in two minutes time untold, and become longer than the body. In short, it becomes a large and beautiful fly with a long, slender body, of a brown colour; a small head, with large bright eyes, long slender legs, and four large transparent wings. The rest of its habits resemble that insect whose form it bears; except that instead of dropping its eggs in the water, it deposits thtni in sand, where they are soon hatched into that rapacious insect so justly admired fojr its method of catching its prey. THE SAWYER FLY, TltF. Sawyer Fiy, so called from its faculty of sawing asunder the branches of trees, whose substance is its food, is about three inches in length, when full growp, and is a very singular insect. Its head has somewhat the appearance pf that of an elephant, having a horny bill lika Ike snout of thai animal, bi nding upwards from die under part, with another pointing downwards from the upper part of the head, both of a jet black, and of a fine polish. On the inner Surface of the upper bill are raised points, like the teeth of a saw, which are used by the insect in the same manner. Its body is like that of a beetle, but considerably larger, with double wings, the inner of which is like coarse gauze; and its legs are armed at each joint with crooked sharp nails, with the same on each toe, like a bird. The process of this insect in sawing down branches of trees, is really admirable, but it is hardly possible to form an idea of the manner of doing it witho..