THE
LIFE OF AN INSECT;
BEING
A HISTORY OF THE CHANGES OF INSECTS FROM THE
EGG TO THE PERFECT BEING.
PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF
THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION,
APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING
CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE;
SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORY,
GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS,
AND 4, ROYAL EXCHANGE;
AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.
LONDON:
R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL.
PART I.—THE EGG.
PAGE
Chapter I.—The Nest.—TheMicroscope and Telescope—Terror caused byInsects—Death-watch—Life-boat of Eggs—TheWater Beetle—Floating Ark of Eggs—The Gnat—herdifficulties—her Egg-raft—The Sand-boring Wasp—Towersof rubbish—Captive Caterpillars—Wood-boring Bee—AnInsect Nursery—Escape of the young—Tapestry Bee—A Nestlined with Poppy-flower Petals—Enchanted Leaf-tubes—Thespell broken—The Insect Sorcerer—Nest of Down made by aMoth—The Lackey Moth—The Ichneumons—Their usefulness
Chapter II.—Structure and contents of theEgg.—Its Shape—Remarkable mistake about an Insect—TheLace-wing Fly—Eggs carved on their surface—Colours ofEggs—Changes of Colour—Eggs of the Garden Spider—PrettyNests—Anatomy of the Egg—Contents of the Egg
Chapter III.—Life begins in the Egg.—SpringTime—Influence of Heat and Cold—Eggs resist greatCold—The time of Hatching—Escape of the newCreature—Connexion between Plants and Insects—Changesin the Egg—A Spider's Mother's love—Experiment with twoSpiders—Anecdote of an Earwig—Enormous number of Eggs ofdifferent Insects
PART II.—THE LARVA.
Chapter I.—The Young Larva.—Affectionof a Field-Bug—An Earwig Mother—Anecdote of aSpider—Ant-Nurses—Varieties of Larvæ—The Larvaborn—Forms of Larvæ—Larvæ of Butterflies—Structure of aLarva
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