ORDER I.-Coleoptera. Some a twofold apparatus share, Natives of earth, and habitants of air; Like warriors stride, oppressed with shining mail, BROOKE. The Coleoptera have a hollow horny case, under which the wings are folded when not in use. The principal genera are:-1. Scarabæus, beetles.-2. Lucanus, stag-beetle '.-3. Dermestes.-4. Coccinella, lady-bird 2.-5. Curculio, weevil. 6. Lampyris, glow-worm 3.-7. Meloe, Spanish-fly.-8. Staphylinus.-9. Forficula, ear-wig. Like other winged insects, all the beetles live for some time in the form of caterpillars, or grubs: See the proud giant of the beetle race; What shining arms his polished limbs enchase! On his large forehead spreading horns he wears, BARBAULD. 1 See this described in Time's Telescope for 1815, p. 215. 2 On the utility of the lady-bird, consult T.T. for 1816, p. 238; and, for a poetical illustration, T.T. for 1819, p. 211. 3 For a further account of the glow-worm, and poetical illustrations, see T.T. for 1814, p. 132; for 1815, pp. 196, 253; for 1816, p. 239; for 1817, p. 246; for 1818, p. 210; and the present vol. p. 208. It is here worthy of remark, that the same animals, when in the state of caterpillars, live in a different manner, and feed on substances of a very different kind from those they consume after their transformation into flies. The caterpillars of the gardenbeetle, cockchafer, &c. lead a solitary life, under ground, and consume the roots of plants. Those of others feed upon putrid carcases, every kind of flesh, dried skins, rotten wood, dung, and the small insects called pucerons, or vine-fretters. But after their transformation into flies, many of the same animals, which formerly fed upon dung and putrid carcases, are nourished by the purest nectareous juices extracted from fruits and flowers. The creatures themselves, with regard to what may be termed individual animation, have suffered no alteration. But the fabric of their bodies, their instruments of motion, and the organs by which they take their food, are materially changed. This change of structure, though the animals retain their identity, produces the greatest diversity in their manners, their economy, and the powers of their bodies. The scarabæus melolontha, or common chaffer, well known in this and other countries, flies at dusk with a rash and noisome impulse; lives upon the first budding leaves of the elm tree, and, when caught, is often tormented by children, who, placing a paper fixed with a pin at one of their legs, enjoy the cruel pleasure to see them turn round a piece of wood! It is a great pity, that in our earliest days we are not properly taught, that pleasure to one of the creation should never be sought out of the pain felt by another. There is a sort of barbarity in tormenting animals, which is too often indulged in infants, and is generally the sad prognostic of a tyrannical disposition, which grows and increases by degrees. Who ever thought that the boy, who, in the palace of the Casars, amused himself with the innocent pastime of torturing common flies with a pin, would, when a man, order his mother to death, and set fire to the imperial town of Rome? In these puerile trifles were concealed the dreadful stamina of the most execrable and most wanton cruelty. Many caterpillars, previous to their transformation, live even in a different element. The ephemeron fly, when in the caterpillar state, lives no less than three years in the water, and extracts its nourishment from earth and clay. After transformation, this animal seldom exists longer than one day, during which myriads of eggs are deposited on the surface of the water. These eggs produce worms or caterpillars, and the same process goes perpetually round. ORDER II.—Hemiptera. Some multipede, earth's leafy verdure creep, And oft, amphibious, course the neighb'ring shores; Or who nor creep, nor fly, nor walk, nor swim, And buoyed upon their own inventions rise; BROOKE. Insects of the second order have four wings, but the upper pair, instead of being hard and horny, rather resemble fine vellum. They cover the body horizontally, and do not meet in a direct line, forming a ridge or suture, as in the beetle tribe. The whole of this order are furnished with a proboscis or trunk for extracting their food. The principal genera are: -1. Blatta, cock roach.-2. Gryllus, locust, grasshopper.-3. Fulgora, lantern-fly.-4. Cimex, bug, &c. The blatta, or cock-roach, is an animal which avoids the light, and is particularly fond of meal, bread, putrid bodies, and the roots of plants. It frequents bakers shops and cellars, and flies the approach of danger with great swiftness. The head of the mantis, or camel-cricket, appears, from its continual nodding motion, to be slightly attached to the thorax. This insect is regarded by the Africans as a sacred animal; because it frequently assumes a praying or supplicating posture, by resting on its hind feet, and elevating and folding the first pair.--The gryllus comprehends a number of species, some of which are called grasshoppers, others locusts, and others crickets. The caterpillars of the grylli have a great resemblance to the perfect insects, and, in general, live under ground. Many of these insects feed upon the leaves of plants. Others, which live in houses, prefer bread, and every kind of farinaceous substance.-The foreheads of several of the genus, called fulgora, or lantern-fly', especially of those that inhabit China, and other hot climates, emit a very lively shining light during the night, which often alarms those who are unacquainted with the cause of the appearance. To this insect Thomson alludes in his view of the torrid zone :- From Menam's orient stream, that nightly shines And Mrs. Barbauld: Some shoot like living stars, athwart the night, To guide the Indian to his tawny loves, As thro' the woods with cautious steps he moves: The caterpillars of some of the genus called cicada, or flea-locust, discharge a kind of froth or saliva from the pores of the body, under which they conceal themselves from the rapacity of birds and other enemies. The papa, or water scorpion, frequents stagnant waters. It lives chiefly on aquatic insects, and is exceedingly voracious. Many species of the cimex, or bug, feed upon the juices of plants, and others upon the blood of animals. Some of them are found in waters, and others frequent houses, among which, though it wants wings, is the bed-bug, a pestiferous insect, which is too well known, and too generally diffused. The bugs differ from other insects by their softness; and most of them emit a very fetid smell.-The insect called aphis, or treelouse, is very common. There are a great many species, denominated from the trees and plants which they infest: they are viviparous in summer, and oviparous in autumn. Numbers of those called vine-fretters are devoured by the ants, on account, it is supposed, of a sweet liquor with which their bodies are perpetually moistened. The caterpillars of the chermes have six feet, and are generally covered with a hairy or woolly substance. The winged insects leap or spring with great agility, and infest a number of different trees and plants: the females, |