Latin Texts & Translations

There is another class also of these insects produced in quite a different manner. These last spring from a grub of larger size, with two horns of very peculiar appearance. The larva then becomes a caterpillar, after which it assumes the state in which it is known as bombylis, then that called necy- dalus, and after that, in six months, it becomes a silk-worm. ^[Note]

These insects weave webs similar to those of the spider, the material of which is used for making the more costly and luxurious garments of females, known as " bombycina." Pamphile, a woman of Cos, ^[Note] the daughter of Platea, was the first ^[Note] person who discovered the art of unravelling these webs and spinning a tissue therefrom; indeed, she ought not to be deprived of the glory of having discovered the art of making vestments which, while they cover a woman, at the same moment reveal her naked charms.