Latin Texts & Translations

Some insects, for the preservation of their wings, are covered with a erust ^[Note] the beetle, for instance, the wing of which is peculiarly fine and frail. To these insects a sting has been denied by Nature; but in one large kind ^[Note] we find horns of a remarkable length, two-pronged at the extremities, and forming pincers, which the animal closes when it is its intention to

bite. These beetles are suspended from the neck of infants by way of remedy against certain maladies: Nigidius calls them "lucani." There is another kind ^[Note] of beetle, again, which, as it goes backwards with its feet, rolls the dung into large pellets, and then deposits in them the maggots which form its young, as in a sort of nest, to protect them against the rigours of winter. Some, again, fly with a loud buzzing or a drony noise, while others ^[Note] burrow numerous holes in the hearths and out in the fields, and their shrill chirrup is to be heard at night.

The glow-worm, by the aid of the colour of its sides ^[Note] and haunches, sends forth at night a light which resembles that of fire; being resplendent, at one moment, as it expands its wings, ^[Note] and then thrown into the shade the instant it has shut them. These insects are never to be seen before the grass of the pastures has come to maturity, nor yet after the hay has been cut. On the other hand, it is the nature of the black beetle ^[Note] to seek dark corners, and to avoid the light: it is mostly found in baths, being produced from the humid vapours which arise therefrom. There are some beetles also, belonging to the same species, of a golden colour and very large size, which burrow ^[Note] in dry ground, and construct small combs of a porous nature, and very like sponge; these they fill with a poisonous kind of honey. In Thrace, near Olynthus, there is a small locality, the only one in which this animal cannot exist; from which circumstance it has received the name of " Cantharolethus." ^[Note]

The wings of all insects are formed without ^[Note] any division in

them, and they none of them have a tail, ^[Note] with the exception of the scorpion; this, too, is the only one among them that has arms, ^[Note] together with a sting in the tail. As to the rest of the insects, some of them have the sting in the mouth, the gad-fly for instance, or the "tabanus," as some persons choose to call it: the same is the case, too, with the gnat and some kinds of flies. All these insects have their stings situate in the mouth instead ^[Note] of a tongue; but in some the sting is not pointed, being formed not for pricking, but for the purpose of suction: this is the case more especially with flies, in which it is clear that the tongue ^[Note] is nothing more than a tube. These insects, too, have no teeth. Others, again, have little horns protruding in front of the eyes, but without any power in them; the butterfly, for instance. Some insects are destitute of wings, such as the scolopendra, for instance. ^[Note]