Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/793

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When the creature is completely out, it (hinds on the fur- face of the comb near the cell out of which it is come, and its parts, which are yet very fofi and moift, become harden- ed and dried by degrees.

While it ftands thus, the reft of the bees which are ahout the (pot gather round it, and give evident marks of joy at its being produced ; they ftroke and make much of it, and often otfer it honey out of their own mouths. While it ftands in the midft of thefe careffes, its wings by decrees unfold themfelves, while fome of the bees are thus ^vvel- coming the new inhabitant, others immediately fet them- felves about clearing away the matters left in the cell, and fitting it for the reception of a new inhabitant. The bee produced out of it, has necefiarily left behind it two exuvia; ; the fkin of the ffarm when it transformed itfelf into the nymph ftate ; and finally that of the nymph, out of which it is juft come in form of a bee. One of the working bees immediately enters this cell, head foremoft, and taking up one of thefe exuviae carries it out of the hive, and the moment fhe has left the cell another en- ters it, and in the fame manner carries out the other exuviae ■ after her there enter feveral others, which carry out the fragments of wax that had fallen in while the Worm was gnawing its cover to pieces ; and others, finally, put it per- fectly in order, and render it fit for the reception of a new egg, which the female bee foon depofits in it; infomuch that Mr. Maraldi fays, he has ken five bees produced in the fame cell, in the fpace of three months. The young bees are eafily diftinguifhed from the others, by their colour ; they are grey, inftead of the yellowilh brown of the common bees, 1 he reafon of this is, that their body is black, and the hairs that grow upon it are white, from the mixture of which ktn together refults a grey ; but this colour forms itfelf into a browniili yellow by de- grees, the rings of the body becoming by degrees more brown, and the hairs more and more yellow. The bee is no fooner produced from the nymph, than it knows the whole bufinefs of its future life ; it immediately goes out, and gathers wax and honey for the common itores. At the time that one bee hatches in this manner, as many o- thers are alfo hatched as there were eggs depofited by the female in the fame day ; this is often many hundreds : So that a few days of this kind render the hive too full of in- habitants, and the new-born brood are forced to go out in form of a fwarm to find fome other habitation, where they may employ themfelves in the fame manner with thofe to which they owed their origin. Reaumur's Hift. Inf. V. 10. p. 280. See the article Swarm.

CWw-Worm. See the article Scarabjeus.

0/urr-Wpx.M. See the article Gryllotalpa.

Cotmeugfj, or Csmaugbt-W oria, in natural hiftory, a name given by the common people of Ireland, to a kind of ca- terpillar found in many parts of that kingdom; and, from its ugly aipe£t, reputed to be poifonous. It is laid to be the only poifonous creature of that kingdom, and many mifchievous effects are attributed to its fting, and to its poifonous quality, when eaten by cattle. As to the firft of thefe opinions, it is evidently erroneous ; the creature having no power to fting at all. The other is not fo eafdy proved falfe, but is much to be fufpectcd. The reafons on which it is founded, are thefe : The cattle in Ireland are fubjecr. to a very terrible difeafe, which is mo ft frequent in Autumn ; about the time when thefe animals are in the greateft plenty.

It is moft frequent alfo among thofe cattle which feed in low and marfhy grounds, where this creature lives and feeds; cows and hogs which Iced in thefe places, are the only crea- tures fubje£t to the diflemper, and this is imputed to the cows eating by large moutlifuls, becaufe flic chews the cud a fecond time ; and the hogs feeding fo foul and greedily, as to eat things which other creatures rcMe, Finally, the great caufe of the afligning this difeafe to this creature is, that the Worm only appears in great numbers about once in feven years ; and in thefe, and thefe years only it is, that the diflemper among the cattle is common. The fymptoms by which this difeafe is diftinguifhed from all others, are, a great fwelling of the head, and a falling down of the anus ; the gut often hanging out to the length of fix or (even inches. The common cure anions the more intelligent people is a ftrong decoction of the pfant called bearsfoot, or great black hellebore, with fome rue and gar- lic given with butter and beer ; this is found to have great fiiccefs with the cows. The hogs are cured only by mix- ing reddle, or the common red ochre powdered, with but- termilk, and making them eat a large quantity of it. The Irifh peafants have recourfe to many idle remedies ; but thefe are found often of real fervice. The caterpillar, fuppofed to occafion this difeafe, feeds on the common rag- wort, and is larger than moft other creatures of this kind, being of the length and thicknefs of a man's finger ; it is marked with two large fpots behind the head, which are fuppofed by the vulgar to be the eyes, but are only round variegations, of the nature of thofe common on other ca- terpillars ; and what they take to be a fting i n the tail, is Svpfl. Vol, If.

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no other than a horn m that part, which is not peculiar to this caterpillar, but found on many others. That the com- mon people are deceived in regard to the external parts of tins creature, ,s evident; but experiments are required yet to prove, whether or not they are fo, in regard to its poifon- ous quality.

One trial is remarked by Mr. Molyneux to have been made on a dog, who eating the flcih of only one of the creatures was found dead about three days after; another dog, which eat the juices exprefled from that flan, received no hurt. 1 he inlefl is delcribed in Lifter's edition, under the name of the elephant caterpillar. Phil. Tranf No. I0 8. p. 880.

Flower-root-WoRM. bee the article Flower

/Vr-WoRMS, in natural hiftory, the Warm or maroot pro- duced of the egg of a fly, and afterwards to be transformed mto one.

Thefe Worms are to the fly, what the caterpillar is to the butterfly it produces. The cuftom of the world has appro- priated the term caterpillar to that one fpecies of the flyino- infaftsrirft ftate; but we- have unfortunately no term of diftin&on yet cftablilhed for any of the firft ftate of any of the other flying infects, the creature produced by the effe- ct the fly fcarce being indeterminately called Worm TlU more expreflive names mall be invented for thefe, it may not be improper to diftinguifh thofe of the different claflcs by the additional name of the infeS they are to be changed mto, and to call that which is to become a beetle, the Scarab- worm, that which is to be hereafter a fly, the Pi-warm ■ and (0 of the reft. Reaumur's Hift. Inf. V. 4. p. 161 Thofe which are to be hereafter winged creatures of the fly-clals, are extremely different one from another in form and [figure, and may very properly be arranged into feveral claflcs. °

The moft remarkable and ftriking differences between the dalles ot thefe ceatures, are thofe of the form and fhape of their heads Many of them have heads which it is not eafy to diftinguifh to be fueh, as they carry no one mark of the head of an animal vifibly about them. We are accuftomed to ice in other animals a conftant and regular form of the head, which is no way alterable during the life of the ani- mal ; but among thefe Fly-worms there are many, whofe heads are variable at the pleafure of the creature ; and which at times are feen to be more or left long, more or lefs thick, more or lefs flat, more or lefs fhortened at pleafure by the animal, and eafdy bent and turned about in any di- rection. J The heads of thefe creatures are not only flefliy, but com- pofedof a very loft and flexible flelh ; as thefe creatures have no fhell, it may occur to fome to think they have no brain ; but this would be a greater wonder than all the reft Be it as it will, the naturalift need make no hefitation to pronounce that the head of an animal, which is the anterior extremity of the creature, and is furnifhed with neceffary organs for taking in the food, and conveying it into the body. Ibid. p. 162.

Though there are among the Fly-worms many whofe heads are of this variable conftruaion, there are alio others whofe heads are hard, like thefe' of other animals ; and which, like thofe, always retain the fame regular figure. This grand diftinaion among thefe Worms may furnifli us with the firft general arrangement of them, which may be into thofe which have a variable, and thofe which have an unchangeable head. Ibid. p. 163.

If we after this attend to the number, arrangement, difpofi- tion, ftruflurc, and form of the other parts of thefe little animals, we ihall find ample matter for a fufEcient number of fubordinate diftinctions, which will alfo prove very ex- tenfive.

Some Worms of this kind we fliall find, which have not the leaft appearance of legs ; others we fliall find, that have legs, but thefe merely membranous ones ; others which have them merely fcaly, or lhelly ; and others, which, like the caterpillars, have legs of two kinds, fome fheliy, and others membranous ; but which have always more of the latter kind than the caterpillars have.

Other fub-diftinaions there will alfo be found, in the va- riable and unchangeable heads of divers of thefe Worms ; and the whole form of the body in others will be found to be totally different. Some of them have a power of alter- ing the figures of their bodies at pleafure, being able to lengthen or fhorten them, or to make them thicker or thin- ner at pleafure. Some can alfo at the fame time inflate, as it were, and fwell out fome particular parts of their body, while they make other parts thin and flat. And others have their body fo rigid, as to be wholly incapable of thefe changes, and indeed of bending or turning otherwife than all together.

The external coat of fome of them is alfo very thin, tender and membranous ; whereas that of others 'is ftrong, firm and fcaly, or cruftaceous. And finally, the different°fpecies themfelves will afford us fufficient ultimate diftinaions, by the pofition, number and figure of their organs of refpira- tion. Reaumur's Hift. Inf. V. 4. p. 163.

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Cinira