Page:Micrographia - or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses with observations and inquiries thereupon.djvu/278

Rh body plac'd in that posture. The leggs were all much of the same make, being all of them cover'd with a strong hairy scale or shel, just like the legs of a Crabb or Lobster, and the contrivance of the joints seem'd much the same, each legg seem'd made up of eight parts, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, to the eighth or last of which, grew the soles and claws, described before in the 38. Observation.

Out of the upper part of this trunck grew the two wings, which I mention'd in the 38. Observation, consisting of a film, extended on certain small stiff wires or bones: these in a blue Fly, were much longer then the body, but in other kind of Flies they are of very differing proportions to the body. These films, in many Flies, were so thin, that, like several other plated bodies (mention'd in the ninth Observation) they afforded all varieties of fantastical or transient colours (the reason of which I have here endeavoured to explain) they seem'd to receive their nourishment from the stalks or wires, which seem'd to be hollow, and neer the upper part of the wing L L several of them seem'd jointed, the shape of which will sufficiently 'appear by the black lines in the second Figure of the 26. Scheme, which is a delineation of one of those wings expanded directly to the eyes.

All the hinder part of its body is cover'd with a most curious blue shining armour, looking exactly like a polish'd piece of steel brought to that blue colour by annealing, all which armour is very thick bestuck with abundance of tapering brisles, such as grow on its back, as is visible enough by the Figure.

Nor was the inside of this creature less beautifull then its outside, for cutting off a part of the belly, and then viewing it, to see if I could discover any Vessels, such as are to be found in a greater Animals, and even in Snails exceeding manifestly, I found, much beyond my expectation, that there were abundance of branchings of Milk-white vessels, no less curious then the branchings of veins and arteries in bigger terrestrial Animals, in one of which, I found two notable branches, joining their two main stocks, as it were, into one common ductus; now, to what veins or arteries these Vessells were analogus, whether to the vena porta, or the meseraick vessells, or the like, or indeed, whether they were veins and arteries, or vasa lactea, properly so called, I am not hitherto able to determine, having not yet made sufficient enquiry; but in all particulars, there seems not to be any thing less of curious contrivance in these Insects, then in those larger terrestrial Animals, for I had never seen any more curious branchings of Vessels, then those I observ'd in two or three of these Flies thus opened.

It is a creature active and nimble, so as there are very few creatures like it, whether bigger or smaller, in so much, that it will scape and avoid a small body, though coming on it exceeding swiftly, and if it sees any thing approaching it, which it fears, it presently squats down, as it were, that it may be the more ready for its rise.

Nor is it less hardy in the Winter, then active in the Summer, induring all the Frosts, and surviving till the next Summer, notwithstanding the Rh