Page:Micrographia - or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses with observations and inquiries thereupon.djvu/292

Rh may, by being diversly agitated, or mov'd, by this or that agent, or after this or that manner, produce a quite contrary effect: So may it be with these most curious Engines of Insect's bodies; the All-wise God of Nature, may have so ordered and disposed the little Automatons, that when nourished, acted, or enlivened by this cause, they produce one kind of effect, or animate shape, when by another they act quite another way, and another Animal is produc'd. So may he so order several materials, as to make them, by several kinds of methods, produce similar Automatons.

But to come to the Description of this Insect, as it appears through a Microscope, of which a representation is made in the 28. Scheme. Its head A, is exceeding small, in proportion to its body, consisting of two clusters of pearl'd eyes B B, on each side of its head, whose pearls or eye-balls are curiously rang'd like those of other Flies; between these, in the forehead of it, there are plac'd upon two small black balls, C C, two long jointed horns, tapering towards the top, much resembling the long horns of Lobsters, each of whose stems or quills, D D, were brisled or brushed with multitudes of small stiff hairs, issuing out every way from the several joints, like the strings or sproutings of the herb Horse-tail, which is oft observ'd to grow among Corn, and for the whole shape, it does very much resemble those brushy Vegetables; besides these, there are two other jointed and brisled horns, or feelers, E E, in the forepart of the head, and a proboscis, F, underneath, which in some Gnats are very long, streight hollow pipes, by which these creatures are able to drill and penetrate the skin, and thence, through those pipes suck so much bloud as to stuff their bellies so full till they be ready to burst.

This small head, with its appurtenances, is fastned on by a short neck, G, to the middle of the thorax, which is large, and seems cased with a strong black shel, H I K, out of the under part of which, issue six long and slender legs, L L L L L L, shap'd just like the legs of Flies, but spun or drawn out longer and slenderer, which could not be express'd in the Figure, because of their great length; and from the upper part, two oblong, but slender transparent wings, M M, shaped somewhat like those of a Fly, underneath each of which, as I have observ'd also in divers sorts of Flies, and other kinds of Gnats, was placed a small body, N, much resembling a drop of some transparent glutinous substance, hardned or cool'd, as it was almost ready to fall, for it has a round knob at the end, which by degrees grows slenderer into a small stem, and neer the insertion under the wing, this stem again grows bigger; these little Pendulums, I may so call them, the litle creature vibrates to and fro very quick when it moves its wings, and I have sometimes observ'd it to move them also, whil'st the wing lay still, but always their motion seem'd to further the motion of the wing ready to follow; of what use they are, as to the moving of the wing, or otherwise, I have not now time to examine.

Its belly was large, as it is usually in all Insects, and extended into nine lengths or partitions, each of which was cover'd with round armed rings or shells; six of which, O P Q R S T were transparent, and divers kinds of Peristaltick motions might be very easily perceiv'd, whil'st the Animal Rh