The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-04-06
The Study Of Entomology.

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| have been familiar with insects from
my boyhood; have reared thousands
and watched many an image struggle
through its silken cerements or burst it
chrysaliS bonds; but | never witness tn,
operation-I never contemplate tina
within the masked worm is locked VI
the future butterhy-without experienc
ing the same keen admiration as of yore
The genial breath of floral spring, will
its mellowing influences; the intensity O
the leafy and glorious summer, wheI
Natures pulse beats strongly and life il
at its acme; the golden and dreamy
autumn, with its gIaddening harvests
and the stern, cold winter, which send
the blood tingling with renewed vigoI
through our veins, are each of then
welcome. We never weary of these re
curing seasons. So it is with all of Ma
ture's works. They possess a perpetua
charm which never fades.
THE METAMORPHoSEs OF INSECTS.
Every insect passes through four dis
tinct states of existence: 1st, the egg
I'd, the larva, or masked state; Sd, the
pupa, or quiescent state; 4th, the image
or perfect state. Though in some
orders, where the transformations are
called incomplete, the form is but slight
ly changed in the passage from the
second to the last states, yet in the great
majority of cases the transition from
one state to another is sufficiently sud
den, and the form so changes that there
is no manner of resemblance between
them.
Now, not only does the outward APP
pearance radically differ in these three
states, but the internal structure is also
completely changed. In the caterpillar
we find thousands of muscles which
move the different segments of which
it is made up,a very capacious stomach,
and powerful jaws for masticating food.
In the butterfly the muscles are differ
ent in position and functions, the stom-
ach is well-nigh obsolete, and the jaws
are replaced by long, hollow tongue
for sucking up liquids. From the grow
ling, greedy worm, confined to its TODD
plant, to the frail and aerial creature
fitting so joyfully from flower to flow
er and robbing them Of nectar, what a
change!
The deft little fly that so noiselessly
darts about your table, with its delicate
limbs and wings, its wonderful probOs-
els and complex eyes, was only few
days before a disgusting little maggOt,
riOting in filth, without eyes, without
legs, without wings.
No wonder that, without our present
knowledge of physiology and biology,
the ancients looked upon the metamor-
phoses of insects as emblematic of the
human souls progress from this grOv-
cling, earthly condition, through death
to immortal life. The fable of . Cupid
and Psyche" is evidently based upon
them, and Psyche in Greek means both
" soul" and " butterfly" and although
in reality the larva is but the baby and
the pupa the youth of the same indi-
vidual, the changes are so remarkable
that SO good an anatomist as Swami
meridian remarks of them that "we see
therein the resurrection painted before
our eyes, and exemplified so as to be
examined by our hands"
ENTOMOLOGY AS A STUDY.
That there exists a certain contempt
in the public mind for what are deri-
sively termed "bugs," in America, is
too evident, particularly in our cities,
where the word is associated only with
or offensive species. Yet
this contempt is unwarranted. The
whole class should not be judged by the
exceptional few. There is scarcely one
of these creatures but, when carefully
examined, presents perfect micrOcOsm
of wonder and beauty, andthe structure
of most of them is more complicated
than that of man himself They are
of senses which we no sense
have to conceive. We find assembled
among them all the striking peculiari-
ties of other animals. The piercing,
but simple, eye of the eagle or the lynx
will not compare with the stereOscopic
and compound eye of the dragon-hy,
that sees in all directions at one time the
sharp snOut of the sword-fish is, COM
paratively, a feeble weapon by the side
of that of Pirates or soldier-bug; the
Jaws Of lion are weak in comparison
with those of an ant or of tiger beetle ;
the tongue of lizard is short compared
to that of a hawk-moth. What is the
architecture of the beaver by the side of
that of the bee? Compare the jumping
of the kangaroo with that of flea or a
P9ciloptera, the fecundity of the hare
with that of the aphis, or of the female
termite, which has been known to lay
an egg a second for twenty-fOur hours /;
the climbing of the squirrel with that
of the fly; the swiftness of the antelope
with that of Cicindela or carabus-
and you will-find that, if the acts be
measured by the size of the actors,
insects invariably carry off the palm.
The electricity of the gymnOtus or of
the torpedo, the horns of the
stag and rhinoceros, the burrowing of
the mole, the phosphorescence of the
jellyfish, the changing colors of the ca
meieOn, are reproduced in the RedUrius
SerratuS, in the stag and rhinocerOs
beetles, the mole cricket, the glow
worm, and the tortoise beetles. In
short, there is hardly a striking pecu-
liarity among other animals that does
not find its counterpart in insects; while
these, again, present US with many most
remarkable habits and peculiarities
which find no parallel in the rest of the
animal kingdom, and prove them to be
most worthy the students attention.
| could dwellfor hours on the remark
able diversity of their habits. From the
aesthetic side, the study of insects, as
the study of any other branch of natur-
al history, elevates and enlightens. 1t
dispels prejudice and superstition, and
affords happiness and instruction. 1t
more quickly than any other teaches to
50 find tongues in trees, books in the run
ming brooks, sermons in stones, and
good in every thing" In my own ex-
perience | have known of several hypo-
chondriacs made happy and hearty by
tie mental enjoyment and the physical
exercise that resulted from getting in
terested in the collecting and study OF
natural history objects; and it is sig
niticant fact that many of our greatest
scientific minds, as Charles Darwin,
Herbert Spencer, etc., began their sci
entific careers, and developed their love
of investigation by the study of insects
IT DEVELOPS THE OBSERVING FACUL
TIES.