Through a Microscope: Something of the Science, Together with many Curious Observations Indoor and Out and Directions for a Home-made Microscope.Wells, Samuel
History
Through a Microscope: Something of the Science, Together with many Curious Observations Indoor and Out and Directions for a Home-made Microscope.
Wells, Samuel
Microscopes; Microscopy; Natural history
By observing closely while out in the fields or woods, one sees hovering
about in swarms, myriads of tiny insects. Under the lens some of them
are very odd, others very beautiful. The easiest way to catch these
little midgets, is to wet the palm of the hand and then sweep it among
them, or in the same way use a piece of sticky paper.
The study of the different parts of insects is one of the most
fascinating of the many uses of the Simple microscope. Although all
insects are made up on the same general plan and corresponding organs
occur in most of them, there is an endless variety in the forms under
which we see the different organs and the uses to which they are put.
Take for example the antennae. In the grasshopper it is long and
threadlike; in the butterflies always ending in a knob; in moths always
tapering to a point, although sometimes threadlike and sometimes much
branched, forming a beautiful plume; in the beetles, sometimes fan-like,
sometimes like a comb; and in other insects assuming still other forms.
Insects' eyes are often colored beautifully. A horse-fly's eyes are
striped. Butterflies' eyes have usually a soft liquid coloring, and
moths' eyes in the dark shine like little fiery beads.
The mouths of insects, such as beetles, grasshoppers and dragon flies,
have strong jaws for biting; flies, bugs, moths and butterflies, have
the mouth-parts transformed into sucking organs, while bees, wasps and
the like have both sucking organs for honey, and biting organs for
leaf-cutting, wood-tearing etc. as we saw was the case in the Bumble
Bee.
Butterflies' wings and moths' wings are covered with little scales of a
variety of shapes. These should be examined attached to the wing to show
their arrangement which is like that of shingles on a roof; but to show
their form they should be looked at when brushed from the wing onto a
piece of glass. Many other peculiarities may be noticed in the wings of
other kinds of insects.
Legs, the same as the other organs, have various forms, markings and
appendages, and so it is with the abdomen and its stings or its
egg-laying apparatus.
The hairs of "Wooly Bears" and caterpillars of that kind are peculiarly
branched.
The four hind pairs of feet in caterpillars are armed each with a row
of little hooks which are used in walking to get a firm hold. The larger
caterpillars show the hooks best.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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