Essays in natural history and philosophy. Containing a series of discoveries, by the assistance of microscopes / By John Hill.

  • Hill, John, 1714?-1775.
Date:
1752
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Essays in natural history and philosophy. Containing a series of discoveries, by the assistance of microscopes / By John Hill. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    30/434 (page 18)
    fiy Kinds. On the Head there (land a Pair of An¬ tennae or Horns, very {lender, but equal to the Body in Length ; and from the Sides of the Body, near the Tail, there grow two Hairs, from each Side one; thefe are nearly twice as long as the Body, and are fo very (lender, that the naked Eye does not at all diftinguifh them. The Body of this little Creature is of a filvery white, the Legs alfo are white, and the Wings are of a pearly Colour, variegated in an elegant Manner with Spots of yellow and brown. When I had fpread out my Number of the larger Infers, I found a confiderable Share of thefe little Flies among them *, they feerned fond of being about them, and tho* their Wings were long enough to fupport them in the Air with great Eafe, I never once law them, in the Courfe of the whole three Days they lived with me, attempt to rife. They walked about on the Bodies of the other In feds, and at Times re¬ mained fixed for fome Moments on their hinder Part. The Bufinefs here was foon difeovered ; the Point at the Extremity of the Body of the Fly contained its Organs of Generation •, this was in all thefe fhdonary Moments thruft into the Fif- fure or Aperture, which I have already obferved there is in the Back of every one of the ether Creatures ; and it appeared fufficiently evident from this, that the winged Infed tho* fo flrange- y difpropordonate in Size, was in reality the Male of the fame Species of which the larger and fixed Creature was the Female. Here therefore was all the Myftery of the Generation of thefe little Cres\; tures