Curious Facts in the History of Insects; Including Spiders and Scorpions Part 6

These are made," they continue, "by the _mulheres_ (women) of almost every cla.s.s, and thus they obtain not only pin-money, but some ama.s.s wealth in the traffic."[211] Among the beetles referred to by these gentlemen may be placed no doubt the _Eutimis n.o.bilis_.

Among the largest of the species of this family is the Palm-weevil, _Calandra palmarum_, which is of an uniform black color, and measures more than two inches in length. Its larva, called the _Grou-grou_,[212]

or Cabbage-tree worm, which is very large, white, of an oval shape, resides in the tenderest part of the smaller palm-trees, and is considered, fried or broiled, as one of the greatest dainties in the West Indies. "The tree," says Madame Merian, "grows to the height of a man, and is cut off when it begins to be tender, is cooked like a cauliflower, and tastes better than an artichoke. In the middle of these trees live innumerable quant.i.ties of worms, which at first are as small as a maggot in a nut, but afterward grow to a very large size, and feed on the marrow of the tree. These worms are laid on the coals to roast, and are considered as a highly agreeable food."[213] Capt. Stedman tells us these larvae are a delicious treat to many people, and that they are regularly sold at Paramaribo. He mentions, too, the manner of dressing them, which is by frying them in a pan with a very little b.u.t.ter and salt, or spitting them on a wooden skewer; and, that thus prepared, in taste they partake of all the spices of India--mace, cinnamon, cloves, nutmegs, etc.[214] This gentleman also says he once found concealed near the trunk of an old tree a "case-bottle filled with excellent b.u.t.ter,"

which the rangers told him the natives made by melting and clarifying the fat of this larva.[215] Dr. Winterbottom states this grub is served up at all the luxurious tables of West Indian epicures, particularly of the French, as the greatest dainty of the western world.[216]

Dobrizhoffer doubtless refers to the larva of the _Calandra palmarum_, when he says: "The Spaniards of Santiago in Tuc.u.man, when they go seeking honey in the woods, cleave certain palm-trees upon their way, and on their return find large grubs in the wounded trees, which they fry as a delicious food."[217] The same is said of the Guaraunos of the Orinoco--"that they find these grubs in great numbers in the palms, which they cut down for the sake of their juice. After all has been drawn out that will flow, these grubs breed in the incisions, and the trunk produces, as it were, a second crop."[218]

The Creoles of the Island of Barbados, says Schomburgk, consider the Grou-grou worm a great delicacy when roasted, and say it resembles in taste the marrow of beef-bones.[219]

Antonio de Ulloa, in his _Noticias Americanas_, says this grub has the singular property of producing milk in women.[220] The Argentina, the historic poem of Brazil, adds an a.s.sertion which is more certainly fabulous, viz., that they first become b.u.t.terflies, and then mice.[221]

They have a similar dainty in Java in the larva of some large beetle, which the natives call _Moutouke_.--"A thick, white maggot which lives in wood, and so eats it away, that the backs of chairs, and feet of drawers, although apparently sound, are frequently rotten within, and fall into dust when it is least expected. This creature may sometimes be heard at work. It is as big as a silk-worm, and very white, ... a mere lump of fat. Thirty are roasted together threaded on a little stick, and are delicate eating."[222]

aelian speaks of an Indian king, who, for a dessert, instead of fruit set before his Grecian guests a roasted worm taken from a plant, probably the larva of the _Calandra palmarum_, a native of Persia and Mesopotamia as well as of the West Indies, which he says the Indians esteemed very delicious--a character that was confirmed by some of the Greeks who tasted it.[223]

The trunk of the gra.s.s-tree, or black-boy, _Xanth.o.r.ea arborea_, when beginning to decay, furnishes large quant.i.ties of marrow-like grubs, which are considered a delicacy by the aborigines of Western Australia.

They have a fragrant, aromatic flavor, and form a favorite food among the natives, either raw or roasted. They call them _Bardi_. They are also found in the wattle-tree, or mimosa. The presence of these grubs in the _Xanth.o.r.ea_ is thus ascertained: if the top of one of these trees is observed to be dead, and it contain any bardi, a few sharp kicks given to it with the foot will cause it to crack and shake, when it is pushed over and the grubs taken out, by breaking the tree to pieces with a hammer. The bardi of the Xanth.o.r.ea are small, and found together in great numbers; those of the wattle are cream-colored, as long and thick as a man's finger, and are found singly.[224]

Dr. Livingstone states that in the valley of Quango, S. Africa, the natives dig large white larvae out of the damp soil adjacent to their streams, and use them as a relish to their vegetable diet.[225]

In the latter part of the eighteenth century, there was published at Florence, by Prof. Gergi, the history of a remarkable insect which he names _Curculio anti-odontalgicus_. This insect, as he a.s.sures us, not only in the name he has given it, but also in an account of the many cures effected by it, is endowed with the singular property of curing the toothache. He tells us, that if fourteen or fifteen of the larvae be rubbed between the thumb and fore-finger, till the fluid is absorbed, and if a carious aching tooth be but touched with the thumb or finger thus prepared, the pain will be removed; a finger thus prepared, he says in conclusion, will, unless it be used for tooth-touching, retain its virtue for a year! This remarkable insect is only found on a nondescript plant, the _Carduus spinosis-simus_.[226]

It is said, also by Prof. Gergi, that the Tuscan peasants have long been acquainted with several insects which furnish a charm for the toothache, as the _Curculio jaecac_, _C. Bacchus_, and _Carabus chrysocephalus_.

The curious facts contained in the following quotation, from Chambers'

Book of Days, were among the first that led me to attempt the present compilation. The scientific name of the insect here mentioned is, in the opinion of Prof. Gill and other scientists, a misprint for _Rhynchitus auratus_, and, following this decision, I have here placed it under the _Curculionidae_.--"A lawsuit between the inhabitants of the Commune of St. Julien and a coleopterous insect, now known to naturalists as the _Eynchitus aureus_, lasted for more than forty-two years. At length the inhabitants proposed to compromise the matter by giving up, in perpetuity, to the insects, a fertile part of the district for their sole use and benefit. Of course the advocate of the animals demurred to the proposition, but the court, overruling the demurrer, appointed a.s.sessors to survey the land, and, it proving to be well wooded and watered, and every way suitable for the insects, ordered the conveyance to be engrossed in due form and executed. The unfortunate people then thought they had got rid of a trouble imposed upon them by their litigious fathers and grandfathers; but they were sadly mistaken. It was discovered that there had formerly been a mine or quarry of an ochreous earth, used as a pigment, in the land conveyed to the insects, and though the quarry had long since been worked out and exhausted, some one possessed an ancient right of way to it, which if exercised would be greatly to the annoyance of the new proprietors. Consequently the contract was vitiated, and the whole process commenced _de novo_. How or when it ended, the mutilation of the recording doc.u.ments prevents us from knowing; but it is certain that the proceedings commenced in the year 1445, and that they had not concluded in 1487. So what with the insects, the lawyers, and the church, the poor inhabitants must have been pretty well fleeced. During the whole period of a process, religious processions and other expensive ceremonies that had to be well paid for, were strictly enjoined. Besides, no district could commence a process of this kind unless all its arrears of t.i.thes were paid up; and this circ.u.mstance gave rise to the well-known French legal maxim--'The first step toward getting rid of locusts is the payment of t.i.thes?' an adage that in all probability was susceptible of more meanings than one."[227]

Cerambycidae--Musk-beetles.

Moufet says: "The Cerambyx, knowing that his legs are weak, twists his horns about the branch of a tree, and so he hangs at ease.... They thrust upon us some German fables, as many as say it flies only, and when it is weary it falls to the earth and presently dies. Those that are slaves to tales, render this reason for it: Terambus, a satyrist, did not abstain from quipping of the Muses, whereupon they transformed him into a beetle called Cerambyx, and that deservedly, to endure a double punishment, for he hath legs weak that he goes lame, and like a thief he hangs on a tree. Antonius Libealis, lib. i. of his Metamorphosis, relates the matter in these words: The Muses in anger transformed Terambus because he reproached them, and he was made a Cerambyx that feeds on wood," etc.[228]

A large species of longicorn beetles, the _Acanthocinus aedilis_, is the well-known _Timerman_ of Sweden and Lapland; an insect which the natives of these countries regard with a kind of superst.i.tious veneration. Its presence is thought to be the presage of good fortune, and it is as carefully protected and cherished as storks are by the peasantry of the Low Countries.[229]

It has been found that the common cinnamon-colored Musk-beetle, _Cerambyx moschatus_, when dried and reduced to powder, and made use of as a vesicatory, in the manner of the officinal Cantharides, produces a similar effect, and in as short a s.p.a.ce of time.[230]

The _Prionus damicornis_ is a native of many parts of America and the West Indies, where its larva, a grub about three and a half inches in length, and of the thickness of the little finger, is in great request as an article of food, being considered by epicures as one of the greatest delicacies of the New World. We are informed by authors of the highest respectability, that some people of fortune in the West Indies keep negroes for the sole purpose of going into the woods in quest of these admired larvae, who scoop them out of the trees in which they reside. Dr. Browne, in his History of Jamaica, informs us that they are chiefly found in the plum and silk-cotton trees (_Bombax_). They are commonly called by the name of _Macauco_, or _Mac.o.kkos_. The mode of dressing them is first to open and wash them, and then carefully broil them over a charcoal fire.[231] Sir Hans Sloane tells us the Indians of Jamaica boil them in their soups, pottages, olios, and pepper-pots, and account them of delicious flavor, much like, but preferable to, marrow; and the negroes of this island roast them slightly at the fire, and eat them with bread.[232]

A similar larva is dressed at Mauritius under the name of _Moutac_, which the whites as well as the negroes eat greedily.[233] According to Linnaeus, the larva of the _Prionus cervicornis_ is held in equal estimation; and that of the _Acanthocinus tribulus_ when roasted forms an article of food in Africa.[234]

The _Cossus_ of Pliny belonged most probably to this tribe, or to the _Lucanidae_.

Wanley knew a nun in the monastery of St. Clare, who at the sight of a beetle was affected in the following strange manner. It happened that some young girls, knowing her disposition, threw a beetle into her bosom, which when she perceived, she immediately fell into a swoon, deprived of all sense, and remained four hours in cold sweats. She did not regain her strength for many days after, but continued trembling and pale.[235]

Galerucidae--Turnip-fly, etc.

The striped Turnip-beetle, _Haltica nemorum_, commonly called the _Turnip-fly_, _Turnip-flea_, _Earth-flea-beetle_, _Black-jack_, etc., is a well known species from the ravages the perfect insect commits upon the turnip. In Devonshire, England, in the year 1786, the loss caused by these insects alone was valued at 100,000 sterling. And in the spring of 1837, the vines in the neighborhood of Montpellier were attacked to so great an extent by another species, _Haltica oleracea_, in the perfect state, that fears were entertained for the plants, and religious processions were inst.i.tuted for the purpose of exorcising the insects.[236]

Anatolius says that if the seeds of radishes, turnips, and other esculents be sown in the hide of a tortoise, the plants when grown will not be eaten by the fly, nor hurt by noxious animals or birds.[237]

Paladius has also related the method of drying the seeds in the hide of this animal,[238] and of sowing them.[239]

ORDER II.

EUPLEXOPTERA.

Forficulidae--Ear-wigs.

The vulgar opinion that the Ear-wig, _Forficula auricularia_, seeks to introduce itself into the ear of human beings, and causes much injury to that organ, is very ancient, but not founded on fact, for they are perfectly harmless. To this opinion the names of this insect in almost all European languages point: as in English, _Ear-wig_ (from Anglo-Saxon _eare_, the ear, and _wigga_, a worm; hence, also, our word _wiggle_), in French, _Perce-oreille_, and in the German, _Ohrwurm_. But, according to some writers, these names arose from the shape of the wing when expanded, which then resembles the human ear; and _ear-wig_ might easily be a corruption of ear-_wing_.

Swift, in the following lines, introduces an "Ear-wig (probably a _Curculio_) in a plum," as though in allusion to some superst.i.tion:

Doll never flies to cut her lace, Or throw cold water in her face, Because she heard a sudden drum, Or found an ear-wig in a plum.

"Oil of Ear-wigs," says Dr. James, "is good to strengthen the nerves under convulsive motions, by rubbing it on the temples, wrists, and nostrils. These insects, being dried, pulverized, and mixed with the urine of a hare, are esteemed to be good for deafness, being introduced into the ear."[240]

In August, 1755, in the parishes adjacent to Stroud, it is said there were such quant.i.ties of Ear-wigs, that they destroyed not only the fruits and flowers, but the cabbages, though of full growth. The houses, especially the old wooden buildings, were swarming with them: the cracks and crevices surprisingly full, so that they dropped out oftentimes in such mult.i.tudes as to literally cover the floor. Linen, of which they are fond, was likewise full, as was the furniture; and it was with caution any provisions could be eaten, for the cupboards and safes flocked with these little pests.[241]

ORDER III.

ORTHOPTERA.

Blattidae--c.o.c.kroaches.

Sloane tells us the Indians of Jamaica drink the ashes of c.o.c.kroaches in physic: bruise and mix them with sugar and apply them to ulcers and cancers to suppurate; and are said also to give them to kill worms in children.[242] Dr. James, quoting Dioscorides, Lib. II. cap. 38, remarks: "The inside of the Blatta (_B. foetida_, Monf. 138), which is found in bake-houses, bruised or boiled in oil, and dropped into the ears, eases the pains thereof."[243] It is most probable the insect now called Blatta is not at all meant by either of the above gentlemen. The Blatta of Dioscorides is quite likely the Blatta of Pliny, which has been with good reason conjectured to be the modern _Blaps mortisaga_--the common Church-yard beetle.

In England, the hedge-hog, _Erinaceus Europaeus_, from its fondness for insects and its nocturnal habits, is often kept domesticated in kitchens to destroy the c.o.c.kroaches with which they are infested; and the housekeepers of Jamaica, as we are informed by Sir Hans Sloane, for the same reasons and purpose, keep large spiders in their houses.[244] A species of monkey, _Simia jacchus_, and a species of lemur, _L.

tardigradus_, are also made use of for destroying these insects, especially on board ships.[245] Mr. Neill, in the Magazine of Natural History, in his account of the above-mentioned species of monkey, says: "By chance we observed it devouring a large c.o.c.kroach, which it had caught running along the deck of the vessel; and, from this time to nearly the end of the voyage, a s.p.a.ce of four or five weeks, it fed almost exclusively on these insects, and contributed most effectually to rid the vessel of them. It frequently ate a score of the largest kind, which are from two to two and a half inches long, and a very great number of the smaller ones, three or four times in the course of the day. It was quite amusing to see it at its meal. When he had got hold of one of the largest c.o.c.kroaches, he held it in his fore-paws, and then invariably nipped the head off first; he then pulled out the viscera and cast them aside, and devoured the rest of the body, rejecting the dry elytra and wings, and also the legs of the insect, which are covered with short stiff bristles. The small c.o.c.kroaches he ate without such fastidious nicety."[246]

The common c.o.c.kroach, or Black-beetle, as it is sometimes vulgarly called, the _Blatta orientalis_, is said originally to be a native of India, and introduced here, as well as in every other part of the civilized globe, through the medium of commerce. In England, another species, said to be a native of America, _Blatta Americana_, larger than the last, is now also becoming very common, especially in seaport towns where merchandise is stored.[247]

An old Swede, Luen Laock, one of the first Swedish clergymen that came to Pennsylvania, told the traveler Kalm, that in his younger days, he had once been very much frightened by a c.o.c.kroach, which crept into his ear while he was asleep. Waking suddenly, he jumped out of bed, which caused the insect, most probably out of fear, to strive with all its strength to get deeper into his skull, producing such excruciating pain that he imagined his head was bursting, and he almost fell senseless to the floor. Hastening, however, to the well, he drew a bucket of water, and threw some in his ear. The Roach then finding itself in danger of being drowned, quickly pushed out backward, and as quickly delivered the poor Swede from his pain and fears.[248]

The proverbial expression "Sound as a Roach" is supposed to have been derived from familiarity with the legend and attributes of the Saint Roche,--the esteemed saint of all afflicted with the plague, a disease of common occurrence in England when the streets were narrow, and without sewers, houses without boarded floors, and our ancestors without linen. They believed that the miraculous St. Roche could make them as "sound" as himself.[249]

A quite common superst.i.tious practice, in order to rid a house of c.o.c.kroaches, is in vogue in our country at the present time. It is no other than to address these pests a written letter containing the following words, or to this effect: "O, Roaches, you have troubled me long enough, go now and trouble my neighbors." This letter must be put where they most swarm, after sealing and going through with the other customary forms of letter writing. It is well, too, to write legibly and punctuate according to rule.