Curious Facts in the History of Insects; Including Spiders and Scorpions Part 7

Another receipt for driving away c.o.c.kroaches is as follows: Close in an envelope several of these insects, and drop it in the street unseen, and the remaining Roaches will all go to the finder of the parcel.

It is also said that if a looking-gla.s.s be held before Roaches, they will be so frightened as to leave the premises.

A firm, which has been established in London for seven years, and which manufactures exclusively poison known to the trade as the "Phosphor Paste for the Destruction of Black-beetles, c.o.c.kroaches, rats, mice,"

etc., has given to Mr. Mayhew the following information:

"We have now sold this vermin poison for seven years, but we have never had an application for our composition from any street-seller. We have seen, a year or two since, a man about London who used to sell beetle-wafers; but as we knew that kind of article to be entirely useless, we were not surprised to find that he did not succeed in making a living. We have not heard of him for some time, and have no doubt he is dead, or has taken up some other line of employment.

"It is a strange fact, perhaps; but we do not know anything, or scarcely anything, as to the kind of people and tradesmen who purchase our poison--to speak the truth, we do not like to make too many inquiries of our customers. Sometimes, when they have used more than their customary quant.i.ty, we have asked, casually, how it was and to what kind of business people they disposed of it, and we have always met with an evasive sort of answer. You see tradesmen don't like to divulge too much; for it must be a poor kind of profession or calling that there are no secrets in; and, again, they fancy we want to know what description of trades use the most of our composition, so that we might supply them direct from ourselves. From this cause we have made a rule not to inquire curiously into the matters of our customers. We are quite content to dispose of the quant.i.ty we do, for we employ six travelers to call on chemists and oilmen for the town trade, and four for the country.

"The other day an elderly lady from High Street, Camden Town, called upon us: she stated that she was overrun with black beetles, and wished to buy some of our paste from ourselves, for she said she always found things better if you purchased them of the maker, as you were sure to get them stronger, and by that means avoided the adulteration of the shopkeepers. But as we have said we would not supply a single box to any one, not wishing to give our agents any cause for complaint, we were obliged to refuse to sell to the old lady.

"We don't care to say how many boxes we sell in the year; but we can tell you, sir, that we sell more for beetle poisoning in the summer than in the winter, as a matter of course. When we find that a particular district uses almost an equal quant.i.ty all the year round, we make sure that that is a rat district; for where there is not the heat of summer to breed beetles, it must follow that the people wish to get rid of rats.

"Brixton, Hackney, Ball's Pond, and Lower Road, Islington, are the places that use most of our paste, those districts lying low, and being consequently damp. Camden Town, though it is in a high situation, is very much infested with beetles; it is a clayey soil, you understand, which retains moisture, and will not allow it to filter through like gravel. This is why in some very low districts, where the houses are built on gravel, we sell scarcely any of our paste.

"As the farmers say, a good fruit year is a good fly year; so we say, a good dull, wet summer, is a good beetle summer; and this has been a very fertile year, and we only hope it will be as good next year.

"We don't believe in rat-destroyers; they profess to kill with weasels and a lot of things, and sometimes even say they can charm them away.

Captains of vessels, when they arrive in the docks, will employ these people; and, as we say, they generally use our composition, but as long as their vessels are cleared of the vermin, they don't care to know how it is done. A man who drives about in a cart, and does a great business in this way, we have reason to believe uses a great quant.i.ty of our Phosphor Paste. He comes from somewhere down the East-end or Whitechapel way.

"Our prices are too high for the street-sellers. Your street-seller can only afford to sell an article made by a person in but a very little better position than himself. Even our small boxes cost at the trade price two shillings a dozen, and when sold will only produce three shillings; so you can imagine the profit is not enough for the itinerant vendor.

"Bakers don't use much of our paste, for they seem to think it no use to destroy the vermin--beetles and bakers' shops generally go together."[250]

If a black beetle enters your room, or flies against you, severe illness and perhaps death will soon follow. I have never heard this superst.i.tion but in Maryland.

Mantidae--Soothsayers, etc.

We now come to a very extraordinary family of insects, the _Mantidae_.

"Imagination itself," as Dr. Shaw well observes, "can hardly conceive shapes more strange than those exhibited by some particular species."[251] "They are called _Mantes_; that is, fortune-tellers,"

says Mouffet, "either because by their coming (for they first of all appear) they do show the spring to be at hand, as Anacreon, the poet, sang; or else they foretell death and famine, as Caelias, the scholiast of Theocritus, writes; or, lastly, because it always holds up its fore-feet, like hands, praying, as it were, after the manner of their divines, who in that gesture did pour out their supplications to their G.o.ds. So divine a creature is this esteemed, that if a childe aske the way to such a place, she will stretch out one of her feet and show him the right way, and seldome or never misse. As she resembleth those diviners in the elevation of her hands, so also in likeness of motion, for they do not sport themselves as others do, nor leap, nor play, but walking softly she returns her modesty, and showes forth a kind of mature gravity."[252]

The name _Mantis_ is of Greek origin, and signifies diviner. In one of the Idylls of Theocritus, however, it is employed to designate a thin, young girl, with slender and elongated arms. _Praemacram ac pertenuem puellam a?t??. Corpore praelongo, pedibus etiam praelongis, locustae genus._

These insects, _Mantis oratoria_, _religiosa_, etc., in consequence of their having, as Mouffet says, their fore-feet extended as if they were praying, are called in France, _Devin_, and _Prega-diou_ or _Preche-dieu_; and with us, _Praying-insects_, _Soothsayers_, and _Diviners_. They are also often called from their singular shape _Camel-crickets_.

The Mantis was observed by the Greeks in soothsaying;[253] and the Hindoos displayed the same reverential consideration of its movements and flight.[254]

But, in modern times, the superst.i.tion respecting the sanct.i.ty of the Mantis begins in Southern Europe, and is found in almost every other quarter of the globe, at least wherever a characteristic species of the insect is found.

In the southern provinces of France, where the Mantis is very abundant, both the characters of praying and pointing out the lost way, as above mentioned by Mouffet, are still ascribed to it by the peasantry, as is evidenced by the above mentioned names they know them by. And here, as wherever else this superst.i.tion obtains, it is considered a great crime to injure the Mantis, and as, at least, a very culpable neglect not to place it out of the way of any danger to which it seems exposed.

The Turks and other Moslems have been much impressed by the actions of the common Mantis, the _religiosa_,[255] which greatly resemble some of their own att.i.tudes of prayer. They readily recognize intelligence and pious intentions in its actions, and accordingly treat it with respect and attention, not indeed as in itself an object of reverence or superst.i.tion, but as a fellow-worshiper of G.o.d, whom they believe that all creatures praise, with more or less consciousness and intelligence.[256]

But it is in Africa, and especially in Southern Africa, that the Mantis (here the _Mantis causta_)[257] receives its highest honors. The attention of the travelers and missionaries in that quarter was necessarily much drawn to the kind of religious veneration paid to an insect, and from their accounts, though very contradictory, some curious information may be collected.

The authority of Peter Kolben, an early German traveler to the Cape of Good Hope, is as follows: That the Hottentots regard as a good deity an insect of the "beetle-kind" peculiar to their country. This "beetle-G.o.d"

is described by him to be "about the size of a child's little finger, the back green, the belly speckled white and red, with two wings and two horns." He also a.s.sures us that whenever the Hottentots meet this insect, they pay it the highest honor and veneration; and that if it visits a kraal they a.s.semble about it as if a divinity had descended among them; and even kill a sheep or two as a thank-offering, and esteem it an omen of the greatest happiness and prosperity. They believe, also, its appearance expiates all their guilt; and if the insect lights upon one of them, such person is looked upon as a saint, be it man or woman, and ever after treated with uncommon respect. The kraal then kills the fattest ox for a thank-offering; and the caul, powdered with _bukhu_, and twisted like a rope, is put on, like a collar, about the neck, and there must remain till it rots off.[258]

Kolben, in another place, describes the Mantis under the name of the _Gold-beetle_, saying that its head and wings are of a gold color, the back green, etc., as above.[259]

Mr. Kolben, again speaking of this singular reverence, remarks that the Hottentots will run every hazard to secure the safety of this fortunate insect, and are cautious to the last degree of giving it the slightest annoyance, and relates the following anecdote:

"A German, who had a country-seat about six miles from the fort, having given leave to some Hottentots to turn their cattle for awhile upon his land there, they removed to the place with their _kraal_. A son of this German, a brisk young fellow, was amusing himself in the kraal, when the deified insect appeared. The Hottentots, upon sight, ran tumultuously to adore it; while the young fellow tried to catch it, in order to see the effect such capture would produce among them. But how great was the general cry and agony when they saw it in his hands! They stared with distraction in their eyes at him, and at one another. 'See, see, see,'

said they. 'Ah! what is he going to do? Will he kill it? will he kill it?' Every limb of them shaking through apprehensions for its fate.

'Why,' said the young fellow, who very well understood them, 'do you make such a hideous noise? and why such agonies for this paltry animal?'

'Ah! sir,' they replied, with the utmost concern, "tis a divinity. 'Tis come from heaven; 'tis come on a good design. Ah! do not hurt it--do not offend it. We are the most miserable wretches upon earth if you do. This ground will be under a curse, and the crime will never be forgiven.'

This was not enough for the young German. He had a mind to carry the experiment a little farther. He seemed not, therefore, to be moved with their pet.i.tions and remonstrances; but made as if he intended to maim or destroy it. On this appearance of cruelty they started, and ran to and again like people frantic; asked him, where and what his conscience was?

and how he durst think of perpetrating a crime, which would bring upon his head all the curses and thunders of heaven. But this not prevailing, they fell all prostrate on the ground before the young fellow, and with streaming eyes and the loudest cries, besought him to spare the creature and give it its liberty. The young German now yielded, and, having let the insect fly, the Hottentots jumped and capered and shouted in all the transports of joy; and, running after the animal, rendered it the customary divine honors. But the creature settled upon none of them, and there was not one sainted upon this occasion."[260]

Afterward, Mr. Kolben, discoursing with these Hottentots, took occasion to ask them concerning the utmost limit they carried the belief of the sanct.i.ty and avenging spirit of this insect, when they declared to him, that if the German had killed it, all their cattle would certainly have been destroyed by wild beasts, and they themselves, every man, woman, and child of them, brought to a miserable end. That they believed the kraal to be of evil destiny where this insect is rarely seen. Mr. Kolben a.s.serts that they would sooner give up their lives than renounce the slightest item of their belief.[261]

Dr. Sparrman, a Swedish traveler into the country of the Hottentots and Caffres between the years 1772 and 1779, in speaking of the Mantis, called in his time the "Hottentot's G.o.d," denies the above statement of Mr. Kolben, and says the Hottentots are so far from worshiping it, that they several times caught some of them, and gave them to him to put needles through them, by way of preserving them, in the same manner as he did with the other insects. But there is, he adds, a diminutive species of this insect, which some think would be a crime, as well as very dangerous, to do any harm to, but that it was only a superst.i.tious notion, and not any kind of religious worship.[262]

Dr. Thunberg, who traveled in South Africa about the same time as Dr.

Sparrman, corroborates the latter's statement, and says he could see no reason for the supposition that the Hottentots worshiped the Mantis, but, he adds, it certainly was held in some degree of esteem, so that they would not willingly hurt, and deemed that person a creature fortunate on which it settled, though without paying it any sort of adoration.[263]

Dr. Vanderkemp, in his account of Caffraria, after describing the Mantis, says that the natives call it _oumtoanizoulou_, the _Child of Heaven_, and adds that "the Hottentots regard it as almost a deity, and offer their prayers to it, begging that it may not destroy them."[264]

Mr. Kirchener, speaking of the same people, says they reverence a little insect, known by the name of the _Creeping Leaf_, a sight of which they conceive indicates something fortunate, and to kill it they suppose will bring a curse upon the perpetrator.[265]

Mr. Evan Evans, a missionary to the Cape of Good Hope, gives an account of a conversation which he had with the Hottentot driver of his wagon, which seems to make out the claims of the Mantis to be the G.o.d of the Hottentots--as it is even yet called. The driver directed his attention to "a small insect," which he called by its above-mentioned familiar name, and alluded to the notions he had in former times connected with it. "I asked him, 'Did you ever worship this insect then?' He answered, 'Oh, yes! a thousand times; always before I came to Bethelsdorf.

Whenever I saw this little creature, I would fall down on my knees before him and pray.' 'What did you pray to him for?' 'I asked him to give me a good master, and plenty of thick milk and flesh.' 'Did you pray for nothing else?' 'No, sir; I did not then know that I wanted anything else.... Whenever I used to see this animal (holding the insect still in his hand) I used sometimes to fall down immediately before it; but if it was in the wagon-road, or in a foot-path, I used to push it up as gently as I could, to place it behind a bush, for fear a wagon should crush it, or some men or beasts would put it to death. If a Hottentot, by some accident, killed or injured this creature, he was sure to be unlucky all his lifetime, and could never shoot an elephant or a buffalo afterward.'"[266]

Niuhoff, in his account of his travels in Java in 1643, tells us "the Javanese set two of these little creatures (Mantes) a fighting together, and lay money on both sides, as we do at a c.o.c.k-match."[267] Among the Chinese also this quarrelsome property in the genus Mantis is turned into an entertainment. They are so fond of gaming and witnessing fights between animals that, as says Mr. Barrow in his Travels, "they have even extended their inquiries after fighting animals into the insect tribe, and have discovered a species of Gryllus or Locust that will attack each other with such ferocity as seldom to quit their hold without bringing away at the same time a limb of their antagonist. These little creatures are fed and kept apart in bamboo cages, and the custom of making them devour each other is so common that, during the summer months, scarcely a boy is to be seen without his cage of gra.s.shoppers."[268] The boys in Washington City, who call the Mantis the "Rear-horse," are also fond of this amus.e.m.e.nt.

Among the legends of St. Francis Xavier, the following is found. Seeing a Mantis moving along in its solemn way, holding up its two fore-legs, as in the act of devotion, the Saint desired it to sing the praises of G.o.d, whereupon the insect caroled forth a fine canticle.[269]

The _Mantis religiosa_ of America is said to make a most interesting pet when tamed, which can be done in a very short time and with but little pains. Professor Glover, of the Maryland Agricultural College, tells me he once knew a lady in Washington who kept a Mantis on her window which soon grew so tame as to take readily a fly or other small insect out of her hand. But Mrs. Taylor, in her Orthopterian Defense, has given us the particulars in full of a Mantis which she had petted. She speaks of it under the name of "Queen Bess," and in her most interesting style, as follows:

"Queen Bess, of famous memory, would alight on my shoulder and take all her food from me half a dozen times a day. When she omitted her visit I knew she had been hunting on her own account. All night long she would keep watch and guard under the mosquito-net. The silk (the thread with which the insect was bound) was fastened to the post of the bed; and woe betide an unfortunate mosquito who fancied for his supper a drop of claret. It was the drollest, the most laughter-moving sensation, to feel one of these trumpeters saluting your nose or forehead, and hear Queen Bess approaching with those long claws, creeping slowly, softly, nearer and nearer; to feel the fine p.r.i.c.k of the lancet setting in for a tipple; then you would suppose a dozen fine needles had been suddenly drawn across the part; then, _presto!_ Bess's strong, saber-like claws had the jolly trumpeter tucked into her capacious jaws before you could open your eyes to ascertain the state of affairs.

"These creatures very seldom fly far," continues Mrs. Taylor, "but walk in a most stately and dignified manner. Queen Bess could not bear to be overlooked or slighted(!); and as sure as she saw me bending over the magnifier with an insect, and I thought she was ten yards off, the insect would be incontinently snapped out of my fingers. Many a valuable specimen disappeared in this way. I learned to put her at these times in the sounding-board of an aeolian harp, which was generally placed in the window. Her majesty liked music of this kind amazingly; as the vibration was _felt_ though not heard. I presume she fancied she was serenaded by the singing leaves of the forest. I knew she would have remained there spell-bound until driven forth by hunger, if I did not remove her when I was not afraid of her company.

"As I have begun my 'experiences,'" continues the same writer, "I will go through with them and confess that I was obliged from circ.u.mstances to attach more than accident to her prophetic capacity--her fortune-telling. I have not a grain of superst.i.tion to contend against in other matters, having so much reverence for the Creator of all things that I certainly have no fear of anything earthly or spiritually conveyed to the senses. But I was taught by the saddest teacher, Experience, that whenever Queen Bess's refusal went unheeded I was the sufferer. The first time I ever tried it was to determine a vacillating presentiment I felt about trying a new horse whose reputation was far from good. I placed Queen Bess before me, held up my finger:

"'Attention! Queen Bess, would you advise me to try that horse?'

"She was standing on her hind legs, her antennae erect, wings wide spread. I repeated the question. Antennae fell; wings folded; and down she went, gradually, until her head and long thorax were buried beneath her front legs. I took her advice, and did not venture. Two days later the horse threw his rider and killed him.

"Here was the turning-point. Was I to allow such folly to master me? If French girls do take a Mantis at the junction of three roads, and ask her on which their lover will come, and watch the insect turning and examining each road with her weird sibyl head,[270]--if French girls commit such follies, should I, a staid American woman, follow their example--putting my faith in the caprices of an insect? Pshaw! I was above such folly. So the next time Queen Bess was consulted a more decided refusal was given; but I disregarded her warning, and most sorely did I repent it. Again she would approve, by standing more erect, if possible, spreading and closing her wings; then all was sunshine with me. So it went for many months. Many others have had the same experience, if they will confess it honestly. I learned to obey the hidden head more carefully than any other, I am sorry to say; and I never, in one single instance, knew her to refuse her opinion; and I never knew it to be wrong in whatever way she announced it."

This same superst.i.tious woman says that boys and girls try their future expectations by making a mimic chariot, ballasting it with small pebbles, shot, or any such like thing, and harnessing the Mantis in with silk. Upon being freighted she rises immediately, as if to try the weight; if too heavy she will not fly. Lighten the chariot, and she will soar away to a tree or a field; then her owner is to be a lucky boy. If she will not go at all, or only a short distance, and soon come down, misfortune is to be his doom.[271]

Other superst.i.tions among us, with respect to the Mantis are as follows:

When the Mantis (Rear-horse) kneels, it sees an angel in the way, or hears the rustle of its wings. When it alights on your hand, you are about to make the acquaintance of a distinguished person; if it alights on your head, a great honor will shortly be conferred upon you. If it injures you in any way, which it does but seldom, you will lose a valued friend by calumny. Never kill a Mantis, as it bears charms against evil.