The Transformations (or Metamorphoses) of Insects (Insecta, Myriapoda, Arachnida, and Crustacea.); Being an Adaptation, for English Readers, of M. EMI

by P. Martin Duncan

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1882 edition. ...considerable size, and are really very pretty and extraordinary objects. They are wonderfully fragile, and not strongly built, like the nests of the other wasps. Ordinary wasps scrape off woody fibres from living trees, and form a strong tenacious paper, but the hornets content themselves with rotten wood, out of which they manufacture a yellowish or russet-coloured paper, which, although very pretty to the eye, is very friable, and does not possess any lasting properties. The larvae of these large wasps are fleshy grubs, and are destitute of feet. They have to be fed by the workers, and undergo metamorphoses similar to those of the other wasps. The wasps which have elongated bodies and the first segment of the abdomen formed into a long pedicle constitute the group of the Polistites. Linnaeus, without much regard to the geographical distribution of one of the species, called a very common wasp of this kind Polistes gallica. The French Polistes is a black insect decorated with yellow tints, which are also observed on the antennae. It frequents open spaces in woods, and there are few prettier sights than that presented in the spring-time by one of the females when it is building its little nest, or is attending to its larvae! It is not difficult to observe all this, for the Polistes attach their nests to low plants and bushes. The brooms especially furnish them with straight and narrow twigs, which are very convenient for their particular method of nest building. The mother, after having hybernated during the winter, begins to work earnestly and with great perseverance early in May, and commences to construct her nest with materials which resemble those used by the bush wasp. The fibres of bark are reduced into a homogeneous paste, which is...

146 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1877

About the author

Peter Martin Duncan FRS (20 April 1821 – 28 May 1891) was an English palaeontologist.

He was the father of zoologist Francis Martin Duncan