An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. 4 or Elements of the Natural History of the Insects — Background and Themes

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In Category - Insects

Authors: Kirby, William, 1759-1850, Spence, William, 1783-1860 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2013 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Insects; Insect pests; Insect societies; Insects -- History; Beneficial insects; Insects -- Host plants; Insects -- Life cycles; Insects -- Habitations Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 183,854

Reading time 800 min

Text sections 35

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This volume examines insect internal anatomy, physiology, and classification, emphasizing the analogies between insects and higher animals, and the symbolic interpretation of nature as a reflection of divine order.

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attributes their name to Lyonet.

[96] _Bibl. Nat._ i. 138. b. _t._ xxviii. _f._ 2. _a_, _b_, _c_. _f._ 3. _g_.

[97] _Ubi supr._ 578.

[98] _Ubi supr._ 320. 339, &c.

[99] Cuv. _ubi supr._ 349.

[100] Lyonet _Anat._ _t._ ix. x.

[101] PLATE XXI. FIG. 8. Swamm. _Bibl. Nat._ _t._ xxii. _f._ 6.

[102] _Ibid._ _t._ xv. _f._ 6.

[103] PLATE XXI. FIG. 7.

[104] Swamm. _ubi supr._ _t._ xliii. _f._ 7. _h_, _h_.

[105] PLATE XXI. FIG. 8.

[106] In Mr. Bauer's figure (_Philos. Trans._ 1824. _t._ ii. _f._ 1.) no less than _eighteen_ pairs of nerves are represented as issuing from the internodes; but it should seem as if in the specimen from which his figure was taken, several of the ganglions, perhaps from some injury received in the dissection, had become obliterated, while their nerves remained: yet still, even making allowance for these, many pairs will appear to take their origin from the spinal chord.

[107] Comp. Cuv. _Anat. Comp._ ii. 102-123.; with Swamm. Expl. of PLATES XXXII. _t._ xxviii. _f._ 3. _k._

[108] Malpighi seems, however, to agree with him. _De Bombyc._ _t._ vi. _f._ 1.

[109] Lyonet _ubi supr._ 201. _t._ ix. _f._ 1, 2. n. 1, 2. &c.

[110] Swamm. _ubi supr._ 1. 139. a. _t._ xxviii. _f._ 3. _s_, _s_.

[111] In Lesser _Insecto-theol._ ii. 84. note *.

[112] _Linn. Trans._ ii. 8. Aristotle had observed this vitality of insects, and that that of the myriapods is greatest. _Hist. Animal._ _l._ iv. _c._ 7. _De Respiratione_, _c._ 3. _Reptiles_ have also this faculty. _N. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._ xxix. 161.

[113] Cuv. _Anat. Comp._ ii. 283--. These are named "the upper and lower cervical ganglions."

[114] Lyonet _Anat._ _t._ ix. x. PLATE XXI. FIG. 1. _a._ _b._

[115] VOL. III. p. 663. 670.

[116] _N. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._ ii. 47--. v. 592. xvi. 308--.

[117] VOL. II. p. 519--. 507--.

[118] Huber _Fourmis_, 260--. Reaum. vi. 172--.

[119] VOL. II. p. 204.

[120] _N. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._ ii. 279--.

[121] Cuv. _Anat. Comp._ ii. 319. 337.

[122] Ibid. ii. 322, 323--; 338. 339--.

[123] PLATE XXX. FIG. 1.

[125] PLATE XXX. FIG. 3.

[126] Herold _Schmett._ _t._ ii. _f._ 6.

[127] Ibid. _t._ ii. _f._ 7.

[128] PLATE XXX. FIG. 4.

[131] _Anat. Comp._ ii. 348.

[132] _N. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._ xvi. 313. Comp. i. 420.

[133] See above, p. 23.

[134] VOL. I. p. 217--.

[135] VOL. II. p. 461.

[136] VOL. II. p. 493.

[138] See above, p. 21.

[139] Antommarchi's _Last Days of Napoleon_.

[140] _Linn. Trans._ xi. 393.

[141] VOL. II. p. 509.

[142] VOL. II. p. 463, 5.

[143] _Zoological Journal_, n^o. i. 5.

_INTERNAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF INSECTS CONTINUED._

"Life and flame have this in common," says Cuvier, "that neither the one nor the other can subsist without _air_; all living beings, from man to the most minute vegetable, perish when they are utterly deprived of that fluid[144]." The ancients, however, not perceiving insects to be furnished with any thing resembling _lungs_, took it for granted that they did not _breathe_; though Pliny seems to hesitate on the subject[145]. But the microscopic and anatomical observations of Malpighi, Swammerdam and Lyonet, and the experiments of more modern physiologists, have incontestably proved that insects are provided with respiratory organs, and that the respiration of air is as necessary to them as to other animals. They can exist indeed for a time in irrespirable air; and immersion in hydrogen or carbonic acid gases is not, as I have often ascertained, so instantly fatal to them as it would be to vertebrate animals; but like them, they speedily perish in air altogether deprived of its oxygen, or placed in situations to which all access to this essential element is excluded. Their respiration too of atmospheric air produces the same change in it with that of the vertebrate animals, the oxygen disappearing, and carbonic acid gas being produced in its place. Boyle had long since ascertained, that when bees, flies, and other insects were placed under an exhausted receiver, they often perished[146]: and the same effect was even observed by the ancients to ensue, when their bodies were by any means covered with oil or grease, which necessarily closed the orifices of their respiratory organs[147].

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This fourth volume of Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology shifts from external morphology to internal anatomy and physiology, covering sensation, respiration, circulation, digestion, secretion, reproduction, and motion across seven letters. The authors consistently frame their observations within a teleological view, asserting that the insect's vital system is 'perfectly analogous to that of the vertebrate animals' and that each function manifests 'the power, wisdom and goodness of the Creator.'

The volume also includes substantial sections on orismology (definition of terms), a system of insect classification, a history of entomology, and practical advice on collecting and preserving specimens. A notable feature is the extended discussion of analogy versus affinity in natural systems, where the authors argue that many similarities between organisms are representative or symbolic rather than indicative of true relationship.

Analogy as a Principle of Order

Kirby and Spence devote considerable attention to the concept of analogy, distinguishing it from affinity. They contend that the natural world is 'representative, as well as operative'—a 'Janus bifrons' that must be studied in two aspects. This principle leads them to assert that analogies between different objects 'that have no real affinity' are rooted in a divine purpose: to connect the scale of being from bottom to top. They cite Dr. Virey and M. Savigny as early proponents of this parallelism, noting that Savigny contrasted Mandibulata and Haustellata groups. The authors warn that modern physiologists have often mistaken analogies for affinity, thereby perplexing their systems. This theoretical stance underpins their classification and shapes how they interpret insect structures throughout the volume.

From Natural History to Sacred Symbolism

The volume extends its analogical framework into theology, arguing that the study of nature leads to the Creator. The authors claim that 'created things are representative or symbolical' and that ascending the scale of being ultimately conducts the observer 'to the boundaries of this visible and material system,' beyond which lies the invisible. They illustrate this with a critique of Egyptian animal worship, which they see as a corruption of an original symbolic knowledge. The Egyptian priesthood, they suggest, retained an esoteric doctrine that regarded animals as symbols, not deities. This passage reveals the authors' conviction that entomology is not merely descriptive but participates in a higher, moral and spiritual understanding of the universe.

Practical Entomology and the Scope of the Volume

Beyond theoretical discussions, the volume offers practical guidance. Letter L details 'entomological instruments' and methods for 'collecting, breeding, and preserving insects.' Letter LI addresses the 'investigation of insects,' providing a systematic approach to identification. The appendix and indexes occupy nearly seventy pages, reflecting the work's encyclopedic ambition. The table of contents shows that the volume covers diseases of insects, their senses, and geographical distribution, including stations, haunts, seasons, and times of action. This blend of anatomy, systematics, history, and field technique makes the volume a comprehensive resource for the early nineteenth-century naturalist, though the excerpts provided do not reveal the full detail of these later sections.

Readers approaching this volume should be aware that its arguments are embedded in a natural theology that may seem foreign to modern scientific writing. The authors' insistence on analogy as a guiding principle—and their willingness to draw moral and religious conclusions from insect anatomy—gives the work a distinctive character. For those interested in the history of biology, this text offers a window into how early nineteenth-century naturalists reconciled empirical observation with metaphysical conviction. The practical sections on collecting and preserving remain of historical interest, though techniques have evolved.

That rainy afternoon, tracing the delicate analogies between insect and human anatomy in An Introduction to Entomology, I felt a quiet wonder at nature’s hidden order. The book’s symbolic lens lingered with me. Later, almost by accident, I picked up Butterflies and Moths (British) — Text and Context, and the same reverence surfaced, softer, in the flutter of their wings.