and express out of it a kind of Glue, which enables them to ftick their Feet on the fmooth Surface of Glafs, &c. but not fo as to deprive them of the liberty of walking; that the Flies have likewife Spunges at the Soles of their Feet; and that the Stains we fee on Glafs, and on all that has a smooth Surface, is nothing else but thisGlue exprefs'd from the Spunge at the ExtreThe J-ft's mity of their Feet.[ I am forry to be obliged fo Obf. often to differ from my ingenious Author, but he must have taken fome of his Obfervations rather upon Hearfay, than from his own Experience. Had he confulted the most fagacious and ingenious Dr. Derham, Book VIII. c. 4. N. b. he would have seen there, that most Infects that have sharp_book'd Nails, have alfo skinny Palms on their Feet and this he might have been himself fatisfied in, had he us'd only a fingle Microscope. Thefe skinny Palms enable them, by means of the Preffure of the Atmofphere, to flick on Glass. If the Stains made on Glafs, &c. were caufed by the Glue, iffuing out of the Spunges, pretended to be at the Extremity of their Feet, how comes it that the Spiders, tho' endu'd with the fame Spunge and Glue as the Fly, make no Impreffion on the Glafs? But had the Prior been more curious in his Obfervations, he could have perceiv'd, without the use of a Microscope, that the Stains are occafion'd only by a Liquid iffuing out of the Probofcis or Trunk, of that kind of Fly which infefts our Houses, whenever they apply it to the Surface of ALL Bodies, whether fmooth or not.]

THEN the Prior gives an account of the manner of their spinning, out of five Papillæ placed in their Belly, and which they widen at pleasure; how

how they clear their Web of the Duft that encumbers it; and how old Spiders, exhausted of that gummy Subftance wherewithal they' make their Web, get Prey to sustain their Lives. This Account of the House-Spider being ended, the Countess imparts her Obfervations on the Garden-Spiders, and acquaints the Chevalier with the manner how they dart out their Web, from one Tree to another: [But The J--A's by the Account fhe gives, tho' è ben trovato, obf. yet we can easily fee, that her Ladyship has not been an exact Observer, notwithstanding she says fhe has been an Eye-witnefs to their Management. This is most excufable in a Lady; but if any of our Readers is willing to be better informed, let him read an accurate Account of this curious Phænomenon and of their Eggs, in that most accurate Obferver Mr. Leeuwenhoek's Continuat. Arcan. Nat. Epift. 138. and Dr. Derbam's Phyfico-Theol. B. VIII. c. 4. N. e.]

P. 114.

The Ta

THETarentula comes next under the Countess's Confideration but as fhe has not seen any, the only relates in a very few Words rentula. what he has been told of it.

Wafps

THE Converfation breaks off here; and the Conv. V. next, which is only between the Prior and the young Chevalier, begins with the Defcription of the Wafps Nefts. Firft, he pretends, that in the Neft are three forts of Wafps. 1. The Females, which are largeft. 2. The Males, not quite fo large as the Females, but more numerous. And lastly, a 3d Sort which are the smallest, and neither Male nor Female, which The J-st's he calls Mules, [this fmaller fort is perhaps obf. that which is known by the Ancients, and with us by the Name of Ichneumon Wafps;] whofe Province, fays he, is to labour for the reft, L 2

and

and are far the moft numerous. [With respect to what the Author fays here, that the labouring Wafps are neither Male nor Female, we beg leave to diffent from him, and humbly The J-ft's think there is no. Species of Natural Animals Obferv. that is neither Male nor Female, this Opinion being liable to unanswerable Objections: but this is not a place to discuss this matter. And as to what relates to the difference of Sexes in Wafps, we refer our Readers to the Obfervations of Dr. Derham in Number 382, of the P. 123. Philofophical Tranfactions.] He proceeds afterwards to give a curious Description of their Nefts; (for the Prior has procur'd one,the better to inftruct the young Gentleman) of the manner of building it,and fhews that the bexagonalFigure is the propereft they could pitch upon to build fuch an Affemblage of Cells. As to their Food, they feaft equally upon the choiceft Fruits, Honey, &c. as upon Flesh, but never depofit any Eggs there, as the Flies do: the Prior gives his reafon for it, and fays, that the Females always keep at home to watch their Eggs, and that the Males bring them Food, which, fays the Prior, the Females carefully and equally diftribute to the little Maggots, hatch'd from their Eggs.

UPON fight of the largest Maggots, the Chevalier holds his Finger to one of them, and P. 132. presently it opens a wide Mouth to fwallow down the Bait. [How happy the Chevalier, to have feen this pleafant fight! One would willingly go a great many Miles to have a view of fuch a Raree-fhow. As to the Mother The J--ft's Wafp's care of her Maggots in going from Cell to Cell to feed them, their Nefts being under ground, and they never being feen to work, the

Au

Author, it is hoped, will not take it ill if we fufpend ourBelief of what he acquaints us with, till we have good grounds to come into it. What

P. 135.

is faid afterwards, that when these Maggots put on their Aurelia, they die, &c. has been confidered in the Obf. made before, p. 147.] The pretty Defcription of the Females care for their p. 134. *Families during Summer, cannot but afford a very great Pleasure to the Reader, and an excellent Pattern to Mothers of Families: but when Winter comes on, thefe naughty Mothers, and Eathers, not long ago fo very fond, now unmercifully fall on their Maggots, their Aurelias, their Young, and kill every Child of them, whether in their Swaddling-clothes, or full grown Nay, their Fury is fuch, that they turn their very Houses topfy-turvy. Sad havock! Why then, argues the Chevalier, how comes the Species to be preferved? To this, the Prior an fwers, the Mothers are hardier than their Husbands, and tho' there may remain but two or three of them, their Fecundity is fuch, that one only Wafp would be fufficient to reftore: the whole Kind, &c.

THE Company in the next Converfation is Con. VL more complete, for the Count and Countess join with the Prior, in order to inftruct farther the curious Chevalier. Here the Subject Mat

L3

ter

Haud ita diu poft ovorum partum moriuntur (i. e.Animalcula Volatilia minutiora) Sola, inter omnia, (quantum quidem mihi hactenus innotuit) Apes fuperftites manent; quæ, tamen, non ultra Septimam æftatem durare folent.Vid.Leeuwenhoek Continuatio Arcan.Naturæ. Epift. 133. Mr. Ray fays on the contrary, that every Wafp's Neft is begun by ONE great Mother-wafp, which over lives the Winter, lying hid infome Hollow Tree. Wild. of the Creation. 9 Edit, P. 122.

Bees.

P. 142.

P.150.

p. 163.

Cony.VII.

ter is upon Bees, and the Prior brings in a Honey-comb, which opens the Differtation.

THE Chevalier's firft Question is, whether the Bees have a King? To this the Prior fays, there are three forts of Bees in a Hive. First, the common Bees; these are the Body of the Nation; all the Labour falls to their lot: and they are all provided with Arms, and a Probofcis, for their defence, and their work and are neither Male, nor Female. The fecond fort is the Drone-Bee, of another Colour, and Size from the Honey-Bee. Thefe are reckon'd to be the Males, and have no Sting. A thort there is, which is much stronger and arger than any of the reft, This, it is thought, is alone in a Hive; and the Question is, whether this be a King, or a Queen. The Count with good reafon concludes they are Queens, and only two, or at most three in a Hive. As to the Drone-Bees, they are acknowledged to be the Males, and the ingenious Count gives a very entertaining Description of the Management of the Bees. with refpect both to the Queen-Bee, and the Drones. Then he proceeds to a curious anatomical Defcription of these Infects. The Prior informs the Chevalier of the Swarming and biving of the young Bees, and the Count of their manner of working, or building their Nefts, differently, in fome refpects, from that of Wafps, which is not fo ftrong as that of Bees; the Wafps, fays he, fcarce out-living a Year. The Chevalier having tafted fome Honey out of the Comb, and admir'd the Sweetnefs of it, the Company breaks up.

THE first thing the Count does in the next Converfation is to inform the young Gentlman,