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Micrographia by Robert Hooke

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One of these Gnats I have suffer'd to pierce the skin of my hand, with its
_proboscis_, and thence to draw out as much blood as to fill its belly as
full as it could hold, making it appear very red and transparent; and this
without any further pain, then whilst it was sinking in its _proboscis_, as
it is also in the stinging of Fleas: a good argument, that these creatures
do not wound the skin, and suck the blood out of enmity and revenge, but
for meer necessity, and to satisfy their hunger. By what means this
creature is able to suck, we shall shew in another place.

* * * * *


Observ. XLVI. _Of the white featherwing'd _Moth_ or _Tinea Argentea_._

This white long wing'd Moth, which is delineated in the 30. _Scheme_;
afforded a lovely object both to the naked Eye, and through a _Microscope_:
to the Eye it appear'd a small Milk white Fly with four white Wings, the
two formost somewhat longer then the two hindermost, and the two shorter
about half an Inch long, each of which four Wings seem'd to consist of two
small long Feathers, very curiously tufted, or haired on each side, with
purely white, and exceedingly fine and small Haires, proportion'd to the
stalks or stems, out of which they grew, much like the tufts of a long
wing-feather of some Bird, and their stalks or stems were, like those,
bended backwards and downwards, as may be plainly seen by the draughts of
them in the Figure.

Observing one of these in my _Microscope_, I found, in the first place,
that all the Body, Legs, Horns and the Stalks of the Wings, were covered
over with various kinds of curious white Feathers, which did, with handling
or touching, easily rubb off and fly about, in so much that looking on my
Fingers, with which I had handled this Moth, and perceiving on them little
white specks, I found by my _Microscope_, that they were several of the
small Feathers of this little creature, that stuck up and down in the
_rugosities_ of my Skin.

Next, I found that underneath these Feathers, the pretty Insect was covered
all over with a crusted Shell, like other of those Animals, but with one
much thinner and tenderer.

Thirdly, I found, as in Birds also is notable, it had differing and
appropriate kinds of Feathers, that covered several parts of its body.

Fourthly, surveying the parts of its body, with a more accurate and better
Magnifying _Microscope_, I found that the tufts or haires of its Wings were
nothing else but a congeries, or thick set cluster of small _vimina_ or
twiggs, resembling a small twigg of Birch, stript or whitned, with which
Brushes are usually made, to beat out or brush off the dust from Cloth and
Hangings. Every one of the twiggs or branches that composed the Brush of
the Feathers, appeared in this bigger Magnifying Glass (of which EF which
represents 1/24 part of an Inch, is the scale, as G is of the lesser, which
is only 1/3) like the figure D. The Feathers also that covered a part of
his Body, and were interspersed among the brush of his Wings, I found, in
the bigger Magnifying Glass, of the shape A, consisting of a stalk or stem
in the middle, and a seeming tuftedness or brushy part on each side. The
Feathers that cover'd most part of his Body and the stalk of his wings,
were, in the same _Microscope_, much of the figure B, appearing of the
shape of a small Feather, and seemed tufted: those which covered the Horns
and small parts of the Leggs, through the same _Microscope_, appear'd of
the shape C. Whether the tufts of any or all of these small Feathers,
consisted of such component particles as the Feathers of Birds, I much
doubt, because I find that Nature does not alwaies keep, or operate after
the same method, in smaller and bigger creatures. And of this, we have
particular Instances in the Wings of several creatures. For whereas, in
Birds of all kinds, it composes each of the Feathers of which its Wing
consists, of such an exceeding curious and most admirable and stupendious
texture, as I else where shew, in the Observations on a Feather; we find it
to alter its method quite, in the fabrick of the Wings of these minute
creatures, composing some of thin extended membranes or skins, such as the
Wings of Dragon-flys; in others, those skins are all over-grown, or pretty
thick bestuck, with short brisles, as in Flesh-flies; in others, those
filmes are covered, both on the upper and under side, with small Feathers,
plac'd almost like the tyles on a House, and are curiously rang'd and
adorn'd with most lively colours, as is observable in Butter-flies, and
several kinds of Moths; In others, instead of their films, Nature has
provided nothing, but a matter of half a score stalks (if I well remember
the number; for I have not lately met with any of these flys, and did not,
when I first observ'd them, take sufficient notice of divers particulars)
and each of these stalks, with a few single branchings on each side,
resembling much the branched back-bone of a Herring or the like Fish, or a
thin hair'd Peacocks feather, the top or the eye being broken off. With a
few of these on either side (which it was able to shut up or expand at
pleasure, much like a Fann, or rather like the posture of the feathers in a
wing, whichly all one under another, when shut, and by the side of each
other, when expanded) this pretty little grey Moth (for such was the
creature I observ'd, thus wing'd) could very nimbly, and as it seem'd very
easily move its _corpuscle_, through the Air, from place to place. Other
Insects have their wings cas'd, or cover'd over, with certain hollow
shells, shap'd almost like those hollow Trayes, in which Butchers carry
meat, whose hollow sides being turn'd downwards, do not only secure their
folded wings from injury of the earth, in which most of those creatures
reside, but whilst they fly, serves as a help to sustain and bear them up.
And these are observable in _Scarabees_ and a multitude of other
terrestrial _crustaceous_ Insects; in which we may yet further observe a
particular providence of Nature.

Now in all these kinds of wings, we observe this particular, as a thing
most worthy remark; that where ever a wing consists of discontinued parts,
the Pores or _interstitia_ between those parts are very seldom, either much
bigger, or much smaller, then these which we here find between the
particles of these brushes, so that it should seem to intimate, that the
parts of the Air are such, that they will not easily or readily, if at all,
pass through these Pores, so that they seem to be strainers fine enough to
hinder the particles of the Air (whether hinder'd by their bulk, or by
their _agitation_, _circulation_, _rotation_ or _undulation_, I shall not
here determine) from getting through them, and, by that means, serve the
Animal as well, if not better, then if they were little films. I say, if
not better, because I have observ'd that all those creatures, that have
film'd wings, move them aboundantly quicker and more strongly, such as all
kind of Flies and _Scarabees_ and Batts, then such as have their wings
covered with feathers, as Butter-flies and Birds, or twiggs, as Moths,
which have each of them a much slower motion of their wings; That little
ruggedness perhaps of their wings helping them somewhat, by taking better
hold of the parts of the Air, or not suffering them so easily to pass by,
any other way then one.

But what ever be the reason of it, 'tis most evident, that the smooth
wing'd Insects, have the strongest Muscles or movent parts of their wings,
and the other much weaker; and this very Insect, we are now describing, had
a very small _thorax_ or middle part of his body, if compar'd to the length
and number of his wings; which therefore, as he mov'd them very slowly, so
must he move them very weakly. And this last propriety do we find somewhat
observ'd also in bigger kind of Flying creatures, Birds; so that we see
that the Wisdom and Providence of the All-wise Creator, is not less shewn
in these small despicable creatures, Flies and Moths, which we have branded
with a name of ignominy, calling them Vermine, then in those greater and
more remakable animate bodies, Birds.

I cannot here stand to add any thing about the nature of flying, though,
perhaps, on another occasion, I may say something on that subject, it being
such as may deserve a much more accurate examination and scrutiny then it
has hitherto met with; For to me there seems nothing wanting to make a man
able to fly, but what may be easily enough supply'd from the Mechanicks
hitherto known, save onely the want of strength, which the Muscles of a man
seem utterly uncapable of, by reason of their smalness and texture, but how
even strength also may be mechanically made, and an artificial Muscle so
contriv d, that thereby a man shall be able to exert what strength he
pleases, and to regulate it also to his own mind, I may elsewhere endeavour
to manifest.

* * * * *


Observ. XLVII. _Of the _Shepherd Spider_, or long legg'd _Spider_._

The Carter, Shepherd Spider, or long-legg'd Spider, has, for two
particularities, very few similar creatures that I have met with, the
first, which is discoverable onely by the _Microscope_, and is in the first
and second _Figures_ of the 31. _Scheme_, plainly describ'd, is the curious
contrivance of his eyes, of which (differing from most other Spiders) he
has onely two, and those plac'd upon the top of a small pillar or hillock,
rising out of the middle of the top of its back, or rather the crown of its
head, for they were fix'd on the very top of this pillar (which is about
the heighth of one of the transverse Diameters of the eye, and look'd on in
another posture, appear'd much of the shape, BCD.) The two eyes, BB, were
placed back to back, with the transparent parts, or the pupils, looking
towards either side, but somewhat more forward then backwards. C was the
column or neck on which they stood, and D the crown of the head out of
which that neck sprung.

These eyes, to appearance, seem'd to be of the very same structure with
that of larger _binocular_ creatures, seeming to have a very smooth and
very protuberant _Cornea_, and in the midst of it to have a very black
pupil, incompassed about with a kind of grey _Iris_, as appears by the
_Figure_; whether it were able to move these eyes to and fro, I have not
observ'd, but 'tis not very likely he should, the pillar or neck C, seeming
to be cover'd and stiffen'd with a crusty shell; but Nature, in
probability, has supply'd that defect, by making the _Cornea_ so very
protuberant, and setting it so cleer above the shadowing or obstructing of
its prospect by the body, that 'tis likely each eye may perceive, though
not see distinctly, almost a _Hemisphere_, whence having so small and round
a body plac'd upon such long leggs, it is quickly able so to wind, and turn
it, as to see any thing distinct. This creature, as do all other Spiders I
have yet examin'd, does very much differ from most other Insects in the
Figure of its eyes; for I cannot, with my best _Microscope_, discover its
eyes to be any ways knobb'd or pearl'd like those of other Insects.

The second Peculiarity which is obvious to the eye, is also very
remarkable, and that is the prodigious length of its leggs, in proportion
to its small round body, each legg of this I drew, being above sixteen
times the length of its whole body, and there are some which have them yet
longer, and others that seem of the same kind, that have them a great deal
shorter; the eight leggs are each of them jointed, just like those of a
Crab, but every of the parts are spun out prodigiously longer in
proportion; each of these leggs are terminated in a small case or shell,
shap'd almost like that of a Musle-shell, as is evident in the third
_Figure_ of the same _Scheme_ (that represents the appearance ot the under
part or belly of the creature) by the shape of the protuberant _conical_
body, IIII, &c. These are as 'twere plac'd or fasten'd on to the
protuberant body of the Insect, which is to be suppos'd very high at M,
making a kind of blunt cone whereof M is to be suppos'd the _Apex_, about
which greater cone of the body, the smaller cones of the leggs are plac'd,
each of them almost reaching to the top in so admirable a manner, as does
not a little manifest the wisdom of Nature in the contrivance; for these
long Leavers (as I may so call them) of the legs, having not the advantage
of a long end on the other side of the _hypomochlion_ or centers on which
the parts of the leggs move, must necessarily require a vast strength to
move them, and keep the body ballanc'd and suspended, in so much, that if
we should suppose a man's body suspended by such a contrivance, an hundred
and fifty times the strength of a man would not keep the body from falling
on the breast. To supply therefore each of these leggs with its proper
strength, Nature has allow'd to each a large Chest or Cell, in which is
included a very large and strong Muscle, and thereby this little Animal is
not onely able to suspend its body upon less then these eight, but to move
it very swiftly over the tops of grass and leaves.

Nor are these eight leggs so prodigiously long, but the ninth, and tenth,
which are the two claws, KK, are as short, and serve in steed of a
_proboscis_, for those seem'd very little longer then his mouth; each of
them had three parts, but very short, the joints KK, which represented the
third, being longer then both the other. This creature, seems (which I have
several times with pleasure observ'd) to throw its body upon the prey,
insteed of its hands, not unlike a hunting Spider, which leaps like a Cat
at a Mouse. The whole Fabrick was a very pretty one, and could I have
dissected it, I doubt not but I should have found as many singularities
within it as without, perhaps, for the most part, not unlike the parts of a
Crab, which this little creature does in many things, very much resemble;
the curiosity of whose contrivance, I have in another place examin'd. I
omit the description of the horns, AA, of the mouth, LL, which seem'd like
that of a Crab; the speckledness of his shell, which proceeded from a kind
of feathers or hairs, and the hairiness of his leggs, his large _thorax_
and little belly, and the like, they being manifested by the Figure; and
shall onely take notice that the three parts of the body, namely, the head,
breast, and belly, are in this creature strangely confus'd, so that 'tis
difficult to determine which is which, as they are also in a Crab; and
indeed, this seems to be nothing else, but an Air-crab, being made more
light and nimble, proportionable to the _medium_ wherin it resides; and as
Air seems to have but one thousandth part of the body of Water, so does
this Spider seem not to be a thousandth part of the bulk of a Crab.

* * * * *


Observ. XLVIII. _Of the hunting _Spider_, and several other sorts of
_Spiders_._

The hunting Spider is a small grey Spider, prettily bespeck'd with black
spots all over its body, which the _Microscope_ discovers to be a kind of
feathers like those on Butterflies wings, or the body of the white Moth I
lately describ'd. Its gate is very nimble by fits, sometimes running, and
sometimes leaping, like a Grashopper almost, then standing still, and
setting it self on its hinder leggs, it will very nimbly turn its body, and
look round it self every way: It has six very conspicuous eyes, two looking
directly forwards, plac'd just before; two other, on either side of those,
looking forward and side-ways; and two other about the middle of the top of
its back or head, which look backwards and side-wards; these seem'd to be
the biggest. The surface of them all was very black, sphaerical, purely
polish'd, reflecting a very cleer and distinct Image of all the ambient
objects, such as a window, a man's hand, a white Paper, or the like. Some
other properties of this Spider, observ'd by the most accomplish'd Mr.
_Evelyn_, in his travels in _Italy_, are most emphatically set forth in the
History hereunto annexed, which he was pleas'd upon my desire to send me in
writing.

Of all the sorts of Insects, there is none has afforded me more
divertisements then the _Venatores_, which are a sort of _Lupi_, that
have their Denns in the rugged walls, and crevices of our houses; a
small brown and delicately spotted kind of Spiders, whose hinder leggs
are longer then the rest.

Such I did frequently observe at _Rome_, which espying a Fly at three
or four yards distance, upon the Balcony (where I stood) would not make
directly to her, but craul under the Rail, till being arriv'd to the
_Antipodes_, it would steal up, seldom missing its aim; but if it
chanced to want any thing of being perfectly opposite, would at first
peep, immediatly slide down again, till taking better notice, it would
come the next time exactly upon the Fly's back: But, if this hapn'd not
to be within a competent leap, then would this Insect move so softly,
as the very shadow of the Gnomon seem'd not to be more imperceptible,
unless the Fly mov'd; and then would the Spider move also in the same
proportion, keeping that just time with her motion, as if the same Soul
had animated both those little bodies; and whether it were forwards,
backwards, or to either side, without at all turning her body, like a
well mannag'd Horse: But, if the capricious Fly took wing, and pitch'd
upon another place behind our Huntress, then would the Spider whirle
its body so nimbly about, as nothing could be imagin'd more swift; by
which means, she always kept the head towards her prey, though to
appearance, as immovable, as if it had been a Nail driven into the
Wood, till by that indiscernable progress (being arriv'd within the
sphere of her reach) she made a fatal leap (swift as Lightning) upon
the Fly, catching him in the pole, where she never quitted hold till
her belly was full, and then carried the remainder home. I have beheld
them instructing their young ones, how to hunt, which they would
sometimes discipline for not well observing; but, when any of the old
ones did (as sometimes) miss a leap, they would run out of the field,
and hide them in their crannies, as asham'd, and haply not be seen
abroad for four or five hours after; for so long have I watched the
nature of this strange Insect, the contemplation of whose so wonderfull
sagacity and address has amaz'd me; nor do I find in any chase
whatsoever, more cunning and Stratagem observ'd: I have found some of
these Spiders in my Garden, when the weather (towards the Spring) is
very hot, but they are nothing so eager of hunting as they are in
_Italy_.

There are multitudes of other sorts of Spiders, whose eyes, and most other
parts and properties, are so exceedingly different both from those I have
describ'd, and from one another, that it would be almost endless, at least
too long for my present Essay, to describe them, as some with six eyes,
plac'd in quite another order; others with eight eyes; others with fewer,
and some with more. They all seem to be creatures of prey, and to feed on
other small Insects, but their ways of catching them seem very differing:
the Shepherd Spider by running on his prey; the Hunting Spider by leaping
on it, other sorts weave Nets, or Cobwebs, whereby they ensnare them,
Nature having both fitted them with materials and tools, and taught them
how to work and weave their Nets, and to lie perdue, and to watch
diligently to run on any Fly, as soon as ever entangled.

Their thread or web seems to be spun out of some viscous kind of excrement,
lying in their belly, which, though soft when drawn out, is, presently by
reason of its smallness, hardned and dried by the ambient Air. Examining
several of which with my _Microscope_, I found them to appear much like
white Hors-hair, or some such transparent horny substance, and to be of
very differing magnitudes; some appearing as bigg as a Pigg's brisle,
others equal to a Horss-hair; other no bigger then a man's hair; others yet
smaller and finer. I observ'd further, that the radiating chords of the web
were much bigger, and smoother then those that were woven round, which
seem'd smaller, and all over knotted or pearl'd, with small transparent
Globules, not unlike small Crystal Beads or seed Pearls, thin strung on a
Clew of Silk; which, whether they were so spun by the Spider, or by the
adventitious moisture of a fogg (which I have observ'd to cover all these
filaments with such Crystalline Beads) I will not now dispute.

These threads were some of them so small, that I could very plainly, with
the _Microscope_, discover the same consecutions of colours as in a
_Prisme_, and they seem'd to proceed from the same cause with those colours
which I have already describ'd in thin plated bodies.

Much resembling a Cobweb, or a confus'd lock of these Cylinders, is a
certain white substance which, after a fogg, may be observ'd to fly up and
down the Air; catching several of these, and examining them with my
_Microscope_, I found them to be much of the same form, looking most like
to a flake of Worsted prepar'd to be spun, though by what means they should
be generated, or produc'd, is not easily imagined: they were of the same
weight, or very little heavier then the Air; and 'tis not unlikely, but
that those great white clouds, that appear all the Summer time, may be of
the same substance.

* * * * *


Observ. XLIX. _Of an _Ant_ or _Pismire_._

This was a creature, more troublesom to be drawn, then any of the rest, for
I could not, for a good while, think of a way to make it suffer its body to
ly quiet in a natural posture; but whil'st it was alive, if its feet were
fetter'd in Wax or Glew, it would so twist and wind its body, that I could
not any wayes get a good view of it; and if I killed it, its body was so
little, that I did often spoile the shape of it, before I could throughly
view it: for this is the nature of these minute Bodies, that as soon,
almost, as ever their life is destroy'd, their parts immediately shrivel,
and lose their beauty; and so is it also with small Plants, as I instanced
before, in the description of Moss. And thence also is the reason of the
variations in the beards of wild Oats, and in those of Musk-grass seed,
that their bodies, being exceeding small, those small variations which are
made in the surfaces of all bodies, almost upon every change of Air,
especially if the body be porous, do here become sensible, where the whole
body is so small, that it is almost nothing but surface; for as in
vegetable substances, I see no great reason to think, that the moisture of
the Aire (that, sticking to a wreath'd beard, does make it untwist) should
evaporate, or exhale away, any faster then the moisture of other bodies,
but rather that the avolation from, or access of moisture to, the surfaces
of bodies being much the same, those bodies become most sensible of it,
which have the least proportion of body to their surface. So is it also
with Animal substances; the dead body of an Ant, or such little creature,
does almost instantly shrivel and dry, and your object shall be quite
another thing, before you can half delineate it, which proceeds not from
the extraordinary exhalation, but from the small proportion of body and
juices, to the usual drying of bodies in the Air, especially if warm. For
which inconvenience, where I could not otherwise remove it, I thought of
this expedient.

I took the creature, I had design'd to delineate, and put it into a drop of
very well rectified spirit of Wine, this I found would presently dispatch,
as it were, the Animal, and being taken out of it, and lay'd on a paper,
the spirit of Wine would immediately fly away, and leave the Animal dry, in
its natural posture, or at least, in a constitution, that it might easily
with a pin be plac'd, in what posture you desired to draw it, and the limbs
would so remain, without either moving, or shriveling. And thus I dealt
with this Ant, which I have here delineated, which was one of many, of a
very large kind, that inhabited under the Roots of a Tree, from whence they
would sally out in great parties, and make most grievous havock of the
Flowers and Fruits, in the ambient Garden, and return back again very
expertly, by the same wayes and paths they went.

It was more then half the bigness of an Earwig, of a dark brown, or reddish
colour, with long legs, on the hinder of which it would stand up, and raise
its head as high as it could above the ground, that it might stare the
further about it, just after the same manner as I have also observ'd a
hunting Spider to do: and putting my finger towards them, they have at
first all run towards it, till almost at it; and then they would stand
round about it, at a certain distance, and smell, as it were, and consider
whether they should any of them venture any further, till one more bold
then the rest venturing to climb it, all the rest, if I would have suffered
them, would have immediately followed: many such other seemingly rational
actions I have observ'd in this little Vermine with much pleasure, which
would be too long to be here related; those that desire more of them may
satisfie their curiosity in _Ligons_ History of the _Barbadoes_.

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