Homes Without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of Animals, Classed According to Their Principle of Construction

There is hardly a grove or a park in the neighborhood of London where the ravages of the Scolytus are not painfully apparent, and in Greenwich Park especially, some of the finest trees are riddled with the cylindrical tunnels of this destructive insect. There are several species of Scolytus, each affecting certain trees, so that there is scarcely any tree that can hope to escape from the jaws of some member of this family.

The well-known worm-eaten appearance of furniture is caused by certain beetles belonging to another family. As may be seen from the dimensions of the tunnels, the insects are very small, and their bodies are nearly cylindrical. The ravages which these beetles cause are fatal to all who happen to possess old furniture, but Mr. Westwood mentions that one common species, Ptilinus pectinicornis, completely destroyed a new bedpost in the short space of three years. There is but one known method of killing the insects which have already taken possession, and of preventing others from following their example, namely, by injecting a solution of corrosive sublimate into the holes, and then treating the whole of the surface with the same poisonous liquid. I need perhaps scarcely mention, that insects which are popularly called Death-watches, belong to this family. Not only do furniture and timber suffer from the attacks of the Ptilinus, but articles of dress and food are also injured by them. Specimens of natural history are often spoiled by the holes which are drilled through them by the beetles; and stationers sometimes suffer from the voracious insects, which bore holes through their wafers, fix them together, and there undergo their transformations within them. One species is obnoxious to wholesale druggists on account of the damage which it does to the ginger. In some cases, half the ginger is drilled with holes, and rendered quite unsalable. It is not, however, lost entirely, because it is reserved for the mill, and is then sold as ground ginger, the insects and their grubs being reduced to powder together with the ginger which they have not consumed. Such specimens are of course not exhibited to the general gaze, as the public would be very cautious of purchasing ground ginger if they knew what it contained. In the British Museum, however, may be seen several pieces of ginger completely eaten away by the beetle, and numerous examples of the insect itself are placed in the same tray. The little beetles which eat cork, and are so mischievous in the cellar, belong to the genus Mycetophagus. They will eat rotten wood or fungi, but always prefer cork, and in some cases have not only caused much expense by forcing the proprietor to recork all his bottles, but have sometimes destroyed the cork so completely, that the wine has escaped.

The reader may remember that a so-called "petrified man" was brought from Australia, and exhibited in London during 1862. Having very great doubts about the petrifaction of a human being, I went to see it, and at a glance perceived that it was no petrifaction at all, but simply a moderately good example of a desiccated body, such as are common enough in museums, and sometimes occur even in this country. The exhibitor stoutly asserted that it was a petrifaction, but as I noticed the tunnels of sundry Ptilini in various parts of the head, body, and limbs, there could be no doubt but that the body had not been changed into stone.

Cylindrical holes of small size may be often seen in the bark of oak-trees, from which dart certain long-bodied little beetles, with beautifully-fringed antennæ, and shaped much like the common skip-jack beetles. These insects belong to the genus Melasis.

The common Meal-worm may be placed with the wood-borers, for it is able to gnaw its way through almost any bread that can be made, and, as sailors too well know, feeds upon ship-biscuit, and drills it full of holes. Old sailors can never eat a biscuit without mechanically knocking it on the table, a custom which they have learned on long voyages, serving to shake the "maggots" out of the biscuit. The meal-worm is the larva of a beetle, called Tenebrio molitor, a long-bodied, small-headed insect, with very long wing-cases, and very slender and rather short antennæ. To bird-fanciers it is invaluable, serving to keep in health the nightingale and several other delicate birds, and those who keep vivaria are also indebted to the meal-worm, as affording food to sundry of the lizard tribe. Even the perfect insect will eat the biscuit, and is nearly as voracious as the larva.

THERE is a genus of weevils called Calandra, which is remarkable for the great diversity of size among its members, some, such as the dreaded grain weevil of England (Calandra granaria), being very small, and scarcely exceeding the eighth of an inch in length; and another, the PALM WEEVIL (Calandra palmarum), being a really large beetle, nearly two inches in length. This insect is equally injurious to the sugar-cane and the palm-tree, the larva burrowing into the centre of the plant and eating away its substance. This larva is very large, very fat, and very heavy, and is slightly curved. The natives consider it as one of their greatest delicacies, and have some peculiar fashion of cooking it. They call it by the name of Grugru.

While I was examining the beautiful collection of insect habitations in the British Museum, a gentleman looked on, and presently pointed to a larva, apparently that of some sphinx-moth, saying that he knew the insect well, and had often eaten it, stating at the same time that it was taken out of a palm-tree. The label attached to the specimen corroborated this assertion in a measure, for the palm-tree was the locality from which it had been taken.

This larva, which is called Tuchuté—I spell the name phonetically, my informant never having seen the word in print—is eaten either cooked or raw, the latter being the usual method among gourmands, who think that, like an oyster, the Tuchuté ought to be eaten without any aid from the fire. The correct mode of eating it is, to hold it neatly by the head, between the finger and thumb, to put the whole of the body into the mouth, and then to bite it off, just as a strawberry is eaten, and its flavor much resembles that of marrow. The grubs are procured in the following manner: A cabbage-palm is cut down, and allowed to lie for at least a fortnight; at the expiration of that time, the palm is split open, and in the interior are found the Tuchuté grubs.

To return to the Palm Weevil. When the great, unwieldy larva has attained its full growth, it constructs a large cocoon, made of the stringy fibres which run along the stem of the palm, twisted and intertwined so as to form a strong place of refuge during the time of its helplessness. It is a remarkable fact, that many wood-boring insects are in the habit of inclosing themselves in a strong cocoon before they change into the pupal condition, though the locality in which they live might seem to render them independent of any such protection. It is, however, very possible that the object of the cocoon may be to save the inhabitant from some other wood-boring insect, which might happen to drive its tunnel through the helpless pupa, and that the cocoon might contain some ingredients which are distasteful to the intruder, and would compel it to turn aside and choose another path. Were it not for some such protection, another insect might get into the burrow made by the weevil grub, follow it up, come upon the pupa while still inert and incapable of resistance, and either eat it, or at all events inflict a serious injury upon it.

THERE is a large group of beetles, which, in consequence of their extremely long antennæ, are called by the name of Longicornes. In some species the antennæ attain a wonderful length, as for example, in Lamia ædilis, the antennæ of which are five times as long as the head and body together. We have several examples in our own country, some of them being remarkable for the beauty of their colors, as well as for the elegance of their forms. The common Wasp BEETLE (Clytus arietis) is a very good example of the longicorn beetles. It may be seen upon the hedges, gently slipping in and out with a curiously fussy movement, that very much resembles the restless gestures of the insect from which it takes its name. Its slender shape and yellow-striped body are indeed so wasp-like, that many persons are afraid to touch one of these beetles lest they should be stung.

The early life of the Wasp Beetle is spent entirely in darkness, the grubs burrowing into wood, and therein undergoing their transformations. They are curious little beings, white, roundish, but flattened; the rings of which the body is made are deeply marked, the segments nearest the head are much larger than those which compose the abdomen, and the head itself is small, but armed with a pair of jaws that remind the observer of wire nippers, so sharp are their edges, and so stout is their make. Old posts and rails are favorite localities with this beetle, and the grubs can almost always be obtained where timber has been left for any length of time in the open air.

ANOTHER well-known boring-beetle is the large and beautiful insect which is popularly called the Musk BEETLE (Cerambyx moschatus). Nearly an inch in length, with long and gracefully-curved antennæ, and slender and elegant in shape, it would always command attention, even if it were not possessed of two remarkable characteristics, color and perfume.

To the naked eye, and in an ordinary light, the color of this beetle is simply green, very much like that of the malachite. But, when the sun shines upon its elytra, some indications of its true beauty present themselves, not to be fully realized without the aid of the microscope and careful illumination. If a part of an elytron be taken from a Musk Beetle, placed under a half-inch object glass, and viewed through a good binocular microscope, by means of concentrated light, the true glories of this magnificent insect become visible. The general color is green, but few can describe the countless shades of green, gold, and azure, that are brought out by the microscope, and no pencil can hope to give more than a faint and dull idea of the wonderful object. Neither do its beauties end with its colors, for the whole structure of the insect is full of wonders, and from the compound eyes to the brush-soled feet, it affords a series of objects to the microscopist, which will keep him employed for many an hour.

The odor which it exudes is extremely powerful; so strong, indeed, that I have often been attracted by the well-known perfume as I walked along a tree-fringed wood, and, after a little search, discovered the insect. It is no easy matter to find the Musk Beetle, even when it is close at hand, for its slender body lies so neatly along the twigs, and its green color harmonizes so well with the leaves, that a novice will seldom distinguish the insect. A practiced eye, however, looks out for the antennæ, and is at once attracted by their waving grace. By a series of experiments which I have made on this beetle, I have proved that the scent can be retained or emitted at the will of the insect, and it is a rather remarkable fact, that it is often stronger after the death of the beetle than during its life. The Musk Beetle is easily kept alive, provided that it is well supplied with water, and that a little sugar and water be occasionally given to it. The mode of feeding is very curious, as are many of the habits of the insect.