Abstract
THIS very handsomely got-up volume is illustrated by 40 full-page engravings, many of which are exquisite landscapes as well as representations of insects in their various stages; and by about 200 excellent woodcuts in the text, from which we have selected a few specimens as samples of the rest. The subject of insect transformations presents us with so many curious examples of instinct, and such strange eccentricities of structure and habits, as to be especially adapted to attract the attention of the young, and to lead them to study this most fascinating branch of Natural History. The name of M. Emile Blanchard, and the high scientific reputation of Prof. Duncan, are a sufficient guarantee that the facts are accurately stated. In the introductory portion of the work, the main features of the external structure and internal anatomy of insects are exhibited by such large and clear illustrations as to be easily comprehended, the changes in the nervous system, from the larva to the perfect insect, being particularly well shown. The nature of metamorphosis and its different kinds are then explained, and a series of chapters is devoted to each order of insects, beginning with the Lepidoptera and ending with the Crustacea.
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WALLACE, A. The Metamorphoses of Insects * . Nature 3, 329–331 (1871). https://doi.org/10.1038/003329a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/003329a0