In this year appeared a work by Paulus Jovius, " De Piscibus Romanis," Basil, 1531; of which a second edition was published at Rome in 1524.
Petrus Gyllius, a Frenchman, published " De Na ture Animalium," Lugd. 1533.
In this year the celebrated Conradus Gesner pub lished his " Historia Naturalis;" A work to be con sulted by the Entomologist. Gesner was born in 1516, and died in 1558.
In 1552, Edward Wotton published his work " De differentiis Animalium," Paris, 1552, in which he treats largely on Insects. The book is in folio, and appeared three years before the author's death.
Rondeletius this year produced his little work, " De Piscibus Marinis, cum universe Aquatilium historia, et de Insectis et Zoophytis." Lugd. Gall. 1554; and, in the following year, published his " Universa Aquatilium historia pars alters." Ludg. Gall. 1555, fol. The third book of which treats of Insects, and is accompanied by rude wood cuts.
Petrus Andreas Matthiolus in this year published his a Commentarii de Medics Materia," &c. Venet. 1583, which is illustrated with figures.
A little work by Gesner, entitled " Serpentiain Historia et Insectorum Libellus," Was published in this year.
In this year appeared " Ferrante Imperato dell' Historia Naturale." Naples, 1599. And " Xeno crites De Nature, Libri sex. Curs Gesneri." Turici, 1559.
Ulysses Aldrovandus published a very voluminous work, " De Animalibus Insectis," Bononioe, 1602. fol. This indefatigable compiler has certainly ac quitted himself very well in collecting together the undigested observations of the ancients, considering how entirely he was ignorant of the subject himself. He has consequently fallen into all the errors of his predecessors ; but has very rarely omitted to men tion his authorities. He was professor of medicine at Bologna, and spent much of his time and money in acquiring insects, and in employing artists to figure them. He is stated to have paid two hundred flo rins annually to an artist, who was solely occupied in the delineation of Insects. Aldrovandus divides insects into two great groups, 1. Terrestrial; 2. Aqua tic, which he terms Insects farica, and non farica; these he again distributes into minor groups from the number and situation of their wings and feet. His figures are but rudely executed; but as the art of engraving on copper had at that period but scarce ly emerged from its infancy, such works were almost exclusively produced by artists themselves.
Wolfang Franzius published, in 1612, his " His-. toria Animalium Sacra," in which insects are divid ed into, 1. Aerie ; 2. Aquatics; S. Terrea; and are described with greater accuracy than in any former work.
A pamphlet of about an hundred pages, entitled " Jeremiah Wilde De Formica," appeared in Rome.
In 1622, a work but remotely relating to Insects was published in Edinburgh, bearing the following title, " Hieroglyphics Ammalium Terrestrium, &c. gine in Scripturis Sacris inveniuntur et plurium alio rum, cum eorum interpretationibus." 4to.
A thin quarto, containing 226 miscellaneous figures of insects, was published under the title of " Diver rue Insectorum volitantium Icones ad vivum toe, per D. J. Hoefnagle, typisque mandate a N. J.
Vischer." The work of Thomas Mouffet, entitled a Insect orum sive minimorum Animalium Theatrum." Lon. dini, 1634. fol. This is the first work on Entomo logy published in Britain; it is ornamented with se veral wooden cuts, rudely executed, accompanied by long, tedious, and often fanciful descriptions of the species. The first seven chapters are occupied with heavy details concerning the common hive bee (Apia mellifica). The eighth is entitled, " De Vespis :" the ninth, " De Crabrone et Tenthredine," which in cludes descriptions of the humble-bees (Bombi). The three following chapters, " De Muscis," under which are comprehended several Dipterous, Hy menopterous, and Neuropterous insects. The thir teenth, " De Culicibus." The fourteenth, " De Pa pilionibus," which occupies two hundred, the margins of which are embellished with one hundred and twelve wooden figures, executed in the rudest style ; yet in most instances they are tolerably intel ligible. The fifteenth, " De Cicindela," including the glow-worm (Lampyuris) and several other genera. The seventeenth, " De Locustis." The eighteenth, " De Blattis." The nineteenth, " De Buprestide et Cerambyce." The twentieth, " De Cantharide." The twenty-first, " De Scarabeeis," including several of the larger Coleoptera. The twenty-second, " De Scaraboeis minoribus." The twenty-third, " De Pro scarabteo et Scarabseo aquatico." The twenty-fourth, a De Gryllo-talpa." The twenty-fifth, " De Phry genes." The twenty-sixth, " De Tipula." The twenty-seventh, " De Forficula sive Auricularia." The twenty-eighth, " De Scorpioni, Formica, et Pediculis alatis ;" and lastly, the twenty-ninth, " De Cimice Sylvestri." We then arrive at the second book, which treats of apterous insects, amongst which he arranges all sorts of larvae or caterpillars, and several vermes. We must apologise to the reader for having taken up so much of his time with the above dry extracts; but as they occur in the earliest of our works, we trust they will not prove entirely uninteresting. We shall conclude with quoting the following passage, relating to a species of mantis, as a specimen of his style and notions re lative to the subject: " Pectus habet longum, tenue, cuculo tectum, caput simplicem ; oculos sanguineos, satis magnos ; antennas breves; pedes sex locustarumt more, sed anteriores multo crassioree longioresque cfeteris, quos quia junctos plerumque elevat (prie cantium rite a nostratibus presque Dieu dici solet ; totum carpus madentum est. Tam divina censetur bestiola, ut puero interroganti de via, altero pede extenso rectam monstrat, atque raro vet nunquam fallat. Cauda 111i bifurca, setaceis duobus aculeis prsedita; atque ut manuum elevatione vines refert, its etiam et moths similitudine ; neque enim ludit ut alii, neque saltat, neque gestit; sed lente obambulans modestiam retinet et maturam quadam ostendit gra. This work is professedly an improvement op that of Dr Wotton, begun in 1550, continued by Gesner, and afterwards published in its present form by Mouffet.