Dru Drury

“ He observes that the type of this group is the Hesperia Proteus Fabr.; that all the species, of which there are nearly thirty, are from America; that their flight is exceedingly rapid in the morning and evening, and that they rest with their wings perpendicular. Drury, on the other hand, gives Sierra Leone as the habitat, and adds, moreover, on the authority of Mr. Smeathman, that this species, like the last, sports in the sun, and is remarkable for the very rapid short flights it takes from bush to bush, so as to be caught with great difficulty. ”

“ Antennæ small, setaceous, and shorter than the thorax. Head dark brown, small and flat, armed with strong jaws. Eyes small, round and black. Thorax and abdomen dark brown, and velvety. Wings brown and diaphanous. Legs coloured like the body, without any spines at any of the joints; neither is there any abdominal peduncle.
This insect (which appears to be a queen or female ant) is nearly allied to a very celebrated South American species, which, from visiting the houses of the inhabitants in great swarms, is termed the visiting ant. ”

“ If this is the case with those who have all the best means in their power of providing for themselves, how must it be with transient persons and speculative travellers, who are seldom profitable visitors, and whose studies consequently meet with little partiality from such as are assiduously engaged in the sole pursuit of wealth or power? ”

“ Habitat: Sierra Leone (Drury) .
Upper Side. Antennæ brown. Head black, with eight whiteish spots on the top. Thorax black, with four white spots at the base of the anterior wings. Abdomen black at the base and at top, clay-coloured on the sides and extremity. Anterior wings black at the base, but at the extremities more of a brown colour, with eighteen different shaped marks and spots; those next the body dark orange, the others yellow clay-coloured, some being so faint as to be hardly discernible. Posterior wings slightly dentated, the inner scollops being edged with clay-coloured crescents. ”

“ Antennæ black. The thorax dusky green, margined. Scutellum large, triangular, and green. Elytra dusky green, the sides and suture margined, having two swellings near the extremities, and two short thick spines at the end of the suture. The abdomen covered above with a fine brown pile like velvet. Hind part of the abdomen green, with two silvery white spots of a squarish form. All the under side of the insect green, and of a more lively or shining colour than the upper. Legs strong and thick, the tibiæ furnished with thick spines, both in the middle and at the tips, the hinder ones being hairy. ”

“ Antennæ of equal thickness, and apparently only two-jointed; one next the head, which is white, another in the middle, the extreme part being black; the length being about a tenth part of the whole insect. Body white, and covered with a very fine cottony substance. Legs white at the base, the remainder black. The insect above is round, beneath flat; a fine soft white substance, like down, intermixed with hairs of different sizes, some being very small, others very coarse, arises from the abdomen.
"I am not certain it is a complete insect."—Drury. ”

“ Antennæ setaceous. The insect, when living, was probably green, but is now of a yellowish brown; the eyes, head, and thorax being of that colour. One-third of the tegmina, next the tips, is transparent, the remainder being green. In the centre is a yellow spot resembling an eye, encircled with black, whose centre is dark green, with a black margin at top. Wings transparent. Fore-legs yellow-brown. Femora strong, with two rows of spines, and a groove between to receive the tibiæ, which are furnished with a strong spine at the tip. ”

“ Thus a speculative man can find few opportunities of securing his collections, or of making observations, while surrounded by the hospitable chief, the trader, the planter, and their families, who scarce finding room enough in their houses for themselves, think all time lost that is not spent in lucrative business, active pleasures, or social festivity. ”

“ The wings are black, but next the body red, with some red spots in the centre of them. Rostrum horny, lying between the legs, even with and close to the breast. Tongue seeming to proceed from the mouth, and much smaller than the other instrument (labium) , being as small and fine as a hair. Feet formed for walking.
There is a confusion in the works of the earlier authors relative to the native country of this species; Linnæus and Fabricius stating it to be India, whilst Stoll records Surinam, Drury, Cayenne, during that it and others figured by him were collected by Mons. ”

“ Head and thorax black; all the rest of the insect dark brown. Jaws broad and thin, the extremities bending inwards towards each other. Antennæ thickest at their base, and about half the length of the insect, gradually diminishing in size to the extremities. Thorax smooth and rounded at top, the middle appearing as if polished; the sides rough, like shagreen, and armed with two short and pointed spines, like horns; it is also margined. Scutellum small and bell-shaped. Elytra deeply margined on their sides and suture ”

“ They are very mischievous to the naturalist's collection of plants and seeds, tearing them and the books, in which they are kept, to pieces, as it were in wantonness, and carrying away such as are edible, in which they are often assisted by the land-crabs. ”

“ Smeathman adds others, some of which we can have little idea of in these climates. The Norway rats are so numerous and so bold, that they will come and feed by the side of the table at supper, and during the still hours of night, search every corner for plunder, making a continual uproar, and often, in a kind of furor, carry away small utensils, and other articles, which they can turn to no advantage either for food or shelter. ”

“ They are sometimes obliged to pass much of their time in providing the mere necessaries of life, and some in securing themselves from danger, while their industry is always exposed to the avarice, the neglect, or the ill-will of ignorant people, whose services, though poor, are not to be easily dispensed with. ”

“ Sometimes the cottages have no windows, and the larger houses, which they contrive to form in such manner as to receive the breezes, are generally without glass; so that the student frequently has his subject, his pen, or his paper blown away, with various other disappointments and vexations too numerous and too trivial to mention, but altogether distressing, and in many instances insurmountable. ”

“ If to this we add frequent sickness, the want of boats or cattle for conveyance in cases where moving without is impracticable; the want of information, of guides, of assistance, the means of transporting things, of candlelights, or even a table to write on, it will not be surprising we have so little knowledge of the uncultivated tropical regions. Even travellers, who go expressly to make observations, have other great difficulties to encounter. ”

“ Habitat: Virginia (Drury) . Georgia (Burmeister) .
Head, eyes, and thorax black; the latter rough. Antennæ setaceous, consisting of innumerable articulations. Scutellum triangular and black. Corium white, terminal membrane black. Wings white and transparent. Abdomen black, the edges marked with scarlet and black spots. Rostrum black and short, not reaching to the fore legs. Legs black, the hinder thighs next the body scarlet. ”

“ The authors of the Encyclopédie Méthodique also cite Drury's figure under Hydaspes. Fabricius, however, cites only the Banksian Cabinet, and Mr. Donovan's figure taken from the Banksian specimen, and published in the Naturalist's Repository, Vol. 2. Pl. 60. convinces us that Drury's insect is specifically distinct from that described by Fabricius, although evidently identical with the insect described as Hydaspes in the Encyclopédie Méthodique. ”