Indaba-zimbi

“ I should like to set in contrast with this mighty primeval harmony of the wilderness the sounds and voices of the modern industrial world, which gradually and unwittingly we take to be something natural. He who would feel all its greatness and perfection must keep himself far away for weeks and months from the screaming whistle he hears on the railway, and the howling siren of a steamship.
Then there is the insect world! Those flower-covered bushes have attracted a multitude of great droning beetles. They hasten to them in heavy flight. ”

“ The whine of a mosquito sounds across the whole lake; or [54] the mutter of a frog becomes like the roar of a bull of Bashan; or suddenly you begin to hear music as the faint vibration of some dry stub, purring in the unfelt air currents, turns to the booming of a mighty church organ. At such a time, unless one has trained his senses to ignore the obvious (the Indian secret of seeing and hearing things) , one soon becomes confused, uncertain of the borderland between the real and the imaginary; so presently I turned to Simmo and whispered, “You hear him?” ”

“ As I stand over the insect crawling amid the pine needles on the forest floor, and endeavoring to conceal itself from my sight, and ask myself why it will cherish those humble thoughts, and hide its head from me who might, perhaps, be its benefactor, and impart to its race some cheering information, I am reminded of the greater Benefactor and Intelligence that stands over me the human insect. ”

“ The hoary and stupendous formations of the inorganic world, the thousand tribes of insects, the great universe of plants, from those whose size and form and hue make us afraid as if they were deadly monsters, down to 'the meanest flower that blows,' all these are clothed with one set of attributes by scientific intelligence, and with another by sentiment, fancy, and imaginative association. ”

“ The two men pass through every nook and corner of the house and the cattle-shed crying “Adagho may go, Badagho may go”, that is, “May troubles and diseases disappear; may bugs, serpents, mice, scorpions, mosquitoes and other insects die out.” ”

“ All insects that live in communities are, I should imagine, in possession of language. One day I saw a wasp fly into my hut, and recollecting that I had a small collection of honey wrapped in some plantain leaves, I went to close the shutter as it again flew out; but observing the wasp immediately fly towards another of his species, and then to a second and a third, and those instantly fly off in opposite directions, I said to myself, the discovery of my depot of honey is being advertised throughout the community of wasps. ”

“ And yet ignorant people say that I cannot bear the light of the sun! I can tell you, that I picked up a pretty good meal of insects one bright day last winter, when the ground was frozen hard, and I heard some of the stupid boys in our village call out, as I passed them, 'Why! there's a bat! Throw thy cap at him, Jem! What business has he got to be flying about now, I wonder?' And then another said, 'Throw at him! Well done! Once get him down on the ground, and he can neither run nor fly. ”

“ Natural groups stand out, characterized merely by the identity of their victuals. I trust that the methodical science of the future will take account of these gastronomic laws, to the great relief of the entomological novice, who is too often hampered by the snares of the mouth-parts, the antennae and the nervures of the wings. I call for a classification in which the insect's aptitudes, its diet, its industry and its habits shall take precedence of the shape of a joint in its antennae. ”

“ If we may imagine the world of insect tribes to be endowed with the power of language and thought, how could the gay and gilded butterfly that to-day plays in the sunbeam impart to its companions of yesterday—low and grovelling worms—any adequate idea of that new condition of being into which it had emerged? ”

“ Students have gone to the Bushmen of Australia, and to the Red Indians of America for parallels and explanations, or for proofs of their highly ingenious theories. But are there no animal and bird stories in Europe which would show us how, to this day, the people understand the relations between man and other living creatures, what views they hold of birds and beasts and insects? Are the animals humanised—using the word in the sense of impersonating a human being? ”

“ There the dogs would soon devour him,
Birds of prey would feast upon him;
Have not hidden him in Swamp-land,
Have not buried him in heather;
There the worms would live upon him,
Insects feed upon his body. ”

“ But those who are joining the wild rush simply to be an Audubonian,—to cry "bird protection" and then listen for the applause—all the while condemning legitimate science, are of vastly a different stamp. ”

“ I told about magic I had witnessed in Benares, and about imaginary old women who could turn a man into a crow, the crow into an alligator, the alligator into a fish, and the fish into an insect, after which the insect could be trodden on and squashed by the first hoof that happened along—evolution vice versa, as it were. ”

“ In these stories the different birds, insects, reptiles and animals speak, marry, attend markets, transact business and lay their cases for decision before the elders as though they were human beings. ”

“ But there are drawbacks to that gorgeous time and that prodigality of nature. With the bursting into light of the vegetable world, the insect world also comes forth. All the insects that buzz and sting, fill the summer air; and then the reptile world creeps abroad. Out of millions of holes, where they have slept all winter long, crawl cobras and other deadly serpents, and all slimy things. 133 On the whole, therefore, I am content to see India in its sombre dress, and be spared some other attendants of this tropical world. ”

“ Yes, Mis's mate knew, in some natural wise way of her own, the secret of making use of what we call her "protective coloration." This is one of the very most important secrets Mother Nature has given her children, and many use it—not birds alone, but beasts and [Pg 139] insects also. They use it in their own wild way and think nothing about it. We say that it is their instinct that leads them to choose places where they cannot easily be seen. ”

“ The Insecta have their own special Magazines, with which we have no desire to compete, but the natural history of insects cannot, and will not, be considered as a foreign subject to the aim and scope of 'The Zoologist.' The annals of Early Man in Britain have been commenced, and will be continued, while we confidently believe that the subject will increase in interest and detail. ”

“ Among fish and insects indeed there are many instances which prove that those who live by prey regard little whither what they take is of their own or any other species; but any one who considers the admirable chain of nature in which Man, alone endowd with reason, justly claims the highest rank and next to him are placd the half reasoning Elephant, the sagacious dog, the architect Beaver, etc. ”

“ Their food consists of honey and insects; and, consequently, they must live where flowers grow and insects abound. The Indians gave to these interesting little creatures fanciful names that expressed the idea of sunbeams, sun-angels, sun-gems, tresses of the day-star, murmuring-birds, and the like. And naturalists have given to them names equally fanciful, expressing the same or similar ideas, such as brilliant birds, light-bearers, sun-seekers, flower-kissers, honey-suckers, living meteors, and many others of similar meaning. ”

“ Their sportive motions, their wanton mazes, their gratuitous activity, their continual change of place without use or purpose, testify their joy, and the exultation which they feel in their lately discovered faculties.... The whole winged insect tribe, it is probable, are equally intent upon their proper employments, and under every variety of constitution, gratified, and perhaps equally gratified, by the offices which the Author of their nature has assigned to them. ”

“ Hastily we made our plans, picked up the little food we had saved from our evening meal, [41] grasped our hunting spears and knives, and slipped away into the bush at the back of the village. We went very stealthily—nya-nya, like a leopard when he is stalking his prey—scared at every sound, starting at the snapping of a twig, the call of a night-bird or the whistle of an insect. ”

“ Beavers, for instance, build and live together in a very remarkable way. Among insects, bees, wasps, and ants are well known as social architects; in like manner, the coral insect works wonders beneath the ocean waves, by force of perseverance and united effort."
"I have often watched ants at work," said Fritz; "it is most amusing to see how they carry on the various works and duties of their commonwealth."
"Have you ever noticed how much trouble they take with the eggs?" ”

“ XV. We have a very imperfect acquaintance with the various tribes of insects: their occupations, manner of life, and even the number of their senses, differ from our own, and from each other; but there is reason to imagine, that those which possess the sense of touch in the most exquisite degree, and whole occupations require the most constant exertion of their powers, are induced with a greater proportion or knowledge and ingenuity. ”

“ It is not to be wondered at, when surrounded by myriads of obnoxious animals, how any tender feelings towards that part of creation become blunted. At the moment of which I speak, valuable books, dried plants, papers containing the data of scientific observations, concerning the survey of the river Gambia to a considerable distance, were destroyed during the illness of the observer, by rats and insects. ”

“ Allow that the great duty of the insect tribe is to cleanse the earth and atmosphere from countless impurities noxious to the human race, how great a plague would our benefactors themselves become were it not for the various classes of carnivorous insects who prey upon them, and are in their turn the prey of others! ”

“ Where, for instance, can such perfect combination be found as amongst social insects—bees, wasps, ants, etc.—the conditions of whose existence are far simpler and more uniform than ours? And in what deep feelings of sympathy—or, as we may say, oneness—must blood-feuds have had their origin? ”

“ As with insects, we know little of the sight perceptions of other and much more highly developed animals. When in South Africa, I kept a young Baboon, who seemed pleased, at the decline of day, to mount a low roof, and watch the setting sun. ”

“ The beautiful creatures will come and alight all around us, if we only remain perfectly still, seeking their food as they hop on the ground, or flutter from branch to branch. We may watch their nests and see their eggs, and then the newly fledged birds, noting from day to day how they develop; until one morning the nest is empty, for its little inmates have found out their power of wing, and have left it to set up for themselves and add another little company to the tenants of the forests. ”

“ These may appear like the statements in which a fictionist might indulge, but they are the sober truths discovered by the most pains-taking and cautious observers. And it is necessary that such conditions should prevail. These insects, and all the lower tribes of the animal kingdom, furnish food for the more elevated races. ”

“ Almost every village bar-room contains some such monstrous assemblage of insects, skewered on pins, in more or less frightful attitudes. As evidencing an innate interest in the beauties of natural objects, these things are interesting, but show a want of information which, as has been already pointed out, is largely due to a lack of literature relating to the subject in this country. ”

“ A remarkable difference is found to exist between the stages of development in the physical and moral natures. The insect passes through three degrees, the larva, the pupa, and imago, the last phase being the noblest, and the middle the most torpid of the three conditions. With man and woman physically it is different. ”

“ You know that the old Greeks wrote a great deal of beautiful poetry about insects,—especially about musical insects, crickets, cicadas, and other insects such as those the Japanese poets have been writing about for so many hundreds of years. But in modern Western poetry there is very little, comparatively speaking, about insects. The English poets have all written a great deal about birds, and especially about singing birds; but very little has been written upon the subject of insects—singing insects. ”

“ The contrivances for the purposes of security extend even to vegetables, as is seen in the wonderful and various means of their concealing or defending their honey from insects, and their seeds from birds. ”

“ You shall be called honey bees, and, as you fly, you shall hum so that mortals may hear you and take pattern from your industry. All your life long, you shall live on honey." [308]
Then the manito visited the lazy pygmies. "You, too, shall have wings," he said, "but they shall be to carry you away as mortals drive you from place to place. You shall have buzzing voices to tell mortals you are near that they may kill you. Your food shall be only that which is thrown away. You are the despised flies." ”

“ If our new home teemed with useful, edible creatures, it was not lacking in pestilential forms of life, either, these both of native origin and imported from ships. A thousand kinds of insects were everywhere. ”

“ CHAPTER I THE FABLE OF THE CICADA AND THE ANT
Fame is built up mainly of legend; in the animal world, as in the world of men, the story takes precedence of history. Insects in particular, whether they attract our attention in this way or in that, have their fair share in a folk-lore which pays but little regard to truth. ”