The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 · the Elder Pliny
CHAP. 38. (33.)—ANIMALS WHICH BREED IN WOOD.
In the same manner, also, some animals are generated in the earth from rain, and some, again, in wood. And not only wood-worms[144] are produced in wood, but gad-flies also and other insects issue from it, whenever there is an excess of moisture; just as in man, tape-worms[145] are sometimes found, as much as three hundred feet or more in length. CHAP. 39.—INSECTS THAT ARE PARASITES OF MAN. WHICH IS THE SMALLEST OF ANIMALS? ANIMALS FOUND IN WAX EVEN. Then, too, in dead carrion there are certain animals produced, and in the hair, too, of living men. It was through such vermin as this that the Dictator Sylla,[146] and Alcman, one of the most famous of the Grecian poets, met their deaths. These insects infest birds too, and are apt to kill the pheasant, unless it takes care to bathe itself in the dust. Of the animals that are covered with hair, it is supposed that the ass and the sheep are the only ones that are exempt from these vermin. They are produced, also, in certain kinds of cloth, and more particularly those made of the wool of sheep which have been killed by the wolf. I find it stated, also, by authors, that some kinds of water[147] which we use for bathing are more productive of these parasites than others. Even wax is found to produce mites, which are supposed to be the very smallest of all living creatures. Other insects, again, are engendered from filth, acted upon by the rays of the sun—these fleas are called “petauristæ,”[148] from the activity which they display in their hind legs. Others, again, are produced with wings, from the moist dust that is found lying in holes and corners.
CHAP. 40. (34.)—AN ANIMAL WHICH HAS NO PASSAGE FOR THE EVACUATIONS. There is an animal,[149] also, that is generated in the summer, which has its head always buried deep in the skin [of a beast], and so, living on its blood, swells to a large size. This is the only living creature that has no outlet[150] for its food; hence, when it has overgorged itself, it bursts asunder, and thus its very aliment is made the cause of its death. This insect never breeds on beasts of burden, but is very commonly seen on oxen, and sometimes on dogs, which, indeed, are subject to every species of vermin. With sheep and goats, it is the only parasite. The thirst, too, for blood displayed by leeches, which we find in marshy waters, is no less singular; for these will thrust the entire head into the flesh in quest of it. There is a winged insect[151] which peculiarly infests dogs, and more especially attacks them with its sting about the ears, where they are unable to defend themselves with their teeth. CHAP. 41. (35.)—MOTHS, CANTHARIDES, GNATS—AN INSECT THAT BREEDS IN THE SNOW.
Dust, too, is productive of worms[152] in wools and cloths, and this more especially if a spider should happen to be enclosed in them: for, being sensible of thirst, it sucks up all the moisture, and thereby increases the dryness of the material. These will breed in paper also. There is one kind which carries with it its husk, in the same manner as the snail, only that the feet are to be seen. If deprived of it, it does not survive; and when it is fully developed, the insect becomes a chrysalis. The wild fig-tree produces gnats,[153] known as “ficarii;” and the little grubs of the fig-tree, the pear-tree, the pine, the wild rose, and the common rose produce cantharides,[154] when fully developed. These insects, which are venomous, carry with them their antidote; for their wings are useful in medicine,[155] while the rest of the body is deadly. Again, liquids turned sour will produce other kinds of gnats, and white grubs are to be found in snow that has lain long on the ground, while those that lie above are of a reddish[156] colour—indeed, the snow itself becomes red after it has lain some time on the ground. These grubs are covered with a sort of hair, are of a rather large size, and in a state of torpor.
CHAP. 42. (36.)—AN ANIMAL FOUND IN FIRE—THE PYRALLIS OR PYRAUSTA. That element, also, which is so destructive to matter, produces certain animals; for in the copper-smelting furnaces of Cyprus, in the very midst of the fire, there is to be seen flying about a four-footed animal with wings, the size of a large fly: this creature is called the “pyrallis,” and by some the “pyrausta.” So long as it remains in the fire it will live, but if it comes out and flies a little distance from it, it will instantly die.
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