§4.7#1περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐντόμων λεκτέον τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον.
Now, concerning the insects, we must speak in the same way.
Ἔστι δὲ τὸ γένος τοῦτο πολλὰ ἔχον εἴδη ἐν αὑτῷ, καὶ ἐνίοις πρὸς ἄλληλα συγγενικοῖς οὖσιν οὐκ ἐπέζευκται κοινὸν ὄνομα οὐδέν, οἷον ἐπὶ μελίττῃ καὶ ἀνθρήνῃ καὶ σφηκὶ καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις, καὶ πάλιν ὅσα τὸ πτερὸν ἔχει ἐν κολεῷ, οἷον μηλολόνθη καὶ κάραβος καὶ κανθαρὶς καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα.
This class contains many species within itself, and for some that are akin to one another, no common name is attached, as in the case of the bee, the wild bee, the wasp, and suchlike; and again, for all those that have their wing in a sheath, as the cockchafer, the beetle, the blister-beetle, and suchlike.
Πάντων μὲν οὖν κοινὰ μέρη ἐστὶ τρία, κεφαλή τε καὶ τὸ περὶ τὴν κοιλίαν κύτος καὶ τρίτον τὸ μεταξὺ τούτων, οἷον τοῖς ἄλλοις τὸ στῆθος καὶ τὸ νῶτον ἐστίν.
Of all of them, then, there are three common parts: the head, the cavity around the belly, and third, the part between these, which in other animals is the breast and the back.
Τοῦτο δὲ τοῖς μὲν πολλοῖς ἕν ἐστιν· ὅσα δὲ μακρὰ καὶ πολύποδα, σχεδὸν ἴσα ταῖς ἐντομαῖς ἔχει τὰ μεταξύ.
And this part is single in most of them; but in those that are long and many-footed, they have the intermediate parts almost equal in number to the segments.
Πάντα δ’ ἔχει διαιρούμενα ζωὴν τὰ ἔντομα, πλὴν ὅσα ἢ λίαν κατέψυκται ἢ διὰ μικρότητα ταχὺ καταψύχεται, ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ σφῆκες διαιρεθέντες ζῶσιν.
And all insects have life when divided, except those which are either too cold or, because of smallness, are quickly cooled, since even wasps live when divided.
Μετὰ μὲν οὖν τοῦ μέσου καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ καὶ ἡ κοιλία ζῇ, ἄνευ δὲ τούτου ἡ κεφαλὴ οὐ ζῇ.
With the middle part, then, both the head and the belly live, but without this the head does not live.
Ὅσα δὲ μακρὰ καὶ πολύποδά ἐστι, πολὺν χρόνον ζῇ διαιρούμενα, καὶ κινεῖται τὸ ἀποτμηθὲν ἐπ’ ἀμφότερα τὰ ἔσχατα· καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν τομὴν πορεύεται καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν οὐράν, οἷον ἡ καλουμένη σκολόπενδρα.
And those that are long and many-footed live for a long time when divided, and the severed part moves towards both extremities; for it goes both towards the cut and towards the tail, as for instance the so-called scolopendra.
Ἔχει δ’ ὀφθαλμοὺς μὲν ἅπαντα, ἄλλο δ’ αἰσθητήριον οὐδὲν φανερόν, πλὴν ἔνια οἷον γλῶτταν· ἣν καὶ τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα ἔχει πάντα, ᾗ καὶ γεύεται καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ τὴν τροφὴν ἀνασπᾷ.
And they all have eyes, but no other obvious sensory organ, except that some have a kind of tongue; which all the testaceans also have, by which they both taste and draw food into themselves.
Τοῦτο δὲ τοῖς μὲν μαλακόν ἐστι, τοῖς δ’ ἔχει ἰσχὺν πολλήν, ὥσπερ ταῖς πορφύραις.
And this in some is soft, but in others it has great strength, as in the purple-fish.
Καὶ οἱ μύωπες δὲ καὶ οἱ οἶστροι ἰσχυρὸν τοῦτ’ ἔχουσι, καὶ τἆλλα σχεδὸν τὰ πλεῖστα· ἐν πᾶσι γὰρ τοῖς μὴ ὀπισθοκέντροις τοῦτο ὥσπερ ὅπλον ἔχει ἕκαστον.
And both the horse-flies and the gadflies have this strong, and nearly most of the others; for in all those that are not sting-tailed, each has this as a weapon.
Ὅσα δ’ ἔχει τοῦτο, ὀδόντας οὐκ ἔχει, ἔξω ὀλίγων τινῶν, ἐπεὶ καὶ αἱ μυῖαι τούτῳ θιγγάνουσαι αἱματίζουσι καὶ οἱ κώνωπες τούτῳ κεντοῦσιν.
And those that have this do not have teeth, except for a few; since even flies make blood flow by touching with this, and gnats sting with this.
Ἔχουσι δ’ ἔνια τῶν ἐντόμων καὶ κέντρα.
And some of the insects also have stings.
Τὸ δὲ κέντρον τὰ μὲν ἔχει ἐν αὑτοῖς, οἷον αἱ μέλιτται καὶ οἱ σφῆκες, τὰ δ’ ἐκτός, οἷον σκορπίος· καὶ μόνον δὴ τῶν ἐντόμων τοῦτο μακρόκεντρόν ἐστιν.
As for the sting, some have it inside themselves, as bees and wasps, and others outside, as the scorpion; and indeed this is the only one of the insects that is long-stinged.
Ἔτι δὲ χηλὰς ἔχει τοῦτό τε καὶ τὸ ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις γινόμενον σκορπιῶδες.
Further, both this and the scorpion-like creature that arises in books have claws.
Τὰ δὲ πτηνὰ αὐτῶν πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις μορίοις καὶ πτερὰ ἔχει.
And the winged ones among them have wings in addition to the other parts.
Ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν δίπτερα αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ αἱ μυῖαι, τὰ δὲ τετράπτερα, ὥσπερ αἱ μέλιτται· οὐθὲν δ’ ἐστὶν ὀπισθόκεντρον δίπτερον μόνον.
And some of them are two-winged, like flies, and others four-winged, like bees; and no sting-tailed creature is only two-winged.
Ἔτι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἔχει τῶν πτηνῶν ἔλυτρον τοῖς πτεροῖς, ὥσπερ ἡ μηλολόνθη, τὰ δ’ ἀνέλυτρά ἐστιν, ὥσπερ ἡ μέλιττα·
Further, some of the winged ones have a sheath for their wings, like the cockchafer, and others are sheathless, like the bee.