§5.23Αἱ δ’ ἀνθρῆναι καὶ οἱ σφῆκες ποιοῦσι κηρία τῷ γόνῳ, ὅταν μὲν μὴ ἔχωσιν ἡγεμόνα ἀλλ’ ἀποπλανηθῶσι καὶ μὴ εὑρίσκωσιν, αἱ μὲν ἀνθρῆναι ἐπὶ μετεώρου τινός, οἱ δὲ σφῆκες ἐν τρώγλαις, ὅταν δ’ ἔχωσιν ἡγεμόνα, ὑπὸ γῆν.
And wild bees and wasps make combs for their offspring; when they do not have a leader but wander about and cannot find one, the wild bees make them in some elevated place, and the wasps in holes, but when they have a leader, they make them under the earth.
Ἑξάγωνα μὲν οὖν πάντα ἐστὶ τὰ κηρία αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ τῶν μελιττῶν, σύγκειται δ’ οὐκ ἐκ κηροῦ ἀλλ’ ἐκ φλοιώδους καὶ ἀραχνώδους ὕλης τὸ κηρίον· γλαφυρώτερον δὲ πολλῷ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρηνῶν ἐστὶν ἢ τὸ τῶν σφηκῶν κηρίον.
Therefore all their combs are hexagonal, just like those of bees, but the comb is composed not of wax but of a bark-like and cobweb-like substance; and the comb of the wild bees is much more delicate than that of the wasps.
Ἐναφιᾶσι δὲ γόνον, ὥσπερ αἱ μέλιτται, ὅσον σταλαγμὸν εἰς τὸ πλάγιον τοῦ κυττάρου, καὶ προσέχεται τῷ τοίχῳ.
And they deposit their offspring, just like the bees, in the size of a drop onto the side of the cell, and it clings to the wall.
Οὐχ ἅμα δὲ πᾶσι τοῖς κυττάροις ἔνεστι γόνος, ἀλλ’ ἐνίοις μὲν ἤδη μεγάλα ἔνεστιν ὥστε καὶ πέτεσθαι, ἐνίοις δὲ νύμφαι, ἐν τοῖς δὲ σκώληκες ἔτι.
But the offspring is not in all the cells at the same time, but in some they are already so large that they can fly, in others there are pupae, and in others still larvae.
Κόπρος δὲ μόνον περὶ τοῖς σκώληξιν, ὥσπερ καὶ ταῖς μελίτταις.
And there is excrement only around the larvae, just as with the bees.
Καὶ ἔστ’ ἂν νύμφαι ὦσιν, ἀκινητίζουσι καὶ ἐπαλήλιπται ὁ κύτταρος.
And as long as they are pupae, they remain motionless and the cell is sealed over.
Καταντικρὺ δ’ ἐν τῷ κυττάρῳ τοῦ γόνου ὅσον σταλαγμὸς ἐγγίνεται μέλιτος ἐν τοῖς τῆς ἀνθρήνης κηρίοις.
And opposite the offspring in the cell, honey to the amount of a drop is produced in the combs of the wild bee.
Γίνονται δ’ αἱ σχάδονες οὐκ ἐν τῷ ἔαρι τούτων, ἀλλ’ ἐν τῷ μετοπώρῳ· τὴν δ’ αὔξησιν ἐπίδηλον λαμβάνουσι μάλιστ’ ἐν ταῖς πανσελήνοις.
And their larval cells are produced not in the spring, but in the autumn; and they take on a visible increase in growth especially at the full moons.
Ἔχεται δὲ καὶ ὁ γόνος καὶ οἱ σκώληκες οὐ κάτωθεν τοῦ κυττάρου, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῶν πλαγίων. §5.24Ἔνια δὲ τῶν βομβυκίων πρὸς λίθῳ ἢ τοιούτῳ τινὶ ποιοῦσι πήλινον ὀξύ, ὥσπερ οἱ ἅλες καταλείφονται·
And both the offspring and the larvae cling not from the bottom of the cell, but from the sides.\n And some of the wasps make a pointed mud cell against a stone or some such thing, in the way that salt heaps are left; and this is exceedingly thick and hard, for they can scarcely split it with a spear.
τοῦτο δὲ σφόδρα παχὺ καὶ σκληρόν· λόγχῃ γὰρ μόλις διαιροῦσιν. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ τίκτουσι, καὶ γίνεται σκωλήκια λευκὰ ἐν ὑμένι μέλανι.
And there they lay their eggs, and white larvae are produced in a black membrane.
Χωρὶς δὲ τοῦ ὑμένος ἐν τῷ πηλῷ ἐγγίνεται κηρός· οὗτος δ’ ὁ κηρὸς πολύ ἐστιν ὠχρότερος τοῦ τῶν μελιττῶν. §5.25Ὀχεύονται δὲ καὶ οἱ μύρμηκες καὶ τίκτουσι σκωλήκια, ἃ οὐ προσπέφυκεν οὐδενί· αὐξανόμενα δὲ ταῦτα ἐκ μικρῶν καὶ στρογγύλων τὸ πρῶτον μακρὰ γίνεται καὶ διαρθροῦται· ἡ δὲ γένεσίς ἐστι τούτοις τοῦ ἔαρος. §5.26Τίκτουσι δὲ καὶ οἱ σκορπίοι οἱ χερσαῖοι σκωλήκια ᾠοειδῆ πολλά, καὶ ἐπῳάζουσιν.
And apart from the membrane, wax is produced in the mud; and this wax is much paler than that of bees.\n Ants also copulate and produce larvae, which do not cling to anything; and as these grow, being small and round at first, they become long and articulated; and their birth occurs in the spring.\n And land scorpions also produce many egg-shaped larvae and brood over them.
Ὅταν δὲ τελειωθῇ, ἐκβάλλονται, ὥσπερ οἱ ἀράχναι, καὶ ἀπόλλυνται ὑπὸ τῶν τέκνων· πολλάκις γὰρ γίγνονται περὶ ἕνδεκα τὸν ἀριθμόν. §5.27Τὰ δ’ ἀράχνια ὀχεύεται μὲν πάντα τὸν εἰρημένον τρόπον, γεννᾷ δὲ σκωλήκια μικρὰ πρῶτον· ὅλα γὰρ μεταβάλλοντα γίνεται ἀράχνια, καὶ οὐκ ἐκ μέρους, ἐπεὶ στρογγύλα ἐστὶ κατ’ ἀρχάς· ὅταν δὲ τέκῃ, ἐπῳάζει τε καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις διαρθροῦται.
And when they are completed, they are cast out, like spiders, and are destroyed by their offspring; for they often become about eleven in number.\n And spiders all copulate in the manner described, and produce small larvae at first; for they become spiders by changing as a whole, and not in part, since they are round at the beginning; and when the female has laid them, she broods over them and in three days they become articulated.
Τίκτει δὲ πάντα μὲν ἐν ἀραχνίῳ, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἐν λεπτῷ καὶ μικρῷ, τὰ δ’ ἐν παχεῖ, καὶ τὰ μὲν ὅλως ἐν κύτει στρογγύλῳ, τὰ δὲ μέχρι τινὸς περιέχεται ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀραχνίου.
And they all lay in a web, but some in a thin and small one, others in a thick one, and some entirely in a round vessel, while others are enclosed by the web up to a certain point.
Οὐχ ἅμα δὲ πάντα ἀράχνια γίνεται· πηδᾷ δ’ εὐθὺς καὶ ἀφίησιν ἀράχνιον.
And they do not all become spiders at the same time; but they leap immediately and release a web.
Ὁ δὲ χυμὸς ὅμοιος ἐν τοῖς σκώληξι θλιβομένοις καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς νέοις οὖσι, παχὺς καὶ λευκός.
And the fluid in the larvae when squeezed is similar to that in the young ones themselves, being thick and white.
Αἱ δὲ λειμώνιαι ἀράχναι προαποτίκτουσιν εἰς ἀράχνιον, οὗ τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ πρὸς αὐταῖς ἐστί, τὸ δ’ ἥμισυ ἔξω· καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἐπῳάζουσαι ζῳοποιοῦσιν.
And the meadow spiders lay beforehand into a web, half of which is attached to themselves, and half is outside; and brooding in this, they bring forth live young.
Τὰ δὲ φαλάγγια τίκτει εἰς γύργαθον πλεξάμενα παχύν, ἐφ’ ᾧ ἐπῳάζουσιν.
And the phalangia lay into a thick woven basket-like web, upon which they brood.
Τίκτουσι δ’ αἱ μὲν γλαφυραὶ ἐλάττω τὸ πλῆθος, τὰ δὲ φαλάγγια πολὺ πλῆθος· καὶ αὐξηθέντα περιέχει κύκλῳ τὸ φαλάγγιον, καὶ ἀποκτείνει τὴν τεκοῦσαν ἐκβάλλοντα, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τὸν ἄρρενα, ἐὰν λάβωσιν· συνεπῳάζει γὰρ τῇ θηλείᾳ.
And the delicate spiders lay a smaller number, but the phalangia a great number; and when they have grown, they surround the phalangion in a circle, and kill the mother that bore them after casting her out, and often the male too, if they catch him; for he broods along with the female.
Ἐνίοτε δὲ τὸ πλῆθος γίνονται καὶ τριακόσια περὶ ἓν φαλάγγιον.
And sometimes they become as many as three hundred in number around one phalangion.
Ἐκ δὲ μικρῶν τέλειοι οἱ ἀράχναι γίνονται περὶ τὰς ἑπτάδας τὰς τέτταρας.
And from being small, spiders become complete in about four periods of seven days.