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Show 6S .n o-o. K I. , ' I H I s T o R y 0 F M E x· I C 0. bouring hills, at night, a very beau.tiful and brilliant fp~Cl:acle. The boys eafily catch them by waving a. light i~ the evenmg, and tl~e beetles, drawn by the light, come mto .their han~s. Some autho1 s have confounded this wonderful infeCl: wtth the glo~~worm, but the latter i~ much fmaller, and much lefs luminous; IS pretty frequent in Europe, and perfeCtly common in Mexi~o. The appearance of the {hining beetle ~~ n~t more pleafing tha~ that of the 'I'emolin is difagreeable. Thts 1S a large beetle of a reddilh chefnut colour, with fix hairy feet, and · four to~s upon each. There are two fpecies of the 'l'emolin·: the .one havmg one horn, in the forepart of the head; and the other, tW?· There are at lea!\:, fix different kinds of bees. 1he fi.rft is the fame with the common bee of Europe, with which it agrees, nou only in fize, iliape, and colour, but alfo in its· difpofition and m~nners, and in the qualities of its honey and wax. T.he fe~ond fpectes, which differs from the fir!\: only in having no· ftmg, IS the bee of Yucatan ~nd Chiapa, which makes the fine,. clear honey of Ejla! Jenti'm, of an aromatic flavour, fuperior to that o~ all the other kmds of honey with which we are acquainted. The honey is taken from them fix times a year, that is, once in every other month; but the beft is that which is got in November, being made from a fragrant white flower ll.ke Jeffamine, which blows in September, called in that country E.ftabentun, from which the honey has derived its name (z). The third fpecies refembles in its form, the winged ants, but is fmaller tha:n the common bee, and without a fting. This infeCt, which is peculiar to warm and temperate climates~ forms nefts, in iize and iliape refembling fugar-loaves, and even fometimes greatly exceeding thefe in fize, which are fufpended from rocks, or from trees, and particularly from the oak. The populoufnefs of thefe hives are much greater than of thofe of the common bee. The nymphs of this bee, which are eatable, are white and round, like a pearl. The honey is of a greyi{h colour, but of a fine flavour. The fourt~ fpecies is a yellow bee, fmaller than the common one, put, (z) The honey of Efrabentiln, is in high e1limation with the Englifh and French, who touch 11t the ports of Yucatan; and I have known the French of Guarico b\ly it fomelimes for the purpofc of fending it as .t prefcnt to the king, like ., H I s ·T 0 R Y 0 F M E' X I C 0 ~ like it, furn.ilhed with a fting. Its honey is not equal to thofe •dready mentio?ed. The fifth, is a final! bee without a fting, which conftruCl:s hives of an orbicular form, in fubterraneous cavities ; and the honey is four, and fomewhat bitter. The Tlalpipio/N, which is the fixth fpecies, is black and yellow, of the fize of the common bee, but has no fiing. Of wafps there are at leaft four kinds. The ff<Jtetzalmiabuatl is the common wafp of Europe. The 'I'etlatoca or wandering waip, is [o called from its frequent change of habitation ; and is always found employed in colleCting materials to build it. This wafp has a fting, but makes no honey or wax. The Xicot!i or Xicote, is a thick, black wafp, with a yellow belly; which makes a very fweet honey, in holes made by it in walls. . It . is provid ~.:d with a firong fiing, whi h gives a veq painful wound. Th~..: Cuica/mi'ahuatl, has likewife a fting ; but whether it makes honey or not, we do not know. The §(gauhxicotli, is a black hornet, with a red tail, whofe fiing is fo large and ftrong, as not only to go through a fugar· cane, but eve.n to pierce into the trunk of a tree. Among the flies, befides the cottlmon fly whi h is neither fo troublefome, nor in fuch numbers as in Italy during fummer (a), there are fome luminous as the glow-worm. The Axtryacatl is a marfhfty, of the Mexican lake, the eggs of which being depofited in immenfe quantities, upon the ruilies and corn-flags of the lake, form large ma.lfes, which are taken up by fi{hermen and carried to market for fale.. This caviare called Ahuaubt/i, which l1as much the fame tafte with the caviare of fi.fl1, ufed to be eat by the 1\1cxicans, and is now a common di{h among the Spa.ni ards. The Mexicans eat . not only the eggs, but the flies themfelves made up together into a mafs, and prepared with faltpetre. Gnats, which are fo COinJTIOn in Europe, and efpeci:tlly in Italy, abound in the maritime parts of Mexico, and in all places wher 1eat, (a) . The f.1me obfervation has. b~en made before by Oviedo; " In the iflands, '' f.1id h'c, " :tnd in terra firma, there are very few flies; and in comparifon of their numbers in Europe,' " one might almo!l fay there are none." Nat. Hil~. Ind. cnp. 81. In Mexico, certainly there are not lo few :ts Oviedo fays, but, generally {peaking, they :ue nci1her fo numerous nor fo troublefoo1e as in Europe. Jtandin~~ 6g BOOK I . ~ |