Note Book VIII. Chap. 6. Note (c), (f) — BOOK VIII.

[c] As Seigneur Redi was one of the first that made it his Business to discard Anomalous Generation, so he tried more Experiments relating to the Vermination of Serpents, Flesh, Fish, putrified Vegetables; and in short, whatever was commonly known to be the Nursery of Maggots, more I say probably, than any one hath done since. And in all his Observations, he constantly found the Maggots to turn to Aureliæ, and these into Flies. But then, saith he, Dubitare cœpi, utrùm omne hoc vermium in carne genus, ex solo Muscarum semine, an ex ipsis putrefactis carnibus oriretur, tantoque magis confirmabar in hoc meo dubio, quanto in omnibus generationibus——sapiùs videram, in carnibus, antequàm verminare inciperent, resedisse ejusdem speciei Muscas, cujus propago postea nascebatur. Upon this he tells us, he put Fish, Flesh, &c. into Pots, which he covered close from the Flies with Paper, and afterwards (for the free Air sake) with Lawn, whilst other Pots were left open, with such like Flesh, &c. in them; that the Flies were very eager to get into the covered Pots; and that they produced not one Maggot, when the open ones had many. Fr. Redi de Gener. Insect.

Among the Insects that come from the Maggots he mentions, he names Culices. Now from the most critical Observations I have made, I never observed any sort of Gnat to come from putrified Flesh, Vegetables, or any other Thing he taxeth with them. So that either he means by Culex, some Fly that we call not by the Name of Gnat; or else their Gnats in Italy, vary in their Generation from ours in England. For among above 30, near 40 distinct Species of Gnats that I have observed about the Place where I live, I never found any to lay their Eggs in Flesh, Filth, &c. but the largest Sort, called by Aldrovand, Culices maximi, by Swammerdam, Tipulæ terrestres, lay their Eggs in Meadows, &c. under the Grass; one of the larger middle Sort, in dead Beer, Yeast, &c. lying on the Tops, or in the Leaks of Beer-Barrels, &c. and all the rest (as far as ever I have observed) lay and hatch in the Waters, as in Note (r).

The Generation of the Second of these being akin to some of the foregoing instances, and a little out of the way, may deserve a Place here. This Gnat lays its Eggs commonly in dead Beer, &c. as I said, and probably in Vinegar, and other such Liquors. Some Time after which, the Maggots are so numerous, that the whole Liquor stirreth as if it was alive; being full of Maggots, some larger, some smaller; the larger are the off-spring of our Gnat, the smaller, of a small dark coloured Fly, tending to reddish; frequent in Cellars, and such obscure Places. All these Maggots turn to Aurelia, the larger of which, of a Tan-Colour, such as our Gnat. This Gnat is of the unarmed Kind, having no Spear in its Mouth. Its Head is larger than of the common Gnats, a longer Neck, short jointed Antennæ, spotted Wings, reaching beyond its slender Alvus; it is throughout of a brown Colour, tending to red, especially in the Female: The chief Difference between the Male and Female, is (as in other Gnats, yea, most Insects) the Male is less than the Female, and hath a slenderer Belly, and its Podex not so sharp as the Female’s is.