Eye Spy: Afield with Nature Among Flowers and Animate Things

by W. Hamilton Gibson

INDEX

• Acrid buttercup leaves, [10].
• Agaric, [142], [144].
• Alders, leaf-rolling beetles of, [233].
• Amanita muscarius, [142]; print from, [143].
• American velvet plant, [25].
• Andrena bee, [222].
• Andromeda-bell, its welcome to the bee, [221], [222].
• Aniline bath, [47].
• Aphides, [125], [126];
• pest of the rose-garden; plants and trees, [126];
• sucking the sap, [127];
• disappearance of a swarm, [128];
• all females; end of season males appear; wonderful multiplication of, [233], [236].
• Aphis lion (Hemorobida), [128], [129].
• Aphrophora, "spume-bearer," [89].
• Apple-trees bearing pumpkins and squashes, [192].
• Aquilegia canadensis, columbine, [46].
• Arachne, [106].
• Archippus. See Butterflies.
• Argiope riparia, ballooning or flying spiders, [120].
• Artists as interpreters of the beauty of the commonplace, [26].
• Asters, [110].
• Attacus prometheus, [75].
• Aurelius, [161].
• Balloon, the true, [118].
• Ballooning spiders (Argiope riparia), annual picnic of, [114];
• shooting of webs, [115];
• sailing out of sight; sending out broad bands from their spinnerets, [117];
• skilful handling, [118];
• making the balloon; the ascension; manner of alighting, [119].
• Baltimore oriole, [172].
• Banquet of beetles, [134].
• Barberry blossoms, shrinking hearts; strange manners, [224];
• an unsuspecting agent, [227].
• Bedegnar, sponge-gall, [43].
• Bees:—
• bumble, [6], [91];
• honey, [7];
• yellow-jacket, [91];
• Andrena, [222].
• Beetles:—
• floundering, [1];
• tiger (Cicindelidæ), oil, [2];
• snapping (Elater), [20];
• perfumed (Osmoderma scabei), [133];
• blue oil, [239].
• Bellworts, [44].
• Bigelow, Hosea, quoted, [224].
• Billings, Josh, quoted, [92], [124].
• Birds'-nests, materials of:—milkweed bark, toad-skins, and snake-skins, [171], [172];
• twine and horse-hair, caterpillar-skins, [172];
• wool, dandelion seeds, [173];
• gray lichens and seeds, [177].
• Black-paper hornet, his bad reputation, [94];
• a tempting target; results of an attack on his house, [96];
• making themselves promiscuous; the stoical bachelor, [97];
• his discomfiture, [98];
• antics explained; his hiding-place revealed, [100];
• favorite hunting-ground, [101];
• occasional big game; life of; manner of laying eggs; several broods in a season, [102];
• number of tiers in a nest; winter the best time to examine nests, [103].
• Black snake, [85].
• Blossom etiquette, [221], [222].
• Blue carnation, [46].
• Blue dahlia, [45].
• Blue oil beetle, [239].
• Blue pansies, [46].
• Blue rose, [45], [46].
• Blue tulip, [45].
• Bluets, Houstonia, [24], [208], [209].
• Boletus, [142].
• Bridge-building spiders, [104].
• Brooklyn Bridge, [104];
• "carrier" or "traveller" should have been called "spider," [105];
• Engineer Farrington crossing, [110].
• Brown screech-owl, [151].
• Browning, Robert, quoted, [26].
• "Bull's-eye" caterpillar, [156].
• Bumble-bee, [6], [91].
• Butterflies asleep at night, [168].
• Butterflies:—
• Idalia (Argynnis idalia), Archippus (Danais archippus), yellow swallow-tails (Papilio turnus), [131];
• Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), [155], [158], [161];
• "comma" (Vanessa comma), [156], [161], [170];
• Atalanta (Cynthia atalanta), [158];
• semicolon (Vanessa interrogationis), [161].
• Canterbury bells, [42].
• Cardanus quoted, [93].
• Careless observation of nature, [185], [186].
• Carnation, blue, [46].
• Catbrier, [188].
• Caterpillars:—woolly-bear (Arctiadæ), [148];
• "bull's-eye" (Saturnia io), [156];
• sphinx (Chærocampa panipenatrix), [241].
• Cecropia, [156].
• Chinese pink, [73].
• Chipmonk, [153].
• Chrysalids, [161].
• Chrysanthemum, [86], [127].
• Cicada, [87], [246];
• his manner of feeding; how he differs from the grasshopper; the secret of his music, [250];
• his last song; borne off by his captor, [251];
• living food, [254];
• suspended animation, [255].
• Clintonia, [239].
• Clothes moth (Tineidæ), [170].
• Clover (Trifolium), four-leaved, [215];
• nine-leaved, found in groups, [216];
• possibilities of cultivation, [217];
• an exceptional find, [218], [219];
• saying its prayers, [219];
• lotus, [222].
• Cobweb showers, [114];
• blinding dogs interrupting sport, [114];
• flakes and rags of, [115];
• silken streamers, [116];
• shower in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, [120];
• on Brooklyn Bridge, [121].
• Cocoons:—curious, [145];
• solid to the core, [147];
• ribs and vertebræ, [149];
• secret of the hollow, [151];
• what the pellets were, [152];
• yielding wasps, [242].
• Colors of flowers, laws governing colors and combinations, [44], [45];
• natural exception to; three primary colors in the hyacinth, Egyptian lotus; sky reflections destroying color, [45].
• Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis, A. chrysantha, A. cærulea), puzzling color classification, from white through all shades of red, yellow, and blue, [46].
• "Comma." See Butterflies.
• Coral, gray, [73].
• Cow-spittle, [84], [86].
• Crickets, [71].
• Cross-fertilization of flowers, [30], [167], [208], [211], [229].
• Cuban belle's toilet, [21].
• Culpepper, Dr., quoted, [154].
• Cyanic, flowers with all shades of blue and red without yellow, [45].
• Cynips seminator, Cynips rosæ, gall-flies, [40].
• Dahlia, blue, [45].
• Daisy, pesky white weed, almost identical with the marguerite, [25];
• a marvel of a flower, [28], [205], [211].
• Dandelion. Seeds used for birds'-nests, [173];
• mutilation of, [174];
• a week of retirement, [175];
• flight of the seed-bed, [176];
• the burglar discovered, [177], [211].
• Darwin, [202], [209], [224].
• Darwin flowers, [166], [167], [168].
• De Candolle. Color limitations in flowers, [45], [202].
• Deer-mouse, [151].
• Desmodium, [223].
• "Digger-wasps," sand-hornets, [252].
• Dungeons of death, [54].
• Egyptian history, [53].
• Egyptian yellow lotus, [45].
• Evening primrose (Œnothera biennis), [85];
• luminous blossoms of, [163];
• daylight mystery; seeds, pods, and caterpillars, [164];
• curious secret; two buds, [165];
• primrose blooms for moths, [168];
• blighted buds, [169];
• a poor recompense, [170].
• Fairy sponges, the growth of; rich colors of sweetbrier sponge, [38], [42];
• contents of the sponge, [42].
• False scorpions (Pedipalpi), [181];
• among old books and papers; born rovers, [182].
• Figwort (Scrophularia), tall and spindling, purplish-olive blossoms; odor of; food for wasps, [28];
• fertilized by wasps; bud open in the morning; flowers change from day to day, [30];
• growth of the ovary, [32].
• Flies:—gall, [40];
• lace-wing, [122];
• gold-banded, [129];
• house, [178];
• laphria, [182];
• ichneumon, [196];
• parasitic, [200];
• harvest, [87], [246].
• Floundering beetle, color of, [1];
• funny characteristics of; leaking habits, [2];
• playing possum, [3];
• feats of; diminutive size when young; golden-yellow case, [4];
• number of joints, [5];
• a snug resting-place; first outing, [6];
• in the bee hotel; transformation, [8];
• in the mummy-case; change of diet, [10].
• Fly-fungus, [184].
• Flying-machine, toy, [117].
• Fox-fire, a column of phosphorescence, of greenish, ghostly hue, [12];
• prosaic fence-post; effect of a reflection of lantern in water, [13];
• feeding on darkness, [14];
• short life of, [15];
• village spook; haunted mill, [16];
• a night terror, [18];
• six square feet of brilliancy, [19];
• yeast as a possible cause; dead fish; curious effect from decaying potatoes, [20];
• phosphorus not always present; burnt oyster-shells in combination with certain acids; the supposed secret of, [22];
• decoy for deer; the largest on record, [23].
• Frog-hoppers, [89].
• Frog-spit, [84], [89].
• Gall-fly (Cynips seminator, Cynips rosæ), [40];
• a cousin to the wasps; magician in chemistry, [41].
• Genista, [223].
• Geometrical web-makers, [120].
• Ghost-fire, [15].
• Gold-banded flower-fly, larva of, [129].
• Gossamer showers, [113].
• Gramatophora trisignata, "Professor Wiggler," [81], [82].
• Grape-vine, [186-194].
• Grasshoppers, [71], [195];
• "Quakers;" camp-meeting ground, [197];
• a paralyzed specimen; unnatural movements, [198];
• a transparent body, [199];
• a swarm of flies, [200], [246].
• Green roses, [187].
• Grew, Nehemias, [205].
• Hang-bird, [172].
• Harris, "Insects Injurious to Vegetation," quoted, [89], [134], [233], [237].
• Harvest-fly, [87], [246].
• Hawthorne's fox-fire, [19], [23].
• "History of Selborne," [114].
• Hollyhock, [45].
• Honey-dew, [126].
• Honey-sippers, [221].
• Hornet, [87], [92];
• as mad as, [93];
• always on the rampage, [94], [100], [102].
• Horse-hair snakes, New England farmers' idea of the origin of; stories of, [65];
• flying over the meadows in haying time, [66];
• two specimens in alcohol, [69];
• what was found in a bait-box, [71].
• "Hot-foot," [92].
• House-fly (Musca domestica), his never-ending toilet, [178];
• a curious tag, [179];
• live young lobster, strength of his grip, [180];
• his many enemies; abundant use for all his eyes, [182];
• September and October danger months; the white nimbus; acute dyspepsia, [183].
• Houstonia, bluets, [208], [209].
• Hunters, [161].
• Hyacinth, [45].
• Ichneumon flies, [196].
• Idalia. See Butterflies.
• Jibing neighbors, [68].
• Johnny-jumper, [46].
• Jussieu, [202].
• Keats, John, quoted, [164].
• Lace-wing fly (Chrysopa oculata):—Color of eyes and wings, [122];
• lasting odor; ways of the gauzy sprite, [123];
• method of egg-laying; born in a land of plenty, [124];
• a voracious appetite; tubular teeth, [126].
• Lady-bug, larva of, [129].
• "Laphria-fly," [182].
• Lilac-bushes, [75].
• Lindley, [202].
• Linnæus, [202], [206].
• Locust, [232], [246].
• Lotus clover, [222].
• Lovelorn maiden, [213].
• Lowell, James Russell, [224].
• McCook, Rev. Dr., quoted, [110-118].
• Meadow contrasts, [247].
• Mignonette, [204].
• Monk's-hood blossom, [205].
• Morning gossamer, [112].
• Moths:—Polyphemus (Telea polyphemus), Attacus prometheus, [75], [196];
• Trisignata (Gramatophora trisignata), [81];
• Cecropia, Bull's-eye (Saturnia io), [156];
• twilight moth; common clothes moth (Tineidæ), [170].
• Mullein (Verbascum thrapsus), [25].
• Mummy-cases, [54].
• Mushrooms, [138];
• color of polyporus, [139];
• manner of making a spore-print, [140-144];
• colors of prints; high relief, [142];
• fixing the prints, [143].
• Mutilla ant, [197].
• Nasturtium, [205].
• Nature, check to rapid increase of, [195].
• Nelumbo, water-lily, [45].
• Nettle (Celtis), [154].
• Nettle-leaf tent-builders, laying the egg, [155];
• contents of the curled leaf, [156];
• gray and spine-covered, [156];
• rapid change of home, [157];
• another specimen of different color, stingless, [158];
• size of full-grown specimen; a surprise; preparing for the transformation, [159];
• an ever-interesting revelation; quaint golden ear-drops, [160];
• an astonishing trick, [161].
• New England farmers, [65].
• Niagara Suspension-bridge, manner of laying, [105];
• identical with that of the spider, [106].
• Noctiluca, marine phosphorescent animalculæ, [21].
• Noisy wigglers, [76].
• Nymphæa, water-lily, [45].
• Oak-apple, [43].
• October rowen-fields, [116].
• Odor of woods, [131].
• Oil beetle. See Beetles.
• Old rose, [73].
• Orb weavers, [120].
• Orchard oriole, [172].
• Osmoderma scabei, perfumed beetle, [134].
• Ovid quoted, [93].
• Pansies (Viola tricolor):—Great variety of color, [46];
• trickery of florists; aniline bath, [47];
• a chemical experiment; astonishing color, [48];
• ammonia as an agent; coloring an entire plant emerald green, [50];
• results from the fumes of sulphur matches, [52].
• Passion-flower, [189].
• Passion-vine, [186].
• Perfumed beetle (Osmoderma scabei), curious odor of, [133];
• suggesting Russia-leather; home on the maple-tree; sipping the sap; easily startled, [134].
• Pink, [205].
• Plant-louse of the apple-tree, [236].
• Pliny, [64], [114], [116], [252].
• Pollen bearers, [30].
• Polyphemus. See Moths.
• Polyporus, [144].
• Preservation of food by wasps, [256].
• Primrose ash, [73].
• Professor of biology, [70].
• "Professor Wiggler," what a florist's window suggested; the lilac-bush his home, [73];
• his characteristics, [74];
• how he came to be named; bringing him up by hand, [75];
• lively capers, [76];
• five changes of clothes; voracious feeding, [77];
• how he retains his head-shells, [78];
• digging out a home, [79];
• home completed; skilful concealment; what comes from the cocoon, [81];
• burrowing habits, [82].
• Puff-balls, [136];
• its purple cloud, [136];
• rapid change of substance; its cloud mass of reproductive atoms, [137];
• same results from mushrooms and toadstools, [138].
• Pungent odors, [132].
• "Quaker." See Grasshopper.
• "Racer," [85].
• Red Admiral. See Butterflies.
• "Red-hot child of nature," [92], [96].
• Redstart, [176].
• Red-tailed hawk, [152], [153].
• Riddles in flowers, [202];
• curious specimens; botanists and philosophers, [204];
• pollen-carrying, [207];
• galaxy of white or blue stars, [208];
• variety of construction, [209];
• solving the riddle, [211].
• Riley, C. V., quoted, [254].
• "Robin's pin-cushion," [43].
• Roland for an Oliver, [59].
• Roots, becoming stems and bearing leaves, [87].
• Rose garden, [126].
• Roses, blue, [45], [46];
• green, [187].
• Rosy moth, [85].
• Rowen-field, [116], [218].
• Sabbath sanctuary bouquet, [26].
• Sacred "scarabæus," emblem of immortality, [53].
• Sage blossom, its welcome to the bee, [221].
• Sand-hornet:—
• Prospecting for game, [249];
• the capture, [250];
• manner of transporting its prey, [251];
• its color and terrible sting, [252];
• not to be trifled with; its home in the sand-bank, [253];
• deposits its egg and leaves, [254];
• its mysterious poison, [256].
• Scrophularia, figwort, [28].
• Semicolon. See Butterflies.
• Sheep-spit, [84].
• Singular mimic fruit, [42].
• Small speckled beetle, [86].
• Smilax, [188].
• Snake expert, [67].
• Snake stories, [65].
• Snake-spit, [84], [85].
• Snapping beetle. See Beetles.
• "Snowin' 'pider-webs," [113].
• Sphinx caterpillar (Chærocampa pampenatrix) with his burden, [241], [242];
• the mischief-maker (Microgaster), [245].
• Spice-bush, [131], [132].
• Spiders, webs one hundred feet long; autumn best time for observation, [106];
• precocious baby spiders; building a bridge, [108];
• moored by guy threads, [110];
• ballooning, [112];
• at sea, [113].
• Sponge-ball, commonly known as Bedegnar, [43].
• Sprengel, [166], [202], [206].
• "Spume-bearer" (Aphrophora), [89];
• allied to bugs; his aerated bath; graduation from his surroundings, [87];
• his color and size; his alertness, [88];
• time of egg-laying and hatching; power of leaping, [89];
• no secret process of making suds; sun's evaporation necessitates continuous additions, [90].
• Squirrel, [153].
• Statue of Liberty, [108].
• Stems assuming the functions of roots, [187].
• Summer meadows, [83].
• Sweetbrier sponge, [40].
• Sweet-pea, [188].
• Tachina, a parasitic fly, [200].
• Tendrils, what they are; a stem or modified root, [187];
• reaching for conquest, [188];
• not a special or primal organ, [189];
• method of contraction, [191];
• the reverse twist, its function, [192];
• singular botanical prank, [194].
• Thelaphora cærulea, fox-fire, [22].
• Tiger-beetle, wonderful speed and agility of, [2].
• Toad-spit, [84].
• Toadstools, [19], [138].
• Trailing cobwebs, [113].
• True locust, the, [232].
• Tulip, blue, [45].
• Tumble-bug, his former eminence, [53];
• used for ornaments and decorative purposes; his proud lineage, [54];
• male and female inseparable; the two familiar species; its season, [55];
• curious antics; bug talk, [56];
• a question of selection, [58];
• indefatigable workers; manner of working, [59];
• Mrs. Tumble-bug's industry, [60];
• singular manner of burying the ball, [61];
• the chrysalis state, [62];
• young Mr. Tumble-bug begins life, [63].
• Twilight moth. See Moths.
• Union Square Fountain, [45].
• Vireo, strange materials in the nest of, [147], [164], [171], [172].
• Wasps, as cross-fertilizers, [30];
• manner of transferring pollen, [31], [91];
• "Digger," sand hornets, [242], [252].
• Weeds, artistically treated, [27];
• barn-yard weeds no longer commonplace, [28].
• Welcome odor of the woods, [131].
• Welcome of the flowers, [30], [223].
• White, Gilbert, quoted, [114-117].
• White, J., [161].
• White Mountains, [97].
• White-tailed black wasp, [94].
• Wiggler moth (Gramatophora trisignata), time of appearance of, [81].
• Wild-star cucumber, [189].
• Witch-hazel divining-rod, [214].
• Wolf-spiders, short-legged dodgers; crab-like manner of walking, [120].
• Wood-fairies at work; their magic wands, [36];
• mischief-makers, [37];
• results of their pranks, [38].
• Woolly-bear caterpillar. See Caterpillar.
• Woolly flock, [230];
• expert in bugs, [231];
• what constitutes a bug, [232], [235];
• first appearance in June; on alders; destruction of apple-trees; sucking-beaks, [233];
• wingless but covered with woolly down, [236].
• Worm-eating warbler, vireo, [164].
• Xanthic, flowers including yellow in their color, [45].
• Yellow geranium, [45].
• Yellow larkspur, [45].
• Yellow-jacket bee, [91].
• Yellow-warbler, [171].

---

WILLIAM HAMILTON GIBSON'S WORKS.

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OUR EDIBLE TOADSTOOLS AND MUSHROOMS, and How to Distinguish Them. Thirty Colored Plates, and Fifty-seven other Illustrations. 8vo, Cloth, Uncut Edges and Gilt Top, $7 50. (In a Box.)

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Transcriber's Notes:

[p. 31] "The pollen is thus pushed against the projecting stigma, as shown at Fig. 3, and thus, one by one, the flowers are cross-sterilized." changed to "The pollen is thus pushed against the projecting stigma, as shown at Fig. 3, and thus, one by one, the flowers are cross-fertilized."

[p. 209] Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 which are referenced on this page are not found in the original document.