THE FLEA, (Pulex irritans,)
Is one of those little creatures with which want of cleanliness in mankind is punished. It is one of the most annoying insects that infest the human race, as, by its leapings, it often escapes being caught. It is oviparous, and the egg, which is hardly discernible with the naked eye, contains at maturity a small white worm, beset with hairs. This worm soon spins for itself a little silk cocoon, from which the perfect insect issues. The Flea is an active, troublesome, blood-thirsty insect; it has a small head, large eyes, and a roundish, but compressed body, which is covered with a kind of armour resembling the tortoise shell in colour and transparency. The plates of which this skin is composed are also armed with spines or bristles. It has six legs, two of which are much longer than the others, in order to enable the insect to make such wondrous leaps, as to raise the body above two hundred times its diameter. The great strength and agility of the Flea are well known, from the exhibition of the industrious Fleas.
Book VII.
RADIATA.
THE STAR-FISH. (Asterias, or Uraster rubens.)
This animal is often found adhering to rocks on the sea-shores. The common species is furnished with five rays, and is of a yellow or red colour. It has a slow progressive motion, and is often found on the beach among seaweeds after a storm.