Observations of structures of gnat and horsefly stings, and an experiment with a lime tree
Date
24 August 1688
Creator
Unknown, Artist
Object type
Archive reference number
Manuscript page number
p13a
Material
Dimensions
height (page): 181mm
width (page): 143mm
width (page): 143mm
Subject
Description
11 figures in a letter from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to the Royal Society. Another page with a set of 10 figures is also added to this letter. The original drawings are lost.
Fig. 1: sting and sheath of the gnat
Fig. 2: sheaths and stings of sting-carrying gnat (through magnifying glass)
Fig. 3: part of sting, or second sheath
Fig. 4: partial view of all the stings
Fig. 5: two stings with barbed hooks
Fig. 6: part of the two stings
Fig. 7: point of sting through magnifying glass
Fig. 8: same sting rotated
Fig. 9: same sting rotated again
Fig. 10: sting of large horsefly
Fig. 11: experiment with a lime tree, to prove that its roots will become branches and its branches roots, when turning it upside down.
Fig. 1: sting and sheath of the gnat
Fig. 2: sheaths and stings of sting-carrying gnat (through magnifying glass)
Fig. 3: part of sting, or second sheath
Fig. 4: partial view of all the stings
Fig. 5: two stings with barbed hooks
Fig. 6: part of the two stings
Fig. 7: point of sting through magnifying glass
Fig. 8: same sting rotated
Fig. 9: same sting rotated again
Fig. 10: sting of large horsefly
Fig. 11: experiment with a lime tree, to prove that its roots will become branches and its branches roots, when turning it upside down.
Object history
The letter and images are also printed in:
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Natuurs verborgentheden ontdekt, zijnde een tweede vervolg der brieven (Delft: A. Voorstad, 1689), pp. 237-60.
Antonio van Leeuwenhoek, Arcana naturae detecta (Delft: H. a Krooneveld, 1695), pp. 147-64.
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Natuurs verborgentheden ontdekt, zijnde een tweede vervolg der brieven (Delft: A. Voorstad, 1689), pp. 237-60.
Antonio van Leeuwenhoek, Arcana naturae detecta (Delft: H. a Krooneveld, 1695), pp. 147-64.
Related fellows
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632 - 1723, Dutch) , Naturalist
Associated place