Credit: © The Royal Society
Image number: RS.9109
Looking for a special gift? Buy a print of this image.
Microscopical observations of the development of the ant
Date
1687
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 181mm
width (print): 138mm
width (print): 138mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Illustrations accompanying a letter describing Antoni van Leeuwenhoek's microscopical observations, dated 9 September 1687. The illustrations show: a fully-formed ant inside an egg, as (incorrectly) observed by J F Griendelius and illustrated in his work Micrographia Nova (Nuremberg, 1687) (fig. 1); an ant egg (fig. 2); ant larva developing in an egg (fig. 3); a dead ant larva inside a partially dried egg (fig. 4); ant larvae (figs. 5 and 6); the ant's sting (fig. 7); and red ants (Myrmica rubra), actual size (fig. 8).
Associated place