Abstract
ARISTOTLE (H.A. viii. 605b) makes the following curious and perplexing statement:—πάντα δÉ τà Êντoµα άπoθνήσκει Êλαιoνoενα ήλíω θɛ. That is to say: “All insects die if they be smeared over with oil; and they die all the more rapidly if you smear their head with the oil and lay them out in the sun.” So Pliny, Albertus Magnus, and recent commentators read and interpret the passage. But in the former half of the sentence, for—several MSS. read i.e. not if they be smeared with oil, but simply if they be exposed to the sun; while in the latter half there is an obvious ambiguity, which inclines me to think that is used sensu restricto, and that refers, not to the insect's head, but to the experimenter's.
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THOMPSON, D. Sunshine and Fleas. Nature 87, 77 (1911). https://doi.org/10.1038/087077c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/087077c0
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