any that are scaled, both for ornament
and defence, so are there not wanting such also among the lesser bodies of
Insects, whereof this little creature gives us an Instance. It is a small
white Silver-shining Worm or Moth, which I found much conversant among
Books and Papers, and is suppos'd to be that which corrodes and eats holes
through the leaves and covers; it appears to the naked eye, a small
glittering Pearl-colour'd Moth, which upon the removing of Books and Papers
in the Summer, is often observ'd very nimbly to scud, and pack away to some
lurking cranney, where it may the better protect itself from any appearing
dangers. Its head appears bigg and blunt, and its body tapers from it
towads the tail, smaller and smaller, being shap'd almost like a Carret.

This the _Microscopical_ appearance will more plainly manifest, which
exhibits, in the third _Figure_ of the 33. _Scheme_, a conical body,
divided into fourteen several partitions, being the appearance of so many
several shels, or shields that cover the whole body, every of these shells
are again cover'd or tiled over with a multitude of thin transparent
scales, which, from the multiplicity of their reflecting surfaces, make the
whole Animal appear of a perfect Pearl-colour.

Which, by the way, may hint us the reason of that so much admired
appearance of those so highly esteem'd bodies, as also of the like in
mother of Pearl-shells, and in multitudes of other shelly Sea-substances;
for they each of them consisting of an infinite number of very thin shells
or laminated orbiculations, cause such multitudes of reflections, that the
compositions of them together with the reflections of others that are so
thin as to afford colours (of which I elsewhere give the reason) gives a
very pleasant reflection of light. And that this is the true cause, seems
likely, first, because all those so appearing bodies are compounded of
multitudes of plated substances. And next that, by ordering any trasparent
substance after this manner, the like _Phaenomena_ may be produc'd; this
will be made very obvious by the blowing of Glass into exceeding thin
shells, and then breaking them into scales, which any lamp-worker will
presently do; for a good quantity of these scales, laid in a heap together,
have much the same resemblance of Pearls. Another way, not less instructive
and pleasant, is a way which I have several times done, which is by working
and tossing, as 'twere, a parcel of pure c