This book is part of René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur’s extensive six-volume history of insects, published between 1734 and 1742. The work describes all insects, except beetles, then known to European naturalists. It is remarkable for its accurate observation of the creatures, describing their appearances, life-cycles and habitats. The work also contained de Réaumur’s experiments on coral, which proved the theory of Jean-André Peyssonnel that they were animals and not plants as had previously been argued.