THE children learned the song at Mrs Kiddy’s Barnardiston pre-prep school in Suffolk and it became a party piece. ‘I’m very fond of earwigs, they have such shiny backs, as if the day is raining and they are wearing macs. They hide in gay nasturtiums and all that I can see is just a little pointy tail a-wiggling at me. My granny screams in horror whenever one comes near. She says that it is trying to climb into her ear. But I know that’s all silly, for they are much too wise to choose such a hidey-hole in which to spend their lives.’
Infant voices thus dismissed one of the oldest myths in the insect world—and possibly the first myth to determine an insect’s name, for it comes directly from the Old English for ear (eare) and insect or beetle (wicga). An old name for an old creature—its fossilised ancestry dates back some 208 million years. The name translates literally in most European languages, as in the French perceoreille, the Dutch oorworm and the German ohrwurm, demonstrating that the belief in its invasive quest was continent-wide. It was mentioned in Pliny the Elder’s natural history of AD77, his counsel being to spit into the affected orifice, a kind companion, presumably, being enlisted to administer the cure. Advice in the 11th-century, Anglo-Saxon Old English Herbarium, a translation of a 5th-century Latin text, was to ‘take the big great windelstraw with two edges, which grows on highways, chew it into the ear, and he will soon be off’.
'Several species live in the fur of giant rats in tropical Africa'
Esta historia es de la edición February 09, 2022 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 09, 2022 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery