Hemiptera 'half-wing' bugs

Hemiptera insects are dubbed 'half-wings' due to the fact that part of the first pair of wings is toughened and hard, while the rest of the first pair and second pair are membranous. These beautiful bugs are from a page in Edward Donovan's 'An epitome of the natural history of the insects of New Holland, New Zealand, New Guinea, Otaheite, and other islands in the Indian, Southern, and Pacific Oceans'.

Edward Donovan (1768-1837) was a natural history illustrator, amateur zoologist and writer. This collection includes Insects of New Holland, created using specimens collected by Joseph Banks and William Bayly, an astronomer on the second and third voyages of James Cook, specimens in the collection of Dru Drury and other private collections as well as his own museum.

The engravings in these books were hand coloured by Donovan and a team of employees, using thick paints, burnished highlights, albumen overglazes and metallic paints.