But that which was most observable in this creature, was, its Metamorphosis or change; for having kept several of these Animals in a Glass of Rain-water, in which they were produc’d, I found, after about a fortnight or three weeks keeping, that several of them flew away in Gnats, leaving their husks behind them in the water floating under the surface, the place where these Animals were wont to reside, whil’st they were inhabitants of the water:  this made me more diligently to watch them, to see if I could find them at the time of their transformation; and not long after, I observ’d several of them to be changed into an unusual shape, wholly differing from that they were of before, their head and body being grown much bigger and deeper, but not broader, and their belly, or hinder part smaller, and coyl’d, about this great body much of the fashion represented by the prick’d line in the second Figure of the 27. Scheme, the head and horns now swam uppermost, and the whole bulk of the body seem’d to be grown much lighter; for when by my frighting of it, it would by frisking out of its tail (in the manner express’d in the Figure by BC) sink it self below the surface towards the bottom; the body would more swiftly re-ascend, then when it was in its former shape.

I still marked its progress from time to time, and found its body still to grow bigger and bigger, Nature, as it were, fitting and accoutring it for the lighter Element, of which it was now going to be an inhabitant; for, by observing one of these with my Microscope, I found the eyes of it to be altogether differing from what they seem’d before, appearing now all over pearl’d or knobb’d, like the eyes of Gnats, as is visible in the second Figure by A. At length, I saw part of this creature to swim above, and part beneath the surface of the water, below which though it would quickly plunge it self if I by any means frighted it, and presently re-ascend into its former posture; after a little longer expectation, I found that the head and body of a Gnat, began to appear and stand cleer above the surface, and by degrees it drew out its leggs, first the two formost, then the other, at length its whole body perfect and entire appear’d out of the husk (which it left in the water) standing on its leggs upon the top of the water, and by degrees it began to move, and after flew about the Glass a perfect Gnat.

I have been the more particular, and large in the relation of the transformation of divers of these little Animals which I observ’d, because I have not found that any Authour has observ’d the like, and because the thing it self is so strange and heterogeneous from the usual progress of other Animals, that I judge it may not onely be pleasant, but very usefull and necessary towards the compleating of Natural History.