Elephant insects

Elephant insects, an illustration by JVL from Lewis Carroll's  Through the Looking-Glass, 

Artists' Choice Editions, 2011.

Looking-Glass Insects

Of course the first thing to do was to make a grand survey of the

country she was going to travel through. 'It's something very like

learning geography,' thought Alice, as she stood on tiptoe in hopes

of being able to see a little further. 'Principal rivers -- there ARE

none. Principal mountains -- I'm on the only one, but I don't think

it's got any name. Principal towns -- why, what ARE those

creatures, making honey down there? They can't be bees -- nobody

ever saw bees a mile off, you know -- ' and for some time she stood

silent, watching one of them that was bustling about among the

flowers, poking its proboscis into them, 'just as if it was a regular

bee,' thought Alice.

     However, this was anything but a regular bee: in fact it was an

elephant -- as Alice soon found out, though the idea quite took her

breath away at first. 'And what enormous flowers they must be!'

was her next idea. 'Something like cottages with the roofs taken off,

and stalks put to them -- and what quantities of honey they must

make! I think I'll go down and -- no, I won't JUST yet, '