480 GLOSSARY. 



Homoptera. — An order or sub-order of Insects having (like th« 

 Hemiptera) a jointed beak, but in which the fore-wings are eithei 

 wholly membranous or wholly leathery. The Cicadas, Frog-hop-, 

 pers, and Aphides, are well-known examples. 



Hybrid. — The offspring of the union or two distinct species. 



Hymenoptera. — An order of Insects possessing biting jaws and usu- 

 ally four membranous wings in which there are a few veins. Bees 

 and Wasps are familiar examples of this group. 



Hypertrophied. — Excessively developed. 



Ichneumonidje. — A family of Hyraenopterous insects, the members 

 of which lay their eggs in the bodies or eggs of other insects. 



Imago. — The perfect (generally winged) reproductive state of an 

 insect. 



Indigens. — The aboriginal animal or vegetable inhabitants of a coun- 

 try or region. 



Inflorescence. — The mode of arrangement of the flowers of plants. 



Infusoria. — A class of microscopic Animalcules, so called from their 

 having originally been observed in infusions of vegetable matters. 

 They consist of a gelatinous material enclosed in a delicate mem- 

 brane, the whole or part of which is furnished with short vibrating 

 hairs (called cilia), by means of which the animalcules swim through 

 the water or convey the minute particles of their food to the orifice 

 of the mouth. 



Insectivorous. — Feeding on Insects. 



Invertebrata or Invertebrate Animals. — Those animals which 

 do not possess a backbone or spinal column. 



Lacunae. — Spaces left among the tissues in some of the lower animals, 

 and serving in place of vessels for the circulation of the fluids of 

 the body. 



Lamellated. — Furnished with lamellae or little plates. 



Larva (pi. Larvje). — The first condition of an insect at its issuing 

 from the egg, when it is usually in the form of a grub, caterpillar or 

 maggot. 



Larynx. — The upper part of the windpipe opening into the gullet. 



Laurentian. — A group of greatly altered and very ancient rocks, 

 which is greatly developed along the course of the St. Lawrence, 

 whence the name. It is in these that the earliest known traces of 

 organic bodies have been found. 



Leguminos^e. — An order of plants represented by the common Pease 

 and Beans, having an irregular flower in which one petal stands up 

 like a wing, and the stamens and pistil are enclosed in a sheath 

 formed by two other petals. The fruit is a pod (or legume). 



Lemuridje. — A group of four-handed animals, distinct from the Mon- 

 keys, and approaching the Insectivorous Quadrupeds in some of 

 their characters and habits. Its members have the nostrils curved 

 or twisted, and a claw instead of a nail upon the first finger of the 

 hind hands. 



Lepidoptera. — An order of Insects, characterized by the possession 

 of a spiral proboscis, and of four large more or less scaly wings. 

 It includes the well-known Butterflies and Moths. 



Littoral. — Inhabiting the seashore. 



Loess. — A marly deposit of recent (Post-Tertiary) date, which occu- 

 pies a great part of the valley of the Khine. 



