o6 Boston Society of Natural History 



able for insect life and have practically exterminated many of our 

 native species. 



With these facts before us, it is evident that we must make as 

 thorough a study of the insect fauna of our region as possible, and 

 build up a collection that shall meet the demands of the present and 

 future students of Entomology. 



Department of Marine Invertebrates 



WHILE marine invertebrates, especially those of New Eng- 

 land, do not attract as much popular attention as the better 

 known group of animals, many of them do present a brilliant display 

 of color and a great variety of patterns which appeal strongly to ones 

 interest. The corals, sea-fans, starfishes, and mollusks in the Muse- 

 um are numerous, and many of the soft-bodied animals are repre- 

 sented by the famous Blaschka glass models. These were prepared 

 by the makers of the famous glass flowers in Cambridge. 



As it is the policy of the Museum to emphasize New England 

 life chiefly, one room is devoted entirely to New England inver- 

 tebrates. Another is devoted to a synoptic collection of specimens 

 including many from foreign waters. This plan allows the study of 

 a limited area as well as a comprehensive view of related forms 

 from many parts of the world. 



The educative value of marine invertebrates is very great. It is 

 probable that life itself began as a single-celled plant or animal in 

 the water, and throughout the long history of the earth, the mul- 

 titude of invertebrates in the oceans and shallow inland seas has 

 been slowly changing to higher forms, thus presenting a vivid and 

 almost complete picture of the development of animal life, either 

 throucrh living or fossil organisms. The collections are arranged to 

 show these instructive steps and to illustrate the general principles 



