COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS BANKS. 5 



CLASSIFICATION. 



The arrangement of insects in groups is known as "classification." 

 The plan of classification is as follows: Each kind of an insect is 

 called a species; several kinds that are similar to each other form a 

 genus; several genera that have many structures in common make 

 up a family, and families in turn form an order. Between these 

 groups entomologists sometimes place other groups, such as suborder, 

 below the order; superfamily, above the family ; subfamily and tribe, 

 below the family; subgenus, below the genus, and variety, race, sub- 

 species for forms of the species. 



Each insect has two names, words of Latin or Greek, at least in 

 form, such as Papilio asterias. The first 

 name is that of the genus, the second 

 that of the species ; in combination they 

 form the scientific name of the insect. 

 The species name is not used twice in 

 the same genus, and the generic name 

 is used only once in the names of ani- 

 mals. If two or more names have been 

 given to the same insect, we use the first 

 one. 



There are many classifications. That 

 of Linnaais consisted of seven orders, 

 but most later writers have insisted on 

 several other orders. Some of these 

 orders are perhaps unnecessary for the 

 purpose of the beginner. About fifteen 

 orders will be sufficient to indicate most 

 of the larger natural groups. These are 

 as follows: Thysanura, Collembola, Pla- 

 typtera, Archiptera, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Neurop- 

 tera, Coleoptera, Strepsiptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, 

 Siphonaptera, and Hymenoptera. 



THYSANURA. 



Fig. 3.— One of tiie Thysanura or 

 fishmoths, lepisma saccharina. 



To this order belong certain wingless insects, the more familiar of 

 which are commonly called fishmoths (fig. 3). The fishmoths occur 

 in houses and infest books and wall paper, feeding on the starchy 

 paste. Other forms occur among fallen leaves in the woods, under 

 stones, etc. They are rather slender, tapering, and with long anten- 

 nae, and two or three long setae or tails. The body is soft and covered 

 with scales. They undergo no metamorphosis, and are the most 

 primitive of the insects, similar to the insects from which have devel- 

 oped all the other orders. They have been studied but little by 

 entomologists. 



