INSECTS ABROAD. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



IN this our favon^red country the insect tribes play apparently 

 so insignificant a part in the economy of the world, that 

 few except professed entomologists have tlie least idea of their 

 real importance, their vast, silent, and unseen armies, and the 

 enormous power which they wield. 



I say unseen, because none but a practical entomologist ever 

 sees one insect in ten thousand, even when they have attained 

 their perfect state ; and the most skilful naturalist can but con- 

 jecture as to the countless hosts of grubs and caterpillars that 

 are hidden among the foliage, buried in the ground, submerged 

 beneath the waters, burrowing under the bark or into the solid 

 wood of trees, or leading a parasitic existence within the bodies 

 of living animals. Insects pervade the whole of Nature, and the 

 functions which they perform are so important, that they deserve 

 from man far more attention than he generally condescends to 

 bestow. Individually an insect is small, feeble, and, in the eyes 

 of most persons, contemptible. Collectively, the insect tribes 

 are a mighty host, exercising over our world an influence that 

 excites equal wonder and admiration in the minds of those who 

 can appreciate it. 



Still, important as are the insects in this country, those of 

 tropical lands have infinitely more influence, and that for a very 



