THE GENESIS OF THE TERMINOLOGY 11 



Although the unifonn terminology adopted here is based on that of 

 Redtenbacher, the modifications of the older system that have been found 

 necessary have resulted in marked differences in detail between the two 

 systems. These differences are indicated later in the discussions of the 

 venation of the wings of the several orders. 



Since the appearance of the series of articles by Comstock and Needham, 

 the homologies of the wing-veins of several groups of insects have been 

 studied by various authors. The more important of the contributions on 

 this subject are referred to and utilized in later chapters; and are listed in 

 the bibliography at the end of this essay. 



The work that remains to be done to perfect the uniform terminology of 

 the wing-veins is the application of this system in the descriptions of those 

 highly specialized groups of insects where the homologies of the wing-veins 

 are difficult to determine. This can be well done in each case only by a 

 specialist who makes a thorough study of the wings of the group, family or 

 order in question, and compares these wings with those of more generalized 

 forms. This work will doubtless reqtiire many years for its completion; 

 but the value of the results in determining the relationships of the groups 

 studied will be worth the effort. 



