OUTLINES OF ENTOMOLOGY. 25 



Eecent authors have multiplied and rearranged the orders of in- 

 sects on various other plans, founded in many cases on very obvious 

 natural distinctions, but the arrangement here presented forms a very 

 ^ood basis for subdivision, and meets with continued favor from a 

 majority of our naturalists. 



In science the name of every animal and plant is a double one : 

 Pirst, the name of the genus to which it belongs, called the generic 

 name; and second, the name of the species which it represents, called 

 the s'^yecific name. These scientitic names are usually derived from the 

 Greek and Latin or have their terminations from those languages. 



The names of tribes often refer to the style of that particular organ 

 in which all the species included in them agree. The names of families 

 are usually adapted from that of the leading genus. The generic name 

 may refer to some prominent characteristic of the typical species, or 

 may be entirely fanciful. It is always a proper noun and should be 

 written with a capital. 



The specific name is sometimes from some attribute of the species, 

 or from the plant or other substance on which it feeds, sometimes from 

 a resemblance it bears to some other object, and not infrequently from 

 the name of the discoverer or some person whom the describer wishes 

 to compliment. It is either an adjective or a noun in the possessive 

 case, and is now seldom written with a capital, not even when it is de- 

 rived from the name of a person. 



It often happens that the same species is described by two or more 

 authors, and although the name first published is considered to be the 

 correct one, it is not always easy to discover which this is. To prevent 

 confusion, therefore, as well as to give each author credit for his work, 

 it is customary to add after the name of the insect that of the author 

 who bestowed it, thus : Dynastes tityl^us of Linnaeus, or Papilio asterias, 

 Cramer. The names of the authors are commonly abbreviated as 

 Linn, for Linnteus, Cram, for Cramer, Fabr. for Fabricius, etc. 



Besides their scientific names, many insects have common or 

 popular names. For instance, in this country we have the " Red Ad- 

 miral" butterfly, the " Devil's riding horse," the "May beetle or June 

 bug," the "Chinch bug," the " Weevil," and many others. Some of 

 these names are known and correctly applied everywhere ; others are 

 very local, and in other sections of the country people would not 

 know to what insect they pertained. 



Another advantage in the use of the scientific name is that it is 

 perfectly intelligible to educated people in all countries, and, when 

 given in accordance with established rules, there is seldom any question 



