33 ORDER OF COLEOPTERA.. 



is usually confined to the anterior pair of feet, rarely extending to the 

 middle pair, and never to the hind ones ; besides being limited exclu- 

 sively to the males. 



Whilst some of the other orders of insects excel the Coleoptera in the 

 perfection of their instincts, no other order can be compared with them 

 iu the diversity of their food, and their corresponding habits and organ- 

 ization. Indeed the Coleoptera combine, to a great extent, the food- 

 habits of all the other orders. The herbivorous habits of the Orthop- 

 tera, the carnivorous habits of the Hemiptera, the aquatic habits of the 

 jS^europtera, the honey-eating and the parasitic habits of the Hymenop- 

 tera, the leaf-eating habits of the larv;e of the Lepidoptera, and the 

 putrivorous habits of the Diptera — all find their parallel in the ranks 

 of the omnivorous Coleoptera. 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE COLEOPTERA. 



The Coleoptera are usually divided into four sections founded upon 

 the number of joints in their tarsi, or feet. 

 These sections may be tabulated as follows : 



Sec. 1. Five joints in all the tarsi PentatMra. ^ tr 



Sec. 2. Five joints in the anterior and middle tarsi, and four joints in the hind 



tarsi Heteromera.l i '^ 



Sec. 3. Four joints in all the tarsi Tc.tramera. tL" 



Sec. 4. Three joints in all the tarsi Trimera. < '^ " 



These terms, except the second, are composed of the Greek nume- 

 rals meaning respectively, jive^ four^ and three^ prefixed to a word 

 meaning 7>rtr^s ov pieces. The prefix hetero, in the second section, means 

 different. 



As a general rule insects have five joints in their tarsi, and never 

 more than five. This may, therefore, be regarded as the normal or tyx)i- 

 cal number, and a smaller number must be taken as an indication of in- 

 feriority or degradation, using this word in its scientific sense. In ac- 

 cordaiu^e with this view, the most perfect and highly organized beetles 

 are found in the pentamerous section; and iu those which have less 

 than five joints, there is usually a little swelling at the base of the last 

 joint, which is supposed to be a vestige of the missing joint. This cir- 

 cumstance has led some authors to give more complex names to these 

 sections, expressive of this character, but with the explanation here 

 given we have preferred to retain the simpler nomenclature of Geoffroy 

 and Latreille. 



SUGGESTIONS TO AID IN CLASSIFYING THE COLEOPTERA. 



The student will perceive that the primary di\ision of Coleopterous 

 insects is based upon the number of joints in their feet, or tarsi. This 

 character, though apparently of tri^•ial importance, is found to furnish 

 an index to a more natural classification than can be established upon 



