4i I June, 



tological researches ; and to sliow how little, by itself, the evidence at 

 present obtained by such researches supports the opinions above 

 quoted. 



It is a most remarkable fact that up to the present time we have 

 no record of the discovery, even in the oldest fossiliferous rocks, of 

 any forms which are clearly connecting links between existing types 

 and any simpler organisms. 



With the exception of about twelve specimens of Fseudo-Neurop- 

 terous insects, which Dr. Goldenberg* is of opinion should be placed in 

 an extinct order, and which he has named Palceodicfyoptera, the oldest 

 known insects belong, most unmistakably, to the Neuroptera and 

 Ortlioptera. Sir John Lubbock,t although arguing in favor of the 

 theory of evolution, admits that " the earliest known Neuroptera and 

 " Ortlioptera, though in some respects less specialized than existing 

 " forms, are as truly and as well characterized insects as any now 

 " existing ; nor are we acquainted with any earlier forms which in 

 " any way tend to bridge over the gap between them and lower groups." 



The Coleoptera and Hemiptera are almost as old as the Neuroptera 

 and Ortlioptera ; and even the comparative!}^ modern orders — the Dip- 

 tera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera — have existed for ages. 



From the fact that the family types of this class of the animal 

 kingdom are of such vast antiquity, and that the remains of insects up 

 to the present time discovered, even in the oldest strata, have all, with 

 the few exceptions before mentioned, been referred to existing orders, 

 it is evident that present Paljeontological investigations do not furnish 

 us with much direct evidence in support of the theory of the evolution 

 of insects from lower forms, and we must look therefore to Embryology 

 for light upon the subject. 



It must be remembered, however, as Mr. Darwin;}; observes, that 

 " the noble science of G-eology loses glory from the extreme iniper- 

 " fection of the record. The crust of the earth with its embedded 

 " remains must not be looked at as a well filled Museum, but as a 

 " poor collection made at hazard and at rare intervals." 



The force of these remarks is especially felt in the particular 

 branch of Palaeontology which is the subject of this paper. Although 

 fossil insects have, in cei-tain strata, and in a few widely scattered 

 localities, been obtained in considerable numbers, they appear to be, 

 as a rule, extremely rare and local. 



* Fauna Saraepontana Fossilis, 1877. 



t The Origin and Metamorphosis of Insects, c. v, p. 86. 



J The Origin of 8pecie.% oh. xiv, p 487 (1859). 



