NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS 
CLASSIFICATION OF INSECTS. 
Tue science which treats of Insects is called Entomology. 
It shows us the division of Insects into different Orders, 
Families, Genera, and Species. It makes us acquainted 
with their external characteristics and their nature, their 
injuries and their uses. , 
The name Insect is given to those small animals which 
are invertebrated, that is, whose bodies are not supported by 
a bony frame, but are composed of many rings or intersec- 
tions jointed together. Hence the name Insect. Each of 
these has at least six legs, when in a perfect condition. 
Although Insects differ from the vertebrate animals, viz., 
from Beasts, Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes, which are provided 
with a bony frame and red blood, still they are entirely 
analogous to them in regard to many of their physical func- 
tions, in nervous Sensation and Perception, in regard to Res- 
piration, which is effected by respiratory organs, or air-holes 
placed on the hind-body, and in regard to Nutrition, which 
is effected through a stomach and intestines. 
Insects are found in the air, as, for instance, Butterflies ; 
or in the water, as the whirling Water-beetle; or in the 
ground, as the Sand-flea; or on plants, as the Caterpillars ; 
or upon the body of animals, as Ticks and other Spongers. 
There is scarcely a plant or an animal which is not the 
dwelling of some Insect. Hence the number of Insects 
must be immense, and without exaggeration it may be said 
that there are in existence more than a hundred thousand 
