OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 15 



ment of them is difficult, on account of their degradational character. 

 They present forms which are synthenic and closely approach the 

 other Orders, and the evolutionist naturally looks upon them as fur- 

 nishing an idea of what the archetypal forms of our present insects 

 may have been. They are, as a rule, large and sluggish, with the body 

 parts soft and little specialized, and the muscles weak. Their remains 

 are found in the Devonian and Carboniferous deposits. 



They are mostly carnivorous, and with the exception of the White 

 ants and certain Book-lice, they none of them affect man injuriously, 

 while some are quite beneficial. 



The osculant and aberrant groups, already spoken of, and the 

 proper position of which has so perplexed systematists, are : 



1 — Strepsiptera (gTp£(J'i<:, a turning or twisting; -rspa, wings) or 

 Bee parasite, comprising the single family Stylopidce^ now classed 

 with the Coleoptera. They are minute insects, with the Iront wings 

 transformed into short, twisted appendages and the hind wings large 

 and folded longitudinally like a fan. They are most remarkable 

 animals, undergoing what is termed hypermetamorphoses* and having 

 a curious life-history. The young are very minute, active, six-legged 

 objects, with two fine hairs or setcB at the tip of the abdomen. They 

 crawl on to the legs of diff"erent species of bees and wasps, are carried 

 into the nests of the latter, and there live on the bee larvae, changing 

 appearance at each molt and assuming a more degradational form. 

 On account of their very small size, and the few which^ generally 

 attack a single bee-larva, they do not kill their host, or prevent him 

 from completing his transformations; and while the infested bee is 

 flying about, the parasitic and degraded Stylops larva stations itself 

 under one of the abdominal joints on the back, whence the active 

 winged male issues, and where the female — who never acquires wings — 

 is destined to remain, receive the male, and give birth to young within 

 her own body. 



2 — Apiianiptera, («c^avvj?, inconspicuous ; -repa, wings) or Fleas, 

 comprising the single family Pulicidcei now placed with the Dip- 

 tera. Everybody is supposed to be familiar with the appearance 

 of the flea — its bloodthirsty propensities and amazing muscular 

 power; and while every one may not have the leisure and means 

 to experience the exhilarating influence of the chase after larger ani- 

 mals, there is no one — be he never so humble — who may not indulge 

 in the hunt after this smaller game ! In place of wings the flea has 

 four small scaly plates. The minute eggs — about a dozen to each 

 female — are laid in obscure places, such as the cracks of a floor, the 



*i. e., before reaching the third ov pupa stage, thelarva assumes other distinct forms, so that in- 

 stead of existing only in the normal four stages, characteristic of most insects, those which go through 

 hypermetamorphoses, exist iu Jive or six stages, according to the number of distinct larval forms. 



