SECTION XLIV. WHAT AN INSECT IS 1 



MANY persons regard insects only as troublesome pests, 

 always to be considered as enemies. To the farmer, how- 

 ever, a large majority of the insects are really not enemies. 

 Many of them are his friends, although others are serious 

 enemies of health and crops. All of them are interesting, 

 and some of them very beautiful. A few general facts 

 about aiding our insect friends and destroying our insect 

 enemies will be of value. 



What an insect is. Three great divisions are made to 

 include all natural things, that is, the animal, the vegetable, 

 and the mineral kingdoms. All insects belong to the 

 animal kingdom. They are, therefore, animals, of which 

 class they form much the largest group. In fact, there are 

 more kinds of insects than of all other animals and of all 

 plants put together. It is the abundance of insects and 

 their close relationship to our health and welfare that 

 make it so important for us to study them. 



Insects are never very large and rarely exceed a few 

 inches in length or breadth. Many of them are so small 

 that a magnifying glass or lens is needed to see them 

 clearly. Most insects have wings when they are in the 

 full-grown or adult stage, but some never have these in any 



1 The sections on insects [XLIV to L, inclusive] were written by Dr. W. 

 E. Hinds, Professor of Entomology in Alabama Polytechnic Institute. 



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