58 A BOOK OF INSECTS 



discovered, it would be given a specific name of its own, 

 although its generic name would be waiting for it. Every 

 insect, in fact, is accommodated by science with a first 

 or generic and a second or specific name, just as every 

 civilised man or woman has a surname and a Christian 

 name. It will be noticed that the generic name is placed 

 first. This is a mere matter of convenience, exactly 

 as surnames are placed first in official documents, such as 

 lists of voters. 



The classification of L.inna?us was little more than 

 a system devised to facilitate the identification of species. 

 Nevertheless, all the great naturalists, from Aristotle 

 onward, perceived that living things are not merely a 

 crowd of isolated species, but that certain affinities exist 

 among them. In 1812, Cuvier actually likened the 

 relationship to the branchings of a tree ; but it was not 

 until Darwin, in 1859, established his theory of descent, 

 that the true significance of this comparison became 

 apparent. It was then seen that the relations which the 

 older naturalists had been trying to indicate in their 

 schemes of classification were really the branches of a 

 huge pedigree. 



For this reason the orders of insects must not be 

 regarded as so many rigidly defined groups, but rather as 

 twigs diverging from a branch which, in its turn, has its 

 origin in the main stem of animal life. Naturally, there 

 are great gaps in our knowledge of insect lineage, many 

 species having died out, leaving no trace behind them. 

 Thus, men of science are not always agreed as to the 

 precise relationship of one group to another. But it 

 is believed that if all the " missing links " could be rein- 

 stated, the complete genealogy of insects could be 

 established. 



