INTRODUCTION. 



PERSONS who love nature are apt to be long-lived and their 

 lives are apt to be happy ones. In this country until quite re- 

 cently few people have realized this fact, and while notably with 

 the Germans, and to a lesser extent with other European nations, 

 we find a love of nature fostered through early childhood, and 

 while there are people of all countries and all occupations who 

 know much about the animals and plants which surround them, 

 and many who make collections and study certain groups as a 

 fad or pastime and as a relief from the daily drudgery of life, in 

 the United States little attention has been paid to nature study in 

 the school and in the family until within the past few years. It 

 is true that there have been Americans who were born naturalists 

 and who have pursued their studies in spite of uncongenial 

 surroundings. It is true, too, that almost every country boy is a 

 close observer in his own untrained way, and that he picks up 

 many interesting facts about his natural history environment. 

 But even the youngster of decided tastes has been too often 

 discouraged by his parents, and, further than that, he has few 

 books to help him and stimulate him in the occupation to which 

 his tastes direct him. 



Recently, however, a great nature study movement has 

 sprung up amongst us and in this movement the study of insects 

 must play an important part. They are the most easily observed 

 of living creatures. They abound everywhere in the fields and 

 woods, in the door-yards, and, unfortunately, even in the house- 

 hold. Subjects for observation are never lacking, and although 

 some prejudice exists against them as insignificant crawling 

 creatures and in large part nuisances and pests from a human 

 standpoint, yet their structure is wonderful, their life histories 

 are most interesting, and among them may be found a wealth of 

 material for the study of broad life problems of the utmost 

 biological importance. I know a stock broker, an insurance 

 agent, a commercial traveler, a hotel clerk, a minister of the 

 Gospel, a keeper of a beer saloon, a portrait painter, a hardware 

 merchant, a stonecutter, an iron founder, a carpenter and builder, 



