INSECTS. 



Epheinerklse. 



Hive Bees. 



White Ants. 



All the animals hitherto described come under the sub-kingdom called vertebrata. The next division, or 

 sub-kingdom of the animal kingdom is styled articulata, and includes insects, Crustacea, and some other 

 inferior classes. . ' 



The articulata derive their name from the jointed character of the skeleton or hard portion of the 

 structure, and the inclosure of the whole body by this. And this skeleton not only incloses the body, but 

 is prolonged over the appendages for locomotion, where they exist, and the portions of it covering these, 

 are also jointed to give them the requisite flexibility. In the lowest animals of this series, where there 

 are no appendages for locomotion, but all movements are effected by the body itself, the latter is extremely 

 flexible, and the whole envelope so soft, that the division into segments can scarcely be detected. Such 

 animals are the leech, and earthworm, whereas the jointed character is most apparent in the centipede 

 tribe, where the segments are all of nearly the same size, and where each has a short pair of legs, them- 

 selves also jointed. 



The articulata are nearly always of small bulk, and the chief portion of their bodies is made up not by 

 their nutritive and digestive apparatus, but by the muscles moving it. Being designed for atmospheric 

 respiration, their breathing apparatus is constructed on a principle opposite to that of fishes. 



The number of classes of the articulata is very great, being thus distributed according to certain general 

 peculiarities of conformation and habits. Each class is divided into several orders, and each order, again 

 into several species, each division being distinguished from the rest by certain marks, more or less plainly 

 discerned. We shall speak very briefly of the most important of these varieties. 



The class, insects, is one of the most interesting in the whole animal kingdom, in regard to the number, 

 beauty, and complexity of the forms embraced therein, the immensity of individuals of the same species 

 often appearing together, and their resulting importance in the economy of nature. One of the most 

 interesting marks, distinguishing this class from all others, is the metamorphosis, or complete change of 

 form, undergone by them during their development. The whole process, whereby an unsightly worm 

 becomes a brilliant butterfly, or some other creature, bearing not the remotest resemblance to the original, 

 is very curious and wonderful ; but we have here no space to describe it. 



Insects, in their perfect state, transcend all other creatures in their powers of locomotion. Their senses 

 appear to be acute. Their eyes are large, often formed by the union of several thousand small ones. They 

 are believed to possess hearing and smell, and certainly have somewhere a most delicate touch, whereby the 

 social tribes seem to communicate with each other. They feed upon almost all organised substances, some 

 tribes being purely carnivorous and others herbivorous and are found abundantly in all regions of the globe. 

 Their sub-divisons are formed chiefly by their curious wings, which consist of a double layer of membranes 

 protracted from the skin covering their body and partaking of its properties. 



The principal orders, into which this class is distributed, are eight, besides several small orders inter- 

 mediate between the main groups. Each of these orders is also subdivided into sundry species, which are 

 finally distributed into families. Such is the method adopted by scientific treatise on this branch of know- 

 ledge. We shall follow a simpler method, merely pointing out characteristics of the individual described, 

 without attempting to specify the sub-division, to which it belongs. 



The Ephemeridae take their name from the brief duration of their lives in their perfected state. As larvt 

 they exist for two or three years, and in both this and the pupa state they live in the water, burrowing \ 



