THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 



SOUTHEAST PAVILION 



HALL OF INSECT LIFE 



"For where's the state beneath the firmament 

 That doth excel the bee for government?" 



Du Bartas. 



The installations in this hall are arranged in a continuous 

 series, beginning at the rail cases farthest to the left, and 

 are numbered so that they can be easily followed. 



First is the section showing the importance of insects, 

 i.e., the losses they occasion to crops and the diseases 

 spread by them, also the benefits they render by pollination 

 of many of our crops and flowers. 



Next are sections explaining the terms used in the clas- 

 sification of insects,* followed by a series giving a summary 

 of the principles of evolution, as illustrated by insects. 



* Insects are grouped into orders mainly according to the 

 nature of their wings. Beginning with the highest class of In- 

 secta and passing downward, the principal ones are as follows: 



Diptera Flies, mosquitoes, gnats, midges and others: Two- 

 winged insects with mouth parts formed for sucking. 



Hymenoptera Bees, wasps, ants, ichneumon flies and other 

 insects having four membranous wings with few cross veins. 

 Mouth parts formed for biting and sucking. 



Coleoptera Beetles. Insects with hard wing covers, the inner 

 membranous pair used for flying. This is the most numerous 

 order. 



70 



