72 . ELEMENTARY ENTOMOLOGY 



family or small portion of a family, sending the insects of other 

 groups to specialists of those groups for determination, and thus 

 building up collections which they may use for the subsequent 

 determination of specimens by comparison. The common families, 

 and particularly those of economic importance, may usually be 

 recognized by the amateur, and the identification of the family will 

 usually indicate the possible economic importance of a given insect, 

 and may lead to its definite identification, if it is a common form. 

 In the following pages we have endeavored to give a very brief 

 account of the characteristics of the more common orders and 

 families of insects. Keys for their determination will be found 

 in Chapter XX. 



