30 PRIZE ESSAY : 



these organs, with their scientific designations, should be con- 

 sulted before perusing the description of the orders into which 

 insects are divided for the purpose of classification. 



ORDER I. 



Coleoptera. (Koleas, a sheath ; ptera, wings.) 



41. The Beetle tribe. Wings four in number ; two for flight, 

 two for protection, and termed elytra, or wing cases. The 

 elytra are hard and horny. There are exceptions to this general 

 rule,, which it is not necessary to mention here. The under 

 wings are membranous and transparent. 



42. The larvae are popularly termed grubs, and commonly 

 possess twelve segments, exclusive of the head. The pupae are 

 incomplete, that is, each part of the perfect insect is visible, 

 and enclosed in a separate sheath, thus differing from the pupae 

 of butterflies in which the parts are all cased in one sheath. 

 Beetles are composed of three distinct parts, the head, the 

 thorax, and the abdomen. (Fig. IV.) The most prominent and 

 important parts of the head are the compound eyes, the two 

 antennae, the two mandibles or jaws, and the two maxillae or 

 under jaws. The insects of this order are all masticators. 



43. The thorax is composed of the three segments of the 

 larvae body next to the head. In the larvae these are generally 

 very distinct ; in the perfect insect or beetle one of the segments 

 is often greatly enlarged at the expense of the other two. To 

 the thorax are attached the wings and the legs. 



44. The abdomen is generally distinguished by the absence 

 of all external appendages, but in some insects we find an ovi- 

 positor, a pair of forceps, a hook, &c. The abdomen consists 

 of segments not exceeding nine in number. The openings for 



