55G 



AllTICULATA. 



other shrubs. The hirva3 arc of a slate color, with yellow tubercles and spots, and furnished with 

 six woll-developed Icfjs. They attach themselves by the tail before changing to the pupa state. 

 Tlie colors of the perfect insects run from rc«l or yellow, with or without black spots, to black, 

 with or without red or yellow spots; and as all this \ariety of color may occur in individuals 

 ol' till- same kind, the determination of the species in this group is excessively difficult. When 

 touched or disturbed, the lady-birds draw their legs close up to the body, emitting at the same 

 time a vellow and somewhat acrid fluid, which, according to some writers, is a specific for the 

 toothache. These beautiful creatures are useful to the gardener and farmer, by devouring many 

 of the aphides which infest trees and plants. 



ORDER 2. STREPSIPTERA. 



This name is from the Greek sti-epsis, a turning, and ptcra, wings, and is applied to a small 

 order of minute insects which are parasitic in the interior of numerous species of bees and wasps. 

 The males have a single pair of large, membraneous, folded wings ; the females appear like soft 

 niasxgots, furnished with a horny head, which they protrude between the segments of the bee in 

 which thev are parasitic, the ren>ainder of the body remaining concealed. The female never 



quits the body of the bee; the larvae are hatched within the 

 body of their mother, from which they escape into the open 

 air. In their earliest state they are active, little, six-footed 

 creatures. They attach themselves to the bodies of bees and 

 wasps, by which they are conveyed into their nest. Here 

 they bury themselves in the body of the bee or wasp larva, 

 and become converted into soft, maggot-like grubs, which 

 continue to feed upon the substance of their victim until the 

 latter arrives at its perfect state. The only further change 

 which the female undergoes consists in the hardening of the 

 head and the development of the generative organs. The 

 male, however, becomes converted into a pupa within the 

 skin of the larva, the head of which also becomes horny, 

 and protrudes like that of the female from between the rings 

 of the bee. When the male is ready to emerge, this horny 

 piece is thrown off like a lid, and the perfect insect quits his 

 During their existence in this state. 



THK STYLOPS DALII. 



A, male, natural size ; B, the same, mag 

 nified ; C, Bee, with head of female ; a, Stv- former residence, 



rm^|kriir^mlle:ragSLT''"'^''°"""'^vhich is probably very short, the males are very active, fly- 



ing about in the sunshine with a buzzing noise. The an- 

 tennae often exhibit very singular forms, being sometimes forked or branched, and sometimes 

 pectinated. Tlie eyes are generally very prominent; they consist of but few facets, and these 

 are separated from each other by raised partitions, which give a curious cellular appearance to 

 their surface. An example of this order is furnished in the European species, Stylops Dalii. 



ORDER 3. HYMENOPTERA. | 



This name is derived from the Greek hymen, a membrane, and ptera, wings, and is descriptive j 

 of one characteristic of the order, from which these have been called Mcmbraneoxis-ioinged In- 

 sects. It includes a vast number of familiar but interesting species, probably including one- j 

 fourth of the entire insect world. Their wings, when present, are four in number, naked, trans- 1 

 parent, and of a membraneous texture. The mouth is always furnished with a pair of strong 

 mandibles, and in most cases with maxilla) and other organs of the usual form. The eyes are ' 

 generally large, and the ocelli usually three in number. The body, the three great divisions of 

 which are usually very distinct, is covered with scaly armor. These insects are distinguished 

 by an ovipositor in the female, which not only serves for placing the eggs, but in some species, 

 as the bees, wasps, hornets, &c., constitutes a most formidable offensive weapon. The larvae of 

 most species are footless grubs ; the pupte are generally quiescent, being completely enveloped 



