PREFACE 



This book is intended as an elementary text-book of Ento- 

 mology. Up to the present time but little attention has been 

 given to the study of the Natural History of Insects, even by 

 those who cultivate the soil ; and the chief aim of this book is 

 to introduce the subject in plain language and concise form, 

 acquainting the student with the four states or stages of insect 

 life, the transformations of insects, and the division or classL 

 ficatioii of insects into Orders and Families. 



The plan of fully illustrating the work is adopted in order to 

 make object-teaching available to some extent ; also, to aid the 

 student in classifying the more common insects into Orders 

 and families. 



As a rule which has but few exceptions, insects that belong 

 to the same .^amily have similar habits ; so that, by knowing 

 to what Family any insect belongs, we may tell whether to 

 regard it as an injurious or a beneficial insect, because agreeing 

 in its habits with other insects belonging to the same Family. 



The description given of their transformations applies 

 equally to injurious, beneficial, and innoxious insects ; but the 

 illustrations mostly represent those which are either injurious 

 or beneficial, so as to give the student a correct idea of the 

 appearance of members of these two classes of insects which 

 more directly interest the cultivators of the soil. Impressed 



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