ANALOGIES OF THE PREDATORES, 257 



i 



Analogies of the Predatores and the Orders of the 



Ptilota. 



FMiiiliesofthe Analoeies Orders of the 



Fredatores. analogies. PtUota. 



CCNDBLXU.. [^ebriJl:t^%71'nX'fuL''°-]LEP.ooPrER.. 



Dytiscid*. [ ^^p"e?[^,t";^,';|^ '" '"^'^ '^^ "■■J Neuroptera. 

 SiLPH.D^. [ The most aberrant and imperfect j coleoptera. 



StaphyliniD;E. Jaws more or less exserted. Hymenoptera. 



That celerity of motion^ which is produced hy flying, 

 is certainly more developed among the Cicindelidce than 

 in any tribe of coleopterous insects ; and as the Lepido- 

 ptera are the most perfect flyers of all the Ptilota ; both 

 tliese facts not only render these groups analogous, but 

 tend to corroborate our theory, that perfection of flight 

 is one, if not the very first, character of the annulose 

 circle, just as it is of birds in that of the Vertebrata. 

 On the other hand, there is an important difference to 

 be remarked, if we look, not to the Cicindelidce only, but 

 to the whole order in general ; for then it is obvious that 

 the Coleoptera, with regard to motion, are the most im- 

 perfect flyers of the whole of the Ptilota, although they 

 are the swiftest runners — or rather, are more terrestrial 

 in their habits than all other winged insects. These are 

 the chief points in the above table which it seems ne- 

 cessary to touch upon ; and these remarkable analogies 



I will be still further confirmed by placing the Ptilota in 



■ comparison with the orders of birds. 



