COLEOPTERA, OR SHEATH-WINGED INSECTS. 245 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
COLEOPTERA, OR SHEATH-WINGED INSECTS. 
_ 419. I wow pass to the consideration of the different 
orders of Insects, noticing particularly some of each or- 
der. They are arranged in orders according to the char- 
acter of the wings. They are chiefly the following: 1. 
Coleoptera (xodeoc, Koleos, a sheath, and xrepor, pteron, a 
wing), Sheath-winged. This is the order of Beetles. 2. 
Orthoptera (dp60¢, orthos, straight, and zrepov), Straight- 
winged. This includes the Grasshoppers, Locusts, ete. 
3. Neuroptera (vetpor, neuron, nerve, and zrepov), Nerve- 
winged. 4. Hymenoptera (ipeyr, humen, a membrane, 
and zrepov), Membrane-winged, including the Bees, Wasps, 
etc. 5. Lepidoptera (Nemec, lepis, a scale, and zrepov), 
Scale-winged. The Butterflies and Moths. 6. Hemip- 
tera (ijpuove, hemisus, half, and rreoov), Half-winged, in- 
cluding Bugs, Cicade, ete. 7. Diptera (éc, dis, twice, 
and arepov), Two-winged. Flies, Musquitoes, ete. 8. 
Aphaniptera (agavje, aphanes, not manifest, and zrepor). 
The Fleas belong to this order. 9. Aptera, Wingless. 
The prefix @ in this case is privative or negative. The 
common louse, sugar-lice, spring-tails, ete., belong to this 
order. There are some other orders, which are small, 
however, and of little importance. 
420. The order of Coleoptera, or Sheath-winged In- 
sects, is the most numerous of all the orders. “It is 
probable,” says Carpenter, “that from thirty to forty 
thousand species of Beetles alone now exist in the cabi- 
nets of collectors; and we may safely affirm that at least 
as many more remain to be discovered.” They are of . 
various size, some being very small, and others among 
the largest of Insects. There are some that are five 
