MANDIBULATA. 



INSECTS 



Are included in the subkingdom Annulosa* : they have usually a distinct 

 head;, furnished with two antennae, or horns ; six articulated legs ; and breathe 

 by means of tracheae : they undergo several metamorphoses. 



Clairviile divides insects into two great tribes, which he terms 

 Mandibulata and Haustellata, from the structure of the ap- 

 paratus employed in obtaining their food; the former being charac- 

 terised by possessing jaws, or mandibles as they are technically 

 denominated, and the latter by having a variously modified tubular 

 tongue, or haiisteUum, for the purpose. As this appears to be a 

 very natural division, I have adopted it; though it is worthy of ob- 

 servation, that the transition from one tribe, or rather sub-class, to 

 the other is nearly imperceptible — thus beautifully illustrating the 

 position of my friend Mr. Mac Leay, that nature in leaving one 

 form gradually assimilates its structure with the succeeding — the 

 Trichoptera being so closely allied to the Lepidoptera, that authors 

 differ as to which of the sub-classes they truly belong : — the man- 

 dibles in the Trichoptera being nearly obsolete as in the Lepi- 

 doptera, and the structure of the wings and legs being similar in 

 both* — Again, the Hymenoptera are in many instances furnished 

 with a kind of tongue, their mandibles being solely of use in their 

 economy ; and some of the Aptera possess rudimentary mandibles. 

 The 



MANDIBULATA, Clairviile, 



comprehend seven orders, which may be discriminated by cha- 

 racters drawn from the wings, as briefly exhibited in the following 

 table : 



Alas supcriores I covnoxtss: 2. Strepstptera. 



plus niinusve ■< i transversim r • ,• « /^ 



coriacec-e, (baud contort^E : \ plicatiles : murw [ ^^Plic^s : 3. Coleoptera- 



alwinfe, lores i, ._. ,., (radiate: 4. Dermaptera. 



'' ^ longitudinaliter plicatae : , 5. Orthoptera. 



yfte07««^.membranacecE,l'^'''="^^f =., 6. Neuroptera. 



^ venosa;, P'^f ^ = • ' • ' 7- Trichoptera. 

 '^nud£E: .... 1. Htbienoptera. 



As the above series, to use the expression of Mr. Mac Leay, 

 " returns into itself," it is of little consequence where I commence. 



* Annulosa are invertebrate, oviparous, white-blooded animals : having an 

 imperfect circulation : the external integument of a firmer consistence than the 

 internal substance: the sexes distinct, the body divided into segments, or 

 rings. 



