412 ON THE ORDERS 



are now apparently lost. M. Latreille thinks with jus 

 tice that these two are thoracic, that is, are such as would 

 bear feet in Crustacea : the question therefore is, how he 

 can assign them to the abdomen. If he supposes that 

 these two as they exist in the larva of an Oryctes are 

 transferred to the abdomen of the imago, it is neither true 

 in fact, — since no more than its proper number, seven, can 

 be found in the abdomen, — nor would it, if true, coincide 

 Avith the theory which he wishes to establish, and which 

 makes the wings take the place of the feet that are de- 

 ficient. 



The segment which is usually termed the thorax of a 

 Coleopterous insect, is evidently only one, and bears the 

 first pair of feet. We have next four pairs of locomo- 

 tive organs attached to that part of the trunk which is 

 commonly considered to consist of only two segments. 

 Now, for M. Latreille's theory to stand, it is absolutely 

 necessary to resolve these two into four, which, although 

 it has not yet been effected, I confess I think by no means 

 impossible. The surest guide, however, in this research, 

 will be the dissection of an insect in the pupa state, with 

 reference to the larva and imago. 



The reader will observe, that if ever this hypothesis 

 should be substantiated by such or equivalent experiments, 

 a Coleopterous insect, in addition to what is termed its 

 thorax, will have four thoracic segments in the trunk, or 

 that part of the body which forms the front of the abdo- 

 men. It requires explanation, 'perhaps, how segments 

 united to the abdomen of a Hexapod insect ought to be 

 accounted as appertaining to the thorax ; and for this pur- 

 pose we return to the Crustacea. The five thoracic seg- 

 ments of Lycistafurina Eg. have perhaps no other cha- 



