HEER ON THE HISTORY OF INSECTS. 69 



in which neither Butterflies, nor Bees, nor Hymenoptera generally 

 have been found. The Beetles, on the other hand, occur in some- 

 what larger proportion. 



In this cretaceous period there existed islands rising from the sea 

 and chiefly wooded with fir-trees ; bearing also Palms, Dragon-trees, 

 and tree-like Lilies, together with which the first dicotyledonous trees 

 occur. These, however, appear to have been as yet very few in 

 number, it being only in the following period, the tertiary, that they 

 became plentiful, forming from this time an essential proportion of 

 the vegetable kingdom. In company with the creation of dicotyle- 

 donous trees and phanerogamic herbs, the Insect-world appears to 

 have been first developed at this period in all its orders and in more 

 manifold forms. Whilst at present we are acquainted with only 126 

 species of insects altogether from the earlier geological periods ; from 

 the two tertiary localities OEningen and Radoboj I know of about 

 443 species. Amongst these are present all of the seven Orders of 

 recent Insects ; but, nevertheless, in different numerical proportions 

 to those of the existing faunse. In these the Ametabola form about 

 O'lO, the Metabola 0*90. Of the (Eningen and Radoboj species, 

 124 belong to the Metabola and 319 to the Ametabola; the former 

 making more than a third. We see therefore that at this period the 

 Ametabola were much more numerous in proportion than the Meta- 

 bola, although not more in the mass, as in former geological periods. 

 The Bees and Butterflies appear as new chief types, presenting 

 however only very few forms. In the existing creation only have 

 these Insect-types been developed in their full richness of form and 

 splendour of colour ; and this may be the better understood inas- 

 much as in the tertiary period the land was almost entirely occupied 

 with woody plants and forests, and offered but few herbaceous 

 flowering plants from which the Butterflies and Bees could derive 

 their nourishment. 



With regard to each of the Orders of Insects, the material we have 

 at present is much too limited to enable us to give a perfect history 

 of this great Class ; nevertheless we are enabled to offer a few hints 

 on this hitherto little-known subject. 



I. Among the Ametabola we meet with the beaked Insects in nu- 

 merous families. In the Jurassic period appear some large water- 

 bugs [NepidcB, &c.], some land-bugs [CimicidcB], and CicadcE. In the 

 cretaceous period appear Aphides, and in the tertiary period there 

 are very beautiful CicadcB and large species of Cercopis, which are 

 characteristic of this Bh7/nckota-fa.\mn [Hemipterd] ; there are present 



account of the short thorax, and legs destitute of spines, in which respects it agrees 

 with the Termites, as well as in the long, narrow, fork-veined wings, folded over 

 the body. I also regard as a Termite the Jpiaria antiqua, Germar (Nov. Act. 

 xxii. 2). The venation of the wings at once shows that this animal cannot pos- 

 sibly belong to the Bees ; on the contrary, most probably it is referable to the 

 Termites. The wings are not well-preserved in their whole length, hence their 

 apparent shortness. The fossil from Solenhofen, figured as Sphinx Schrateri 

 (Schroder, Neue Literat. I. Taf. iii. 16), is so badly drawn that nothing can be 

 done with it. 



