334 ZOOLOGY. 



seen, among the lower branches of the animal kingdom. 

 The object or design in nature, at least in the case of the 

 plant-lice and bark-lice, as well as the gall-flies, is the pro- 

 duction of large numbers of indiTiduals, by which the per- 

 petuity of the species is maintained. 



Insects are both useful and injurious to vegetation. Were 

 it not for certain bees and moths, orchids and many other 

 plants would not be fertilized ; insects also assist in the 

 cross-fertilization of plants. For full crops of many of our 

 fruits and vegetables, we are largely indebted to bees, flies, 

 moths, and beetles, which, conveying pollen from flower to 

 flower, ensure the production of abundant seeds and fruits, 

 ilankind, on the other hand, suffers enormous losses from 

 the attacks of injurious insects. AYitliin a period of four 

 years, the Eocky Mountain locust, migrating eastward, in- 

 flicted a loss of 8200,000,000 on the farmers of the West. 

 In the year 1864, the losses occasioned by the chinch-bug in 

 the corn and wheat crop of the valley of the Mississippi 

 amounted to upward of 8100,000,000. It is estimated that 

 the average annual losses in the United States from in.-eets 

 are about 8100,000,000. On the other hand, hosts of 

 ichneumon flies and Tachina flics reduce the numbers and 

 prevent undue increase in the numbers of injurious insects. 



The number of species of insects in collections is about 

 200,000. Of these there are about 25,000 species of Hijuie- 

 noptura (bees, wasps, etc.) ; about 25,000 species of Lepi- 

 dopiera (butterflies and moths); about io ,000 Diptera {ivro- 

 Tiinged flies), and 90,000 Coleoptera (beetles ; with about 

 4C00 species of Arachnida (spiders, etc.), and SiJO species 

 of Myriupoda (millepedes, centipedes, etc.) 



Insects are distributed aU over the surface of the earth. 

 Most of the species are confined to the warmer portions of 

 the globe, becoming fewer in the number of species as we 

 approach the Xorth Polar regions. Many are inhabitants 

 of fresh water ; a very few inhabit the sea. 



Insects, except a SUurian Blattid, first appeared in the 

 Devonian rocks; these were Xeuroptera and Orthoptera, with 

 representatives of other gron]is wliich seem generalized in 

 their structure. But if liishly developed flying iiisecrs. be- 

 lon^nng, at least the Mayfly, to existing families, appeared 



