574 



INSECTA. 



foi'uiatiiin ; the abdomen is not furnished with a stin^', and is hut sehlom |)rovided with an 

 ovipositoi'. 



They have fur the nuist part tlie anteniitc like a thread, and composed of a great number of 

 joints; two or lluee ocelli; the thorax is formed of the three segments intimately soldered 

 into one mass, distinct from the abdomen, and snpportiun' the six feet; the first of these seg- 

 ments IS generally very short, and like a eidlar. The number of tlie joints in the tarsi is 

 varialjle ; the body is j^encrally elongate, nitli the integuments soft, or but slightly scaly; the 

 abdomen is always sessile. Many of these insects are carnivorous in tlieir first and 

 last states. 



Some undergo only a demi-metamoriihosis, the others are subject to a complete one ; liut 

 the larv;e have constantly six feet \vith hooks, of which they commonly make use in searching 

 after their food. 



I diviile tins onler into three families, which, in their jn'Ogressive arrangement, exhdiit the 

 following natural relatimis : — 1st. Carnivorous insects undergoing a demi-metamorphosis, with 

 aquatic larv;e. L'ml. Carnivorous insects undergoing a complete metamorphosis, with terres- 

 trial or aquatic larva', .'hd. Carnivorous, or omnivorous and terrestrial insects, undergoing a 

 demi-metuniorphosis. -Ith, Herbivorous insects undergoing a comijlete metaninrphosis, v.ifli 

 aquatic larvie, eoustriicting for tliemse]\'es jiortable eases. We finish with such as lia\'e the 

 wings less net-like, and which resemble PhahcmE, or Moths. 



THE FIRST F.VIIILY OF THE XEUROPTERA,— 



The Sueulicones, Latr., — 

 Is composed of the order Odonata of Fabricius, and of his genus Ephemera. The antenna; are in the 

 form of an a\\l, scarcely longer than the head, 7-jointed at the most, the last being in the form of a 

 sefa. Tiie mandibles and maxillae are entirely covered by the hdiiiini and la'iinni, or by the anteiio'- 

 and aihaneed extremity of tlie head. The wings are always very inneh retienUued, extended some- 

 times horizontally and somelimes elevated per|iendicularly ; the posteiior are as laige as the anterior, 

 or sometimes sinaller, and even obsolete. In all, the ordinary eyes are large and very prominent, and 

 they have two or three ocelli situated between the preceding. They pass the first two stages of their 

 existence in the watei", wIhtc they feeil ii|inn living prey. 



The larvai and pnpic, of wlm'h the form ;i|)|n-o;iches that of the perfect insect, res[)ire by means of 

 peculiar organs, situated upon the sides of the aljdoinen, or at its extremit}'. They creep out of the 

 water in order to undergo tlieir tinal transformation. 



Some of them have the mandibles and niaxilliE corneous, very strong, and covered by the two lips ; 

 the tarsi are 3-jointcd ; the wings of equal size, and the posterior extremity of the body terminated 

 simp!}' by hooks, or leaf-like a})pendages. The;' funii the order Odvnnla, Fabricius ; or the genus 



LiBELLULA, Linna'us, [Dragon-flie« or -iddcr-holts]. 

 The slender form of the lioily, their varied colours, their large gauze-like wings, the rapidity of flight 

 ■with which they pursue other insects upon which they feed, easily distinguish these Neuropterous 

 insects. They have a large and rounded liead, or in the form of a broad triangle, two very large lateral 

 eyes — (see i\I. Cuvier's memoir on their eom[)osition in the Mrm. Je la Soc. d'lJi'jL NaL de Purls) — 

 three ocelli, situated upon the vertex ; two antenine, inserted upon the forehead behind a vesicidar 

 elevation, and composed, in the greater nuiuhii, of live or six joints, or three at least, of which the 

 last is compound, and becomes gradually slender like a style; the ujiper lip is seniicirenlar ; the two 

 mandibles scaly, very strong, and tootlicil ; tlie maxilhe are terminated Ijy a piece of ihe same consist- 

 ence, toothed, spined, and ediated on the inside with a palpus composed of a single joint applied upon 

 it dorsally, resembling the galea of the Orthoptera ; the under lip is large, and composed of three leaves ; 

 the lateral pair, being the labial palpi, greatly ddatcd ; a kiml of epiglottis, or elongated vesicular 

 tongue, in the interior of the mouth; the thorax thick and nmnded; the abdomen very long, and 

 ilattencd or cylindrie, terminated in the males by two lamellar a|ipemlagcs, of which the figure varies 



