INSECTS. 
THE INSECTS, to which we must devote a few pages, afford the first 
examples of the Articulata, z.2., the jointed animals without vertebre. Their 
bodies are composed of a series of rings, and they are separated into at least 
two and mostly three portions ; the head being distinct from the body. They 
pass through a series of changes before attaining the perfect form ; and when 
they have reached adult age they always possess six jointed legs, neither 
more nor less, and two antenne, popularly called horns or feelers. 
In most instances their preliminary forms, technically called the larva and 
pupa, are extremely unlike the perfect Insect ; but there are some in which, 
at all events externally, they retain the same shape throughout their entire 
life. The whole of the growth takes place in the preliminary stages, so that 
the perfect insect never grows, and the popular idea that a little insect is 
necessarily a young one is quite incorrect. 
Insects breathe in a very curious manner. They have no lungs nor gills, 
but their whole body is permeated with a network of tubes, through which, 
the air is conveyed, and by means of which the blood is brought into contact 
with the vivifying influence of the atmosphere. These breathing tubes, 
technically called trachee, ramify to every portion of the creature, and 
penetrate to the extremities of the limhs, the antennz, and even thé wings, 
when those organs exist. Their external orifices are called spiracles, and are 
set along the sides. 
They have very little internal skeleton, the hard materials which protect 
the soft vital organs being placed on the exterior, and forming a beautiful coat 
of mail, so constructed as to defend the tender portions within, and yet to 
permit perfectly free motion on the part of the owner. 
There are many other interesting points in the structure of the Insects, 
such as the eyes, the wings, the trachez, &c., which will be described in the 
course of the following pages. 
The first order is called the Coleoptera, a word of Greek origin, signifying 
sheathed winged animals, and includes all those insects which are more 
popularly known under the title of Beetles. In these insects the front pair 
of wings are modified into stout horny or leathery cases, under which the 
second pair of wings are folded when not in use. The hinder pair of wings 
are transparent and membranous in their structure, and when not employed 
are arranged under the upper pair, technically called the elytra, by folds in 
two directions, one being longitudinal and the other transverse. The mouth 
is furnished with jaws, often of considerable power, which move horizontally. 
PASSING over the details of classification, we come to the first family of 
Insects, scientifically called the Cicindelida, and popularly known by the 
name of TIGER BEETLES, or Sparklers, both names being very appropriate ; 
the former on account of their exceeding voracity, their ferocious habits, and 
the wonderful activity of their movements ; and the latter in allusion to the 
brilliancy of their colours as they flash along in the sunshine. These Beetles 
are represented by several British species, among which the common TIGER 
BEETLE (Cicindela campestris) is the most common, and perhaps the most 
beautiful. Well does this little creature deserve its popular name ; for what 
the dragon-fly is to the air, what the shark is to the sea, the Tiger Beetle is 
to the earth; running with such rapidity that the eye can hardly follow its 
course ; armed with jaws like two reapers’ sickles crossing each other at the 
points ; furnished with eyes that project from the sides of the head and per- 
