VI PREFACE. 



Nearly all of the wood-cuts have been engraved from 

 nature by the Junior Author. As the skill which she has 

 attained in this art has been acquired during the progress 

 of the work on this book, some of the earlier-made illustra- 

 tions do not fairly represent her present standing as an 

 engraver. But it does not seem worth while to delay the 

 appearance of the book in order to re-engrave these figures; 

 especially as it is believed that they will not be found lack- 

 ing in scientific accuracy. The generous appreciation which 

 the best engravers have shown towards the greater part of 

 the work leads us to hope that it will be welcomed as an 

 important addition to entomological illustrations. 



Although the chief work of the Junior Author has been 

 with the pencil and graver, many parts of the text are from 

 her pen. But in justice to her it should be said that the 

 plan of the book was changed after she had finished her 

 writing. It was intended at first to make the book of a 

 much more elementary nature than it is in its final form. 

 It has seemed best, however, to leave these parts as written 

 in order that the work may be of interest to a wider range 

 of readers than it would be were it restricted to a uniform 

 style of treatment. 



The figures illustrating the venation of the wings of in- 

 sects have been drawn with great care under the writer's 

 direction by Mr. E. P. Felt and Mr. R. H. Pettit. About 

 one half of those in the chapter on Lepidoptera were drawn 

 by Mr. Felt ; the others in this chapter and those in the 

 chapters on Diptera and Hymenoptera were drawn by Mr. 

 Pettit. 



I wish also to acknowledge the help of my Assistant Mr. 

 A. D. MacGillivray, to whom I am indebted for much aid in 

 bibliographical researches and in many other ways ; also, 

 that of Dr. A. C. White of the Cornell University Library, 

 who has generously given much time to determining the 

 etymologies of many of the more obscure words the pro- 

 nunciations of which are indicated in the text. 



