314 GLOSSARY. 



IcHNEUHGNms. — A family of Hymenopterous insects, the members 

 of which lay their eggs in the bodies or eggs of other insects. 



Imago.— The perfect (generally winged) reproductive state of an 

 insect. 



Lndigens. — The aboriginal animal or vegetable inhabitants of a 

 country or region. 



Inflorescence. — The mode of arrangement of the flowers of plants. 



Infusoria. — A class of microscopic Animalcules, so called from 

 their having originally been observed in infusions of vegetable 

 matters. They consist of a gelatinous material enclosed in a 

 delicate membrane, the whole or part of which is furnished with 

 short vibrating hairs (called cilia), by means of which the 

 animalcules swim through the water or convey the minute 

 particles of their food to the orifice of the mouth. 



Insectivorous. — Feeding on Insects. 



Invertebrata, or Invertebrate Animals. — Those animals which 

 do not possess a backbone or spinal column. 



Lacuna. — Spaces left among the tissues in some of the lower 

 animals, and serving in place of vessels for the circulation of the 

 fluids of the body. 



Lamellated. — Furnished with lamella or little plates. 



Larva (pi. Larv.e). — The first condition of an insect at its issuing 

 from the egg, when it is usually in the form of a grub, caterpillar, 

 or maggot. 



Larynx. — The upper part of the windpipe opening into the gullet. 



Laurentian. — A group of greatly altered and very ancient rocks, 

 which is greatly developed along the course of the St. Laurence, 

 whence the name. It is in these that the earliest known traces 

 of organic bodies have been found. 



Leguminosje. — An order of plants represented by the common Peas 

 and Beans, having an irregular flower in which one petal stands 

 up like a wing, and the stamens and pistil are enclosed in a 

 sheath formed by two other petals. The fruit is a pod (or 

 legume). 



Lemueid-£. — A group of four-handed animals, distinct from the 

 Monkeys and approaching the Insectivorous Quadrupeds in some 

 of their characters and habits. Its members have the nostrils 

 curved or twisted, and a claw instead of a nail upon the first 

 finger of the hind hands. 



Lepldoptera. — An order of Insects, characterised by the possession 



