ENTOMOLOGY. 



655 



Order III. Lepidoftera, (from tems, a scale, and 

 ■7r~lt$n, a wing.') Insects having four wings imbricated 

 with scales. Examples, butterflies and moths. 



Order IV. Neuroptera, (from ftvger, a nerve, and 

 y?ef«ii, a wing.) Insects having four transparent naked 

 wings, reticulated with veins or nerves. Examples, libcl- 

 lulse, or dragon-flies, 8cc. 



Order V. Hymenoptera, (from if*.w>, a membrane, 

 and ?r7«fov, a wing.) Insects with four naked and mem- 

 branaceous wings. Examples, bee, wasp, &c. 



Order VI. Diptera, (from fin. two, and »r7(fo», a 

 wing.) Insects with two wings, as gnats, flies, gadflies, &c. 



Order VII. Aptera, (from «, without, and *7f$0i>, a 

 wing.) Includes all insects without wings, as spiders,* 

 crabs, lice, Sec. 



The great perspicuity of Linnaeus's System of Ento- 

 mology, arose from its author having made choice of the 

 most obvious, characters which insects afford for the 

 leading distinctions of his orders. In the construction 

 of his genera, he has taken his characters from the parts 

 of the head alone, paying particular attention to the form, 

 situation, and structure of the antennae or horns ; these 

 parts being conspicuous in most insects, and so infinitely 

 varied in their appearance, as to constitute, with few ex- 

 ceptions, a permanent distinction. That there are other 

 characters which, in the opinion of later entomologists, 

 are better adapted to the purpose of classification, the 

 reader must be aware ; but these, although really pre- 

 ferable, arc perhaps too minute to become always useful 

 to the student; yet to the man of science, who is really 

 willing to learn and study entomology as a science, there 

 can be no doubt as to the superiority of the modern sys- 

 tems, although we are ready to allow that the characters 

 from the mouth are not so well calculated to further the 

 views of the superficial observer, as those proposed by 

 Lime ; the simplicity of his arrangement, the celebrity 

 of his name, and the princely patronage under which he 

 wrote, conspired, with other favourable circumstances, 

 to render the science more universally cultivated, ad- 

 mired, and respected, about his time, than it appeal's to 

 have been at any former period. Much credit is un- 

 doubtedly due to this great man for his entomological 

 labours; but as we have stated before, when speaking of 

 Aristotle, he is not alone entitled to our commendation 

 for the arrangement he has proposed ; wc must acknow- 

 ledge the merits of his predecessors, who wrote under 

 less favourable circumstances, but nevertheless excelled 

 in this department of science ; men to whom Linne stands 

 in a very high degree indebted, and without the aid of 

 which it is impossible to imagine the system which now 

 commands our respect. In the works of Aristotle and 

 Pliny, in those of Aldrovandus, Swammerdam, Ray, Wil- 

 loughby, Lister, and various others, (whose works we 

 have noticed), we perceive, with some variations, the 

 grand outline on which he has formed his system. It 

 was from these valuable sources that he gained the ma- 

 terials, from which he selected, with profound judgment, 

 and the greatest success, the valuable matter, carefully 

 and industiiously separating the dross. The characters 

 of his orders and genera also are to be found in several 

 earlier publications, as are descriptions of several of the 

 species. But he has concentrated these scattered rays of 

 science with so much skill and industry, that we must 

 admit that to him alone the science is indebted for that 

 firm foundation on which it now rests. His style through- 

 out is concise and expressive, but in many instances it is 



so laconic, that it is impossible even to guess at the ani- 

 mals described. 



In 1768, was published in Paris, Bomare Dictionaire 

 raisonne universel d' Histoire JVaturelle, 4to 



In 1769, in three volumes 4to. Ejusdem Icones Insec- 

 torum circa Hatisbonum Indigcnorum, iic. Rcgensburg, 

 by Snaeffer. 



And in the same year, at Lcipsic, was published, in 

 octavo, J. A. Scopoli Anni Historico Miturates. 



Also Dr John Berkenhout, M. D. published the first 

 edition of his Outlines of the A r alural History of Great 

 Britain. That portion containing insects is very limitedf 

 treating of no more than six bunded species, which are 

 arranged after the Linnaean system. Notwithstanding 

 the small number of species enumerated, this little work 

 has tended materially to advance the study of entomo- 

 logy in Great Britain. Since the publication of the above, 

 three or four other editions have appeared. 



In 1770, J. R. Forstcr published, at Warrington, in 

 octavo, A Catalogue of British Inserts, a mere list of La- 

 tin names, amounting to about 1000 species, the greatest 

 number hitherto enumerated. This was intended as a 

 Prodromus to a general work on the insects of Britain, 

 as we learn from the preface, in which the author offers 

 duplicates in exchange for any not in his collection. 



In this year also, D. Drury published a very beautiful 

 work in one volume, containing comprehensive descrip- 

 tions in English and French, with an index of Linnaean 

 names, illustrated by coloured copperplates, entitled, 

 Illustrations of Natural History, wherein are exhibited 

 Figures of exotic Insects, &c. The plates forma mis- 

 cellaneous assemblage of the more beautiful extra Eu- 

 ropean insects, which the extensive collection of its 

 author afforded. Three years after the publication of the 

 first volume, a second appeared; and the third, which 

 concludes the work as far as it proceeded, appeared in 

 1782. Besides those figured and described in the three 

 volumes published, the extensive cabinet of Mr Drury 

 contained many choice specimens, reserved as materials 

 for a fourth volume, amongst which were a vast number 

 of curious species, collected in the interior of Africa, and 

 other parts of the world, rarely visited by Europeans, 

 the introduction of which would have rendered this vo- 

 lume, (which was never published), of much greater in- 

 terest to entomologists in general, than cither ol the 

 preceding. We may observe, that Mr Drury's cabinet 

 was one of the most extensive ever made, and is said to 

 have contained in species and varieties, no less than 

 11.000 insects, (in his time the largest collection,) which 

 he obtained by transmitting printed directions and in- 

 structions, in various languages, for gathering and pre- 

 serving insects, offering sixpence an insect for all insects, 

 " from the size of a honey-bee upwards." His museum 

 of entomology was disposed of, in London, by public 

 auction, and produced about six hundred pounds. One 

 insect, vis. Scarabaus Goliathus, (Goliathus magnus) 

 was purchased by Mr Donovan, for twelve guineas and 

 a half, who obtained also all the British insects, (which 

 were very numerous,) collected by Mr Drury, and now 

 enrich his splendid museum. 



And in this year also, G. A. Harrer's Beschreiburg dcr- 

 jenigen Insecten welche Herr D. J. Christoph. Schaeffer 

 in eclxxx ausgemahllen kufifertafcln herausgtgcbcn hat. 

 Regensburg, octavo. 



In 1771, John Reinhold Forstcr published Nov* 



• The crabs auU spiders are now considered as constituting- two distinct classes. Se our article Chustaceology. 



