IXSECT LIFE 95 



The plans for the next addition to the Museum building include a 

 large hall to contain whales and other marine animals. 



In the railing cases are exhibits which aim to give the visitor a general 

 view of the enormous class of insects. This series is, at present, being 

 extended and improved. When finished, it will include representatives 

 of all the principal families, exotic as well as native. A special exhibit of 

 the common butterflies near New York City, another of the "Moths of 

 the Limberlost " and another of spider webs have been installed. There 

 is also one showing butterflies found in North Temperate America. 

 Species from the eastern United States are arranged with extracts from 

 Dr. Lutz's "Field Book of Insects" as labels. Exotic insects will be added 

 later. There are nearly half a million species of insects in the world so 

 that, even when finished, this series can contain only a small part of the 

 total. Furthermore, many of the species would fade rapidly if exposed to 

 the light. The general study collection of insects is on the fifth floor, and 

 while it is not on exhibition, the curators will be glad to show it to visitors 

 who can make use of it. See the Southeast Pavilion for the study collec- 

 tion of local insects. 



Southeast Pavilion 

 HALL OF INSECT LIFE 



Proceeding east, we enter the Insect Hall. The installations in this 

 hall point out the relationships, through origin and mode of life, of insects 

 to each other and to the other members of the Animal Kingdom, espe- 

 Insect Life cially to man. The exhibits are arranged in a continuous 

 series, and are numbered so that we can easily follow the 

 plan beginning at the pillar farthest to the left and making two complete 

 circuits of the hall. 



First is an introductory section illustrating by diagrams the impor- 

 tance of insects as shown (a) by the large number of species compared 

 Importance with other animals [there are more species of insects 

 of Insects than of all other animals put together] and (b) by their 

 great influence on human interests. In the United States the economic 

 loss by insects is more than five times as great as by fire, and there 

 are more than twelve times as many deaths from insect-borne diseases 

 as from railroad accidents. On the other hand, many of our crops and 

 all beautiful flowers are largely dependent upon pollination by insects. 



Following this are a number of sections illustrating the anatomy of 

 Classification insects, explaining the terms used in the classification 

 of Insects of insects, and exhibiting typical examples of the principal 

 families. 



