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92 INSECT LIFE 

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 and another of the ‘‘ Moths 
of the Limberlost”’ have been installed. There is also one showing 
butterflies found in North Temperate America. 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 collection 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- 
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. 
Insect Life 
First is an introductory section illustrating by diagrams the impor- 
tance of insects as shown (a) by the large number of species 
compared with other animals [there are more species of 
insects than of all other animals put together] and (b) by 
Importance of 
Insects 
- their great influence on human interests. In the United States, the eco- 
nomic 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 
insects, explaining the terms used in the classification 
of insects, and exhibiting typical examples of the principal 
families. 
Classification 
of Insects 
