INSECT LIFE 99 



The plans for the next addition to the Museum l)uilding 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 exjDosed 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 

 Insect Life . 



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 

 po ance o compared with other animals [there are more species of 

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

 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. 

 Follo\\ang this are a number of sections illustrating the anatomy of 

 insects, explaining the terms used in the classification 

 ass ion of insects, and exhibiting typical examples of the principal 

 families. 



