RELATIONS AND DIVISIONS OP THE CLASS INSECTA. 9 
The word “insect,” meaning “divided/’ is applicable 
to nearly all the Arthropoda, so far as a name extends, 
but it has, in many languages, been given to the class 
to which it now belongs ; the Latin insecta, Greek 
entoma, French insectc, and German insecten, having 
all the same signification. At one time the Crustacea, 
Arachnida, and Myriapoda were included with the 
Insecta under the same name, as they possess several 
characters in common ; as a rule we may say that in no 
other animals do so many pxternal changes take place as 
in the Insecta; first the egg, then the caterpillar, moult- 
ing its skin and changing appearance and size several 
times, next the pupa or chrysalis, and finally the imago 
or perfect insect : yet even this cannot be laid down as 
a general rule, as the metamorphoses of one or two 
groups are incomplete, and in the aberrant groups 
Collembola and Thysanura are practically nil ; it must 
be admitted, however, that these last-mentioned 
groups are by many authors regarded as outside the 
pale of the Insecta, and are only placed among them 
in order that they may not be omitted altogether. It 
may be remarked that the great number of species 
of insects, their multiplicity of form, and the high 
development of parts in some, accompanied by the 
habitual exercise of the most profound instinct, would 
almost seem to warrant their holding a better rank 
than at present accorded to them ; with regard to the 
Ants, Sir John Lubbock (“Ants, Bees, and Wasps,” 
p. 1) remarks as follows : — “ The Anthropoid apes no 
doubt approach nearer to man in bodily structure than 
do any other animals ; but when we consider the habits 
of Ants, their social organization, their large com- 
munities and elaborate habitations; their roadways, 
