32 
ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. 
is usually confined to the anterior pair of feet, rarely extending to the 
middle pair, and never to the hind ones; besides being limited exclu- 
sively to the males. 
Whilst some of the other orders ot insects excel the Coleoptera in the 
perfection of their instincts, no other order can be compared with them 
in the diversity of their food, and their corresponding habits and organ- 
ization. Indeed the Coleoptera combine, to a great, extent, the food- 
habits of all the other orders. The herbivorous habits of the Orthop- 
tera, the carnivorous habits of the Hemiptera, the aquatic habits of the 
Neuroptera, the honey-eating and the parasitic habits of the Mymenop- 
tera, the leaf-eating habits of the larvae of the Lepidoptera, and the 
putrivorous habits of the Diptera — all find their parallel in the ranks 
of the omnivorous Coleoptera. 
CLASSIFICATION OF TIIE COLEOPTERA. 
The Coleoptera are usually divided into four sections founded upon 
the number of joints in their tarsi, or feet. 
These sections may bo tabulated as follows: 
Sec. 1. Five joints in dll the tarsi - Pcntamcra. 3$** 
Sec. 2. Five joints in the anterior and middle tarsi, and four joints in the hind 
tarsi JJeteromera. i/o 
Sec. 3. Four joints in all the tarsi Tetramera. / 3LL 
Sec. 4. Throe joints in all the tarsi Tnmcra. /7 7 
These terms, except the second, are composed of the Greek nume- 
rals meaning respectively, /ire, four, and three, prefixed to a word 
ineauing parts or pieces. The prefix lietero, in the second section, means 
different. , 
As a general rule insects have five joints in their tarsi, and never 
more than five. This may, therefore, be regarded as the normal or typi- 
cal number, and a smaller number must be taken as an indication of in- 
feriority or degradation, using this word in its scientific sense. In ac- 
cordance with this view, the most perfect and highly organized beetles 
are found in the peutamerous section; and in those which have less 
than five joints, there is usually a little swelling at the base of the last 
joint, which is supposed to be a vestige of the missing joint. This cir- 
cumstance has led some authors to give more complex names to these 
sections, expressive of this character, but with the explanation here 
given we have preferred to retain the simpler nomenclature of Geotfroy 
and Latreille. 
SUGGESTIONS TO All) IN CLASSIFYING THE COLEOPTERA. 
The student will perceive that thej'primary division of Coleopterous 
insects is based upon the number of joints in their feet, or tarsi. This 
character, though apparently of trivial importance, is found to furnish 
an index to a more natural classification than can be established upon 
