down in the “ Ordines et Genera Insectorum,” or Systematic Arrangement
of Insects, by the celebrated Linnæus.
Insects vary in their size, have six or more legs, with mostly a
hard^ and glossy skin,~ apd|rqspire: through pores, placed along
their sides.
Their body comprehends a bead, a trunk, an abdomen, and
limbs. The head has no brain, and though without ears, they are,
by some peculiar organization, spsceptiblêSff sôuhds; in the same
manner, though destitute of nostrils, they possess the sensation of
smelling, as is evident from numbers of certain species of insects
being found collected near, or upon an agreeable or foetid spl^=,
stance., n
, : Three hemispheric dbtsi jor, tubercles, called Stemmata(-(or gems,i
appear, ,on the upperpart of theihëa'd, as in most of the, Hymendp-e
fera, and others. .
.„The head im generafis distihet from the trunk,to. which ibis attached
by a slender joint.
. The greater part are furnished, with two eyes, which are either,
simple or compound, z. «/composed of one, .or more lenses. •,
Nature has, given them, in 'général, two.moveable/antennae,;
formed of an indefinite number of articulations growing from their
heads; these are extremely tenacious of feeling; and their forms
various. They are either,
Setaceous, or gradually tapering towai"ds their points.
Filiform, or like a thread of equal thickness.
. Monilifonn, resembling a necklace.; ; luiiic dire ' ' '
Climated, or club/wise,'growing thicker from the base to the point.
Cafntaled, of iriefOasitig in thickfièS^ho the'éxtreïflify; the last
joint being'cOttsidetably larger and rounder than1 thel!rëst.1
Fissile;simitar to the'last; ;but:,tliëKhead;ör.ektréinè'Joint is divided
longitudinally into different païts,1 or laminae, as in thé' Sca-
rabaei.
Pectinated; or comb-wise, having'lateral appèndiéës, as in Softié
of the moths,‘and elaterès.
Bearded, or like a fèatthér.
When the antennae are not so long aS the bödy, they èfë termed
bfevi&res1, or short ; mediocres, Or-middling,' ‘when 'óf 'éqüaï'lëhgth ;
and longiores, Or long, when longer than the body.11
In most of them* the mouth is under the 'hèa'd ; in1 some few'; it is
placed in the breast:: thé-inouth contains the 'palpi, 'ór fëélërs, thé
maxillae, Or jaws, and the lingua, or tongue;' It ife obsëivable; some
insects have no mouth.
: The 'iprOboscis, or rostrum, is- thé mouth éxtèndëd, ’ending in a
point: in sonde, it inclines' towards the breast; as in the fcichdh, hépa,
notonecta, ciinex; aphis, and more particularly in some curculiones.
The palpi, or feelers, aremostly from four’ to six innumber, generally
articulated, and with which théy ’Support their fóod;JLi:
Some'inseC’ts have' only two’ maxillae; Or 'jaws ; s'ómé'-'foui4: !'in
others theyexceed that number.’ These aré fixed'hbrizoiitally'; the
innér edges' in some being jdggëd/'Appëarihgdikë fèeth.
Thé 1 ïngua; ör tongue, in tlré butterfly is taper arid^sptral' iri tlfë
musea fly; it is tubular aftd; fleshy;1like a proboscis.1 ’’Many in'sects
have no tongue, but instead, usedhëir feët órwihgs. -
Truncus, the trunk, is thatpart'-between'thé'head aind abdomen';