Field book of insects

Front matter

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Preface

I am glad to have this opportunity of thanking those who have kindly responded to the request made on page 523 for criticisms and suggestions. As far as seemed practicable, they have been acted upon in this edition. All typographical errors that have been noticed in the body of the book are now corrected and new matter has been put in the appendix. In addition to short notes on a variety of subjects, there is an extensive key for determining the order to which an insect, adult or immature, belongs, a key to the families of beetles, another to wild bees, and notes to help in the identification of caterpillars.

The Field Book of Insects was intended for individuals, but so many teachers have used it in their classes that it may not be amiss to indicate a pedagogical point of view that influenced the choice of material. Certain families or groups of species were selected in each of the important orders for more detailed attention on the theory that it is well to "know a little about many things and much about a few." In beetles, for example, a general survey is given of the order and the Long-horns received an "unfair" amount of space; in the True Flies it is the SyrphidcB and the various House Flies; in Hymenoptera it is the Bumble Bees; and in

PREFACE.

Lepidoptera it is the Butterflies (exclusive of Skippers) and the Saturnid Moths. I have found that such a combination of general and special study has been very profitable and I hope that teachers — those in regular classes as well as those in such organizations as the Boy Scouts, the Woodcraft League, and the Agassiz Association — may find it equally so. The groups given more detailed treatment were selected partly on the basis of general interest and partly because their study did not involve technicalities that would be likely to discourage the amateur.

The request for suggestions tending to make the book more interesting and more helpful to you still stands and is sincere.

Frank E. Lutz, '

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Contents

Introduction ....

Collecting and Preserving Insects

The Control of Injurious Insects Chiefly about Spiders Insects ....