George Vernon Hudson

“ The first requisite is a definition of what constitutes an INSECT.
An Insect is an articulate animal having the body divided into three distinct divisions, viz., the HEAD (Fig. I. A) , the THORAX (B) , and the ABDOMEN (C) . It is furnished with three pairs of legs, and generally has two pairs of wings, and to acquire this structure the creature passes through several changes, termed its metamorphoses. The head exhibits no distinct divisions, but bears the following appendages: the eyes, antennæ, and organs of the mouth, or trophi. ”

“ The breathing organs are distributed throughout the body in the form of numerous minute air-tubes, which are supplied with air from a variable number of apertures, situated on the sides of the insect, and termed spiracles. ”

“ The larva without legs, a distinct head being often absent. The pupa inactive, the limbs of the imago firmly attached to the body, but plainly visible. Among the majority of species included in this Order the larval skin is not cast away, but envelopes the insect in a hard shell; the true pupa is consequently only visible on the removal of this covering, when it is found to closely resemble those in which no such arrangement occurs. ”