Little Brown & Company
2001

Ages 9-12
ORDER: HARDCOVER

For centuries, entomologists (the scientists who study insects) have researched the bodies of insects to categorize them and place them in large groups called orders.

The system used by entomologists was created in 1758 by Swedish naturalist and botanist, Carolus Linnaeus, who some consider the greatest botanist of all time. Linnaeus was able to place plants and animals into groups by comparing their body parts.

Nine of the most familiar orders of insects are included in this book. There are twenty-eight orders in all. “They are presented in the sequence that many scientists think they first appeared on earth. From the well-known backyard bug to its less familiar exotic cousin, looking at insects the way entomologists do can help us to understand some of the most fascinating creatures in the world.”

This page shows a Dog-day Cicada (they make loud buzzing sounds during the summer) which is part of the Homoptera (means “similar wings” in Green) group which also includes such creatures as treehoppers, leafhoppers and spittlebugs. Homoptera are closely related to true bugs. Many have four wings, though they are completely transparent.