1623. Three principal modes of arrangement of the insect tribes have been adopted by naturalists. Swammerdam took the variations of the metamorphoses of insects as the grounds of his classification; Linnï¾µus regarded the differences in the structure and number of the wings as of primary importance; whilst Fabricius considered the modifications of form in the parts of the mouth (indicating, of course, corresponding differences in the mode of feeding, and nature of the food of the different tribes,) as affording the most natural characters for the distribution of these animals. These different modes of classification are named the metamorphotic, alary, and cibarian systems; and their modifications or combinations form the groundwork of the arrangements of all subsequent authors.
