This paper is the first of a series in which it is proposed, by members of the edirorial staff alternately, to describe some of our more common insects, to illustrate them with suitable cuts, and to make the descriptions of so plain a character that the most unscientific reader may be able readily to comprehend their meaning. Since it is one of our aims in publishing the Entomologist to popularize our favorite science, we shall offer no apology for introducing into our journal these readable papers, in which much material may from time to time appear, which, to the scientific reader, may look stale and uninviting.