Abstract
AMID all the discussions to which the question of the Origin of Insects has given rise, it is to me surprising that one of the most ingenious and remarkable theories ever put forth on a question of natural history has not been so much as once alluded to. More than six years ago, Mr. Herbert Spencer published, in his “Principles of Biology,” a view of the nature and origin of the annulose type of animals, which goes to the very root of the whole question; and, if this view is a sound one, it must so materially affect the interpretation of all embryological and anatomical facts bearing on this great subject, that those who work in ignorance of it can hardly hope to arrive at true results. I propose, therefore, to lay before you a brief sketch of Mr. Spencer's theory, with the hope of calling attention to it, and inducing some of you to take up what seems to me to be a most promising line of research; and, although the question is one on which I feel quite incompetent to form a sound judgment, I shall call your attention to the light which it seems to throw on some of the most curious anomalies of insect structure.
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Wallace on the Origin of Insects . Nature 5, 350–351 (1872). https://doi.org/10.1038/005350a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/005350a0