ORTHOPTERA. 



The name Orthoptera, which is given to the group 

 containing the grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, cockroaches, 

 etc., means straight-winged, and alludes to the general 

 course of the veins of the wings of most forms. This is, 

 however, not a feature of great importance, for indeed we 

 find species which are absolutely lacking in wings, but 

 which are, in other respects, so closely related to the 

 grasshoppers that they too must be included in the Orthop- 

 tera. When we take all of these Orthopterous forms we 

 see that they agree in a number of points, some of which 

 may be mentioned. The jaws are strong and fitted for 

 biting hard substances; the antennae are usually long and 

 thread-like; ocelli are always present; the prothorax moves 

 freely on the meso thorax; the abdomen is ten-jointed, and 

 it usually bears on its tenth somite movable cerci; the 

 ovipositor is large and cannot be withdrawn into the abdo- 

 men; the anterior wings serve as covers for the second 

 pair, and these last are folded longitudinally, when at rest, 

 like a fan. 



Besides these points, which should have been made out 

 by the student, there is another feature not readily discovered 

 in the classroom. The young Orthopteran hatches from 

 the egg with all the legs and segments of the adult, which 

 it resembles much in general appearance, except in the 

 following particulars : it is smaller in size, with a dispro- 

 portionately large head, and it lacks the wings characteristic 

 of the full-grown form. It is most voracious, and with 



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