HEMIPTERA 



OR, 



HETEROPTERA. 



Both these titles are used as names of the next order of insects, 

 and both are appropriate. The former word signifies " half- wings," 

 because the upper pair, which are analogous to the elytra of the 

 Beetles, are partly hard and opaque, and partly membranous 

 and diaphonous. The word Heteroptera signifies " different 

 wing," and is given to the insects because the upper wings are 

 partly opaque and partly transparent. 



The mouth of these insects is modified into a piercing and 

 sucking apparatus which may be called its beak ; and there are 

 some species in which the beak is so sharp and strong that it 

 can inflict a wound on the human skin which, for a time, is 

 nearly as painful as the sting of a wasp. Details of this organ 

 may be found in " Insects at Home." 



We will now pass to the foreign species of Hemiptera, taken 

 in the order which they occupy in the British Museum, which 

 arrangement can but be considered as a provisional one. 



Of all the variable creatures in the world, commend me to 

 the insect called Cimex (or Tectocorix) Banksii. It has a very 

 wide range of locality, having been taken in Java, New Cale- 

 donia, Australia, Timor, the Celebes, and Tonga. 



The specimen which is here figured is coloured as follows. 

 The ground colour of the insect is yellowish brown, and the 

 marks upon the elytra are either blue or green, according to the 

 light, and are glossed with gold. The marks on the thorax are 



