124 



THE WINGS OF ORTHOPTERA 



The basal connections of the wing trachea. — It was found that in regard 

 to the basal connections of the wing trachege two quite different conditions 

 exist within this family. In some cockroaches (Fig. 1 1 6) a basal transverse 



Fig. ii6. — Fore wing of a nymph of a cockroach. (After C. & N.). 



trachea has not been developed; in these the medial trachea is a member 

 of the costo-radial group. In other cockroaches (Fig. 117), there is a well- 

 developed basal transverse trachea and the base of the medial trachea is far 

 advanced in its migration towards the cubito-anal group of tracheae. As 

 the significance of these facts is discussed in an earlier chapter (see p. 17), I 

 will not dwell upon them here. 



The costal trachea. — As yet very little data is available regarding the 

 costal trachea of cockroaches. In the wing represented by Figure 116, 

 there was a trachea in the humeral angle of the wing which may be the 

 costal trachea. But, although we labeled it as such, I do not feel sure that 

 this conclusion is correct, for this trachea may be merely a branch of the 

 subcostal trachea. In the wings represented by Figure 117 no costal 

 trachea was found. 



It is desirable that further studies should be made regarding the identity 

 of the costal trachea in this family and in the Mantidae as well. This is 

 especially important because Handlirsch ('o6-'o8) has proposed the estab- 

 lishment of distinct orders for these two families, the Blattoidea and the 

 Mantoidea. and has placed these orders with several other orders of insects 

 in a subclass of the Class Pterygogenea, the Blattasformia, distinct from the 

 subclass Orthopteroidea, in which the other families of the Orthoptcra and 

 certain other orders of insects arc placed; and in his charactcrizatit)ns of 

 the orders placed in the Blattseformia, he states that the costa is marginal, 

 and in the characterizations of the orders placed in the Orthopteroidea, he 

 states that the costa is distant from the costal margin of the wing. It is 

 obviously important to determine whether this distinction exists or not. 



