114 OUTLINES OF ENTOMOLOGY. 



are either short, stout and few-jointed, or very long and slender with 

 an indefinite number of indistinct joints. 



In these insects we find the mouth parts particularly well devel- 

 oped, and adapted for biting and masticating solid food. The mandi- 

 bles are short, but broad and strong, with a toothed cutting edge ; the 

 maxillae are adapted to the office of holding the food in place, in which 

 the two pairs of mouth-feelers (palpi) assist ; the lower lip (labium) 

 forms the floor to the mouth, and the unusually long and broad labrum 

 closes over the other mouth parts like a true lip, when the insect is not 

 feeding. The pro-thorax only appears on the upper side of the body, 

 and in a great majority of the species it is more or less saddle-shaped, 

 often with a longitudinal ridge on top. There is much variation in the 

 length, thickness and character of the surface of the legs, which are 

 adapted for running, jumping, burrowing, grasping and other uses. 

 The wing-covers are composed of strong membrane more or less thick- 

 ened and opaque, in which the venation is peculiar to the species. 

 They usually over-lap at the bases or for their entire length, and either 

 lie flat upon the back or are concave, and enclose the sides also like a 

 pod. The under wings are very broad, in many species composed of 

 transparent, but closely net-veined membrane. A few kinds display in 

 life various beautiful colors, which shortly disappear in cabinet speci- 

 mens. When not in use these wings are folded in fan-like plaits and 

 hidden under the upper pair. In the hind body we can count eight or 

 nine distinct segments, attached to the last of which are the variously 

 shaped claspers of the males, and the equally varied ovipositing organs 

 of the females. On the under side of this part of the body the protect- 

 ing crust seems thinner and more flexible than elsewhere, and expands 

 and contracts with the inhalation and exhalation of air. 



The Orthoptera are very voracious in all stages of their develop- 

 ment, and while the majority feed on growing vegetation, others are 

 predaceous, and a cohsiderable number are serious household pests, 

 on account of their preference for the contents of pantries and the 

 offal of kitchens. 



The transformations are incomplete, and the young differ from the 

 mature insects even less than young bugs differ from those that have 

 acquired the perfect form. 



There is considerable confusion in the terms applied to some of 

 the groups in this Order. Thus the true locusts are very generally 

 called "grasshoppers," while the term "locust" is in this country ap- 

 plied to the Periodical Cicada. Again, all the more conspicuous forms 

 included by entomologists among " grasshoppers " are not found on 

 grass at all, but inhabit the tops of the tallest trees. Xor does this 



