2 FRUIT INSECTS 



They have a horny or chitinous external skeleton or shell which 

 serves as a protection to the int(Tnal organs and as an attach- 

 ment for the muscles. This outc^r shell is divided into a series 

 of rings or segments. In inse(;ts the body is divided into three 

 well-defined regions, — head, thorax and abdomen (Fig. 1). 



f/fdi 



Therdx 



AhJo 



HindWin^ 



Fig. 1. 



V(!ritral view of a l)eetle. 



The head })ears a pair of (compound (^yes, two or three simple 

 eyes, a pair of antenna? and the mouth parts. The thorax is 

 composed of three segments and bears on the inner side three 

 pairs of legs, one pair to each segment, and on the upper side 

 two pairs of wings, a pair on each of the last two segments. 

 In the flies, only one pair of wings is present, the hind pair being 



