■ 2 INSECTS AT HOME, 



i.pper part, or metanotum, and the legs to the lower part, oi 

 metasternum. 



We come now to the legs, the three pairs of which are repre- 

 sented successively at Figs. 11, 13, 15 ; the first pair being 

 called the anterior legs, the second the internr>ediate legs, and 

 the third the posterior legs. 



These legs are divided into several portions, which are 

 marked at Fig. 11. Beginning at the extremity of the limb, a 

 is the tarsus, or foot, which consists of several joints. There 

 are mostly five joints in the tarsns of Beetles, but in many 

 families one or two of the joints are so small as scarcely to be 

 visible, and only to be detected by a practised eye with the 

 aid of a lens. Next comes the tibia, or shank, which is shown 

 at b. Then follows the femur, or thigh, as seen at c. This 

 is attached to a small joint called the trochanter, which 

 is drawn at d ; and last comes the coxa, or the joint which 

 connects the limb with the thorax. The action of the coxa 

 is very curious, it being a kind of ball-and-socket joi'ut, but 

 with a limited range of movement, so that the leg? cannot 

 be spread too far. The same divisions of the joints aro found 

 in- the three sets of legs. 



We next come to the wings. The upper pair, or elytra, are 

 shown at Fig. 14. For convenience of description they are 

 marked into several divisions. Fig. 14a is the suture, or line 

 of junction between the two elytra. The apex is shown at c, 

 and the base at d. The middle, or disc, is marked e, and the 

 lateral margin is at b. Fig. 17 shows one of tlie wings ex- 

 panded, as if for flight; Fig. 18 is the opposite wing, repre- 

 sented as folded, and at Fig. 16 are shown both wings as they 

 appear when the elytra are removed. 



At first sight some of these terms may appear to be harsh, 

 repulsive, and difficult to master. In reality they are not so, 

 and a knowledge of them is absolutely necessary to anyone 

 who wishes to understand the description of an insect, and 

 himself to describe insects intelligibly. They form a kind 

 of shorthand by which knowledge can be rapidly communicated, 

 and the trouble taken in learning them is amply repaid by the 

 advantage gained by the student, even were the trouble multi- 

 plied tenfold. 



But, in reality, there is scarcely any trouble needed. If the 



