HEMIPTERA. 135 



APHIDID.E. 



Specimens of Aphis can often be obtained on house- 

 plants. They have bodies as green as the vegetation 

 upon which they feed, so that those who attempt to 

 destroy them soon find out that their color is a means 

 of protection. Fig. 8i represents a mature winged 

 female. The rings of the thorax are not fused to- 

 gether, but can be seen distinctly under the micro- 



Fig. 8i. 



scope. The wings, as in other insects, are attached 

 to the mesothorax and metathorax.^ Fig. 82 is a 

 wingless and larval female in which the thoracic re- 

 gion is slightly differentiated from the abdominal, hav- 

 ing three distinct segments. 



The antennae in both forms are long. The sucking- 



1 Distinguished entomologists have said that both pairs of 

 wings are attached to the mesothorax. This is probably an 

 error due to the concentration of the rings of that part of the 

 body in some of the smaller species. Properly prepared micro- 

 scopical preparations should be made if teachers wish to dem- 

 onstrate this fact. 



