76 



ENTOMOLOGY. 



into its separate segments, dissect the hind body or abdomen 



from the thorax, and study these parts with the aid of Fig. 



60, always remembering to compare each part with its corre- 

 sponding part in the grasshopper. 

 It will be seen that the bug has, 

 besides a pair of compound eyes, 

 two simple eyes behind; and that 

 it takes its food by suction, plung- 

 ing its long slender beak into the 

 stems of plants or into the flesh 

 of its victim. This beak is the 

 distinctive mark of the bugs, 

 which thus differ from other in- 

 sects in their manner of taking 

 their food. It is formed of the 

 long, slender, needle-like mandibles 

 and maxillas, which are united so 

 as to form a hollow sucking-tube. 

 The tube thus formed is ensheathed 

 bvthe under lip {labium), which is 



^howin^Sf^ruetureVufe long, hollow, and composed of four 

 ffiVwhi4 he coffis ta t^ joints. Above, the sucking-tube is 



bristle-likemandibles(md)and protected by the labriim (FigS. 61 

 maxillas (mx), whose bases are r J \ & 



shown by the dotted lines in an( J_ Q9 //,/•). Another distinguisll- 

 the head; Ibr, labrum; ant, , ■,.,-, t • 



antenna. nig mark is that bugs have no palpi, 



either maxillary or labial. 



There are estimated to be nearly 10,000 species of bugs 

 in North America, all having a beak; and through their 

 different kinds of food and habits there is a chance for the 

 individuals of each species to get a living. 



The bugs also differ from other insects, and somewhat 

 anticipate the beetles, in the large broad prothorax, and 

 in the fore wings, which are thickened at the base so as to 

 protect the thin under pair. Since the basal half of the 

 fore wings is thus thickened, the bngs are called Hemiptera, 

 from hernia half, and pteron, wing. 



Like the grasshopper, the bugs have an incomplete meta- 



