$8 THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



The subject of external anatomy of insects consists very 

 largely in a study of the scierites of which the different seg- 

 ments of the body and of its appendages are composed. 

 This part of the subject is quite difficult, and will not be 

 discussed here. It is treated at length in a more advanced 

 text-book by the senior author.* 



FIG. 70. Side-view of Locust with wings FIG. 71. Wasp, with 



. . , 



ved head, thorax, and 



abdomen separated. 



remo 



The segments of the body in a fully developed insect are 

 grouped into three regions : head, thorax, and abdomen 

 (Fig. 71). In the larval state this grouping of the segments 

 is not well shown. 



The Head and its Appendages. 



The head is the first of the three regions of the body. 

 It is supposed to be formed of several body-segments grown 

 together ; but entomologists differ in their views as to the 

 number of segments that have entered into its composition. 

 The head bears the compound eyes, the simple eyes, the 

 antennae, and the mouth-parts. 



The Compound Ryes. On each side of 

 the head of an adult insect is an organ, 

 which is recognized at once as an eye. 

 But when one of these eyes is examined 

 with a microscope it is found to present 



IG. 72. - Part of com- ...... - , . 



pound eye, greatly en- an appearance very different from that of 

 the eye of higher animals ; its surface 

 is divided into a large number of six-sided divisions 



* An Introduction to Entomology by John Henry Comstock Published 

 by the Comstock Publishing Co., Ithaca, N. Y. 



