CHAPTER XIX 



INSECTA (continued) 



Order IV. : RHYNCOTA OR HEMIPTERA (BUGS) 



THE various species of bugs form an order of Insects to which 

 two separate names . have been applied, each of which has 



reference to a different 

 special characteristic found 

 in its members. 



The name Rhyncota 

 (rhynchos, a beak or snout) 

 refers to the peculiar ros- 

 trum or beak which, when 

 not in use, is bent under 

 the body, and therefore can- 

 not be seen except from 

 below or in a side-view, as 

 in Fig. 203. This beak in 



some forms is half as long as the body. It is a sheathing 

 structure formed from the upper and lower lips (labrum and 

 labium), and it encloses four bristle-like lancets, two of which 

 are, however, frequently fused together. These lancets 

 probably correspond to the fused maxillae and the mandibles 

 of other insects. 



The name Hemiptem (hemi, half ; pteron, a wing) refers to 

 a characteristic of the first of the two pairs of wings, which, 

 however, is not constant throughout the order. In those 

 possessing it, the outer halves of the two front wings are 

 membranous, whilst the basal halves are firmer and form 

 wing-covers, resembling those of beetles. This characteristic 

 is also conveniently taken as the basis of a subdivision of the 



276 



FIG. 203.-The Pond Skater (Gen*), 

 on the Surface of the Water. 



b, Rostrum or beak. 



