CHAPTER III. 



dMBULATOIUA, OR WALKING-STICK INSECTS. 



This group, like the preceding, is composed of a single family, 

 called Phasmidae. The term is taken from a Greek word signi- 

 fying a ghost or spectre, and is applied to the insects on account 

 of the spectral appearance which many of them possess. 



Formerly, the Phasmidie were arranged with the Mantidae, the 

 relationship between the two groups being easily seen. There 

 are, however, distinctions between them which quite justify 

 their separation. In the first place, the Phasmidae do not possess 

 the armed raptorial legs which are so characteristic of the 

 Mantidae. The mode of depositing the eggs is quite different; 

 for, whereas the eggs of the Mantidse are enclosed in a common 

 envelope, such as has already been described, those of the Phas- 

 midae are laid separately, and are very large and thick-walled 

 when compared with those of the previous group. The eggs of 

 one of the best known species will be presently described at 

 length. From the Crickets and Grasshoppers the Phasmidae are 

 at once distinguished by their slender hind legs, which are made, 

 not for leaping, but for walking. 



Some of the Phasmidae are of enormous size — veritable giants 

 among insects, and look so -formidable, even when dead and 

 dried, that many persons will not venture to touch them without 

 a sort of mental shock. 



Many of these insects are entirely wingless, and even when 

 these organs exist, their structure is very curious. The elytra 

 are always very small ; and as the wings are broad, ample, ami 

 able to sustain the heavy, long-bodied insect in the air, they are 

 utterly useless for protection. Yet the delicate, gauzy wings 

 need some protection, which is afforded by the wing itself. In 



