162 THE ADVENTURES OF 



Tabus family. Lucien caught on a shrub some insects of a 

 very peculiar shape ; at the first glance, Sumichrast recog- 

 nized them as tettigones. 



" These insects belong to the Hemeptera family," said he, 

 " therefore they are allied to the bug and the grasshopper ; 

 these insects have neither mandibles* nor jaws ; their 

 mouth is a sort of beak, formed of a jointed tube extend- 

 ing along the breast, which you can see very plainly. This 

 order is a very numerous one, and the two species you have 

 just found are peculiar to Mexico." 



" Here is one like a fowl, and another like a canoe." 



"You are quite right, and you will meet with others 

 which are still more singular looking." 



The appearance of these little creatures pleased Lucien 

 very much, and, as he was letting them run about on his 

 hand, he saw them jump off and disappear. He was just 

 going to return to the shrub on which he had caught them, 

 when his attention was attracted by an immense dragon-fly, 

 commonly called in Mexico the deviPs horse, and in France 

 demoiselle. The beautiful insect, after flying round and 

 round, settled on a plant, and was immediately caught in 

 the young hunter's net. The prisoner had greenish eyes, a 

 yellow body, and its wings were dotted over with black and 

 scarlet. It doubled back its tapering body, as if to try and 

 sting the hand which held it, and shook its gauzy wings 

 with a kind of metallic sound. A half-eaten mosquito hung 

 out of its mouth, and, although the dragon-fly was sadly 

 bruised, it continued its meal, much to the amusement of 

 Lucien, who hardly expected to find such tiger-like habits 

 in an insect so elegant in form and so harmless in appear- 

 ance. 



" It is of the order Neuroptera" I said to him ; " thus 



* A very hard substance placed immediately under the upper lip, which 

 insects use for cutting and tearing their food. 



