ARTICULATA. 235 



Order 3. Hemiptera, (hemi, half; pteron, wing,) have a 

 suctorial mouth, produced into a long, hard beak. The 

 four wings are irregular and sparsely veined, or wanting. 

 The body is flat above, and the legs slender. In some 

 the four wings are opaque at the base, and transparent 

 at the apex, whence the name of the order. Some feed 

 on the juices of animals, and some on plants. Plant-lice, 

 (Aphides?) the wingless Bed-bug, (Cimex^) and Louse, 

 (Pediculus?) the Squash-bug, (Coreus,) Water-boatman, 

 (Notonecta^) Seventeen-year Locust, (Cicada^) and the 

 Cochineal, (Coccus?) are examples. 



Order 4. Coleoptera. (Koleos, a sheath ; pteron, wing.) 

 This is the largest of the orders, containing about ninety 

 thousand species. The thickened, horny fore-wings, or 

 elytra, (elytron, a sheath,) are not used for flight, but to 

 cover the hind pair. When at rest the elytra are united 

 by a straight edge along their length, and the hind wings 

 are folded transversely. The mouth is armed with for- 

 midable mandibles; the integument is generally hard, 

 and the legs are strong. The larvae are worm-like, and 

 the pupa is motionless. The highest tribes are carniv- 

 orous. Among them we find the Tiger-beetles, (Cicin- 

 delal) the common Ground-beetles, (Carabus^) whose hind 

 wings are often absent, the Diving-beetles, (Dytiscus^) 

 with boat-like body and oar-like hind legs, the Carrion- 

 beetles, (Silpha^) with black, flat bodies and club-shaped 

 antennae, the Goliath-beetles, (Scarabceus,) the Snap- 

 ping-bugs, (Elata?) the Lightning-bugs, (Pyrophorus?) 

 the spotted Lady-birds, (Coccinella^) the Long-horned 

 beetles, (Cerambycidce?) and the destructive Weevils, 

 (Curculionidce^) with pointed snouts. (Fig. 138.) 



