CHAPTER XIII. 



ORDER III. ORTHOPTERA (Olivier). 



This order ( the Hemiptera of LiNNiEus) embraces those insects whose wings, when at 

 rest, are folded longitudinally upon the body, and present a straight ontline : for this 

 reason they have received the designation ortkoptera, which literally means straight-vnngcd. 

 In this name, then, we perceive one of the distinguishing characteristics of the order. In 

 ^ dition, however, to this single chai-acter, we find their wings folded like a fan : they 



ve also a pair corresponding to the elytra in beetles, which are of a leathery consistence, 

 Hud perform the same office, that of protecting the delicate wing beneath. Their wings 

 and wing-covers are deflected upon the sides of the body, forming an angle with the top, 

 and, besides these peculiarities, they overlap each other upon the back. By this arrange- 

 ment, the males are furnished with organs wherewith to produce different sounds, while 

 a particulai" modification of the organ enables each species to form its peculiar note. 



Orthopterous insects are provided with jaws which move transversely, similar to beetles, 

 and hence the name mandibulafa applies to them. 



Another and still more important characteristic is found in the kind of metamorphosis 

 they undergo. In this respect, they differ greatly from beetles and the butterflies : their 

 metamorphoses or transformations are incomplete ; their young, in the early stages of life, 

 resemble the pai-ents in miniature, their wings being the most imperfect parts ; they eat 

 and move about like the adult, and, like the young in other classes, they grow until they 

 reach the perfect state. From these comparisons, we see why they should be separated from 

 the beetles, and placed by themselves in an order expressive of the characteristics that 

 belong to them. 



The order has been divided into four sections, formed from differences of habit due to 

 the peculiar construction of the organs of locomotion. The sections have received their 

 names from the modes in which these organs are used : the first embraces the runners, 

 Orthoptcra cursoria ; the second, the graspeks, Orthoptera raptoria ; the third, the 

 WALKERS, Orthoptera amhulatoria ; and the fourth, the jumpers, Orthoptera saltatoria. 



In the section comprising the runners, we find the cockroaches ; in that of the graspers, 

 the mantis, whose forelegs are used as arms and hands ; in that of the walkers, the 

 walkingstiek? ; and in the section of jumpei-p, the grasshoppers and locusts. 



