III. 



HEMIPTERA. 



THE Heiniptera are particularly distinguished from other kinds of 

 insects by the form of their mouth, which consists of a beak, more 

 or less long, composed of six parts, that is, of a lower lip or 

 sheath, four internal threads, representing the mandibles and jaws 

 of the grinding insects, and which are the perforating parts of the 

 beak, and, lastly, of the upper lip or labrum. Owing to this 

 apparatus these insects are essentially sucking ones, and chiefly 

 nourish themselves with the juice of vegetables, which they draw 

 up with their beak. The wings of the Hemiptera are usually four 

 in number ; sometimes altogether membraneous and similar to 

 each other. Sometimes the upper ones being of rather harder con- 

 sistency than the lower ones. In general, the former are quite 

 different from the lower wings, and are only membraneous at the 

 tip, whereas the other part is thick, tough, and coriaceous. 



The Hemiptera are divided into two very distinct sections. The 

 one is composed of insects whose beak grows from the forehead or 

 upper part of the head, and of which the elytra* are half coria- 

 ceous and half membraneous, having the base of a different texture 

 from the extremity ; these are the Heteroptera (ercpoc, different, 

 n-repuv, wing). The other section is composed of those whose beak 

 grows from the lower part of the head, and of which the elytra 

 have always the same consistency ; these are the Homoptera (6/xos, 

 the same). We are about to give the history of these two sub- 

 orders. 



* The upper wings of Hemiptera, Ortl.optera, and Coleoptera.- ED. 



