CLASS INSECTS. 



375 



segments have neither wings nor limbs; but those occupying 

 the posterior extremity of the body give origin to appendages 

 varying both in form and size. Sometimes they are simple 

 hairs or stylets, whose functions are not well known, as in 

 the ephemera, for example (Fig. 376). Sometimes these 

 organs affect the form of hooks, and constitute more or less 



Fig. 350. Conops. 



powerful forceps, as in the forficule or earwig (Fig. 351). 

 Sometimes they answer the purpose of a spring, to enable the 

 animal to move forward, as in the podurelle (Fig. 352), 

 small insects, which in our climate conceal themselves under 

 the stones, or float to the surface of stagnant waters, and 



Fig. 351. Forficule. Fig. 352. Podurelle. 



which are sometimes found under the snow in the coldest 

 regions of the globe. Finally, these abdominal appendages 

 have at other times a more complex structure, and form an 

 offensive weapon, as in bees and wasps, or an apparatus 



