528 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



bees, wasps, and ants, the flies being called Diptera, i. e., two- 

 winged, and the bees, wasps, and ants, Hymenoptera, or mem- 

 brane-wing. It will probably be said by some that ants have 



no wings ; but this is 

 only the case with 

 what are called neu- 

 ters or workers, the 

 males and females be- 

 ing provided with 

 wings. The total 

 number of different 

 kinds of insects that 

 are known at present 

 is over two hundred 

 thousand, of which 

 beetles alone num- 

 ber one hundred and 

 twenty thousand 

 this being about twice 



as many as all the other known animals together. It is estimated 

 that the actual number of different kinds of insects in the world 

 is over one million. 



The Orthoptera, to which grasshoppers and roaches belong, 

 present many oddities ; foremost among them, in the United 



FIG. 1. PRAYING MANTIS. 



FIG. 2. THE WALKING LEAF. 



States, is the mantis or " praying mantis." It is very common 

 throughout the South. It will be seen that the fore legs are armed 



