130 



FLASHLIGHTS ON NATURE 



trate this fact for you in a single direction by 

 a brief consideration of the way in which he folds 

 and tucks away his pinions when he has done 

 with them. 



No. 3 represents a female earwig in flight, with 

 the thin, transparent wings fully expanded. You 



will notice here 

 that the first 

 pair, or wing- 

 cases, which 

 are hard and 

 horny, are held 

 open in front 

 out of the way ; 

 and that the 

 second pair, or 

 true wings, are 

 flat and papery 

 behind, but 

 have a curious 

 horny rib or 

 " stiffener " in 

 their front por- 

 tion. This stif- 

 fener acts ex- 

 actly like the 



whalebone or steel in a pair of corsets, or like 

 the ribs in an umbrella. The beautiful folds 

 and creases in the true wings resemble those 

 in a fan or Japanese parasol ; but they run two 

 ways, some lengthwise, and some transversely. 

 They are exquisitely true in their wrinkles, and 



NO. 5. DOUBLING UP THE FORE-WING 

 FANWISE. 



