HEMIPTERA 21 



ing position along the back, like the two sides of a hip roof. The 

 common '' locust," or cicada, is a familiar example of this suborder. 

 In the Homoptera the sucking beak arises from the hind part of 

 the lower side of the head. 



The Heteroptera are well illustrated in the '*' squash bug." In this 

 suborder the front pair of wings are horny in the half nearest the in- 

 sect's body, and thinner in the outer half. The hind wings are mem- 

 branous throughout. When at rest, the front wings are laid along the 



Fig. 25. — The giant water bug, Lethocerus americanus Leidy. Suborder 

 Heteroptera. Original. 



back, with the thin, outer halves crossed, one on top of the other, while 

 the hind wings are concealed beneath the front pair. Often, when the 

 insect is at rest, its wings look as if they were a part of its body, though 

 there is always the tell-tale diagonal line where the thickened part of 

 the wing gives way to the thinner part. In the Heteroptera the beak 

 arises from the front part of the head, though in many species it is 

 sharply bent so that it points backward beneath the head. 

 The more important families of Homoptera are as follows : 

 Cicadidae, the cicadas or, as commonly called, " locusts." 

 Jassidae, the leaf hoppers. Destructive pests. 



