THE ORTHOPTERA. 157 



of the Beetles*. It is upon this circumstance that 

 the name given to the order is founded; it means 

 " straight-winged " insects. 



The remaining characters of the Orthoptera may be 

 dismissed in a few words. The head is usually large, 

 and placed perpendicularly upon the thorax, with the 

 mouth directed downwards. It bears a pair of an- 

 tennae which are usually long, and composed of nume- 

 rous joints, a pair of large compound eyes, and in 

 most cases either two or three ocelli, or simple eyes. 

 The mouth is organized in the same way as that of 

 the Beetles. The labrum is large, and usually con- 

 ceals the tips of the mandibles, which are also of large 

 size and very strong. The maxillae are well deve- 

 loped, and their outer lobe acquires the form of a sort 

 of helmet, arching over the inner one. Each maxilla 

 is also furnished with a long palpus, generally com- 

 posed of five joints. The labium is not only provided 

 with a pair of three-jointed palpi, but its anterior 

 portion is cleft in such a manner as to form two pairs 

 of lobes, one or both of which often present the 

 appearance of short palpi. The segments of the 

 thorax, as in the Coleoptera, are distinctly separated ; 

 the legs are long, strong, and well formed, usually 

 rendering their possessors exceedingly active; and 

 the number of joints in the tarsi is always the same 

 on all the legs, but varies in different groups from 

 'three to five. The abdomen is covered with a more 

 or less horny integument, and consists of eight or 

 nine segments; its extremity is usually furnished 

 with a pair of jointed appendages, not unlike short 



* An exception to this character is presented by the Earwigs, 

 whose wings, however, can only be regarded as exhibiting a 

 modification of the Orthopterous type of structure. 



