38 



SCHOOL ENTOMOLOGY 



FIG. 24. True Louse 

 (Siphunculata) . 



are rare, the ocean. This order is usually classed as a 

 sub-order of the Hemiptera under the name Parasitica, 

 but it seems more logical to place 

 it separately, as it has little in com- 

 mon with the other Hemiptera. 



32. Euplexoptera. The Earwigs 

 (Fig. 21, 3), as members of this order 

 are commonly called, are compar- 

 atively rare and of small size and 

 importance. They resemble certain 

 beetles, but may be identified by 

 the possession of a pair of pincer- 

 like appendages at the tip of the 

 abdomen. There are four wings, 

 the front pair thickened and very 

 short and the hind pair large, but 



folded in a very complex fashion under the front pair 

 where they are completely concealed. The common name 

 is derived from an old English superstition that they got 

 into people's ears and injured them. 



33. Siphonaptera. The Fleas are probably more nearly 

 allied to the true flies than to any 

 other group of insects. They are 

 wingless, compressed laterally so that 

 they stand "on edge," so to speak, 

 and have strongly developed hind 

 legs which enable them to leap great 

 distances. They feed through a 

 sucking tube and are parasitic, most 

 species attacking mammals, although 



there is one species that attacks hens. Unlike all the 

 other orders in this group, the fleas develop indirectly. 

 Their larvae are footless and worm-like and are not well 



FIG. 25. A Flea (Si- 

 phonaptera) . 



