290 NATURAL HISTORY. 



account of the peculiar construction of their wing-cases, 

 the fore part of which is thick and opaque, while the 

 hinder half is thin and transparent. There are some 

 which have the wing-covers transparent throughout, and 

 some, also, that have no wings as Bedbugs; but, as 

 both have the peculiar beak of this order, they are ranked 

 here. 



492. The insects of this order do not appear first as 

 caterpillars, like the Butterflies; or as grubs, like the 

 Beetles ; or as maggots, like the Bees and Flies. They 

 come forth from their eggs in an almost perfect condi- 

 tion, except that they are then wingless. The Cicadas, 

 however, are an exception. They live in the larva state 

 in the ground even for some years. I will notice a few 

 of the prominent families of the order. 



493. Of the family of Cicada, famous for their chirp- 

 ing sounds, the Red-eyed Cicada, or Seventeen-years 

 Locust, Fig. 224, is the one with which we are familiar. 



Fig. 224. Red-eyed Cicada. 



The females deposit their eggs on the trees ; the larvae 

 hatched from them descend and enter the ground, where 

 they feed on roots. The change from larva to imago is 

 effected in this way. When this is about to take place, 

 the grub comes up out of the ground, and, with its strong 

 feet, fastens itself to a fence or the trunk of a tree. The 

 back now gapes open, as seen in Fig. 225 (p. 291), and 

 a winged insect comes forth, leaving the horny shell of 

 its grub state clinging to the spot where the change 



