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 Cicadee, 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 larve 
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 
