222 



SUBKINGDOM AETICULATA. 



ORDER ORTHOPTERA. 



General Characteristics. — The Orthopters (straight- 

 winged) have strong, horny, and toothed mandibles for biting. 

 The anterior wings are of a leathery texture ; the posterior, 

 membranous and folding, like a fan. The legs vary much in 

 form and size, in some families the anterior pair being greatly 

 enlarged for seizing, and in others the posterior for leaping. 

 The metamorphosis is incomplete, the young resembling the 

 parents, except in size and the want of wings. 



Locustidse. — The Katydid is silent during the day, but 

 musical throughout the night. Its familiar notes are pro- 

 duced by the friction of the bases of the wings upon each 

 other. 



Fig. SSO. 



OryllotaZpa vulgaris^ Mole Cricket. 



Gryllidae. — The Mole Cricket has its anterior extremities 

 shaped like those of the mole, for constructing subterranean 

 galleries. 



Acrydidae. — The ''Gras-^liopiiers," or Locusts of the 

 Western States, belong to this family. They come in such 

 multitudes as to give sunlight the yellow tinge of dense 

 smoke, and to eat a large field of grain in an hour. 



