178 



NATURAL HISTORY OF ARTHROPODS. 



toward dusk, when it flies about. This is the onl_y true aquatic orthopterous insect 

 known. 



In conteniphiting tliese singnhir creatures and tlieir wonderful reseml.ilances to the 

 vegetation upon which they occur, one cannot lielp noticing still further resemblances. 

 They are born witli the bursting of tlie buds in the spring ; tliey drop their eggs as the 

 trees drop their seeds, and they commence to fall and perish with the leaves, the later 

 ones persisting, like the last leaves, till frost cuts them off. We have not more than a 

 half dozen representatives of the Phasmida? within the limits of the United States. 



We now come to that extensive division of the Orthoptera known as the Saltatorial 

 Orthoptera. This division contains by far the greatest number of species, each of 

 which possesses rather exceptional powers of jumping or leaping, and hence has the 



Fig. 254. — Phyllium siccifolium, walking-leaf. 



hind femora greatly developed for this purpose. While this character is common to 

 all the Saltatoria the division is readily separable into three ^■ery distinct families. 

 These families are the Gryllida?, or crickets, the Loeustidw, or grasshoppers and katy- 

 dids, and the Acridida^, or locusts. While the families comprising the crickets and 

 katydids differ from each other in many respects, thej' are nevertheless very closely 

 connected in some of tlieir wingless genera. They possess common characters, and 

 have similar habits ; many of the species in both families being wingless, and having 

 somewhat sunilar shapes. The anteunte are long and threadlike in both. The Acri- 

 didre, on the contrary, are widely separated from the rest of the Orthoptera iii most 

 of their characters, and are the most highly organized representatives of the order. 



We will mention these families one by one, and characterize eacli, in its turn, by 

 describing a few of the commoner sjjecies as well as tliose that are odd, and deviate 

 somewhat from the typical form. 



