THE CRICKET. 



Moat of our crickets are females (Fig. 1) collected by the chil- 

 dren in October aa they were laying their eggs by the roadsides or 

 in gravelly walks. After studying the 

 grasshopper, it is easy to begin work 

 npon this insect, and natural to compare 

 the two at every step. 



The cricket has a shorter and 

 broader body than the grasshop- 

 per. The two sides of its body 

 are alike. The body is in three 

 parts, — head, thorax, and abdo- 

 men. It has one pair of very long 

 antennae. It has a pair of com- 

 pound eyes, not so large as the 

 grasshopper's. It has three pairs 

 of legs on the thorax, the hiad pair 

 very long because it is a jumper. 

 The forward wings, or wing covers, 

 are short, covering only part of the 

 abdomen. The hind wings are 

 very small and of no use in flying, 

 abdomen there is a long bristle (Fig. 



--;-^-^6 



Fig. 1, 



At the end of the 

 1, se) on each side. 



The egg-layer looks lika a long sting (os). 



Nine rings can be plainly counted on the back of the abdomen of 

 the female. On each side of the abdomen is a soft space where 

 the breathing-holes are seen. The ovipositor separates into two 

 parts and each of these into two more, making four long, sharp 



89 



