g mSECTA—SUB-ORDER HOMOPTERA. 



sometliin.' like this :-" They feed on the egga which the fishermen lay on the 

 ° banks of the streams, in clusters of six lines long 



by three broad." If I remember right, thepass- 





age was translated from the French, and I 

 lAV 1 1! ^'^'"^ '^iit\& doubt that in the original some ex- 

 Lflf(lWiir^y '* pression was used equivalent to "water-boat- 



^ ^^^-kktli^"^^'! men." It reminds me of another story which I 

 read in the translation of a Russian book of 

 travels, in which an elephant was described as 

 seizing an object with his tail, instead of his 

 Fin. 89.— Wateh Bug (ZaiUia trunk. I have also heard of a translation of a 

 aurantiaca), with Euos. German book, in which a naturalist on ship- 



^*'- ^"'°- board, who wanted to shoot a bird, was de- 



scribed as taking down the back-shutters, 

 instead of the breech-loader. 



Sub-Order Homopibba (Feog-Hoppeks, Plant-Lice, etc.). 



A great number of insects are classed under this sub-order, which we have 



already briefly defined. They do not emit any foul odour like the Heterop- 



tera ; their antennae are generally very short ; and they are 



Sub-Order exclusively plant-feeders. Some of them supply us with 



Ilomoptera. useful products, such as shell-lac and cochineal, while others 



are among the most injurious insects which infest our 



gardens and greenhouses. 



The Homoptera are divided into several very distinct families, of which the 

 first is the Cicadidce. They are large, wedge-shaped insects, with a broad 

 head, large eyes, a pointed body, with a short ovipositor in 

 Family the female, and broad wings, v,?hich are generally, but not 



CicadidcB. always, transparent. When at rest, the wings are folded 

 roof-like over the body, and generally extend considerably 

 beyond the abdomen. They are difficult insects to classify, as the most 

 tangible characters available for the purpose are to be found in the drums of 

 the males. These organs are found on each side of the abdomen, and are 

 visible above in some genera, while in others they are covered by a flap. On 

 the under-surface they are always covered by two flaps, called the opercula, 

 which are sometimes very short, small, and rounded, and in others are very 

 large, and extend nearly to the end of the abdomen. In the Australian genus 

 Thopha, amongst the opercula are extended over the sides of the abdomen, as 

 well as beneatli. In Tibicina (Latr.), there are no covers at all on the upper 

 surface of tlie abdomen ; and in Zamnmra (Amyot), the rims of the openings are 

 slightly raised, giving them something of a pitcher shape. It has been pro- 

 posed to divide tlio CiauUda- into two sub-families, according to whether the 

 drums are open or closed above ; but I find, not only that the upper abdominal 

 covers ditter very much in completeness or absence, but that many genera, 

 ouierwise closely allied, run in pairs, one with closcd,and one with open tympana. 

 Ihe sounds made by these insects have always made them celebrated, and 

 tiiey are among the noisiest denizens of tlie tropical forests. They are, how- 

 ever, dilhcult to capture, as they are not easily seen, and their flight, when 

 disturbed is very sudden and rapid. This is chiefly a tropical family, and 

 the largest known species, Fomponia imperatoria (Westwood) which inhabits 



