NATUBAL HISTORY. 203 



Aphidii, and Gallinsecta — the former of which {Cica- 

 darice) we have already discussed. 



The Aphidii, commonly called plant-licCj are dis- 

 tinguished from the preceding by having only two 

 points in the tarsi, and the antennae filiform, or like a 

 thread, and longer than the head, composed of from 

 six to eleven joints. 



The winged individuals have always two wing- 

 covers and two wings. These are very small insects, 

 having the body generally soft and the wing-covers 

 very similar to wings, differing only in being larger 

 and somewhat thicker. They multiply with exceed- 

 ing rapidity. 



The third family of the homopterous hemiptera, 

 the Gallinsecta, have only a single joint in the tarsi, 

 with a single hook at the tip. The male is destitute 

 of a proboscis, has only two wings, which shut hori- 

 zontally upon the body ; the abdomen is terminated 

 by two threads. The female is without wings and 

 furnished with a proboscis. The antennae are fili- 

 form or threadlike, and often eleven-jointed. These 

 insects compose the genus Coccus (or scale insects). 

 The bark of many of our trees appears often warty, 

 by reason of a great number of small oval or rounded 

 bodies, like a shield or a scale, which are fixed to 

 them, and in which no external traces of the insect 



