CHAPTER XIII. 



ORDER III. ORTHOPTERA (Olivier). 



This order ( the Hkmiptera of Linnjeus) embraces those insects whose wings, when at 

 rest, are folded longitudinally upon the body, and present a straight outline : for this 

 reason they have received the designation orthoptera, which literally means straight-winged. 

 In this name, then, we perceive one of the distinguishing characteristics of the order. In 

 ^ dition, however, to this single character, we find their wings folded like a fan : they 

 - ve also a pair corresponding to the elytra in beetles, which are of a leathery consistence, 

 and perforin the same office, that of protecting the delicate wing beneath. Their wings 

 and wing-covers are deflected upon the sides of the body, forming an angle with the top, 

 and, besides these peculiarities, they overlap each other upon the back. By this arrange- 

 ment, the males are furnished with organs wherewith to produce different sounds, while 

 a particular modification of the organ enables each species to form its peculiar note. 



Orthopterous insects are provided with jaws which move transversely, similar to beetles, 

 and hence the name mandibu/ata applies to them. 



Another and still more important characteristic is found in the kind of metamorphosis 

 they undergo. In this respect, they diner greatly from beetles and the butterflies : their 

 metamorphoses or transformations are incomplete ; their young, in the early stages of life, 

 resemble the parents in miniature, their wings being the most imperfect parts ; they eat 

 and move about like the adult, and, like the young in other classes, they grow until they 

 reach the perfect state. From these comparisons, we see why they should be separated from 

 the beetles, and placed by themselves in an order expressive of the characteristics that 

 belong to them. 



The order has been divided into four sections, formed from differences of habit due to 

 the peculiar construction of the organs of locomotion. The sections have received their 

 names from the modes in which these organs are used : the first embraces the runners, 

 Orthoptera cursoria ; the second, the graspers, Orthoptera raptoria ; the third, the 

 walkers, Orthoptera ambulatoria ; and the fourth, the jumpers, Orthoptera saltatoria. 



In the section comprising the runners, we find the cockroaches ; in that of the graspers, 

 the mantis, whose forelegs are used as arms and hands ; in that of the walkers, the 

 walkingsticks ; and in the section of jumpers, the grasshoppers and locusts. 





