206 MANUAL OF NATURAL HISTOEY. 



tennse remote, short, moniiiform, sometimes 

 rather serrated ; palpi short ; body generally 

 hemispherical or ovate ; thorax with base 

 usually as broad as elytra ; legs of equal 

 size, not formed for leaping. Herbivorous ; 

 often ornamented with brilliant colours 

 among which gold is conspicuous. 



EARWIGS. 



The Earwigs form the connecting link between 

 the Beetles and the Orthopterous insects, and re- 

 mind one especially of the Rove-Beetles, in their 

 long and flattened body, in their short wing-covers, 

 and in the menacing habit they have of presenting 

 their armed tails against their enemies. Although 

 founded on a mistake, the ominous names they have 

 received, as "perce-oreille" and " ear- wig/' usually 

 cause them to be regarded with peculiar aversion. 

 The original word was probably Ear-wing, from the 

 shape of the beautiful hind wings, which are so 

 elaborately folded up under their short elytra. These 

 insects are of small size, and of dingy colours, and 

 are widely diffused, being found in North and South 

 America, the Cape of Good Hope, India, and New 

 Holland. In some of the exotic species the forceps 

 at the end of the tail is straight, and as long as 

 the body (Forficula parallela If".), while in others, 

 it is singularly contorted, as in F. macropyga, 



