lacewings, but they do not carry packets of trash on the dorsum. Eggs are laid on 
the surface of leaves. Depending on the species, winter is spent in the larval, pupal. 
or adult stage. The number of generations per year varies from one to many, 
depending on species and climate. 
Family Myrmeleontidae 
Antlions 
Antlion larvae, or doodlebugs, as they are also commonly called, live in tiny, 
conical pits or craters in the ground in dry, dusty, or sandy areas. The pits are 
usually about 37 to 50 mm wide and from 25 to 50 mm deep. The sides slant 
sharply from the rim to a point in the bottom. The adults have long slender bodies 
and two pairs of long, narrow, delicate, many-veined wings; larvae are broad, 
somewhat flat, taper toward each end, and have long, curved mandibles armed with 
strong spines and setae. The larva lies hidden under sand at the bottom of its pit and 
feeds on ants or other insects that fall into the pit. 
Order Siphonaptera—F leas 
Fleas are small, wingless, hard-bodied, jumping insects. The body is strongly 
flattened laterally and is armed with numerous backward-projecting spines or 
bristles. The mouth parts are formed for sucking and the legs are long; there may be 
no eyes. Adults feed on the blood of birds, wild and domestic animals, and people. 
The larvae feed on organic matter, their own cast skins, and the feces of the adults. 
Many species are economic pests. About 75 species of animals and birds in the 
Eastern United States are attacked by more than 50 different species of fleas (439). 
Some of the more important eastern species are: the human flea, Pulex irritans 
(L.); the cat flea, Crenocephalides felis (Bouché): the dog flea, C. canis (Curtis); 
and the oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis (Rothschild). The latter species 1s the 
principal vector of bubonic plague and may also transmit endemic typhus to 
humans. 
Order Orthoptera—Grasshoppers, Crickets, 
Mantids, and Allies 
The order Orthoptera contains some of our most familiar insects, and many of 
them are important household or agricultural crop pests. A few species are also 
injurious to trees. 
Members of the order may be either winged or wingless. The winged forms have 
two pairs of wings, with the front pair generally long and narrow, many-veined, and 
leathery or parchmentlike. The hindwings are membranous, much broader, and are 
usually folded in fanlike pleats beneath the front wings while the insect is at rest. 
The body is elongate, and cerci are usually well developed. The females of many 
species have long ovipositors, often as long as the body. 
Many publications have been issued on the Orthoptera (7, /29, 453, 455, 542, 
543, 544, 545, 889, 1016, 1226, 1317). 
Family Mantidae 
Mantids 
Mantids are predacious and feed on a wide variety of other insects. They are 
large, elongate insects. The eyes are very large; the head is wider than it is long, 
and movable; and the prothorax is very long—sometimes nearly as long as the 
remainder of the body. The front coxae also are very long and the front femora and 
tibiae are armed with strong spines that fold together to form a pincer. To capture 
48 
