. British insects : a familiar description of the form, structure, habits, and transformations of insects. nfusing changes have been made withregard to the family Locustidse. To enter upon thesedetails would be alike tedious and useless while thereader is as yet unacquainted with the animals them-selves ; and here, as in all cases of the same kind, thefirst step is to study the animals and familiarize themind with their distinctive characters. With thisknowledge the difficulties occasioned by variety ofsystem aad diversity of nomenclature, will become a helprather than a hindrance in the work
. British insects : a familiar description of the form, structure, habits, and transformations of insects. nfusing changes have been made withregard to the family Locustidse. To enter upon thesedetails would be alike tedious and useless while thereader is as yet unacquainted with the animals them-selves ; and here, as in all cases of the same kind, thefirst step is to study the animals and familiarize themind with their distinctive characters. With thisknowledge the difficulties occasioned by variety ofsystem aad diversity of nomenclature, will become a helprather than a hindrance in the work of obtaining a clearidea of the relations and grouping of animals. According to Westwood, whose classification isfollowed here, these insects are grouped (see p. 116) intothe families of Achetidce, Crickets ; Gryllidce, Grass-hoppers ; and Locustidce, Locusts ; the English namesassigned by him not necessarily according with thepopular use, according to which most of the Locustidse,in common with the Grasshoppers, are usually calledGrasshoppers. The Gryllidae (see PL IV., fig. 4,) resemble the Fig. Wing-case of Acrida viridissima. ORTHOPTERA. 121 Crickets in having long antennse, a musical apparatus inthe wing-cases of the male, and a projecting ovipositorin the female. The latter, however, differs in formfrom that of the Crickets, heing usually flattened andcurved or sabre-shaped, The wing-case of thefemale (fig. 43) is simple. The Gryllidae are moreslender in form thanthe Crickets, and theirlonger and slighterlimbs give them anappearance of greaterlightness and differ also in their shelving, roof-like wing-cases,in the form of the tarsi, which are broad and fleshyon the under side, and in the number of the tarsaljoints, which in this family alone is four. The English species of Gryllidae number about twelve,and are found chiefly upon trees, &c. There are amongthem several in which the wings are either absent orimperfectly developed; and in one wingless speci
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Keywords: ., bookauthorme, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectinsects
