. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. THE EARiriGS. 4-*r united in pairs, so that tliere are only two of them ; and the antenn;e are thvead-like, and coui- j)ose(l of from twelve to forty joints. The characters of the wings liave been already described. The tarsi are of three joints. The abdomen is considerably elongated, usually a little inclined behind, and composed of nine segments, of which, however, the seventh and eighth in the females are reduced in size, and concealed by the sixth ; at the extremity, in place of the cerci present in most of the j)r(:'ceding families, t
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. THE EARiriGS. 4-*r united in pairs, so that tliere are only two of them ; and the antenn;e are thvead-like, and coui- j)ose(l of from twelve to forty joints. The characters of the wings liave been already described. The tarsi are of three joints. The abdomen is considerably elongated, usually a little inclined behind, and composed of nine segments, of which, however, the seventh and eighth in the females are reduced in size, and concealed by the sixth ; at the extremity, in place of the cerci present in most of the j)r(:'ceding families, there are two large, curved horny pieces forming a pair of forceps, which often attain formidable dimensions, especially in the males. The exposed abdominal segments are horny on both surfaces, as in the Brachelytrous Beetles, to which these insects ha\ e a certain analogical le semblance. In both groufjs the elongated iibtlomen [)ossesses con- .siderable mobility, and is often used to help in packing the wuigs away beneath the wing cases. Tlie Earwigs aie, for the most part, cie puscular or nocturnal insects, concealing them -selves during the day in crevices, under the bark of old trees, or in the ground, undei stones. Their food con sists almost entii-ely of vegetable matters, and they are particularly fond of the petals and other parts of flower*., ;ind of the juices of iipe fruit. In consequence of these predilections they are by no means regarded witli favour by gardeners, whose â choicest productions roMMON EAinvif^s. they often damage and destroy ; in fact, without adopting some means of keeping down the number of these little enemies of his the labours of the gardener would often meet with very imperfect success. The lucifugous habits of the insects, whicli prompt them to hide themselves as soon as they are exposed to the light, suggest what is perhaps the most .successful mode of dealing with them, namely, the placing in the immediate vicinity of the scene of their no
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecta, booksubjectanimals
