Elementary Zoology, Second EditionKellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman)
Science
Elementary Zoology, Second Edition
Kellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman)
Animals; Zoology
The locust studied as one of the examples of the class Insecta belongs
to the order Orthoptera, which also includes the cockroaches, crickets
(fig. 56), katydids and green grasshoppers, the walking-stick or twig
insects, the praying mantis and others. The members of this order all
have an incomplete metamorphosis, and in all the mouth-parts are fitted
for biting and the fore wings are more or less thickened and modified to
serve as covers or protecting organs for the broad, plaited, membranous
hind wings, which are the true flight organs. The hind legs of locusts,
grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids are very large, and enable the
insects to leap; the legs of the cockroaches are fitted for swift
running; the fore legs of the praying mantis are fitted for grasping
other insects which serve as their food, and the legs of the
walking-stick (fig. 162) are long and slender and fitted for slow
walking. The shrill singing of the crickets and katydids and the loud
"clacking" of the locusts are all made by stridulation, that is, by
rubbing two roughened parts of the body together. The sounds of insects
are not made by vocal cords in the throat. The male crickets and
katydids (for only the males sing) have the veins of the fore wings
modified so that when the bases of the wings are rubbed together (and
when the cricket or katydid is at rest the base of one fore wing
overlaps the base of the other) a part of one wing called the "scraper"
rubs against a part of the other called the "file" and the shrilling is
produced. The sounds of locusts are produced by the rubbing of the
inside of the hind leg against the outside of the fore wing when the
insect is at rest, or by striking the front margin of each hind wing
against the hind margin of each fore wing when the locust is flying. For
hearing the Orthoptera are provided with auditory organs having the
character of tympana or vibrating membranes. In the locusts these ears
(fig. 51) are situated on the dorsal surface of the first abdominal
segment; in the katydids and crickets they are in the tibiæ of the fore
legs. The food of locusts, crickets, and katydids is vegetable, being
usually green leaves; the cockroaches eat either plant or animal
substances fresh or dry, while the praying mantis is predaceous, feeding
on other insects which it catches in its strong grasping fore legs. The
walking-stick or twig insect is an excellent example of what is called
"protective resemblance" among animals. Indeed most of the Orthoptera
are so colored and patterned as to be almost indistinguishable when on
their usual resting- or feeding-grounds. Some of the tropical Orthoptera
carry to a marvelous degree this modification for the sake of
protection. (In this connection read Chapter XXXI referring to
"Protective Resemblances".)
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