Fig. 34.—Orthoptera. Melanoplus bilituratus, the migratory locust, a common Illinois grasshopper. Actual length about 1.0 inch.
Isoptera
Termites
Fragile or soft insects with chewing mouthparts. The mating forms are dark brown and have two similar pairs of wings; both pairs are delicate and have a fine network of veins. The workers are white and soft bodied. Termites, which live in colonies in wood, are also called “white ants,” although they are not true ants. The common native species in Illinois is Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), [fig. 33], which lives in rotten logs and is destructive to buildings of wooden construction throughout Illinois; it is most destructive in the southern part of the state.
Fig. 35.—Orthoptera. Ceuthophilus maculatus, a wingless cave cricket. Crickets of this kind are found in caves, under rocks, and in basements. Actual length about 1.0 inch.
Fig. 36.—Dermaptera. Labia minor, an earwig frequently abundant in Illinois. Actual length of adult about 0.2 inch.
Orthoptera
Grasshoppers, Crickets
Terrestrial insects usually with two pairs of wings, each wing with a very fine, dense network of veins, the front pair thick and leathery, the hind pair delicate and fanlike. The mouthparts, fitted for chewing, have stout mandibles. The young look and act like the adults but do not have wings. This order includes all the grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids. [Fig. 34] shows the migratory locust or grasshopper, Melanoplus bilituratus (Walker). Adults of several of the groups of Orthoptera never develop wings. These include such odd forms as the cave crickets, exemplified by Ceuthophilus maculatus (Harris), [fig. 35].