the membranous expansion of the hinder tibiæ luteous, variegated with testaceous, and marked with a group of small black spots near the middle of the exterior portion.
Homoptera.
This, the second great division of the Hemipterous order, will be readily distinguished by having the rostrum apparently originating from the lower part of the head, near the breast; the hemelytra of a uniform consistence, approaching to membranous, throughout their whole extent; never overlapping each other when closed, and inclined on each side, forming a kind of roof over the body; the latter thick and convex; mesothorax and metathorax more developed than the prothorax; antennæ short and inconspicuous, terminating in a bristle; scutellum minute; ovipositor always distinct.
The above characters sufficiently indicate that this section is widely dissimilar from the former. The differences are not confined to external and structural attributes, but also extend to modes of life, the Homoptera living exclusively on vegetable juices, while the Heteroptera are more partial to the blood of animals. It contains several well defined families, of which we shall first attend to that of the Cicadidæ or frog-hoppers.
Fam. Cicadidæ.
In these the antennæ are very short and setaceous, composed of from three to seven joints, scarcely projecting beyond the head, (Pl. XVIII. fig. 2, c, c,) the
