218 FAMILY VI. ACRILUDJE. THE LOCUSTS. 



and others of a faint yellow. After the eggs have been carefully packed 

 away in the sawdust made by the abrasion of the sides of the hole, they 

 are covered above with a whitish froth, and the hole is sealed up just below 

 the surface of the wood with a black glutinous secretion, excessively hard, 

 smooth and shiny, and the upper surface slightly concave. In the spring 

 the moisture doubtless softens these coverings so that the young grass- 

 hoppers can easily escape. Many old nests may be found uncovered and 

 filled with the shells of the eggs, but none in which the cover is still 

 retained." 



trtrtrft 



b 



c 



Fig. 81. a, Note of Chlcealtis coitspersa in the sun; b, same in the 

 shade; c, note of Chorthippus curtipcnnis. (After Scudder.) 



The stridulation of the sprinkled locust has been described by 

 Scudder (1874, 370) thus: "Its song is of varied rapidity, accord- 

 ing to the amount of sunshine ; in the sun it makes from nine to 

 twelve notes, at the rate of 53 in 15 seconds ; the usual number of 

 notes is ten. In the shade the rate falls to 43 in 15 seconds, the 

 number of notes remaining the same (Fig. 81, a, &.). The femur 

 is evidently scraped gently upon the elytron to produce the sound, 

 for frequently, at the commencement, two or three noiseless move- 

 ments are made, the leg failing to touch the wing-cover. I once 

 found three males singing to a single female, who was busily en- 

 gaged in laying eggs in a stick of wood, two of the males being 

 near enough each other to cross antennae." 

 92. CHLCEALTIS ABDOMINALIS (Thomas), 1873, 74. 



Easily distinguished from conspersa by the characters given in key 

 and by the shorter tegmina and hind tibiae. Color nearly uniform dark 

 brown, hind tibiae and basal three-fourths of antennae dull red, dark bands 

 on outer face of hind femora less distinct. Occiput more convex than in 

 conspersa, vertex broader, with median carina shorter, the disk in male 

 less concave. Disk of pronotum of female, shorter and broader, the meta- 

 zona more rugose-punctate. Tegmina of female shorter, covering only 

 one-third of abdomen, more strongly reticulate, their tips suddenly sharply 

 acute. Hind femora of female shorter than abdomen. Subgenital plate of 

 male longer and more acute than in conspersa. Length of body, $ , IS 

 19, 9, 2328; of antennae, $ , 910, 9, 8; of tegmina, $, 1112, 9, 710, 

 of hind femora, $, 1213, 9, 1316 mm. (Fig. 82.) 



