SUBFAMILY III. LOCUSTINJE. 



305 



Fig. in. Female. Two-thirds life size. 



abdomen more or less fuscous; outer face of all the femora with numerous 

 small black spots. The black markings vary greatly in number and size; 

 in some specimens, var. marci Serv. (1839, 623), the black predominates, 

 the side margins and median carina of pronotum and hind margin of ab- 

 dominal segments alone being yellow, tegmina fuscous; inner wings as in 

 the typical form. Structural characters as given above. Length of body, 

 $, 5054, 5, 6270; of pronotum, $, 1517.5, 9, 2022; of tegmina, 

 $, 2328, 9, 2933; of hind femora, $, 2632, 9, 3136 mm. (Fig. 111.) 



Ormond arid Dunediu, Fla., June August, adults; Ormond, 

 Sauford, Sarasota, Lake Istokpoga, Citrus Center and Dunedin, 



Feb. 20 --April 

 10, nymphs (W. 

 8. B.)- Mobile 

 and Tuscaloosa, 

 Ala., July - - Au- 

 gust, var. marci 

 ( L o d i ng ) . By 

 other collectors 

 R. niicropterahsis 

 been taken at nu- 

 merous localities 

 in Florida as far south as Homestead and Chokoloskee. It occurs 

 especially along the margins of cultivated grounds, roadsides and 

 railways, though often found on the undergrowth in open pine 

 woods. The young begin to appear in southern Florida in Feb- 

 ruary, the first ones becoming mature about June 10. Davis 

 found the adults in numbers at Punta Gorda as late as Nov. 15, 

 where "they were feeding on a papilionaceous plant along an old 

 railroad embankment, and when disturbed would walk off in an 

 amusingly stately, dignified manner. This lubber grasshopper 

 can make a hissing sound, which is produced by the air being 

 forced from the large stigmata' near the base of the wings. This 

 was more particularly noticed in recently matured individuals. 1 ' 

 Morse (1907, 42) also notes this defensive action, stating that: 

 "When disturbed, the tegmina are often elevated and the brilliant 

 carmine wings rapidly vibrated, producing a buzzing noise. If 

 taken in hand, a disagreeable dark-brown, frothy liquid is effused 

 with a hissing sound from the mesothoracic spiracles, which prob- 

 ably is repugnatory in function." 



The young of this lubberlv locust differ much in hue from the 



/ o . 



adults being usually greenish-black in color with a narrow median 

 dorsal stripe, hind edge of thorax, and often the fore femora and 

 sides of head, blood-red. Sometimes they are a nearly uniform 

 reddish-brown instead of black and red, and as they grow in size 



