112 Aijncultural Gazette of N.S.IV. [Ji^v/ 2, 1908. 



districts iiKiiitioatd jjliiLjuos of Hyinir swarms ofrnn-cd, (Icstroyini,' ^rops and 

 grriss tliat liad tscapcd tlu; imiiiaturc hoppiii.ii swarms. They invaded towns 

 and llonl^-steads, swarmed into the streets and houses, damaged turniturc and 

 foDil, dcstrovi'd till' foliage of trees and jilunts in tlie gardens, i-rowdcd into 

 wcdls, and were soinrtiines massed in heaps ami layers from a few inches to ;i 

 foot or more in dejith. Wiiere they accumulated on the lailway line, t'le 

 lai'gH quantities crushed beneath the trains rendered the rails and wheels so 

 sHpperv as to tem]>orai-ily prevent the advanc<' of several trains. 



General Life-history of a Grasshopper. 



The female inserts the hinddjody (abdomen) into the gi-ouiid Ky \\ oiking Hie 

 two pjiits of short, hard, ovipositor valves at the extieiiiity of ilic alulnmen. 

 Kxcn Imi'd soil of roadwavs and tracks ma\' lie penetrated, and liores, varying 

 according to the soil fium an inch to three inches in depth , ai'e made, in which 

 the eggs are deposited. As before mentioned the eggla\ing is commonly 

 effected by the swarm in comparatively linuted ])atches of ground, varying 

 from a few scpiare yards uji to several hundred scjuare yards, depending upon 

 the size of the swarm. A frothy li(|iiid secretion is exuded with the eggs, 

 below, around, and al)o\e them, which hardens into an iiregidar sheath of a 

 spongy and paperv nature, and protects the eggs somewhat from other insects, 

 and the effects of moisture. The egg.s, 20 or more in number, are deposited 

 in transverse rows of four, with the longer axis of the eggs running pai-allel 

 with the bore, and pointing towards the surface, to which the newly hatched 

 hoppers immediately make their way. 



IiiiiiKiture stages — The recently hatcln d insect is delicate and small (about 

 one-.sixth of an inch in length), shaped like the adult insect, but with no trace 

 of wings showing. Six legs are pi'esent as in the adult, ijut at this stage it 

 can leap no more than two or three inches. It is vai'iously whitish, brown, 

 grey, to almost black in colour. 



As the insect feeds it develops in size hy a series of moults. 'idie p'l'iod 

 occupied to pass through the fitst tiiree stages is about three w eeks. The 

 next stage occupies about ten days, and the duration of the following stage is 

 two to thi-ee weeks. These last two stages are marked by the prescmce of wing- 

 pads or rudimentary wings on the thorax (see Fig. '■)). 



The adult or winged form is the next stage (see Fig. I), and it is hrown 

 in colour, tlie fore wings mark'il with dark l.rown blotches, the hind wings 

 transparent, the tips being marked with a smoky blotch. Once winged the 

 i '.sect never grows larger, and though soinewliat vaiiable in size, measures 

 usually about \\ inches fi-om the head to the tip of the folded wings. Varia- 

 tion in the size of individual specimens is probably due to the amount and 

 (|uality of food available during the immatui-e stages. The females are 

 yen-rally somewhat larger than the mah s. The adult lives for a ]H'iiod of 

 about six weeks, and mav deposit several batches of eggs. 



As the iinmatuie stages occujiy a peiiod of about seven weeks, the total 

 length of life from the hatching of the egg is about thirteen weeks. 



When the adult stage is reaclied, the insects may mo\-e in swarms by a 

 series of shoi-t flights of a few hundred feet at a time, or rising higher int ) 



