14 GENERAL ZOOLOGY 



dian dorsal line. From this old skin the new head, thorax, 

 legs, wings, and abdomen are slowly withdrawn while the 

 new skin is still very soft. The body and all its appendages 

 expand and harden within half or three quarters of an 

 hour. It is now an adult insect, or imago, of full size and 

 with fully developed wings, which up to the last molt have 

 been of no use to the grasshopper. 



Relation to Environment. Red-legged grasshoppers are 

 found in meadows, pastures, fields, and along roadsides, 

 though most abundant where the vegetation is succulent. 

 Specimens from low, damp ground are usually somewhat 

 darker in color than those from high, dry areas. Their food 

 consists of the leaves of grasses and other vegetation. The 

 strength of the mandibles and the complexity of the diges- 

 tive system fit them admirably for a life of constant forage. 

 Their color is, to a certain extent, protective, for they are 

 not easily seen among the dried grasses of the summer. 



Grasshoppers have, when adult, three methods of pro- 

 gression, — walking, jumping, and flying. The many spines 

 pointing downward on the legs and the pulvilli between the 

 tarsal claws make climbing an easy matter. 



The list of the grasshopper's enemies is long and formi- 

 dable, even if man is not considered. Small animals, such 

 as moles and birds, especially the crow and blackbird, feed 

 on the eggs and the young. Some species of wasps use the 

 nymphs to provision their nests, first stinging them to 

 render them helpless. They are also subject to a disease 

 caused by a fungous growth, and may often be found firmly 

 attached to some grass blade to which they have clung 

 before death. That they have been able to maintain them- 

 selves in such large numbers in spite of all their enemies, 

 marks them as successful competitors in the struggle for 

 existence. 



