Ri'RAL School Leaflet 1275 



INSECTS TO BE RECOGNIZED IN 1915-1916 



the grasshopper 



Anna Botsford Comstock 



For schoolroom study it is best to place a grasshopper in a tumbler on 

 a spray of fresh herbage, and allow the pupils to observe it at leisure. 



The grasshopper earns its name by its powerful jumping, and it per- 

 forms its jump after the most approved athletic methods. The long hind 

 legs are folded together parallel with the insect's body, and the entire 

 foot, with a spine in the heel, is' pressed to the ground. Then, like a 

 steel spring, the long legs straighten, and the insect makes a jimip that, 

 translated into human temis, would be equal to a man making a standing 

 jump of five hundred feet. Of course this is an excellent method for 

 the grasshopper to escape its enemies, such as birds, skunks, and other 

 animals. 



The grasshopper's face has a most comical expression. It is a long 

 face, with the compound eyes placed high on it; and in front of each big 

 eye, and between and below them, are the three tiny simple eyes. The 

 antennae are short, but alert. There are two pairs of jaws, which move 

 side wise, and connected with these are the palpi, or feelers, which con- 

 tinually tap the food while the insect is eating. 



Back of the head is a sunbonnet-shaped piece, bent down at the sides, 

 which forms a cover for the middle part of the body, called the thorax. 

 To the thorax are attached the three pairs of legs, the wings, and the wing 

 covers. The wing covers are not meant for flying, but are held stiff 

 and straight up in the air during flight. The true wings when at rest 

 are folded lengthwise, like a fan, beneath the wing covers. They are 

 strongly veined and circular, and are capable of either short, swift flights, 

 or long-continued flights when the insects are in hordes and migrate into 

 new territory. 



The abdomen consists of rings, as in all insects, and along the lower 

 sides there are two lengthwise creases, which open and shut when the 

 grasshopper breathes. The spiracles, or breathing pores, can be seen 

 on each segment, just above this suture. The ears are two large disks, 

 one on each side of the first segment of the abdomen, and can be seen 

 by lifting the wings. The long-horned grasshoppers have their ears 

 in the front elbow, like the katydid. 



In the fall grasshoppers lay their eggs in oval masses protected by a 

 tough covering in the ground or in decaying wood. The eggs hatch early 

 in the spring, and the young are therefore ready to attack the tender 

 crops. 



