THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



13 



ACRIDIIDyE (Family). 



SHORT-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS OR TRUE LOCUSTS. 



The insects of this family include the most destructive members of 

 the entire order and are common practically everywhere. They are 

 separated from the other families by their short antenna^ which are 

 never as long as the body; by the three-jointed tarsi; and by the short 

 plated ovipositor. The hind legs are large and long to enable them to 

 travel rapidly by jumping. With the exception of a few species all have 

 well-developed wings and are al)le to make long and continuous migra- 

 tory tiights. 



¥ 



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Fig. 12. — The Rocky Mountain Locust (Melanophis sprc- 

 tiis) laying eggs. (After Riley.) 



The members of this family are very prolific and increase in such 

 numbers as to cause great ruin to vegetation. Many species migrate 

 long distances, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. The eggs 

 are usually laid at the bottom of a hole drilled into the soil by the 

 abdomen of the female (Fig. 12). As the winter is passed in this stage, 

 the eggs are thoroughly protected from cold and moisture by a fluid 

 cement secreted by the female for this purpose. In the spring the 

 young hoppers emerge from the holes and begin to feed upon the first 

 green vegetation and develop very rapidly. In the early fall they 

 begin to mate, the females depositing their eggs before winter. 



Control. — The control of grasshoppers is often a perplexing problem, 

 due to their great numbers and migratory habits. Their appearance is 

 often so sudden as to take the farmer wholly unawares and the damage 

 done before he can defend his crops. Extensive experiments on control 

 work have been conducted by trained men all over the world, the results 

 of which have made the hopper invasions less dreaded. The reclamation 

 of arid lands and the extension of agriculture to the foothills and deserts 



