142 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



the Orthoptera. In the insects of this genus the breast is not 

 armed with a blunt spine or tubercle, a character which distin- 

 guishes the genus Acrydium from it. In other respects these two 

 genera are much alike. 



1. Locusta Carolina.* Carolina locust. 



Pale yellowish brown, with small dusky spots ; wings black, 

 with a broad yellow hind margin, which is covered with dusky 

 spots at the tip. Length from 1 to 1| inch; exp. 2f to above 

 3£ inches. 



A more detailed description of this large, common, and well- 

 known species is unnecessary. The Carolina locust is found in 

 abundance by the road-side, from the middle to the end of sum- 

 mer. It generally makes use of its large and handsome wings in 

 moving from place to place. It is frequently found in company 

 with the red-legged locust in the vicinity of salt marshes, but it 

 generally prefers warm and dry situations. Pairing takes place 

 with this species in the months of September and October, im- 

 mediately after which the female prepares to lay her eggs. These 

 are deposited at the bottom of a cylindrical hole in the ground, 

 made in the manner already described, and are not hatched till 

 the following spring. The abdomen of the female admits of being 

 greatly extended in length, hence she frequently deposits her eggs 

 at the depth of nearly two inches beneath the surface of the soil. 



2. Locusta corallina. Coral-winged locust. 



Light brown ; spotted with dark brown on the wing-covers ; 

 wings light vermilion or coral-red, with an external dusky border, 

 which is wide and paler at the tip, narrowed and darker behind ; 

 hind shanks yellow with black-tipped spines. Length I to \\ 

 inch ; exp. 2\ to 2\ inches. 



This species closely resembles the Acridium tuberculatum of 

 Palisot de Beauvois, which seems to be the (Edipoda discoidea 

 of Serville, found in the Southern States, of a much larger size 

 than the coral-winged locust, and having the wings of a much 

 deeper and duller red color, and the blackish border not so much 



* Gryllus Locusta Carolinus, Linnaeus. 



