152 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



face and the edges of the lateral margins of the thorax yellow. 

 Length from ^% to 7 % of an inch. 



This species was first described by Mr. Say under the name of 

 Acrydium later ale*. I have taken it from the middle of April to 

 the middle of May. It varies in being darker above sometimes. 



7. Tetrix parvipennis. Small-winged grouse-locust. 



Dark brown ; sides blackish ; thorax clay-colored or pale brown, 

 about as long as the body ; wing-covers with a small white spot 

 at the tips ; wings much shorter than the thorax ; male with the 

 face and the edges of the lateral margins of the thorax yellow. 

 Length from -^^ to more than ^ inch. 



This species is much shorter and thicker than the Tetrix late- 

 ralis. I have taken it in April and May, in the perfect state, and 

 have found the pupae near the end of July. 



The habits of the grouse-locusts are said to be absolutely the 

 same as those of other locusts. They seem however to be more 

 fond of heat, being generally found in grassy places, on banks, by 

 the sides of the road, and even on the naked sands, exposed to 

 the full influence of the sun throughout the day. They are ex- 

 tremely agile, and consequently very difficult to capture, for they 

 leap to an astonishing distance, considering their small size, being 

 moreover aided in this motion by their ample wings. The young, 

 which are deprived of wings, are generally found about midsum- 

 mer, and are readily distinguished by the thorax, which is some- 

 what like a reversed boat, being furnished with a longitudinal 

 ridge or keel from one end to the other. These little locusts are 

 analogous to the insects belonging to the genus Membracis in the 

 order Hemiptera, which also are distinguished by a very large 

 thorax covering the whole of the upper side of the body, small 

 wing-covers, and have the faculty of making great leaps. Indeed 

 these two kinds of insects very naturally connect the orders Or- 

 thoptera and Hemiptera together. 



After so much space has been devoted to an account of the 

 ravages of grasshoppers and locusts, and to the descriptions of the 

 insects themselves, perhaps it may be expected that the means of 



American Entomology. Vol. I. plate 5. 



