LOCUSTS 



III 



THELR EARLY DAYS 



The Locust mother Is not, in all cases, a model of 

 affection. The Italian Locust, having laboriously half- 

 buried herself in the sand, lays her eggs there and 

 immediately bounds away. She gives not a look at the 

 eggs, nor makes the least attempt to cover the hole where 

 they lie. It closes of its own accord, as best it can, by the 

 natural falling-in of the sand. It is an extremely casual 

 performance, marked by an utter absence of maternal 

 care. 



Others do not forsake their eggs so recklessly. The 

 ordinary Locust with the blue-and-black wings, for in- 

 stance, after leaving her eggs in the sand, lifts her hind- 

 legs high, sweeps some sand into the hole, and presses it 

 down by stamping it rapidly. It is a pretty sight to 

 watch the swift action of her slender legs, giving alter- 

 nate kicks to the opening they are plugging. With 

 this lively trampling the entrance to the home is closed 

 and hidden away. The hole that contains the eggs 

 completely disappears, so that no ill-intentioned creature 

 could find it by sight alone. 



Nor is this all. The power that works the two 

 rammers lies in the hinder thighs, which, as they rise and 



[237] 



