LOCUSTS 



The little creature has now to complete his deliv- 

 erance. On leaving his shell he is of a whitish colour, 

 clouded with light red. His progress is made by worm- 

 like movements; and, so that it may be as easy as pos- 

 sible, he is hatched, like the young Grasshopper, in a 

 temporary jacket which keeps his antennae and legs 

 closely fixed to his body. Like the White-faced 

 Decticus he keeps his boring-tool at his neck. Here 

 there is a kind of tumour that swells and subsides 

 alternately, and strikes the obstacle before it as regularly 

 as a piston. When I see this soft bladder trying to 

 overcome the hardness of the earth I come to the un- 

 happy creature's aid, and damp the layer of soil. 



Even then the work is terribly hard. How it must 

 labour, the poor little thing, how it must persevere with 

 its throbbing head and writhing loins, before it can clear 

 a passage for itself! The wee mite's eiforts show us 

 plainly that the journey to the light of day is an enor- 

 mous undertaking, in which the greater number would 

 die but for the help of the exit-tunnel, the mother's 

 work. 



When the tiny insect reaches the surface at last, it 

 rests for a moment to recover from all that fatigue. 

 Then suddenly the blister swells and throbs, and the 

 temporary jacket splits. The rags are pushed back 

 by the hind-legs, which are the last to be stripped. The 



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