The Life of the Grasshopper 



us so much in the Decticus. It is an opaline 

 capsule, the size of a large pea and roughly 

 subdivided into a small number of egg- 

 shaped vesicles. When the Grasshopper 

 walks, the thing scrapes along the ground 

 and becomes dirty with sticky grains of sand. 



The final banquet of the female Decticus 

 is seen again here in all its hideousness. 

 When, after a couple of hours, the fertihzing 

 capsule is drained of its contents, the Grass- 

 hopper devours it bit by bit; for a long time 

 she chews and rechews the gummy morsel 

 and ends by swallowing it all down. In less 

 than half a day, the milky burden has dis- 

 appeared, consumed with zest down to the 

 last atom. 



The inconceivable therefore, imported, 

 one would think, from another planet, so 

 far removed is it from earthly habits, reap- 

 pears with no noticeable variation in the 

 Grasshopper, following on the Decticus. 

 What singular folk are the Locustidas, one 

 of the oldest races in the animal kingdom 

 on dry land! It seems probable that these 

 eccentricities are the rule throughout the 

 order. Let us consult another sabre-bearer. 



I select the Ephippiger {Ephippigera 

 vitiiim, Serv.), who is so easy to rear on 



294 



