The Locusts: their Eggs 



laying. It is not unusual for a male, by com- 

 parison a dwarf, to come near and for a 

 long time to gaze curiously at the travailing 

 mother. Sometimes also a few females 

 stand around, with their big faces turned to- 

 wards their friend in labour. They seem to 

 take an interest in what is happening, per- 

 haps saying to themselves that it will be their 

 turn soon. 



After some forty minutes of immobility, 

 the mother suddenly releases herself and 

 bounds far aw^ay. She gives not a look at 

 the eggs nor a touch of the broom to conceal 

 the aperture of the well. The hole closes of 

 its own accord, as best it can, by the natural 

 falllng-in of the sand. It is an extremely 

 summary performance, marked by an utter 

 absence of maternal solicitude. The Locust 

 mother is not a model of affection. 



Others do not forsake their eggs so reck- 

 lessly. I can name the ordinary Locust with 

 the blue wings striped with black {CEdipoda 

 ccerulescens, LiN. ) ; also Pachytyliis nigro- 

 fasciatus, De Geer, whose cognomen lacks 

 point, for it ought to suggest either the 

 malachite-green patches of the costume or 

 the white cross of the corselet. 



Both, when laying their eggs, adopt the 



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