INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE ORANGE. 



660 



and nearly flat. The young katydids issue from that end of 

 the egg which projects beyond the leaf, leaving the empty 

 egg-shell still in position behind. When first hatched, they 

 feed only upon the surface of the leaf, but as they increase in 

 size they devour the whole substance. When mature, they 

 acquire wings, which enable them to fly readily from tree to 

 tree, appearing as shown at 1 in the figure. From the head 

 to the extremity of the closed wings, the full-grown insect 

 measures about two and a half inches. The outer wino;s are 

 green, with leaf-like veinings, the under pair of a paler green, 

 and beautifully netted; the antennae are long and thread-like, 

 and the hind legs slender. The female is furnished with a 

 curved ovipositor at the end of the abdomen. 



Fortunately, there is a small Chalcid fly parasitic on the 

 eggs of this katydid, which, when mature, is little more than 

 one-eighth of an inch long; it is the Eiqjelmus mirabilis o^ 

 Walsh. The female, which is shown at 2, Fig. 394, has 

 dusky wings, and an abdomen which she can elevate over 

 her thorax in a peculiar manner. The male is represented at 

 2 a in the same figure. The eggs of this parasite are placed 

 within the eggs of the katydid, where the larvae hatch and 

 undergo their transformations, issuing as flies from circular 

 holes which they cut through the egg-shells, as shown at 2 6. 

 A large proportion of the eggs of the katydid are parasitized 

 by this insect. 



Memedies. — Collect the eggs during the winter and place 

 them in boxes covered with coarse wire gauze until spring, 

 so that the parasites may be permitted to escape. Several 

 species of birds are said to devour these katydids. 



No. 245. — The Lubber Grasshopper. 



Romalea microptera Serv. 



This is a large species of locust, very destructive to orange- 

 leaves, which has received tiie common name of "the lubber 

 grasshopper" from its sluggish habits. When full grown, it 

 is about two and a quarter inches long, of a yellow color, the 



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