Grasshoppers. 



325 



however, are without such aid, and have to bore a hole by thrusting the hind-body 

 weh into the soil. A fluid is poured over the eggs, and this, hardening, unites 

 them and forms a protection. It does not, however, ward off all enemies. The 

 blister-beetle hunts for these egg-masses and deposits her own eggs upon them, and 

 on hatching the beetle-grubs batten upon the grasshoppers' eggs. A similar course 

 is fohowed by certain two-winged flies ; and the nutritive value of the eggs is 

 appreciated by some birds. 



All the short-horns are strict vegetarians, but some of the long-horns add 

 other Insects to their vegetable fare. Whilst much attention has been paid to 

 the ravages of locusts, and 

 expensive measures have 

 been adopted to combat 

 them, comparativelv little 

 notice has been taken of 

 the effect upon grasslands 

 of the small grasshoppers. 

 If one sits quietly in mea- 

 dow or pasture for a short 

 time and observes the enor- 

 mous number of these 

 Insects that are clinging 

 to the grass - stems and 

 eating the leaves, he must 

 come to the conclusion that 

 the quantity of grass 

 consumed throughout the 

 summer must make a 

 considerable difference to 

 the tonnage of hay yielded 

 by the meadow, and to the 

 number of animals that can 

 be fed in the pasture. We 

 are too apt, ])erhaps, to 

 regard the matter from the 

 aesthetic jxjint of view, and 

 to think of the grasshoppei 's acrobatic feats and its cheerful chirrup as important 

 items in the amenities of the country. So, indeed, they are ; but it is surprising 

 that the economic agriculturists have not given us statistics of the loss the grass- 

 hopper causes, and devised some means for reducing its numbers. 



Having dealt with the long-horns already (see page 150), let us take a few 

 typical examples from the short-horns to show their variet}-. The common 

 grasshoppers of our meadows ^ art^ well known, for what reader in his child- 

 hood has not engaged in tlie rather elusive delight of hunting them ^ They 

 agree prett}' gcneralK' in form with the large migratory locusts. There 

 are some remarkable dej)artures from this type. One of these is the long-nose, ^ 

 ^ Stenobolhnis and (k)inphocerus - Tryxalis nasuta. 



Photo by] [ir. /. Lucas, F.K.H. 



ShORT-HoKNED (iREEN tiRASSHOPPER. 

 A grasshopper of imciiltivattd ami woody places, the largest but one of our native 

 Short-horns. The individual photographed is a male, which is not nearly so deser\'ing of 

 the prefix " green " as the female. Three times the actual size. 



