40 



THE ORTHOPTERA OF MINNESOTA. 



from three hundred to four hundred very small, globular, 

 orange-colored eggs, which are usually hidden in the soil at 

 a depth of one to two inches; this is shown in Fig. 13, a, as 

 well as an individual egg, c. These eggs soon give forth 



Fig. 13 — Tromhidium locustarum. — a, female with her batch of eggs (after 

 Emerton); b, newly, hatched larva, natural size indicated by the dot within the 

 circle; c, egg; d, e, vacated egg shells. (After Riley). 



small orange-colored, six-legged and verj- active mites, fig. 13, 

 b, whose aim in life seems to be to find living food, to which 

 they fasten themselves. If they succeed in finding a locust, 

 they fasten themselves very securely to its wings, or in case 

 of a pupa to its wing-pads, and almost invariabh' to its 

 under side. Here thej^ use their mouth-parts so diligently, 

 that their bodies soon swell with the life-blood of the 

 attacked host ; their former long legs become shorter and 

 shorter in proportion, and are soon almost invisible (Fig. 

 12, a). In this condition thej^ can, of course, no longer move 

 about, and they look very much like minute drops of blood, 

 or like eggs, and are frequently mistaken for such. We can 

 well imagine that a locust thus infested b}^ one or more of 

 such rapid growing mites, must soon become disabled, or at 

 least greath' weakened. To such locusts life is no longer a 

 continuous round of pleasure, and they soon take a gloomj- 

 view of it, and refuse to join their festive brethren; they 

 either congregate with similarlv aft'ected ones, and are thus 



