AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGY. 77 



of a few hours are said to change the most fertile provinces into 

 a barren desert." During their migrations in search of food 

 they move in immense dense masses, which resemble huge thun- 

 der or hail clouds, and at the termination of their career, every 

 leaf is soon devoured, and the atmosphere is finally loaded with 

 putrid exhalations from their dead bodies, producing pestilence 

 in the train of a general famine, which is the consequence of 

 their voracity. 



Swarms of these animals have appeared in various parts of 

 Europe, from Tartary, and small flights have made their way 

 even into England. A species of this genus occasioned so much 

 destruction in some parts of Europe, that in the year 1813 the 

 French government issued decrees with a view to the destruction 

 of the larvse. Although the thickly settled parts of the United 

 States are altogether unacquainted with the scourge of any spe- 

 cies of migratory locust, yet we shall have occasion at a future 

 time, to speak of several species found within the limits of our 

 territory, that have already proved a very serious evil. 



There seems to be little doubt, that a species, probably the G. 

 migratorius, constituted one of the plagues of Egypt mentioned 

 in the Bible ; and that John the Baptist was compelled to use 

 them for food during his sojourn in the wilderness. 



Even at the present day, the inhabitants of divers countries of 

 Africa, make great use of these destructive insects for food. For 

 this purpose, the insect requires but little preparation, and we be- 

 lieve the hemelytra and wings are always rejected, whether it is to be 

 eaten fresh, or salted. In the latter state, they are constantly ex- 

 posed for sale in the markets of the Levant, and they are known 

 to be a considerable article of commerce in that region. 



Many travellers assure us that they constitute an agreeable 

 food ; according to Shaw, when fried with a little salt, they have 

 the taste of the Cray-fish, a crustaceous animal like a miniature 

 lobster, abounding in our fresh water streams. Some of the 

 Arabs are stated by Niebuhr, to preserve large quantities of 

 these insects in the dried state, for winter consumption. 



The Grylli feed exclusively on vegetables. They fly with a 

 considerable strength of wing, and some species make a noise 

 when they poise themselves in the air previously to alighting, by 

 striking the hemelytra together. During their several changes, 



