84 The South Australian Naturalist. 



A year later I made a third attempt, and this time I was 

 more fortunate. I asked some school boys to find what I 

 wanted, and I had not long to wait before I was in possession 

 of five females and three males of the black species. A few 

 weeks later they came to me with a third species. They were 

 beautiful pink and brownish pink creatures, and they had been 

 fortunate enough to secure four of them. School boys are 

 great hunters; it would have been impossible for me to get so 

 many without their aid. Having discovered a food to their 

 liking, my greatest difficulty was over. I confined each species 

 in a separate cage ; each cage w^as covered at the bottom with 

 three inches of sand, on the sand was placed slightly-curved 

 pieces of bark, and into each piece I had several holes bored. 

 This was done to provide comfortable hiding-places for them, 

 as they have a great dislike to the light, and never fly by day. 

 When disturbed they run rapidly into any place that can shelter 

 them from light, and they behave as if it was painful to them. 

 They are found in holes in fencing posts, the holes having been 

 made to hold the wire, and in trees which have been bored by 

 longicorn beetles or moth larvae. A keen nature-lover told me 

 that he saw a black wasp trying to capture a brown locust, 

 which was not full grown, from one of these holes in a tree 

 trunk, and it became much alarmed at the unwelcome atten- 

 tions of the wasp. After several attempts on the part of the 

 wasp, and much excited movement by the locust, the wasp 

 departed to hunt further up the tree. Having been more suc- 

 cessful, she soon returned, dragging along a tree locust which 

 she had captured. Over some of the holes the young tree 

 locusts place little felt-like pads, apparentl}^ to keep out in- 

 truders. They also hide in holes in the ground, and when poked 

 with a stick they become very vicious, especially the brown 

 species. They bite the stick so savagely that when it is quickly 

 withdrawn they still hold on ; when they find themselves so 

 suddenly deposited in the hateful light they run quickly for a 

 hiding-place, and the one who would detain them is severely 

 punished. They become real furies, turning savagely upon 

 their would-be captor. The four wings are opened and raised 

 above the back, the two front legs are held above the head, 

 which is drawn well back with the mouth wide open ; the 

 abdomen is rapidly shaken and makes a noise like the rustling 

 of dried leaves, and thus they face their enemy. When in this 

 attitude I hesitate before handling them, for I have had my 

 hands so savagely bitten that blood has been drawn. 



Though the tree locusts fly well by night, I have not been 

 able to induce one to fly by day, even though I disturb and 

 worry them. Of the three different species I had under obser- 



