gQ The South Amtralian Naturalist. 



hiding-place, climb up the side of the cage, where there is 

 plenty of room for the wings to expand. I have seen them 

 sitting several hours in the same place without moving, except 

 for the contraction of the abdomen at short intervals, and thus 

 they patiently wait for the skin to break. Freeing the long, 

 sensitive antennae from the old skin rather bothers them. 

 They push the old skin downwards, and pull the head back as 

 far as possible in their efforts to get free. Between 10 and 11 

 p.m. I took a last look for the night at a young black tree 

 locust, which had been clinging since early evening to the side 

 of the cage waiting for the old skin to break. All was just as 

 when she first took up her position on the side of the cage. At 

 a little after 1 a.m. I paid another visit to the cage, and this 

 time my nocturnal wandering was rewarded. A marvellous 

 change had taken place : the short little wing parts had been 

 replaced by beautiful long wings. When fully expanded, but 

 not quite dry, they hang over the back like a white veil or 

 limp, damp muslin. When seen at this stage it is almost impos- 

 sible to realise that they can become stiff and strong and fit for 

 flight. The ovipostor, which was curved back on the top of 

 the abdomen, has disappeared, and a long narrow blade, slightly 

 curved upwards, hangs from end of abdomen. The head, legs, 

 thorax, and ovipostor are a yellowish colour, and the abdomen 

 is white marked with yellowish rings. This pale creature of the 

 night is indeed beautiful and graceful. The yellowish colour 

 becomes black in a short time, and the white wings become a 

 smoky colour, lined across with dark brown lines. The antennae, 

 which are always very long (I have measured some that were 

 nearly five inches in length), become dark brown or black. 



The antennae of the pink species are not so long as in the 

 black or brown, but the head is much bigger. The body is 

 thicker and of a heavier build than the other two species, the 

 hopping legs are very stout and strong, and the part from the 

 big middle joint down to the foot is strongly spined and a 

 pretty shiny pink, as if it had been enamelled. I was not 

 successful in rearing any of the four which I had brought to 

 me to the full-grown insect ; they may have injured each other 

 in their nightly quarrels. When I found them dead there was 

 always part of them eaten. 



I ahvays thought the tree locusts to be purely vegetable 

 feeders, but they are certainly not; they are quite keen on a 

 cannibal feast. All the males in the black locust cage were 

 killed and eaten. They seemed to be aware of their danger, for 

 about the time that the laying cominenced they flew and ran 



