﻿122 



SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT 



[Fig. 23 





_^^!».««^Vl' 



for the purpose. (See Fig„ 



24, where J, c show the 



structure of one of each of 



X- the upper and lower valves)' 



e ^^ With the valves closed she 



^=-_ - pushes the tips in the 



ground, and by a series of 



muscular efforts and the 



l\C:5^-^^^^ continued opening and 



shutting of the valves, she 



::^I^'-V^^^"Z. drills a hole until, in a few 



minutes (the time varyinfir 



Rocky Moitntain Locust:— a., a, a, female in diflerent 

 positions, ovipositing; 6, egg-pod extracted from ground, with the nature of the Soil^ 

 with tlie end broken open, showing how tlie eggs are arranged; iJctlUieui lUO bUlJ/ 



c, a few eggs lying loose on the ground ; d, c, sliows the earth +Uq iTTVir^lo ohrtrimati io Kn 

 partially removed, to illustrate an egg-mass already in place, ''***^ WUOie auuuiueu Jb UU- 

 and one being placed; /, shows wliere such a mass has been • j -i ^- i • 



covered up. rieu, the tips reaching an 



inch or more below the surface, by means of great distention. Now,. 

 with hind legs hoisted straight above the back, and the shanks hug- 

 ging more or less closely the thighs, she commences ovipositing^ 

 the eggs being voided in a pale, glistening and glutinous fluid which 

 holds them together and binds them into a long cylindrical pod, covered 

 with particles of earth which adhere to it. When fresh the whole 

 mass is soft and moist, but it soon acquires a firmer consistency. It 

 is often as long as the abdomen, and usually lies in a curved or slant- 

 ing position. It is never placed much more than an inch below the 

 surface, except where some vegetable root has been followed down 

 and devoured, and the insect leaves her eggs before emerging; in this, 

 way the mass is sometimes placed a foot below the surface. The egg& 

 which compose this mass are laid side by side to the number of from 

 30 to 100, according to size of mass. They are 0.15 to 0.20 inch long^ 

 one-fourth as wide, slightly curved, of a pale yellow [Fig. 24.] 



color, and rather larger at the anterior than the pos- 

 terior end. As the hatching period approaches, they 

 become more plump and pale, and the embryo, with 

 its dark eyes, is visible through the shell which is 

 now somewhat transparent. The opening to this ^gg 

 mass is covered up by the mother, but the newly homy^!Ze.^ '^""^'"^ 

 hatched insect has no difficulty in escaping. When first hatched the 

 little hopper is quite pale, but soon becomes mottled with gray and 

 brown. In escaping from the ^gg it is at first covered with a delicate 



Rocky Mountaix 

 SS' Locust:— Anal charac- 



