﻿4.— 
  OXYA 
  VELOX. 
  

  

  By 
  Eao 
  Sahib 
  Y. 
  Ramachandra 
  Rao, 
  M.A., 
  F.E.S., 
  Assistant 
  

   Entomologist, 
  Coimbatore. 
  

  

  Oxya 
  velox, 
  the 
  lesser 
  or 
  small 
  grasshopper 
  of 
  Paddy, 
  is 
  a 
  greenish 
  

   insect 
  with 
  a 
  lateral 
  yellow 
  stripe. 
  The 
  female 
  is 
  light 
  to 
  bright 
  green 
  

   and 
  reaches 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  2 
  inches 
  in 
  length, 
  while 
  the 
  male 
  is 
  more 
  

   slender 
  and 
  smaller 
  and 
  usually 
  reddish 
  brown 
  in 
  colour. 
  

  

  Foodplcmts. 
  It 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  whole 
  a 
  marsh 
  insect, 
  feeding 
  on 
  grasses 
  

   growing 
  in 
  wet 
  situations. 
  The 
  young 
  ones 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  adults 
  attack 
  

   the 
  leaves 
  of 
  paddy, 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  nurseries, 
  while 
  the 
  adults 
  are 
  

   capable 
  of 
  doing 
  much 
  damage 
  to 
  paddy 
  in 
  ear 
  by 
  biting 
  at 
  the 
  bases 
  

   of 
  the 
  maturing 
  earheads 
  and 
  causing 
  them 
  to 
  dry 
  up. 
  The 
  grasshopper 
  

   is 
  also 
  known 
  to 
  attack 
  cotton 
  and 
  pulses. 
  

  

  Life-history. 
  In 
  adaptation 
  to 
  a 
  life 
  in 
  marshes 
  the 
  grasshopper 
  has 
  

   acquired 
  peculiar 
  habits 
  of 
  oviposition. 
  While 
  in 
  dry 
  weather 
  and 
  in 
  

   dry 
  conditions 
  the 
  insect 
  may 
  lay 
  eggs 
  in 
  the 
  soil 
  like 
  other 
  grasshoppers, 
  

   in 
  marshy 
  situations 
  it 
  lays 
  eggs 
  among 
  paddy 
  stems 
  and 
  grass-clumps 
  

   about 
  an 
  inch 
  or 
  two 
  above 
  the 
  water-level. 
  It 
  exudes 
  a 
  gummy 
  frothy 
  

   liquid 
  which 
  soon 
  sets 
  hard, 
  assuming 
  a 
  red-brown 
  colour, 
  and 
  serves 
  to 
  

   protect 
  the 
  masses 
  of 
  eggs 
  laid 
  in 
  its 
  midst. 
  In 
  certain 
  instances 
  such 
  

   -eggmasses 
  were 
  also 
  found 
  laid 
  in 
  folds 
  of 
  cotton 
  leaves 
  in 
  a 
  cotton 
  field 
  

   and 
  likewise 
  in 
  folded 
  paddy 
  leaves. 
  

  

  The 
  number 
  of 
  eggs 
  in 
  a 
  mass 
  laid 
  in 
  the 
  field 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  Vary 
  from 
  

   10 
  to 
  29. 
  

  

  The 
  duration 
  of 
  the 
  egg 
  period 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  vary 
  from 
  15 
  to 
  41 
  days, 
  

   and 
  was 
  observed 
  to 
  depend 
  chiefly 
  on 
  the 
  season 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  and 
  the 
  

   presence 
  or 
  absence 
  of 
  moisture. 
  It 
  was 
  shortest 
  in 
  April, 
  15-17 
  days, 
  

   and 
  longest 
  in 
  December 
  and 
  January, 
  41 
  days. 
  

  

  The 
  young 
  ones. 
  The 
  sexes 
  can 
  be 
  distinguished 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  earliest 
  

   •stages 
  chiefly 
  by 
  the 
  aid 
  of 
  characters 
  of 
  the 
  anal 
  appendages. 
  

  

  The 
  males 
  invariably 
  pass 
  through 
  6 
  moults, 
  while 
  among 
  the 
  females 
  

   there 
  is 
  in 
  about 
  50 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  cases 
  an 
  additional 
  moult. 
  The 
  

   wing-pads 
  are 
  noticeable 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  instar 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  earlier 
  stages 
  

   are 
  found 
  overlapping 
  the 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  thorax, 
  but 
  after 
  the 
  fourth 
  moult 
  

   and 
  after 
  the 
  fifth 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  certain 
  females, 
  the 
  wings 
  become 
  turned 
  

   back. 
  

  

  ( 
  41 
  ) 
  

  

  