LOCUSTID^E. 255 



hinder parlf: mandibles very long and toothed at the 

 extremity; palpi very long and slender, composed 

 of long joints, the maxillary pair terminated by a fleshy 

 wart, (not an acute spine, as stated by Mr. Grey;) 

 legs long, especially the hinder ones, ,the thighs of 

 which are much thickened ; tibiae strongly spined ; 

 tarsi four-jointed, but having a fleshy lobe at the base 

 of the radical joint on the under side, by which cha- 

 racter it is associated with the present family, and 

 not with that of which we are next to speak. 



FAM. LOCUSTID^E. 



ANTENNAE short, seldom exceeding half the length of 

 the body, filiform or subulate, sometimes. thickened 

 towards the middle or extremity, the joints generally 

 distinct and not very numerous ; tarsi three-jointed ; 

 abdomen conical and compressed, the female without 



projecting ovipositor. The males are without a 

 circular spot at the base of the tegmina, and their 

 stridulent note is therefore entirely produced by the 

 friction of the thighs against the tegmina and wings. 



Such, concisely, are the most marked distinctive 

 features of a tribe of insects which have long been 

 objects of historical celebrity on account of their ex- 

 tensive depredations. As they are very numerous, 

 and present considerable differences in external cha- 

 racters, the genera into which they are divided are 

 necessarily many. The ravages of locusts have been 

 often described, and the accounts given by travellers of 

 their astonishing multitudes and powers of destruction 

 are calculated to excite our astonishment. It is also 



