230 ZOOLOGY 



Just behind the mouth is a large crop into which empty the con^ 

 tents of the saUvary glands. It is this fluid mixed with digested 

 food that we call the " grasshopper's molasses." After the food 

 is digested by the action of the saliva and other juices, it passes 

 in a fluid state through the walls of the intestine where most of 

 it becomes part of the blood. As blood it is passed on to tissues, 

 such as muscle, to be used in repairing that which is used up 

 during the flight of the insect. Some of the foods are doubtless 

 at once oxidized to release energy for the active insect. 



Eyes. — A considerable part of the surface of the head 

 of the grasshopper is taken up by the compound eyes. 

 Compare them with your own in position. Examination 

 with a lens shows the whole surface to be composed of 

 tiny hexagonal spaces called facets. Each facet is be- 

 lieved to be a single eye, with perhaps distinct vision 

 from its neighbor. The grasshopper also has three simple 

 eyes on the front of the head. Find them. 



Other Sense Organs. — The segmented feelers or 



antennoe have to do with the sense of touch and smell. 



The ear of the grasshopper is found under the wing on 



the first segment of the abdomen as before noted. Cov- 



T t d" \ f ^ring the body and on the appendages, are found hairs 



of part of the (sensory hairs) which appear to be sensitive to touch. 



compound eye of Nervous System. — The nerve chain, as in the cray- 



fe^ets^c! nerves', ^^h, is on the ventral side of the body. As in the crayfish, 



it passes around the gullet near the head to the dorsal side, 



where a collection of ganglia forms the brain. Nerves leave the central 



system as outgoing fibers which bear motor impulses. Other nerve fibers 



pass inward, and produce sensations. 



Make a careful drawing of the locust, showing as many of the above parts 

 as you can, and label them neatly. 



Life History. — The female red-legged locust lays its eggs by 

 digging a hole in the ground with its ovipositor or egg layer, the 

 modified end of the abdomen. From twenty to thirty eggs are 

 laid in the fall; these hatch out in the spring as tiny wingless 

 grasshoppers, otherwise like the adult. As in the crayfish, the 

 young molt in order to grow larger, each grasshopper under- 

 going several molts before reaching the adult state. In the fall 

 most of the adults die, only a few surviving the winter. 



Economic Importance of the Grasshopper. — As far back as 

 Biblical times, the grasshopper was noted for its destructive- 



