Insecta. 3 



monize with its surroundings that we often fail to see the 

 grasshopper when it is right before our eyes. Even when 

 we have frightened a grasshopper, and watch its jump or 

 flight, on going to the place where we saw it alight we do 

 not always readily discover it. 



The plant on which the grasshopper rests serves both 

 as food and as shelter ; it is its home, so far as it can be 

 said to have a home. Food usually being abundant, the 

 grasshopper moves about but little, and leads a rather 

 sluggish life. 



Locomotion of the Grasshopper. The grasshopper has 

 three modes of locomotion, crawling, jumping, and flying. 

 The wings and legs are moved by the strong, white, 

 striated muscles, which are situated chiefly in the thorax. 



Crawling. This is accomplished mainly by the first and 

 second pairs of legs, the hind pair making fewer movements 

 in the ordinary slow crawl. The hooked claws enable the 

 grasshopper to retain a firm hold while crawling. 



Jumping. The length and strength of the hind legs fit 

 the grasshopper for powerful jumping. The spines on the 

 hind border of the tibia keep it from slipping. 



The Wings and Flying. The anterior pair of wings 

 serve mainly as covers for the hinder pair, and their com- 

 parative thickness and toughness fit them well for this use. 

 The hinder pair of wings are much wider, being folded 

 like a fan when not in use and wholly covered and pro- 

 tected by the anterior pair. The hinder pair are more 

 delicate in their texture, but still are sufficiently strong for 

 their work in flight, being stiffened by the hollow veins 

 which radiate through them. The grasshopper is crawling 

 through the grass or resting quietly on stems and leaves 

 most of the time, and is flying only a small part of the 



