CHAPTER XI 



THE WHITE-FACED DECTICUS : HIS HABITS 



T 



HE White-faced Decticus (D. albifrons, 

 Fabr. ) stands at the head of the Grass- 

 hopper clan in my district, both as a singer 

 and as an insect of imposing presence. He 

 has a grey costume, a pair of powerful 

 mandibles and a broad ivory face. Without 

 being plentiful, he does not let himself be 

 sought in vain. In the height of summer we 

 find him hopping in the long grass, especially 

 at the foot of the sunny rocks where the 

 turpentine-tree takes root. 



At the end of July I start a Decticus- 

 menagerie. As a vivarium I adopt a big 

 wire-gauze cover standing on a bed of sifted 

 earth. The population numbers a dozen; 

 and both sexes are equally represented. 



The question of victuals perplexes me for 

 some time. It seems as though the regula- 

 tion diet ought to be a vegetable one, to 

 judge by the Locust, who consumes any 



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