FABRE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



cheeks, are evidently intended for cutting up leathery 

 prey. 



I find, when the Decticus is imprisoned in my 

 menagerie, that any fresh meat tasting of Locust or 

 Grasshopper suits his needs. The blue-winged Locust 

 is the most frequent victim. 'As soon as the food is 

 introduced into the cage there is an uproar, especially 

 if the Dectici are hungry. They stamp about, and dart 

 forward clumsily, being hampered by their long shanks. 

 Some of the Locusts are caught at once, but others with 

 desperate bounds rush to the top of the cage, and there 

 hang on out of the reach of the Grasshopper, who is too 

 stout to climb so 'high. But they have only postponed 

 their fate. Either because they are tired, or because 

 they are tempted by the green stuff below, they will 

 come down, and the Dectici will be after them im- 

 mediately. 



This Grasshopper, though his intellect is dull, pos- 

 sesses the art of scientific killing of which we have seen 

 instances elsewhere. He always spears his prey in the 

 neck, and, to make it helpless as quickly as possible, 

 begins by biting the nerves that enable it to move. It 

 is a very wise method, for the Locust is hard to kill. 

 Even when beheaded he goes on hopping. I 'have seen 

 some who, though half-eaten, kicked out so desperately 

 that they succeeded in escaping. 



[130] 



