ZOOLOGY 



Colors of 

 locusts 



objects. As the grasshopper grows, wing pads appear, 

 and the insect is said to have reached the pupa stage. 

 The tegmina or superior wings appear as small, more 

 or less triangular objects, with the anterior or costal 

 margin upward ; whereas in the adult the costal 

 margin is downward when the insect is at rest. In this 

 way it is easy to distinguish a pupa from the adult in 

 those species which have the adult wings small and 

 functionless. In the great lubber grasshopper of the 

 Western foothills and plains there are no wings, na- 

 ture having seemingly given up the effort to support 

 the vast body in the air. The winged locusts and 

 grasshoppers are often remarkable for the bright colors 

 red, blue, or yellow of the hind wings. They 

 are thus conspicuous in flight, and the question has 

 naturally been raised why they should be so brightly 

 colored, seeming to attract the attention of their 

 enemies, the birds. It is noteworthy, however, that 

 when pursued they settle on the ground, doubling 

 back a short distance at the moment of alighting. 

 When thus at rest, with the bright colors concealed, 

 they so perfectly resemble the surface of the earth 

 that the puzzled entomologist often searches for them 

 in vain, though he thought he saw them alight. It is 

 even to be noted that particular varieties agree in 

 color with the rocks ; thus along the front range in 

 Colorado, where the disintegrating Carboniferous rock 

 produces red soil, the hoppers are red to correspond. 

 The bright under wings exposed in flight actually serve 

 to puzzle the enemy, who has formed a mental image 

 which suddenly disappears. 



4. Naturalists are often asked how to distinguish a 

 i h ocu P sts Sand grasshopper from a locust. There is no essential dif- 

 ference, but the far-famed locust of Egypt is remarkable 



Protective 

 coloration 



Grass- 



