ORTHOPTEEA. 



299 



Their habits resemble those of the other herbivorous Orthoptera. 

 They live in meadows, on trees, devouring the leaves and stalks 

 of plants ; but they are never found in such great numbers as 

 to cause damage at all to be compared to that caused by the 

 Locust. ^ hey appear in the month of July and disappear at the 

 beginning of the cold weather. Towards the end of the summer, 

 their song is heard in the meadows and wheat fields. The females, 

 summoned by the males, are not long in coupling and laying their 

 eggs, which do not hatch until the following spring, in the ground. 

 After four months they change into pupae, which already show 

 rudimentary wings, and which by a fifth month pass into the 

 perfect state. 



The Great Green Grasshopper (Locusta viridissima) is very com- 

 mon in Europe. It remains during the day on trees, and in 

 the evening disports itself in the fields. 



Jig. 307. Decticus verrucivorus. 



The Decticus verrucivorus (Fig. 307) is a shorter and more thick- 

 set species, whose distinctive feature is a very broad head. Its 

 colour is grey of various shades, and it is to be heard singing during 

 the day in fields of ripe wheat. The name comes from the use 

 made of it by the peasants in Sweden and Germany as a cure 

 for warts. 



