OKTHOPTEBA. 



.'J01 



drum filled with air, and covered with a very thin skin, which is 

 found on each side of the body, at the base of the abdomen. The 

 locust's song is less monotonous than that of the grasshopper. 

 It is capable of much variation ; it is a noise just like that of a 

 rattle, but with sounds which vary very much, according to the 

 species. 



They move about by day, frequent dry places, and are very 

 fond of sitting on the grass in the sun. Certain species, which 

 inhabit the warm regions of the south, move their legs with 

 scarcely any noise ; it being only perceptible to a very fine ear. 



Locusts are very abundant in many parts of the world. In 

 northern countries, where they multiply less rapidly, their ravages 

 are less disastrous, though still very considerable. But in the 

 southern portions of the globe they are a perfect pest the eighth 

 plague of Egypt. Certain species multiply in such a prodigious 



Fig. 308. Locust (Acrydium (^Edipodium) migrator iam). 



manner, that they lay waste vast spaces of land, and in a very 

 short time reduce whole countries to the very last state of misery. 

 These insects inflate themselves with air, and undertake journeys 

 during which they travel more than six leagues a day, laying- 

 waste all vegetation on their road. 



The most destructive species is the Migratory Locust (Acrydium 

 or sEdipodium migratorium. Fig. 308), which is very common in 

 Africa, India, and throughout the whole of the East. Isolated 

 specimens of this insect are to be found in the meadows round 

 about Paris, especially towards the end of the summer, and, very 



