1892 



i;i,K.\NiX(;s IN mcE cultlike. 



:?A 



A MAMMOTH LOCUST. 



SOMKllllNH AHOIT <iUA>s||()n'Kl{S IX G KNKKA I,. 



Tlu' hiigo loriist received tliroiiffli you 

 from S. F. Hcniian. Tuscaloosa. Alabama, 

 is one of our larpcsi locusts. It is Uiiown to 

 <i'i(MU'i' as lUctiinplmnis rctlculittiis. I inclose 

 a LTood (lra\viii<r— ualiiral size— which gives an 

 excellent idea of this colossal liopper. It is 

 fully three inches in length, black, with obscui'e 

 reddish relicnlalions on the tegmin;e, as the 

 thick iipi)er wings of such insects are called, 

 and is marked with vdlow as follows: Along 



katydids, fasten their eggs to plants, and are 

 rarely so numerous sis to become very harmful. 

 (;rasshoi>i)ers and some of the locusts stridulato 

 —that is, make a whirring sound by rubbing 

 tlie legs against ilie wings. This noise is heard 

 constantly in late summer and fall. Both 

 locusts and grasslioppers undergo incoinphite 

 transformations: that is, tliey look alike at all 

 ages, but the larvje hav(! no wings: the pupae, 

 mere wing-pods; while the adult has coinplete 

 wings, and is sexually developed. I should like 

 moreofthe.se huge locusts, as this is the first 

 one in our collection. 



'<!^S^^ 



I.OC'ITST— FULL SIZE. 



narrow strip runs the whole length of the body, 

 from the vertex, or top of the head, along the 

 pronotuni. as the back of the lirst thoracic 

 ring is called, and extends the entire length of 

 the abdomen, clear to the tail. On the abdo- 

 men this broadens out posteriorly on each ring, 

 so we see a succession of yellow triangles, 

 with the vertex of each in front. The prono- 

 tum. the saddlelike pii'ce on the back, between 

 the head and wings, lias a narrow yellow bor- 

 der behind. There is also a yellow short line 

 on the front, just below the eyes. The hinder 

 margin of each ring, on the under side of the 

 abdomen, is bright yellow, and a broken yel- 

 lowish white line marks each side of the abdo- 

 men. A sober olive-colored ring surrounds the 

 base of the four hinder legs, and lines of the 

 same color mark the posterior thighs. The 

 tegminie. or upper wings, are short. The under 

 wings are quite small, and are brilliant red. 

 bordi-red with black. The insect is confined, I 

 think, to the Gulf States, and, like all locusts, 

 feeds on vegetation. I judge it must be a 

 clumpy, awkward species, much easier to catch 

 than till' most of our northern species. It is easy 

 to distinguish the locusts, as entomologists call 



Mr. Ja.s. P. IJrown, Colora, Md., writes me as 

 follows: "I send you by mail a worm, which to 

 me is a stranger. I have been very much in- 

 terested in your writings in Gleanings: and 

 hoping that" you may bi' able to spare time to 

 name and describe this remarkable specimen, I 

 send it to von.'" 



This is e"ven more unique and startling than 

 is the locust sent by Mr. Herman, from Ala- 

 bama. It is the regal walnut moth. We call it 

 Cithcronia retjdHs. I .send a drawing which 

 accurately represents this larva, which has 

 been called the " horned devil." It is over four 

 inches long, three-fourths of an inch thick, and 

 is dark green in color. The head and tip of the 

 bodv are brown. Small black spines, as shown 

 in the figure, mark each ring, while ten large 

 brown spinous hornlike organs, eight of which 

 are verv long, are to be seen just back of the 

 head. As the insect throws up its head and 

 waves these horns it looks very frightful, and, 

 though as harmless as a kitten: it would no 

 doubt throw niany a timid person, brought up, 

 unfortunately, to fear and dread such animals, 

 into spasms. One is as safe in handling these 

 caterpillars as he would be to handle a dower, 



THE HEG.\L W.XLNfT MOTH. FULL SIZE. 



the.se hoppers, from the grasshoppers. These 

 are usually more robust: are gray, dusky, or 

 black, and have rather short antennic. as the 

 hornlike organs on the head are called. The 

 grasshoppers, on the other hand, are slim, 

 usually green, and have very long antennte. 

 The locusts place their eggs in the earth, and 

 are often so numerous as to be terribly di-struc- 

 tive. The grasshoppers, which include the 



which is really no more beautiful or interesting 

 than this larva. Thes(> larva? feed on hickory 

 and walnut. The moth which they produce is 

 a large one. of a rich brown color, striped with 

 drab, and spotted with bright yellow. The 

 body is brown, and bears cross-lines and spots 

 of yellow. It is one of our most interesting in- 

 sects. A. J. Cook. 

 Ag'l College, Mich., Sept. 3. 



