LIFE-HISTORY OF GRASSHOPPER 225 



whilst the burgling, nocturnal crickets and cock-* 

 roaches are appropriately dusky. 



The provisions of these Orthoptera for the welfare 

 of their children are of the simplest. Their eggs are 

 laid in the soil or in dark corners, and are provided 

 with yolk and a tough covering. In from fifty to a 

 hundred days the young emerge. By the aid of a 

 special swelling in their neck they break the wall of their 



FIG. 47. The development of a Grasshopper, showing the gradual 

 evolution of the wings. (From Packard's * Text-Book of Entomology* 

 By permission of the Mac millan Co., New York.) 



prison, and once set free in the soil they commence to 

 nibble the roots and moulds that surround them. In 

 appearance, as we have said, they are miniatures of 

 their parents, except in colour and winglessness. 

 Developed in the dark, these little grasshoppers or 

 crickets emerge as pale, minute creatures, which for two 

 or more months will slowly grow, bud out wings from 

 their shoulders, and fly at intervals in the warmth 



