GRASSHOPPERS 25 



(except in short-horned grasshoppers) are often very 

 conspicuous, projecting far beyond the extremity of 

 the abdomen. 



Short-horned grasshoppers may be recognized by 

 their relatively short antennae (composed of not more 

 than thirty joints) and four-jointed tarsi. Their audi- 

 tory structures are situated one on each side of the 

 first abdominal segment, immediately above the articu- 

 lation of the hind-leg. Each consists of a tympanum, 

 or " drum," with a complex arrangement of nerve, 

 muscles, and tracheal tubes. The tympanum may be 

 visible externally as a rimmed depression, or it may be 

 more or less roofed over, so to speak, so that one only 

 sees a broad slit with a cavity beneath. The males 

 stridulate by rubbing the femora of the hind-legs 

 against the tegmina or fore-wings. If we examine 

 with a strong magnifying lens the hind-leg of a male 

 grasshopper, we shall find on the inner side of the 

 femur a ridge, carrying a row of minute tubercles. 

 This is the bow with which the little musician fiddles 

 upon a prominent vein of the fore- wing, thus producing 

 a shrill sound. It is an interesting fact that the " song " 

 varies in different species, and an expert is often able 

 to tell, merely by listening, what kind of grasshopper 

 is making merry in a given spot. The female grass- 

 hoppers appear not to have stridulating organs, 

 although they have well-developed "ears." This lends 

 support to the belief now held by many naturalists 

 that the chirping of the male is a kind of courtship 

 accomplishment, calculated to excite amorous propen- 

 sities in members of the opposite sex. The ovipositors 

 of female short-horned grasshoppers are inconspicuous. 

 The eggs are laid in the soil, a number being deposited 

 in one hole together with a quantity of fluid which 



