222 NATURE-STUDY 



The Locusts or Grasshoppers, as they are commonly 

 called, are perhaps the most serious of these pests. Ref- 

 erences to locust plagues are found in ancient history and the 

 Bible. The locust plague in Egypt in Bible times "covered 

 the whole face of the earth, so that the land was darkened; 

 and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the 

 trees which the hail had left; and there remained not a green 

 thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the 

 land of Egpyt." The same has happened in Kansas and 

 other states within the memory of man. 



There are a number of species of locusts in this country, bat 

 the one most commonly seen in the North is the common 

 Red-legged Locust, with red legs and wings no longer than the 

 body. This rarely does much harm to crops. It is a com- 

 mon insect along the roadsides and in the meadows. The 

 Rocky Mountain Locust is similar to this, except that its 

 wings are longer. This species lives chiefly in the dry 

 plateau region of the United States, but occasionally migrates 

 to the agricultural sections farther east. There it sometimes 

 does immense harm, and reduces states to the verge of starva- 

 tion, as in Kansas in the year 1874. The Clouded Locust is 

 a common pasture insect, that makes a snapping sound by 

 rubbing its wings together as it flies. The Carolina Locust is 

 a common gray or brown locust, seen often in dusty roads or 

 along the sandy shores of lakes and rivers. It is rather large, 

 and is hard to see at rest because its color resembles the 

 background. Its under wings have a bright band of orange 

 or yellow, which is displayed in flight. In the Middle South 

 there is the large Bird Locust, measuring over two inches in 

 length. 



I remember one locust year in Minnesota, when the locusts 



