128 TRUE TALES OF THE INSECTS. 



It is upon the " Voetgangers " the various species of 

 locust-birds depend for food for their young, not upon 

 the winged imagoes, which are never stationary. Ascer- 

 taining to a certainty the locality where the locusts have 

 laid their eggs, the birds there, for the time being, take 

 up their abode. By the time the process of nest-build- 

 ing and incubation is accomplished, the young locusts 

 have likewise made their appearance, so that there is 

 abundance of food for the young birds. But occasionally 

 dire calamity o'ertakes them ere the latter are fledged 

 the " Voetgangers " have started on their travels to the 

 north. In most cases, when the locusts have arrived at 

 maturity, and take wing, the locust-birds are ready to 

 accompany them, and together, enemies and prey ? they 

 vanish on their wanderings. 



Blackbirds, the Prairie hen (Cupidonia cupidd) and 

 quail (Ortyx virginianus), and the Plovers, are all efficient 

 workers in the destruction of locusts in America ; the 

 Himalayan Black Bear, the skunk, squirrels, mice, frogs, 

 and lizards, may be mentioned among other vertebrate 

 animals more or less useful as locust destroyers. In 

 Africa, in seasons of famine, when the hordes have 

 swept over the earth, all creatures, including the human 

 races of the South, take to a locust diet. But, excepting 

 to the feathered tribes, it proves by no means whole- 

 some food. 



