296 



INSECTS AND OTHER SMALL ANIMALS 



FIG. 149. Grasshoppers laying Eggs. 



The female forms a little hole in the earth with her 

 ovipositor and then deposits her eggs at the bottom. 



Here they remain 

 till spring, when 

 they hatch out 

 into young lo- 

 custs. The young 

 molt, or change 

 their coats, two 

 or three times be- 

 fore they reach 

 the adult stage 

 with fully devel- 

 oped wings. 



If locusts are 

 marching across a country, poison baits, hopperdozers, 

 spraying, and other measures give only temporary relief. 

 For the native grasshopper fall plowing is the best pre- 

 ventive measure, as it destroys many eggs by throwing 

 them to the surface, where they may be eaten by the 

 birds or destroyed by exposure. 



Cockroaches. These insects seek some dark crack 

 or crevice in the daytime and come out to feed at 

 night. They are most numerous in damp basements 

 and about water pipes and bathrooms. Their eggs are 

 laid in a capsule carried about by the female until she 

 finds a convenient place for deposit. Cockroaches are 

 difficult to get rid of when they infest a dwelling, but 

 a liberal sprinkling of powdered borax in cracks and 

 crevices where they abide will usually drive them away. 

 Dragon Flies (Odonata). --This order has long, lace- 

 like, gauzy wings and well-developed jaws. Their 

 metamorphosis is incomplete. 



