THE STUDY OF INSECTS 175 



Have the children fill some of the Mason jars about a 

 third full of garden soil. Firm this down, and place one 

 or two female hoppers in each and feed them well. You 

 can identify the females by the four projections, the egg 

 placers or ovipositors, at the end of the body. 



In time the hoppers will dig holes in the soil and place 

 their eggs in them. The children may or may not succeed 

 in catching the insects in the act, but they may dig up the 

 pods or packages of eggs. Have them find out how many 

 eggs in one package. Some grasshoppers lay as many as 

 three packages. Where do the grasshoppers out of doors 

 put their eggs ? When do they hatch ? Why is it that we 

 do not have more crops injured by grasshoppers since there 

 are so many eggs deposited ? Think of some of the things 

 that keep them in check; fall plowing, early spring plow- 

 ing, wet weather, which causes a disease, but, most of all, 

 birds. This is a good time to talk about some of the birds 

 that feed to a great extent upon grasshoppers. Such are 

 the meadow lark, quail, brown thrasher, bobolink, and 

 dick cissel. 



While most of the young grasshoppers hatch from the 

 eggs in the spring, there are always a few young hoppers 

 to be found in the fall. Have the children search for these, 

 and compare them with the grown-up ones. What do 

 they lack that the grown-up ones have ? Are there any 

 beginnings of wings on their backs? It may be possible 

 to keep some of these till they molt and grow their wings. 



How many different kinds of grasshoppers can the 

 children find? The little red-legged, the large dull-green, 

 the dusty-colored road hoppers are all plentiful. 



Compare with these the long-horned grasshopper. 



