PACKARD.] THE LOCUSTS OF THE OLD WORLD. 653 



Klintsler reports tliis insect as iojurious to corucrops in Austria in 

 ISGli and 1 8G7. 



Tbe ravages of the locust in Bavaria have been discnssed by Jaeckel,* 

 who cites various records of the visits of this species in swarms during 

 the fourteenth century, one toward the cU)se of the fifteenth, and one 

 at the end of the seventeenth century, and gives a long account of a 

 similar visitation in 1749. Since that year no swarms of locusts have 

 occurred in Bavaria. 



Gerstaecker in a recent woikt on the European locust, which seems to 

 be mainly, however, a xjompilation, writes as follows regarding the 

 European locust : 



That copnliition can be accomplished very soon after emerging from the last larva- 

 skin (he does not name a ciqya stage), is shown by the fact that one occasionally finds 

 individnals engaged iu the act while the wings are still tender and have not attained 

 their full color. But the act is as a rnle performed in the course of several dajs (after 

 becoming winged), or even after a still longer period. 



The male lets the female free in the conrse of twelve to twenty minntes, after which 

 the female, before proceeding to lay, employs herself in feeding again for several days. 

 As soon as her eggs are ripe, which, accordiug to Kosten, requires seven days on the 

 average, she seeks a satisfactory spot to deposit them. (He then describes the act of 

 laying much like Professor Riley.) The eggs are generally found at a depth of 4 centi- 

 metres, or more, below the surface. In this act, requiring considerable time, she l^y no 

 means rids herself of her whole stock of eggs at once, but may pass several weeks 

 even in ])erfecting them. Possibly for a second or third deposit of the egg-mass a re- 

 newal of copulation is necessary. At least such a repetition has been noticed in the 

 case of females that had already been found laying, and has always been followed by 

 a new deposit of eggs. In all cases, whether after a single or repeated coupling, which 

 latter may depend upon the relative number of males, and the temperature of the 

 season, a division is made of the egg-stock into several deposits as is shown by the fact 

 that the larger egg-pods seldom contain more than one-half, and the smaller very gen- 

 erally a much smaller fraction of the whole mass of eggs produced by one female, 

 which mass may amount to one hundred and fifty or more. With the last deposit the 

 female has accomplished her destiny, so that she not seldom remains dead on the spot 

 where the laying occurred. On the other hand the males even after repeated coupling, 

 and with several females, appear to be able to prolong their life, and may be found 

 alive as late as October. 



From the comparatively long time during which the winged locusts may be found, 

 extending very commonly from the end of July to the end of September, it must not 

 be at once concluded that the life of an individual is correspondingly long. 



In selecting a spot for the perfection of this egg (packet) dryne-s is of the first im- 

 portance to the female, and besides this a certain degree of Jiardness. They prefer 

 loamy and clayey grouud to pure sand. Besides this, a. spot is naturally selected which 

 offers suitable and plentiful food to the hatching brood. 



Fallow fields lying alongside cultivated fields and meadows appear to present an 

 unusual attraction to the female when ready to lay. That the eggs, as such, winter 

 over under the surface can be set down as a matter of common observation. The 

 young brood generally do not hatch before the end of April. 



The geographical distribution of the migratory locust of Enrope and 

 Asia (Fachytylus mifiratorius) has been discussed by Herr F. T. Koppen in 

 Petermann's " Mittheilungen aus Justus Perthe's Geograpl)isclier An- 

 stalt," (1871, p. 3G1,) his pajier being a(!companied by a map showing 

 the range of the insect. I translate an abstract of it by M. Preudhomme 



* Correspondenz-Blatt der Zool. Mineral ogisch Verein, Regensburg. xxi.pp. 8.3-9;i. 

 See Zoological Record for 1H67, Verhaudlungeu Zool. Bot. tJesellschaft, in Wien, xvil, 

 pp. lt;{U-'J;i2, Zool. Record for l«67. 



t" Die Wanderheuschrecke. (Oedipoda Migratoria Lin.) Gemeinverstaendliche 

 Darstt'Hung ihreu Naturgeschichte, Leljensweise, Schiidliihkeit, nnd dt-r Mittid zu ihrer 

 Vertilguug. Im Auftrage des Konigl. Preuss. Minisieiiiniis liir die landwirth.scliaft- 

 lichen Angelegenheiten verfasst von Dr. A. Gi^rstaeckcr, Prof, an der UniversitLlt iu 

 Berlin. Mic 9 Abbiidungen auf 2 Taftln in Farbendruck, Berlin, IS/t). (i7 pp." 



For the above translation I am indebted to Mr. Whitman, who has kindly called my 

 attention to the work. 



