March, 1922. 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



43 



Red-legged, Lesser-migratory and Two-scriped 

 Locusts belong, as well as most of the injuiious 

 species of other countries. Among them are to 

 be found most of the kinds that migrate long 

 distances, often in large swarms. It is a remark- 

 able sight to see them on a sunny, moderately 

 windy day suddenly rise in circles, up, up until 

 they feel the wind sufficiently strong to bear them 

 away, when away they go facing the wind, but 

 carried away by its strength. 



ACRYDIIDAE 



Grouse Locusts are among the smallest winged 

 grasshoppers known in this country and their 

 size, combined with their inconspicuous coloration, 

 makes them less known than any other family. 

 We have at least four species in Manitoba, all 

 of which are to be met with in low-iying situations 

 or in semi-open woods. They are somewhat 

 diversified in habits, some kinds wintering as 

 ad alts, others as nymphs of eggs. 



Grouse Locusts, like the Acrididae, deposit 

 their eggs in sacs or pods which are placed in the 

 ground. The female when she is ready for egg 

 laying works the top of her abdomen into the 

 ground by the aid of the horn-like valves which 

 open and shut as she forces her body downwards. 

 Eventually getting deep enough, she begins to 

 lay her elongate eggs one at a time, forming a 

 glutenous substance around them as she proceeds. 

 When about 14 eggs have been deposited the 

 grasshopper carefully covers the opening by 

 kicking and drawing small particles of soil over 

 it, then, having hidden all traces of her work, she 

 hops actively away. 



The food of Grouse Locusts consists of various 

 lichens and other vegetable matter found near the 

 ground. So far as we know this family is of no 

 particular economic importance. 



I have already dealt in part with the life his- 

 tories while reviewing the different sub-families, 

 but it may be interesting to give a more detailed 

 account of one of the commoner species of Locust- 

 inae. 



The time at which the small hoppers emerge 

 from the eggs varies in the different kinds; some 

 appear in the fall and winter in the nymph stage; 

 others winter as eggs and do not emerge until the 

 warmth of approaching summer insures abundance 

 of succulent vegetation. All our injurious kinds 

 have this last habit and their emergence would 

 almost seem as if it were timed to coincide with 

 the appearance of the farmers' grain crops. As 

 I said before, the eggs are laid in the soil and the 

 situation selected for them is chosen with great 

 care. Indeed, I have known a female grasshopper 

 seek for more than an hour before she became 

 satisfied with the situation and commenced to 



work her abdomen into the ground. 



When the tiny hopper is ready to emerge it 

 breaks through the egg and begins to work its 

 way upwards by wriggling. If the egg be covered 

 a couple of inches or more by soil, the struggle 

 to emerge is quite a long one, but it is really 

 remarkable how much the insects can get through 

 by steady shoving. So, eventually, the hopper 

 finds itself upon the surface, a colorless object, 

 seemingly so exhausted that it lies on its side and, 

 metaphorically speaking, gasps for breath. Just 

 when one wonders whether it is'going to recover 

 at all, there is a movement of returning animation, 

 the skin splits behind the head and soon the 

 hopper is seen casting its skin as one might 

 expect a small boy to get out of a very tightly- 

 fitting suit. The skin is gradually pushed down- 

 wards as the hopper wriggles out until at last 

 only the hind legs remain encased. Another 

 effort and one leg is free; the rest is child's play. 

 The hopper now rests, again rather exhausted, 

 but a change soon begins to take place. The new 

 skin, which was pinkish or whitish at first, slowly 

 colors to the shade characteristic of the species, 

 gray, black or green, as the case may be. The 

 work, however, that the hopper has gone through 

 has been tiring, and so the insect seeks a sheltered 

 spot where it can sun itself and rest. It goes to 

 bed at night beneath some convenient herbage 

 and does not think of food until the second day. 

 First there is a mere nibble of some succulent 

 grass blade, but food and sunlight soon create a 

 greater appetite for more food, growth being a 

 natural outcome. In the course of about eight 

 days our hopper has grown too large for its coat, 

 so it sets to work to grow a new one beneath 

 the old one. As soon as this is ready the insect 

 crawls up a convenient stem and obtaining a 

 firm foothold with all its legs, with the head 

 downwards, slowly commences the operation of 

 skin casting. Careful watch will reveal violent 

 contortions and muscular protuberances along 

 the pronotum. Soon the antennae sink below the 

 eyes and the skin splits along the back. From 

 this point the old skin is slowly left behind as 

 the hopper wriggles out of it, Eventually, just 

 as one expects the hanging hopper to drop, it 

 makes a violent swinging motion and clutches 

 hold of the stem its old skin is attached to and 

 at the same time draws itself free. The hopper 

 now turns head upwards and remains inactive 

 until the new skin hardens and assumes the 

 coloring characteristic of the species. The resting 

 period, after moulting, lasts a considerable time, 

 it being fully three hours before the insect is 

 ready to commence feeding again. In the course 

 of some six weeks, the hopper has cast its skin 



