﻿626 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  sexual 
  union, 
  the 
  female 
  (the 
  males 
  being 
  distinguished 
  from 
  the 
  other 
  sex 
  

   by 
  their 
  smaller 
  size 
  and 
  blunt 
  rounded 
  hind 
  bodies) 
  proceeds 
  to 
  deposit 
  her 
  

   eggs. 
  Selecting 
  a 
  suitable 
  place, 
  she 
  forces 
  her 
  hind 
  body 
  or 
  abdomen 
  

   nearly 
  or 
  quite 
  vertically 
  downward 
  into 
  the 
  earth 
  for 
  about 
  an 
  inch. 
  Dur- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  process 
  she 
  opens 
  and 
  shuts 
  the 
  solid 
  horny 
  appendage 
  (Fig. 
  1), 
  

   forming 
  four 
  stout 
  hooks, 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  soil 
  is 
  displaced, 
  while 
  a 
  

   small 
  bore 
  is 
  formed 
  by 
  the 
  movements 
  of 
  the 
  abdomen, 
  which 
  now 
  elon- 
  

   gates 
  nearly 
  double 
  its 
  original 
  length, 
  until 
  the 
  hole 
  is 
  an 
  inch 
  or 
  more 
  in 
  

   depth. 
  ''Now, 
  with 
  hind 
  legs 
  hoisted 
  straight 
  above 
  the 
  back, 
  and 
  the 
  

   shankshuggingmoreorlessclosely 
  the 
  thighs, 
  she 
  commences 
  ovipositing, 
  

   the 
  eggs 
  being 
  voided 
  in 
  a 
  pale 
  glistening 
  and 
  glutinous 
  fluid, 
  which 
  holds 
  

   them 
  together, 
  and 
  binds 
  them 
  into 
  a 
  long 
  cylindrical 
  pod, 
  covered 
  with 
  

   particles 
  of 
  earth, 
  which 
  adhere 
  to 
  it. 
  When 
  fresh, 
  the 
  whole 
  mass 
  is 
  soft 
  

   and 
  moist, 
  but 
  it 
  soon 
  acquires 
  a 
  firm 
  consistency. 
  It 
  is 
  often 
  as 
  long 
  

   as 
  the 
  abdomen, 
  and 
  usually 
  lies 
  in 
  a 
  curved 
  or 
  slanting 
  position." 
  The 
  

   figure 
  from 
  Dr. 
  Riley's 
  report, 
  (Plate 
  LXII, 
  Fig. 
  1,) 
  from 
  whose 
  account 
  

   we 
  have 
  quoted, 
  will 
  give 
  a 
  good 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  act 
  of 
  egg-laying 
  or 
  oviposi- 
  

   tion. 
  Eiley 
  says 
  that 
  " 
  the 
  eggs 
  which 
  compose 
  this 
  mass 
  are 
  laid 
  side 
  

   by 
  side 
  to 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  from 
  30 
  to 
  100, 
  according 
  to 
  size 
  of 
  mass." 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Whitman, 
  under 
  date 
  of 
  February 
  18, 
  1877, 
  further 
  writes 
  me 
  re-- 
  

   garding 
  the 
  breeding-habits 
  of 
  the 
  locust 
  in 
  Minnesota: 
  

  

  In 
  reg:ard 
  to 
  this 
  year, 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  what 
  I 
  have 
  written 
  in 
  my 
  report, 
  I 
  found, 
  

   September 
  7, 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  females 
  with 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  fifteen 
  eggs 
  in 
  the 
  abdomen, 
  

   evidently 
  ready 
  to 
  be 
  deposited. 
  Almost 
  every 
  female 
  contained 
  eggs. 
  A 
  few 
  were 
  

   found 
  evidently 
  totally 
  exhausted 
  of 
  ova 
  (or 
  ovaries). 
  All 
  these 
  had 
  flown 
  in 
  from 
  

   somewhere 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  late 
  in 
  August. 
  So 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  heretofore, 
  the 
  female, 
  in 
  

   July, 
  before 
  laying, 
  has 
  the 
  abdomen 
  largely 
  distended 
  with 
  eggs. 
  The 
  female 
  locust 
  

   that 
  I 
  experimented 
  upon 
  was 
  in 
  such 
  condition 
  ; 
  then 
  her 
  abdomen 
  decreased 
  in 
  size 
  

   after 
  laying; 
  then 
  increased 
  again. 
  But 
  the 
  females 
  that 
  I 
  found 
  in 
  September, 
  al- 
  

   though 
  having 
  eggs 
  in 
  them, 
  were 
  not 
  distended 
  at 
  all 
  ; 
  in 
  fact, 
  there 
  were 
  some 
  notice- 
  

   able 
  differences 
  in 
  appearance 
  between 
  those 
  that 
  flew 
  away 
  from 
  us 
  last 
  July 
  and 
  

   those 
  that 
  flew 
  in 
  later 
  in 
  the 
  season 
  ; 
  and 
  one 
  difference 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  body 
  

   (or 
  abdomen), 
  and 
  possibly 
  this 
  was 
  what 
  made 
  the 
  farmers 
  say 
  that 
  tho 
  incomers 
  

   were 
  "smaller 
  and 
  not 
  fully 
  grown." 
  I 
  might 
  go 
  on 
  to 
  write 
  considerably 
  more 
  in 
  

   regard 
  to 
  the 
  ovarian 
  differences 
  in 
  appearance, 
  but 
  I 
  don't 
  know 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  worth 
  

   while. 
  I 
  think 
  I 
  can 
  snm 
  it 
  all 
  up 
  by 
  saying 
  that 
  the 
  locust 
  which 
  hatched 
  in 
  this 
  

   State 
  last 
  spring 
  could 
  be 
  very 
  easily 
  mistaken 
  for 
  the 
  red-legged 
  locust 
  (as 
  it 
  appears 
  

   about 
  Saint 
  Paul), 
  while 
  the 
  new-comers 
  were 
  strikingly 
  different 
  in 
  shape 
  and 
  some- 
  

   what 
  in 
  color. 
  By 
  the 
  way, 
  I 
  have 
  never 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  find 
  any 
  such 
  thing 
  as 
  a 
  red- 
  

   legged 
  locust 
  down 
  in 
  the 
  country 
  where 
  spreius 
  was 
  a.bundant. 
  I 
  have 
  found 
  a 
  speci- 
  

   men 
  or 
  two 
  of 
  spretus 
  in 
  Saint 
  Paul. 
  

  

  As 
  for 
  copulation, 
  I 
  think 
  it 
  takes 
  place 
  several 
  times 
  before 
  laying. 
  I 
  judge 
  so 
  from 
  

   •what 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  myself 
  and 
  what 
  others 
  have 
  told 
  me. 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  also 
  told 
  that 
  the 
  

   same 
  female 
  may 
  receive 
  two 
  or 
  more 
  males. 
  I 
  had 
  some 
  two-striped 
  locusts 
  caged, 
  

   and 
  thought 
  I 
  could 
  observe 
  selection 
  between 
  males 
  and 
  females. 
  I 
  found 
  in 
  a 
  large 
  

   two-striped 
  locust 
  (in 
  August) 
  sixty-five 
  eggs. 
  

  

  Regarding 
  the 
  breeding-habits 
  of 
  the 
  locust 
  while 
  in 
  confinement, 
  I 
  

   quote 
  as 
  follows 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Whitman's 
  report 
  for 
  1876 
  : 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  25th 
  of 
  June 
  I 
  shut 
  up 
  in 
  wire-gauze 
  cages 
  nine 
  pupse 
  of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountain 
  

   locust. 
  The 
  bottoms 
  of 
  the 
  cages 
  were 
  filled 
  with 
  earth 
  packed 
  hard, 
  and 
  the 
  insects 
  

   appeared 
  to 
  thrive 
  in 
  confinement. 
  By 
  the 
  2d 
  of 
  July 
  they 
  had 
  all 
  become 
  perfect 
  in- 
  

   sects. 
  By 
  the 
  8th 
  of 
  July 
  they 
  commenced 
  coupling, 
  and 
  were 
  seen 
  repeating 
  the 
  act 
  

   for 
  several 
  days. 
  On 
  the 
  15th 
  and 
  16th, 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  females 
  went 
  through 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  

   depositing 
  eggs, 
  and 
  I 
  marked 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  deposit 
  on 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  cage. 
  The 
  coup- 
  

   ling 
  was 
  repeated 
  again 
  as 
  before, 
  until 
  the 
  3d 
  of 
  August. 
  At 
  that 
  date 
  the 
  coupling 
  

   ended, 
  and 
  the 
  locusts 
  became 
  almost 
  inactive, 
  and 
  were 
  seen 
  to 
  eat 
  verj^ 
  rarely 
  after- 
  

   ward.* 
  

  

  * 
  The 
  early 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  coupling-season 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  activity 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  

   of 
  these 
  insects. 
  They 
  dashed 
  themselves 
  against 
  the 
  wire 
  of 
  their 
  cages 
  as 
  though 
  

   all 
  space 
  would 
  be 
  too 
  small 
  to 
  contain 
  them. 
  There 
  would 
  be 
  a 
  flash 
  of 
  the 
  wings, 
  

   extended 
  and 
  closed 
  again 
  in 
  an 
  instant, 
  or 
  that 
  movement 
  of 
  the 
  hind-legs 
  known 
  as 
  

   "fiddling," 
  which 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  well-known 
  signal 
  between 
  the 
  male 
  and 
  female. 
  In 
  

   cages 
  where 
  several 
  pairs 
  were 
  confined 
  together, 
  the 
  mole, 
  while 
  in 
  the 
  act 
  of 
  coup- 
  

   ling, 
  would 
  repeat 
  this 
  movement 
  if 
  brushed 
  against 
  by 
  another. 
  

  

  