570 



ORTHOPTERA. 



Labrador to the Mississippi. The Caloptenus spretus Uhler 

 (Fig. 564, a), appears in' immense numbers in the country be- 

 tween the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, and extending 

 from the Saskatchewan river on tlie nortli to Texas. Mr. Scud- 

 der states tliat "a third, whether belonging to the same species 

 or not is still uncertain, has invaded at different times, nearly 

 all the country Ij-ing within the boundaries of the United 

 States, between the Rockj^ Mountains and the Pacific Ocean." 

 Dr. Lincecum thus describes the ravages of C. spretus in 

 Texas : ' ' Last spring the young were hatched from the egg 

 in the early days of March ; by the middle of the month they 

 had destroyed half the vegetation, although the insects were 

 wingless and not larger than a house-fly. The first winged 

 ^'^j-?^ specimens were seen high in 



the air at about three in the 

 afternoon ; as a light northerly 

 breeze sprang up, millions 

 dropped to the earth, cover- 

 ing the ground in an hour, 

 and destrojdng every green 

 thing with avidity. During 

 the night they were quiet, but 

 at daybreak commenced to 

 eat, and continued until ten in the morning,. when they all flew 

 southward. At about three o'clock in the afternoon of the 

 same day another swarm arrived, ten times as numerous as 

 the fii'st ; these again took flight the following daj^ ; and thus 

 the}'' continued, coming and going, day after daj'', devouring 

 the foliage and depositing their eggs. At first they selected 

 bare spots for this purpose, but finally the whole surface of 

 the earth was so broken vip by their borings that every inch 

 of ground contained several patches of eggs. This visitation 

 was spread over many hundreds of miles." C. bivittatum Say 

 is a large dull green, or olive colored species, with red legs, 

 and is ver}'- abundant in gardens. 



Romalea microj)tera, called the "Lubber grasshopper" in 

 Florida, feeds on the leaves of the orange. (Glover.) It is 

 nearly three inches long ; the prothorax is keeled, and the 

 wings onl}^ cover half of the abdomen. The larva is reddish, 



