Canadian Orthoptera. 3*79 



themselves in holes and crevices, but the greater number 

 live in the open fields, delighting to bask in the summer 

 sunshine. 



It is evident then that these creatures, being as a general 

 rule possessed of limited powers of flight, and being unable 

 to defend themselves, would, unless they could by some 

 means escape observation, be entirely at the mercy of their 

 enemies. 



The facility of eluding observation which is common to 

 many insects, and which attains great perfection in the 

 orthoptera, is owing to the similarity of their colors to the 

 surroundings amidst which they live, and is enhanced by 

 the habit, which many species possess, of remaining motion- 

 less when danger appears to threaten them. 



When walking through the fields during the summer 

 months, we hear the songs of the orthoptera on every 

 side, but we seldom see the insects themselves, until alarmed 

 by our approach, they spring almost from beneath our feet. 

 And how quickly we lose sight of them again when they 

 alight, so wonderfully do their colors harmonize with the 

 localities in which they live ! A little observation will show 

 us that differently colored species inhabit different locali- 

 ties. Thus, on bare, gravelly places and road-sides, we find 

 the large dull colored locusts that rise with a spring, and 

 hovering for a few seconds with a crackling noise, drop 

 suddenly to the ground, and are as quickly lost to view. In 

 dry fields and pastures, where the herbage is poor, we find 

 species marked with lines and spots of pale yellow, and 

 different shades of grey and brown, these subdued tints just 

 matching the scanty growth, intermixed with the withered 

 stalks of the previous year. In moist places, and upon 

 shrubs and trees, species occur whose color is wholly green, 

 and these are, perhaps, the most difficult of all to detect, 

 their color assimilating so closely with the leaves. Thus, 

 these insects, although seemingly at the mercy of their 

 enemies, are in reality amply protected, and are able, not 

 only to hold their own in the struggle for existence, but 

 under favorable conditions, at times, to multiply to an 

 almost incredible extent. 



