ORTHOPTERA. 301 
drum filled with air, and covered with a very thin skin, which is 
found on each side of the body, at the base of the abdomen. The 
locust’s song is less monotonous than that of the grasshopper. 
It is capable of much variation; it is a noise just like that of a 
rattle, but with sounds which vary very much, according to the 
species. j 
They move about by day, frequent dry places, and are very 
fond of sitting on the grass in the sun. Certain species, which 
inhabit the warm regions of the south, move their legs with 
scarcely any noise; it being only perceptible to a very fine ear. 
Locusts are very abundant in many parts of the world. In 
northern countries, where they multiply less rapidly, their ravages 
are less disastrous, though still very considerable. But in the 
southern portions of the globe they are a perfect pest—the eighth 
plague of Egypt. Certain species multiply in such a prodigious 































Fig. 308.—Locust (Acridium (CGidipoda) migratoriam). 
manner, that they lay waste vast spaces of land, and in a very 
short time reduce whole countries to the very last state of misery. 
These insects inflate themselves with air, and undertake journeys 
during which they travel more than six leagues a day, laying 
waste all vegetation on their road. 
The most destructive species is the Migratory Locust (Acridium 
or Ctdipoda migratoria, Fig. 308), which is very common in 
Africa, India, and throughout the whole of the East. Isolated 
specimens of this insect are to be found in the meadows round 
about Paris, especially towards the end of the summer, and, very 
