IG ZOOLOGY 



drilled bj' the horny ]ilates at the tip of the abdomen of the 

 female. The eggs, 30 to 100 in number, are laid in a mass and 

 coA-ercd with a sort of jelly. The eggs pass the winter in the 

 ground and hatch in earl}' summer into young grasshoppers. 

 As the young grow largertheymolt several times; thatis, thej^ 

 cast off the cuticula. After each molt the body is left soft 

 and colorless and, l)eing freed of its hard, tight, varnish-like 

 coat, it is in a conchtion to grow rapidly. After each molt the 

 small wings or wing-pads also become larger, and the relative 

 sizes of other parts of the body change. Just Ijefore the la.st 

 molt the young grasshopper crawls up some vertical object, 

 clutches it firmly with the hind feet, and remains motionless 

 in this position for several hours. Then the cuticula splits 

 along the nriddle of the back. The head and body inside the 

 cuticula swell. The head protrudes through the split, and 

 gradually the entire Ixxl.y works forward and out of the old 

 cuticula, not easily inileed, ])ut with A'iolent \\Tithings and 

 pullings. The legs and antemiiB are especially hard to free. 

 The}' can pass out through the joints of the old skin onlj' 

 because thej' are soft and flabby. But soon after they be- 

 come exposed to the air the new cuticula, already formed 

 beneath the old one, hardens into a firm co\'ering. The «'ings, 

 which developed in a roll, spread out, dr}-, and then fold up in 

 the way we see them in the adult. 



Allies of the Grasshopper. — The order Orthoptera, to which 

 the grasshopper l)elongs, includes six principal families, which 

 have certain reseml)lances to each other as well as points 

 of difference from insects that belong to other orders. 

 Typically, they are rather soft-skinned, with long bodies and 

 long legs. Most of them, except the pra^-ing mantises, feed 

 on jilants or on decaying matter. On account of their com- 



