LOCUSTS, BUTTERFLIES, BEES, WASPS 163 



strand down the right side, after which they are united 

 again throughout the length of the bod}' (Fig. 101). 

 There are three ganglia in the thorax and five in the abdo- 

 men (Fig. 101). With its ej^es the locust has a fairly keen 

 sense of sight for short distances, at least. On each side 

 of the first segment of the abdomen is a circular tympanic 

 membrane, the ear (Fig. 94). The sense of touch is 

 located chiefly in the antenna. 



Excretory system of the locust. — The excretory organs 

 of the locust consist of a number of very slender tubes, the 

 urinary tubes (Fig. 1)9), attached to the anterior end of 

 the intestine. Tliey lie in a tangled mass aljout the stomach 

 and intestine, and extract from the blood much the same 

 products that the kidneys of the vertebrates do and pour 

 them into the intestine to be carried out from the body. 



Reproduction of the locust. — The ovaries of the female 

 he above the ahmentary canal m the abdomen (Fig. 99), 

 and, when full of mature eggs, occup}' a large part of the 

 abdominal space. In the fall, when reatly to tlcposit her 

 eggs, the female thrusts the four pointed pieces composin, 

 the ovipositor into the ground, then separates them, thus 

 ]5ressing back the dirt. By repeating this process, she finally 

 forms a hole of the required depth to hold her eggs. The 

 eggs are then deposited in a capsule or pod where they 

 remain until the foUowing spring, when they hatch and the 

 young locusts appear. The young, the moment the}' hatch 

 from the egg, may be recognized as locusts. They are 

 known as nymphis. They eat voraciously and grow very 

 fast, becoming mature in about two months. During this 

 growth they molt, or shed their skins, several times. After 

 the first molt the wings appear as small, backward-pro- 

 jecting pads. With each successive molt the ^\^lng pads 



(D 



