GRASSHOPPERS AND CRICKETS 69 



uted. The Carolina Locust is one of the most familiar. 

 It is abundant along roadsides and may be known by its 

 hind wings with yellow borders; The Bird Grasshopper 

 is our largest species. 



Meadow Grasshoppers 



The more slender Meadow Grasshoppers or Long-horned 

 locusts form another distinct family (Locustidae). These 

 have long, slender antennae or "feelers," conspicuous, 

 sword-shaped ovipositors, and four joints to the tarsi. 

 Nearly all the members of this family are green in 

 color. They live chiefly on grasses and other herbaceous 

 plants, though some species are common in trees and 

 shrubs. The Meadow Grasshoppers, the Katydids, and 

 the wingless cricket-like Grasshoppers are the important 

 members of this family. 



Cricket Family 



The family to which the Crickets belong is called the 

 Gryllidae. These insects are characterized by having hind 

 legs adapted to jumping, long, slender antennae, and hori- 

 zontal wings with the outside edge turned down at a right 

 angle to the main part. In most Crickets there are pecul- 

 iar projections called stylets at the hind end of the body, 

 and there is usually in the females a spear-shaped ovipos- 

 itor. 



The principal types of Crickets are Tree Crickets, Black 

 Crickets, and Mole Crickets. The first live on trees and 

 shrubs above ground, the second on the ground, and the 

 third in holes in the ground. In the case of the Black 

 Crickets, eggs are deposited in the soil early in autumn 

 and remain unhatched until the following season. Some 

 specimens, however, are generally to be found in winter in 



