ye 
536 LOCUSTS. 
eggs of a dusky yellow colour ; and the roof of the apartment is so near the 
suriace of the ground that the warmth of the sunbeams penetrates through 
the shallow layer of earth. and causes the eggs to be hatched. 
The tood of the Mole Cricket is mostly ot a vegetable nature, but it has 
been known to feed upon raw meat, upon other insects, and even to exhibit 
a strong cannibalistic pro- 
pensity when shut up in 
company and deprived of 
the norm 1 food. 
The MIGRATORY LocusT 
is a well-known instance of 
avery large family of nsects 
represented 1n our own land 
by many examples. All the 
Locusis and Grasshoppers 
are vegetable feeders; and 
in many cases their voracity 
is So insatiable, their jaws so 
powerful, and their numbers 
so countkss, that they de- 
stroy every vestige of vege- 
tation wherever they may 
pass, and devastae the 
country as if a fire had swept 
over it. 
Such is the case with the Migratory Locust, so called from its habit of 
congregating in vast armies, which fly like winged clouds over the earth, and 
wherever they alight, strip every living plant of its verdure. So assiduously 
do they ply their busy jaws, that the peculiar sound produced by the champ- 
ing of the leaves, twigs, and grass-blades cin be heard at a consideratle 
distance. When they take to flight, the rushing of their wings is like the 
roaring of the sea; and as their armies pass through the air, the sky is 
darkened as if by black thunder. clouds. ; 
The warm sunbeams appear to be absolutely necessary for the flight of the 
Locust, for no sooner does the sun set-than the Locusts alight and furl their 
wings. Woe to the ill-fated spot where they settle, for they consume every- 
thing that their jaws can 
sever, and are not content 
with eating the green _her- 
bage, but devour even linen, 
blankets, or tobacco. At the 
approach of the aérial hosts 
everyone is in fear except 
the Bushman, who welcomes 
the Locust with all his heart ; 
for he has no crops to lose, 
no clothing to be destroyed, 
and only sees in the swarm- 
LEAF INSECT.—(Phyllium scythe.) ing insects his greatest 
luxury, namely, an abund- 
ant supply of food without any trouble in obtaining it. In the path of the 
Locust he kindles large fires, and the insects, being stifled with the 
smoke. and having their wings scorched by the flames. fall in thousands, 
and are gathered into heaps, roasted, and eaten. Those that remain, after 
the Bushman has eaten his fill are then cround between two stones into a 
MIGRATORY LOCUST.—(Locusta migratoria.) 
