INSECTS 



Fit;. J. Eggs of a grasshopper; one split at the upper 

 end, showing the young grasshopper about to emerge 



The egg of a grasshopper is elongate-oval in shape 

 'Fig. Oj those of ordinary-sized grasshoppers being about 

 three-sixteenths of an inch in length, or a little longer. 



The ends of the 

 eggs are rounded 

 or bluntly 

 pointed, and the 

 lower extremity 

 (the egg being 

 generally placed 

 on end) appears 

 to have a small 

 cap over it. One 

 side of the egg is 

 always more 

 curved than the 

 opposite side, 

 which may be al- 

 most straight. 

 The surface is smooth and lustrous to the naked eye, but 

 under the microscope it is seen to be marked off by slightly 

 raised lines into many small polygonal areas. 



Within each egg is the germ that is to produce a new 

 grasshopper. This germ, the living matter of the egg, is 

 but a minute fraction of the entire egg contents, for the 

 bulk of the latter consists of a nutrient substance, called 

 yolk, the purpose of which is to nourish the embryo as it 

 develops. The tiny germ contains in some form, that even 

 the strongest microscope will not reveal, the properties 

 which will determine every detail of structure in the future 

 grasshopper, except such as may be caused by external cir- 

 cumstances. It would be highly interesting to follow the 

 course of the development of the embryo insect within the 

 egg, and most of the important facts about it are known; 

 but the story would be entirely too long to be given here, 

 though a tew things about the grasshopper's development 

 should be noted. 



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