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ground hatch during warm spells of early spring, but those normally 

 placed seldom hatch until continuous warm weather prevails. Those 

 in the upper portion of the pods or egg sacs hatch first, sometimes 

 many days in advance of those in the lower part; the species is thus 

 protected from complete annihilation should an unexpected severe 

 cold spell intervene between the first and second hatching. 



The average life cycle of the differential locust as determined in the 

 breeding cages is as follows : 



Grasshoppers emerging from eggs on April 20, 1900, molted five 

 times before reaching the full-grown or adult condition. The first 

 molt took place May 7, the second May 22, the third June 2, the 

 fourth June 13, and the last June 27. The first mating was observed 

 July 19, the second July 28; the females deposited eggs August 3, 

 and were dead by August 17. The entire period, minus the time 

 required for incubation, was one hundred and nineteen days. The 

 young on first emerging from the eggs are sordid white and after an 

 airing of an hour or two are darker, assuming a color not unlike the dark 

 gray alluvial soil over which they feed. There are changes of color 

 as the earlier transformations (stages) are assumed, but until the close 

 of the third stage these changes are not readily perceptible in the field 

 to the naked eye. At the close of stage four the greenish-yellow color 

 becomes prominent on many forms, and in stage five the greenish- 

 yellow and yellow ground colors predominate. The vigorous feeding 

 and rapid growth of the young in stages four and five, and the promi- 

 nence of the wing pads in stage five, cause the grasshoppers in these 

 conditions to appear almost as conspicuous as adults. 



The habits of the young are interesting, and a knowledge of some 

 of them may be helpful in developing remedies. After hatching they 

 remain for several hours in close proximity to the egg-pod from 

 which they emerged. With this period of faint-heartedness over 

 they may venture out for a few yards each day into the grass, weeds, 

 or crop neighboring the egg area. Upon being disturbed they inva- 

 riably make the effort to hop in the direction of their so-called nest. 

 Nymphs emerging from eggs upon a ditch bank, if forced into the 

 water will seldom make the effort to reach the other side but will 

 turn in the water and swim back to the bank from which they were 

 driven. As' development takes place the extent of their peregrina- 

 tions into the crop is easily traced by the shot-hole appearance of 

 the leaves upon which they feed. The tender leaves of cockle- 

 bur are always preferred by the grasshoppers in the early stages. 

 Young Bermuda grass is also a favorite food, and succulent grasses 

 of all kinds are freely eaten. In the third, fourth, and fifth stages, 

 as grass, weeds, and even young shrubs disappear along the ditch 

 banks and bayous, the crops of corn and cotton adjacent begin to 



