102 



Tlie Roclty Mountain Locust. 



at different times, very prevalent. It is, however, quite 

 unfounded. Certain large locusts belonging to the genera 

 Acridium and (Edipoda, hibernate in the full grown, 

 winged state, and not in the egg state, like the Rocky Moun- 

 tain species. Always with us, their presence is simply 

 more manifest in the spring, when the face of the earth is 

 bare. Hopping with the others or falling into ditches 

 with them, they give rise to this false notion, and it is an 

 interesting fact, as showing how the same circumstances at 

 times give rise to similar erroneous ideas in widely separate 

 parts of the world, that the same idea prevails in parts 

 of Europe and Asia. 



The two species which are most often thus found with 

 the young locusts and supposed from their size and con- 

 spicuousness to be guides, are the American Acridium 

 (Acridium Americanum, Drury, Fig. 15), and the Coral- 

 [Fig. 16.] winged Lo- 



cust ( (Edip>o- 

 da phmnicop- 

 tera, Germ., 

 Fig. 16). The 

 former is our 

 largest and 

 most elegant 

 locust, the 



prevailing color being dark brown, with a broad, pale 

 yellowish line along the middle of the back when the 

 wings are closed. The rest of the body is marked with 

 deep brown, verging to black, with pale reddish-brown, 

 and with whitish- or greenish-yellow ; the front wings 

 being prettily mottled, the hind wings very faintly green- 

 ish with brown veins, and the hind shanks generally coral- 

 red with black-tipped, white spines. The species is quite 

 variable in color, size and marks, and several of the varie- 



COKAL-WIN GED LOCUST. 



