1985] 
Paranjape & Bhalerao — Pigmy locust 
335 
Table 2. Average measurements in mm of various body parts in 10 specimens of 
Potua sabulosa Hancock 
Length 
Breadth 
Fore 
Fore 
Hind 
wings 
Hind 
wings 
Hind 
Sex 
Body 
Pronotum 
femur 
(Elytra) 
wings 
(Elytra) 
wings 
Male 
6.0 
5.5 
4.2 
1.04 
1.13 
0.42 
0.34 
Female 
8.0 
6.5 
5.0 
1.13 
1.25 
0.46 
0.38 
soon showers. The female Potua excavates small burrow at a depth 
of about 2 mm in the loose superficial soil or between the dense tufts 
or patches of moss and other bryophytes with the help of its oviposi- 
tor, and lays 23-25 eggs in a loose cluster. The eggs are smaller in 
size with very short and stubby chorionic filaments or ‘horns’. These 
are laid in a more or less single layer. In this connection, it is 
interesting to note that in other tetrigids, such as Euscelimena har- 
pago Serv. belonging to the semiaquatic subfamily Scelimeninae, 
the eggs have elongate filaments. Moreover, they are laid relatively 
deeper and the cluster is arranged in 3 to 4 tiers (Bhalerao & Paran- 
jape, 1984). Potua, brought to the laboratory and kept in cages 
provided with moist soil and moss, laid eggs in July-August as well 
as in April and May. However, in their natural habitat, we could 
find pigmy locusts laying eggs in July- August only. The hatching 
takes place in about 10-12 days at room temperature of 23° to 
25° C. The early instars are minute, stumpy replicas of the adults. 
The insect population is considerable immediately after monsoon 
and one can see 5-10 individuals per square meter. The population 
level gradually declines with the onset of summer until about late 
April, when practically no adult Potua can be observed in the 
exposed, dried out niches. However, when searched critically, very 
few adults can be located, hidden about 3 to 5 cm beneath the soil of 
the fence-walls. The pigmy locusts actually burrow to reach this 
relatively cool soil and remain in this condition, to tide over the 
hazardous summer season. This peculiar behaviour of the pigmy 
locusts has been observed by us for the first time. After two or three 
showers of monsoon, these insects once again come out into the 
open, copulate and lay eggs. The adults of the previous season then 
die, while the eggs hatch, and the life cycle of Potua continues. 
During our extensive survey and collection of this tetrigid in var- 
ious parts of Western Ghats, we came across some variations in the 
