12 
depositing its eggs, all of these species now infesting Central Texas ap- 
pear to find more suitable conditions among rank herbage for the dep- 
osition of their eggs and subsequent development of the young larvae. 
The large species especially finds the protected roots of grasses and 
corn best adapted to the sheltering of its eggs, and almost invariably 
selects the varieties which grow in clumps for this purpose. In digging 
I have found as many as 8 or 10 egg-pods inserted among the root-stalks 
of a single clump of grass. Possibly the sheltered nature of these eggs 
protects them from the numerous parasites which attack those of the 
Migratory and other species which deposit in the unprotected ground. 
It is asserted by different persons in this region that the present species 
lays an average of 150 eggs to the pod, which, judging from the frag- 
ments of egg shells found by digging, is nearly correct; at any rate the 
estimate is not too high. Egg-depositing with this species commences 
rather later than with some of the other representatives of the genus, 
but just at what date I did not learn. There is but a single pod formed 
by an insect, the entire complement of eggs being deposited at once. 
The larvae commence hatching during the latter part of March and 
continue to appear up to the middle of April, according to the forward- 
ness or backwardness of the season. Wet warm weather favors the 
hatching, while dry weather rather retards the process. The young 
molt five times, at intervals of from 12 to 20 days, according to the con- 
dition of the weather. Dry weather with hot days retards, while damp 
or wet weather favors this process among insects by keeping the exu- 
vise pliable during molting, as well as in furnishing the necessary moist- 
ure required ingrowth. The- winged or mature insects appear about 
the middle of July or a little earlier and begin to couple soon afterward, 
thus completing the cycle. 
Their mode of attack does not differ greatly from that of M. spretus , 
save in that the latter begin upon the crops immediately after hatching, 
while these species do not. They wait until they are from three to four 
weeks old before venturing far from the places of hatching. Like that 
species they have the habit of huddling together upon plants and among 
grasses and debris during cool nights and on cloudy days. This appears 
to be a trait common to all insects when present in large numbers, and 
must be the result of some special instinct. When about half-grown the 
larvae become pretty well scattered over the fields and do not hop back 
to the weed patches on the outskirts in the evening, as they do while 
younger and when first beginning their attacks upon the crops. The 
molting is the same as with other locusts, and need^ not here be rede- 
scribed. The grown hoppers do not migrate by flight, but do sometimes 
move in concert in certain directions by jumping. This can hardly be 
termed migration, since the change of location is merely performed for 
the purpose of obtaining food, while the act of migrating is towards ob- 
taining more decided results. When feeding they can be driven like 
other locusts, and this trait in their nature has been taken advantage 
