188 
ORTHOPTERA. 
The habits of the grouse-locusts are said to be absolutely 
the same as those of other locusts. They seem, however, to 
be more fond of heat, being generally found in grassy places, 
on banks, by the sides of the road, and even on the naked 
sands, exposed to the full influence of the sun throughout the 
day. They are extremely agile, and consequently very diffi¬ 
cult to capture, for they leap to an astonishing distance, con- 
siderino; their small size, beino; moreover aided in this motion 
by their ample wings. The young, which are deprived of 
wings, are generally found about midsummer, and are readily 
distinguished by the thorax, which is somewhat like a re¬ 
versed boat, beino; ffirnished with a lonoitudinal ridoe or keel 
from one end to the other. These little locusts are analoirous 
O 
to the insects belon^ino: to the senus Memhracis in the order 
Hemiptera, which also are distinguished by a very large 
thorax covering the whole of the upper side of the body, 
small wing-covers, and have the faculty of making great leaps. 
Indeed, these two kinds of insects very naturally connect the 
orders Orthoptera and Hemiptera together. 
After so much space has been devoted to an account of the 
ravages of grasshoppers and Ijpcusts, and to the descriptions 
of the insects themselves, perhaps it may be expected that the 
means of checking and destroying them should be fully ex¬ 
plained. The naturalist, however, seldom has it in his power 
to put in practice the various remedies which his knowledge 
or experience may suggest. His proper province consists in 
examining the living objects about him with regard to their 
stinicture, their scientific arrangement, and their economy or 
histor}^ In doing this, he opens to others the way to a suc- 
cessffil course of experiments, the trial of which he is gener¬ 
ally obliged to leave to those who are more favorably situated 
for their performance. 
In the South of France the people make, a business, at 
certain seasons of the year, of collecting locusts and their 
eggs, the latter being turned out of the ground in little masses 
cemented and covered with a sort of gum in which they are 
