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acter of the ovipositor wotild indicate, at least, that nature had in¬ 
tended them for boring into rather*hard and compact soil; and some 
particulars in the hatching process also appear to require this; hence, 
as a general rule such situations are selected in preference to loose, 
sandy or moist earth. I think that most species, there are probably 
exceptions, dislike to deposit in thick grass sward. Zinnani, a close 
observing naturalist who lived at Venice over one hundred and fifty 
years ago, and who gave a full and accurate description of the process 
of egg-laying of the Caloptenus italicus , was of the opinion that the 
eggs deposited in the roots of grass were unfecundated. Subsequent 
observations have failed to confirm this opinion. 
I have observed the female of the American locust boring into the 
hard compact soil of a well traveled street. In one instance I found 
the eggs of the common Red-legged locust in a piece of rotten wood, 
not combined in a mass; these were preserved and nearly or quite all 
of them hatched out. 
When first hatched they are similar in form to and have all the 
organs of the perfect insect, except the wings, which are entirely 
wanting. In a few hours after exclusion they commence eating such 
appropriate food as they find at hand. Being generally great feeders 
they grow rapidly, and hence undergo repeated moults, usually from 
three to five before they arrive at the perfect state. At the second 
or third moult the wings make their appearance; then they are con¬ 
sidered as having entered upon the pupa state. The Calopteni , or at 
least those that have been carefully studied, undergo another moult, 
the wings increasing in length, but not yet complete, and then by 
another change pass into the perfect state. As heretofore stated, there 
is no true or quiescent pupa state in the life-history of these insects; 
they continue feeding in all their stages. The length of time they 
remain in the preparatory states,—that is, from the time they leave 
the egg until they acquire full wings, varies according to the species, and 
also somewhat as to supply of food and the character of the season. 
The average length in the case of the Rocky Mountain locust is about 
seven weeks. 
The process of moulting, as perhaps every reader knows, consists in 
casting off the outer integument or skin. 
To those unacquainted with the appearance of the pupa state and 
the differences between it and the perfect state, it is often a puzzling 
question to decide whether, a short-winged specimen is a perfect insect 
or a pupa. A little study will enable any one to determine this point 
w T ith unerring certainty. The elytra of the pupa are in fact twisted 
around so that the faces and margins are precisely reversed from what 
they are in the perfect state; that which is to be the inner face is 
the outer face in the pupa, and the costal margin is the upper or an¬ 
terior margin; the apical veins which curve upward in the closed elytra 
of the perfect insect curve down in the j upa. This peculiar arrange¬ 
ment wfill therefore enable any one soon to determine whether a short¬ 
winged specimen is a pupa or a perfect insect. 
As a general rule the species found in our State appear to be single- 
brooded, but there are certainly some exceptions to this rule. The 
green-striped locust is certainly double-brooded in the southern part 
of the State as is also C. atlcmtis , and I am inclined to think that in 
the extreme southern portion C. differentialis —the Lubberly Caloptenus 
—is also two-brooded. On the contrary, the Rocky Mountain locust 
