LOCUSTIDiE. 
93 
and folded below the tegmina. A number of species are wingless or have 
wings reduced in size. The foreleg has a swelling on the tibia, in which 
is situated the auditory organ, closed externally by a tympanal mem¬ 
brane situated in a small depression. This organ is not present in all 
species. The hind leg is similar to that of the Acridiids , the femur 
dilated near the base, the tibia long and reaching to the base of the femur. 
The female is characterised by the ovipositor, a conspicuous external 
structure, often of large size and shaped like a sword. The male has 
external clasping organs. The abdomen is soft and fleshy, not exten¬ 
sible. 
The life history of no Indian species appears to have been worked 
out, though the eggs and nymphs are common. Eggs are laid in the 
edges of leaves, in the stems of grasses, in the bark of trees and in the 
soil. As a rale these eggs are flattened ; the female makes a slit with 
the ovipositor and deposits her eggs in the slit. Nymphs are found in 
the habitat of the adults and pass through an unknown number of 
moults, the wings appearing gradually. 
Locustids are, as a rule, nocturnal in habit, remaining quietly in 
concealment during the day ; this is not an invariable rule. While 
many are herbivorous, some are predaceous on insects, probably only in 
part and with the power of becoming herbivorous if food is scarce. The 
holes eaten in the blades of leaves of ornamental shrubs in the plains are 
probably the work wholly of Locustidce and a large proportion appear 
to feed in this way. Diurnal species have been seen to capture butter¬ 
flies, but as most are nocturnal their food is not known. Many are con¬ 
spicuous songsters, the sounds produced varying from a deep harsh note 
to a sustained high shrill one. Some come to light, as do so many winged 
nocturnal insects. Locustidce are most abundant in the rainy months 
and are practically never captured during the cold weather where this is 
well marked. Hibernation appears to take place in the egg stage but this 
is not certain and if it occurs, the eggs must presumably be laid in some 
situation more permanent than a grass stem or a leaf. 
In India none are recorded as pests except the aberrant burrowing 
Schizodactylus whose habits place it among Gryllids rather than Locus¬ 
tids. Elsewhere are few which become sufficiently abundant to be des¬ 
tructive to cultivated plants. These insects are rarely found in numbers 
