The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1868-06-19

and moist but few minutes exposure
to the air dries and hardens them, so that
by the time the sun is fairly risen, they are
perfect and can fly. The wings before
sloughing are beautifully folded up, and
it is a beautiful sight to see them unfolded,
and in IA few minutes changed from the
soft and delicate tissue, to the firm and
rugged wing of the perfect insect. 1t it be
n wet or very cloudy day, they are very apt
to perish in the operation of sloughing
and drying.
About the 18th of June, they commence
depositing their egs. This is very inter
esting sight. You will see one attached to
u limb or twig, and it will not fly away as
you approach. Look closely, and you will
see it eXcavating hole in the limb with
its curious ovipositor Watch it closely,
and as soon as it has inserted the oviposi-
tor completely into the limb, take hold of
the insect, and gently but quickly draw it
forward, and apply the point of the ovipos-
itor to the palm of the hand, when you
will see two eggs elected into your hand in
quick succession. They deposit two eggs
at each insertion of the ovipositor, and
generally five to ten pairs in each place on
the limb. She then goes to other places on
the same limb, or to some other limb, and
repeats the operation, till she has laid
about 400 eggs. The eggs are white, or
pearl color, about the 18th of an inch long,
and about one-sixth as thick as they are
long. 1t is this operation that destroys the
small limbs, the excavations cutting off the
sap vessels. The time of depositing the
eggs continues till about the goth of j une,
when they cease All kinds of trees and
and shrubs are selected by them for their
deposits except pines or other turpentine
trees. They do not seem to select the hard
est nor the most soft wood, but that which
is about the size of their bodies or less,
seems to be chosen the operation requir-
Ing them to grasp the sides of the limb
with their claws, which they could not do
so well if the limbs were large. By grasp
ing firmly with their claws, they are able
to make great pressure on the point of the
ovipositor, and thus effect their object.
From the list to the goth of June, all
shrubbery of value should be protected,
either by carefully covering it with cheap
gauze, or in case of pot plants, by keeping
them in the house.
About the 25th of June, the eggs will be
ready to hatch. Then take a limb contain
ing them, cut carefully till you expose the
eggs, and then take them out, place them
in the palm of the hand, and they will
hatch in a few minutes. The little insect
frees himself from the egg precisely in the
same way that the large one did in the
spring, by rupturing the shell on his back.
AS soon as he is fairly out of the shell he
starts off briskly in search of food. Let
him get to the ground and you will see him
work his way into it, follow him, and you
will see him attach himself to the tender
roots of grass and other vegetables, and
commence taking up the liquid emulation
from the surface with his little rostrum or
snout. These observations can only be
made with good magnifying glass BY
, the aid of the glass you can see the young
insect has every feather and member pre-
cisely the same as the large one had when
he came from the ground in the spring. By
carefully watching, you will see the young
insect come out of the ground. You can
sometimes see great numbers falling from
high trees They are like little notes in
the air, and require sharp sight to see
them. They are so small, and their appar-
ent specific gravity so inferior, that they
are not injured by the fall.
About the 25th of June the old locusts
will have disappeared altogether.
The locusts do not go deep in the ground.
They live on the vegetable juices of the
roots near the surface, which they take
with their shouts or rostrum There are
three small hairs in the snout, which, in
feeding are projected and spread out over
the surface of the roots or leaves of trees,
and these collect the juice and convey it by
capillary attraction to the stomach. You
can see this operation very distinctly in
the perfect insect, by watching it with a
magnifying glass. They have no other
mouth or means of taking food, either in
the larvae or winged state.
The ovipositor is most curious instrut
ment. 1t is about three eighths of an inch
long, of the size of small pin, fattened a.
the point, and the whole forming a moder-
ate curve. 1t is composed of material very
much resembling tortoise shell, of reddish
brown color. 1t is composed of three pieces,
centre piece, which is the tube or duct, and
two side pieces. The centre piece, or tube,
has sharp chisel-formed point with two
sharp projecting points, one above, the
other below the orifice, resembling fish's
mouth. The two side pieces are supplied
with saw teeth on their edges, and their
flat faces are rasps. They are attached to
the centre piece by tongue and groove. In
use, the centre piece is fixed firmly to the
bark, and the two side pieces commence
working up and down, first one and then
the other, alternately, and thus the exca-
walton is made All this, however, can
only be seen with the aid ola powerful mag
nifying glass. ..s.
On looking at the instrument with the
naked eye no such mechanism would be
suspected. ASA.
The musical organs are also very curious
and difficult to describe Directly under
the shoulder of the wing on each side Of
the chest there is beautiful membrane
somewhat triangular, convex and ribbed
with bony ridges. This membrane resem-
bles small shell, and is stretched over a
cavity in the chest, the lower angle con-
nected internally with strong muscle. On
the breast there are two large scales, one
on each side, firmly attached to the breast
above, but free below. On bending the
body backward these scales are elevated
and expose two large cavities, also covered
with extremely fine and silken like mem
branes. These cavities are connected with
those under the musical membranes under
the wing shoulders, and probably serve for
lungs When these cavities are filed with
air, the musical organs or membranes first
! described, are made to produce the sound
by the large muscles the horny ridges Of
the membranes being made to act on each