, 1877-07-23
THE GRASSHOpPERS' FOE.
The Terrible Alnblychi1n Cy1fntrtformts--
Hing Of rrrsiacc0ms Insrets, with Fnntl.
Nrt, for ltuntt1 Turkey.

The Terrible A.nblychi1n Cy1fnartformts--
lelnE Of Irrsiaccous Insrets, with n Fnnst.
nrss for lsuntti Turkey.
.str a"r. is4axa<. -t"iv ~. .,
n. j.. yesterday. .o ses Tic unly
living specimens ~ lt,e prcdaecos,s in
ses.e,s BY the t,ient'hc world. It hat unfor!u-
naIrly iust been laken to phtta,!clphia by Dr,
.tcprge II. Horn, but A. y Fuller, the entomol'
orist, At w!sose house the insect Was Ec3t, Care
the following cs<riptiun and history, OCCASION
ally illustrating his meaning by Reference to
ttratl specimens in Ills cs,,lccttun:
The LH.f4yehitd Is king OF it's kind, being
from two to ktx times aa large As any ore 0f the
prehateons species. ttlt number almost lo!. II
has bcrn the ambition and dtspais Of natura1!sts,
for up To last ytaf not t|ozcln specimens had
been fn,lt, atit among them not one living tn'
lertlons,, 1t bcea.ue a. atan,ling 1ukc amoug
the brotherhood tts ilsk: ~ uaYt yuu uot uli
Amh.yrhliat" The live specimen obtained by
str. Guild, Of Monument Stallion. on tho Kan"
sas Pacific tal1rold Is all inct,.anda-liaif long,
lts thosa1 Is black. round. ansl smooth. t.s
wtnI..overs aro u rcld!sh brown, roarsely ptinc-
turrtl with two ridges running tcngthways
of caci. wingcoser. Its Jaws arc ron,-
p;arattsely Immense. , !, Its 1css are long. ag.
.sscs them to. goosl advantage IN running at 4
lively pace. lis teeth arc very sharp and canine
tu form. It IN furnished Will, four.rrungcd
molars and teeth for cutting Mp lis prcy.
Hitherto the sc!entltc world has been In tDtal
that The dead Enreascs Of hutroloes were Its
fayprttr ineat. The experiments uf last week,
however, have demonstrated that grass
1lappcrs aut! May beetles arc It's fool.
Gus. Win It's sharp teeth It cute In two, With
ouc snap. tho unfortunate gsa'shoppcr. Then
IL takes a rest, and after sllc!ng It's prov II
sQucezes and sucks It's Juice. This nluno
Is swallowed. willis the remainder Is thrown
appetite, aud, strange to sny, ptoyc.! entirely to
lis taste. It alEo deyclnpcd fondncss OF
bonctl.turkcy. 1t burrows like mole, anil In
khe daytime lives IN holes OF its own excavation
This inst alone might have led scientific mcn
10 the Cieindtsa, or common tiser-hcctle, which
lives inurt after the ka1nc fashion, and only
energies from its cavo to enjoy q feast OF flies
How long this specimen can be kept alive Is q
In order to ascertain Its natural term 81 exist
euce. Mr.. Fuller says that It probably ilgcs two
yeA!s.
The earliest specimen was discovered t1ead ut
the base Of tho Rocky Mountains. In 1E.3, oy
james Say, tho Philadelphia naturalist. It.was
mentioned III the Joafnat of the Academy
Of Natural ticienees. but almost nothing was
known Of ft* hablta for want OF ftytug sNb}cet.
1t resemhlcd tho 4ndntfeoFd OF South Africa 50
closely that It was taken for tim: Insect, while
nigerols. 1t WIS the fret ever sccn cast Of tho
Mississippi, and, although II was for;
Wardcd to Philadelphia, It was destroyed
with Tho rest nj says collection. The second
specimen was discovered under more favorable
auspices, on tue Staked Plalns. It was dead,
hu. o Government surveying expedition brought
1t East, and It Is now tn q private museum In
Philadelphia. Up to tho pfcseut time mt more
than fifteen havc hecn secured. The living Am
blvchtls ot DR.. Horn has becM seen by tho lcAd
Ing naturnlista Of Pennsylvania, Now Jersey
Canada, an1 New York.
'Tho ttmbiychiia would be go&lscnd to Prof
Riley on his grassloppcr cxpelltlo,,," suggested
the reporter. "Ycs, indeed" replied Mr.
Fuller. Each one would make way with halt
a.iozen 'hoppcrs day. aud tho effect would It
crs. Now that We know something of tic in
sect wu may be able to doMcsttcato IL. At pres
ent IL inlab.ts = district 1000 milcs long b,
i I'm ui)ea w1lc. fcniu Knnsas tn Ealfnrnia. u