To the first is
attached the two front legs; to the second, the two middle legs and the
first pair of wings, and to the third, the two hind legs and the second
pair of posterior wings. Along the posterior margin is a well marked
serrated (spinous) arrangement by means of which the locust adheres and
grips forcibly. The trunk appears to be full of a fatty sort of
substance.
The abdomen consists of a number of horny segments which are joined
together by an elastic membrane, a construction which enables the insect
to extend its body several centimetres beyond its normal extent. It can
also be increased in thickness.
The front and middle feet of this insect are short and weak, but the
length, strength, and formation of the hind legs enable it to take
extraordinary leaps. A full-grown locust can jump seven or eight feet in
height, whilst it is said to be able to leap more than 200 times the
length of its body.
The female is normally larger by 1/4 or 1/2 inch in length than the
male, and has a rather thicker body.
The average length of the migratory locust is from 2-1/2 to 3 inches and
about 3/8 inch in thickness in the abdomen. Locusts generally lay their
eggs in the spring, and the manner in which the females, having selected
a favourable site, make an excavation in the earth for depositing their
eggs is intensely interesting and wonderful.
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