e
'<<,
Acridium Lineola.
which is a species commonly sold for food in the mar- kets of Bagdad (Ser\'. Orthop. G57), A. semifasciatum, A.jxregrinum, one of the most destructive of the spe- cies, and A . morbosum, occur either in Egypt or Arabia. Culliptamus sei'opis and Chrotof/onus lugiihris are found in Egypt, and in the cultivated lands about Cairo ; Ere- viohia curinuta, in the rocky places about Sinai. E. cisli, E. pidchripennis, (EkUpoda octofasciata, and Cffd. migratoiia ( = 6". ?)wV/?'«^ Linn.), complete the list of the Saltatorial Orthoptera of the Bible lands. Of one species M. Olivier {Voyage dans VEminre Othoman, ii, 424) thus writes : " With the burning south winds (of Syria) there come from the interior of Arabia and from the most southern parts of Persia clouds of locusts (Auidiiim 2^etcg) mum), whose ravages to these couii-
A eridiuni Pcrccjrinum.
tries are as grievous and nearly as sudden as those of the heaviest hail in Europe. Wc witnessed them twice. It is difficult to express the effect produced on us by the sight of the whole atmosphere filled on all sides and to a great height by an innumerable quantity of these in- sects, whose flight was slow and uniform, and whose noise resembled tliat of rain : the sky was darkened, and the light of the sun considerably weakened. In a moment the terraces of the houses, the streets, and all the fields were covered by these insects, and in two days they had nearly devoured all the leaves of the plants. Happily they lived but a short time, and seemed to have migrated only to reproduce themselves and die ; in fact, nearly all those we saw the next day had paired, and the day following the fields ;vero covered with their dead bodies." This species is found in Arabia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia. Tlie ordinary Syrian locust greatly resembles the common grasshopper, but is larger and more destructive. It is usually about two inches and a half in length, and is chiefly of a green color, with dark spots. It is provided witli a pair of antennas or " feelers" about an inch in length, projecting from the head. The mandibles or jaws are black, and the wing- coverts are of a bright brown, spotted with black. It has an elevated ridge or crest upon tlie thorax, or that
portion of the body to which the legs and wings are at- tached. The legs and thighs of these insects are so powerful that they can leap to a height of two hundred times the length of their bodies; when so raised they spread their wings, and fly so close together as to appeaj like one compact moving mass.
Locust flyinj;
Locusts, like many other of the general provisions of nature, may occasion incidental and partial evil, but, upon the whole, they are an immense benefit to those portions of the workl which they inhabit ; and so con- nected is the chain of being that we may safely believe that the advantage is not confined to those regions. " They clear the way for the renovation of vegetable productions which are in danger of being destroyed by the exuberance of some particular species, and are thus fulfilling the law of the Creator, that of all which he has made should nothing be lost. A region which has been choked up by shrubs, and perennial plants, and hard, half-withered, impalatable grasses, after having been laid bare by these scourges, soon appears in a far more beautiful dress, with new herbs, superb lilies, fresh an- nual grasses, and young and juicy shrubs of pereiniial kinds, affording delicious herbage for the wild cattle and game" (Sparman's Voyage, i, 3(J7). Meanwhile their excessive multiplication is repressed by numerous causes. Contrary to the order of nature with all other insects, the males are far more numerous than the females. It is believed that if they were equal in number they would in ten j'ears annihilate the vegetable system. Besides all the creatures that feed upon them, rains are very destructive to their eggs, to the larvre, pupte, and perfect insect. When perfect they always fly with the \vinds, and are therefore constantly carried out to sea, and often ignorantly descend upon it as if upon land. (See below. III.) Myriads are thus lost in the ocean every year, and become the food of fishes. On land they afford in all their several states sustenance to count- less tribes of birds, beasts, reptiles, etc. ; and if their of- fice as the scavengers of nature, commissioned to remove all superfluous productions from the face of the earth, sometimes incidentally and as the operation of a general law, interferes with the labors of man, as do storms, tempests, etc., they have, from all antiquity to the pres- ent hour, afforded him an excellent supply till the land acquires the benefit of their visitations, by yielding him in the mean time an agreeable, wholesome, and nutri- tious aliment.
There arc different ways of preparing locusts for food : sometimes they are ground and pounded, and then mixed with flour and water and made into cakes, or they are salted and then eaten ; sometimes smoked ; boiled or roasted; stewed, or fried in butter. Dr. Kitto {Pict. Bible, note on Lev. xi, 21), who tasted locusts, says they are more like shrimps than anything else ; and an Eng- lish clergyman, some years ago, cooked some of the green grasshoppers, Locusta viridissima, boiling them in water half an hour, throwuig away the head, wings, and legs, and then sprinkling them with pepper and