hinder part: mandibles very long and toothed at the extremity; palpi very long and slender, composed of long joints, the maxillary pair terminated by a fleshy wart, (not an acute spine, as stated by Mr. Grey;) legs long, especially the hinder ones, the thighs of which are much thickened; tibiæ strongly spined; tarsi four-jointed, but having a fleshy lobe at the base of the radical joint on the under side, by which character it is associated with the present family, and not with that of which we are next to speak.
Fam. Locustidæ.
Antennæ short, seldom exceeding half the length of the body, filiform or subulate, sometimes thickened towards the middle or extremity, the joints generally distinct and not very numerous; tarsi three-jointed; abdomen conical and compressed, the female without a projecting ovipositor. The males are without a circular spot at the base of the tegmina, and their stridulent note is therefore entirely produced by the friction of the thighs against the tegmina and wings.
Such, concisely, are the most marked distinctive features of a tribe of insects which have long been objects of historical celebrity on account of their extensive depredations. As they are very numerous, and present considerable differences in external characters, the genera into which they are divided are necessarily many. The ravages of locusts have been often described, and the accounts given by travellers of their astonishing multitudes and powers of destruction are calculated to excite our astonishment. It is also
