. Nature sketches in temperate America, a series of sketches and a popular account of insects, birds, and plants, treated from some aspects of their evolution and ecological relations . the sketch given above, the pasture locust is a well-markedexample of the adaptation of an insect to the plant societiesof the pasture. The Short-horned Locust To understand insect life, one must study a species in itsnatural environment. Here one learns certain facts pertainingto their behavior, and elicits from nature the important cir-cumstances bearing on their life relations. I have shown inanother
. Nature sketches in temperate America, a series of sketches and a popular account of insects, birds, and plants, treated from some aspects of their evolution and ecological relations . the sketch given above, the pasture locust is a well-markedexample of the adaptation of an insect to the plant societiesof the pasture. The Short-horned Locust To understand insect life, one must study a species in itsnatural environment. Here one learns certain facts pertainingto their behavior, and elicits from nature the important cir-cumstances bearing on their life relations. I have shown inanother chapter how thoroughly adapted some of the Orthop-tera have become to their habitat. Some of these insects areso well adapted to a special kind of plant group that theyfail to exist elsewhere. I refer here to the short-horned locust,known as Tryxalis brevicornis. As will be seen, its interrelationto its surroundings is of a very exacting kind. In the platephotographic illustration, I have depicted this handsome speciesby four figures. This insect presents a graceful form, havinga produced conical head. From an economical standpoint ECOLOGY — INTERPRETATION OF ENVIRONMENT 4(»l. The Pasture Locvst {Orfhnella speciosa). The two upper figures arc adult fcvmles, the one to the left during life was green on the dorsum: the tiro middle figures are males, the one at the left was brown, the one to the right teas greenish brown: the lower figure is a pupa, u-kich was light green in life. They are from the grassij pasture shown in the landscape view. 402 NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA it is a harmless species to cultivated crops. But from a bio-logical point of view it is of particular ii|iterest. The form ofthis locust, as well as the body color patterns, are seeminglyof use in protecting its life from predaceous animals. It is avariable species, presenting three types joi color markings inthe male, and at least two types of coloring in the color forms may be repres
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectins
