GRYLLODEA. 



121 



mm. N. sylvestris. 



ARTIFICIAL KEY TO BRITISH GRYLLODEA. 



A. Ovipositor exserted; fore legs 



normal. 



(a). Spines of hind tibiae long, 

 slender,, moveable ; first 

 segment of hind tarsi not 

 serrate; species dark 

 brown, small . . . 

 (b). Spines of hind tarsi strong, 

 fixed ; first segment of 

 hind tarsi serrate on both 

 sides, species larger. 



(1). Very dark and bulky . 23 mm. Gr. campestris. 

 (2). Greyish - brown ; less 

 bulky 



B. Ovipositor not exserted ; fore 



legs modified for digging ; 

 size very large 



18 mm. 6r. domesticus. 



45 mm. G. gryllotalpa. 



Genus 1. GRYLLOTALPA Latr. 



1802. 

 1758. 

 1815. 



Gryllotalpa LATR. Hist. Nat. Crust. Ins. iii. p. '2~~> 



Acheta part, LINN. Syst. Nat. (ed. x), i, p. 428 



Curtilla OKEN Lehrb. Nat. iii, p. 445 . ... 



(Kirby, Syn. Cat. Orth. ii. p. 4 (1906), uses Curtilla, apparently to 

 avoid the repetition Gryllotalpa cjrijUotalpn.) 



DESCRIPTION.- Body downy. Antennae sturdy, 

 scarcely longer than the pronotum, with many seg- 

 ments. Two lateral ocelli developed, but the middle 

 one abortive. Pronotum large and shield -like. Elytra 

 reduced in size and somewhat triangular in shape ; 

 nervuration not normal. Wings fully developed in 

 both sexes ; in a position cf rest the tips rolled 

 up forming a tail. Fore legs much altered to form 

 implements for digging. Mid and hind legs as in 

 the rest of the Gryllodea : posterior femora dilated. 

 The abdomen showing nine segments in the male 

 and seven in the female. No ovipositor visible. The 

 cerci very long, curved, and downy. The genus is 

 well distributed over the world, and all species are 



* Average length of the female from the front of the head to the base of 

 the ovipositor. 



