TETTIGOXIA VERRUCIVORA. 175 



the subgenital plate more strongly emarginate. Some 

 Lydden examples suggest this form. 



DATE. July 3 is the earliest date given for the 

 capture of this species in England- -by J. C. Dale in 

 the Xew Forest. We have also records for 20 July; 

 80 July ; 14 August ; 25 September at Lydden near 

 Dover ; and 1 6 October at the same place. 



HABITS, ETC.- -T. verrucivora should be looked for 

 in dry barren spots, clearings in woods, and other 

 similar places. Patience is required in stalking it 

 down, since it chirps only when the sun is hot. Once 

 detected, however, to follow it is easv, as its lono* le^s 



O c!> 



and " oily ' green colour are very conspicuous. It 

 looks like a frog when making its great leaps in the 

 long grass. The specific name verrucivora, or " Wart- 

 biter," is due to a habit of the Swedish peasants, who 

 used them, so Linnaeus tells us, to bite off their warts. 

 Possibly the brown fluid discharged from the mouth, 

 when this and other grasshoppers are handled, may 

 have some salutary effect conducing to the disappear- 

 ance of the warts, presuming, of course, that they do 

 disappear under this drastic treatment. 



DISTRIBUTION.- -Generally speaking this grasshopper 



is found in Europe and in Northern and Western 



Asia. In Europe it occurs from Lapland to Greece 



-Sweden, common; England, very sparingly; France, 



common; Holland; Belgium, fairly common; Italy, 



O i/ v ' 



in the Alps to 7000 feet ; Spain, apparently only in 

 the mountains ; Montenegro ; Wallachia. 



DISTRIBUTION IN BRITAIN. 



It is unfortunate that the finest of our Locustids should also 

 be the least common. So far as we know it has occurred onlv 



/ 



at a few spots in the south of England ; but, as it is frequent 

 in Sweden, there is no apparent reason why it should be so 

 local, and why it should not occur in Scotland. Stephens 

 says that it " once occurred in great plenty in a field near 

 Rochester in September, where it was observed by Professor 

 Henslow, to whom I am indebted for fine examples." J. C. 



