210 BRITISH ORTHOPTERA. 



found on the soil. There it is best captured by sweeping, 

 though I suspect that the insect, which is very obscure 

 and difficult to see, is captured as it jumps in front of 

 the net. Should one be sighted, it is not at all an 

 easy matter to hunt it down, so closely does it resemble 

 a particle of soil when it alights upon the ground. On 

 a landslip on the shore near Milton (Hants) where it 



occurs, the soil is also of a marlv nature. Shaw took 



/ 



it on the landslip at Charmouth. Burr once took a 

 specimen which was swimming on the surface of a 

 sluggish stream that was full of animal life. At first 

 he could scarcely imagine what it was, for its motion 

 was entirely different from that of the common surface 

 insects. It had doubtless fallen in by accident, and 

 was swimming towards the shore with powerful strokes 

 of its hind legs. Other Acridian grasshoppers use 



their hind lesfs on occasion for swimming in the same 



. 



way. It is worth noting that I discovered the presence 

 of this grasshopper at Marlborough Deeps, in con- 

 sequence of a specimen jumping into the water as I 

 passed one of the numerous ponds to be found in that 

 locality. An example from this place taken on 

 20 August was kept alive for a long time. Damp 

 Sphagnum was in the box with it, and I gave it no 

 other food. It was quite lively, when examined on 

 22 December, but was dead when I looked at it on 

 3 January following. Possibly it might have survived 

 the winter had it been allowed to hibernate properly 

 out of doors. 



After the above was written I had the following 

 experience of the species in the spring of 1918, when 

 I re-visited Marlborough Deeps on purpose to search 

 for it. I found the grasshoppers very commonly on 

 ground rather sparsely covered with short grass and 

 other small vegetation amongst the ponds and damp 

 places. All appeared to be mature. In the bright 

 -unshine they got up on the wing in all directions, 

 and flew two or three yards, or even more, at a time. 

 Apparently they did not use their wings if a cloud 



