82 BRITISH ORTHOPTERA. 



[Ectobius nigripes. Elongatits. ochraceo-flavescens, thoracis disco 

 antennis pedibueque nit/ris, tarsorum articulo basalt coxisque albidis. 

 (Long. corp. 6 lin.) 



Bl. nigripes. Steph. Catal. 304, No. 3361. 



Elongate-ovate, or elliptic ; ochreous-yellow, with a brownish tinge ; 

 head, antennae, and eyes, black ; thorax with its disc black, the margins 

 pale testaceous and pellucid; elytra pale yellowish-brown, or ochreous, 

 with some remote, somewhat indistinct, darker atoms 011 the disc, 

 especially towards the apex ; abdomen black beneath, dark brownish- 

 ochre above, with a black streak on each side ; legs black, with the 

 coxae pale ochreous, the base of the tarsi whitish ; femora without 

 spines. (Steph. ' Illustr. Brit. Ent.' Mand. vi, p. 48, 1835.)] 



MALK IMAGO (PI. VIII, f. o). --Colour dark yellowish- 

 grey. Length up to 8 mm. Head and antennae very dark, 

 a pale streak between, the eyes; pronotum (fig. 10 c) 

 yellowish, with pellucid lateral margins, and dark 

 blotches on the disc almost forming two longitudinal 

 lines. Elytra pale yellowish with many dark dots, 

 lanceolate, extending beyond the tip of the abdomen. 

 Wings, pale smoky, iridescent. Legs yellowish, darker 

 at the joints. Abdomen above yellowish along the 

 centre, but dark along the sides. Gerci very dark. 



FEMALE IMAGO (PI. VIII, f . 4).- -Colour as in the male. 

 Length 8 mm., or less. Pronotnm less spotted. Elytra 

 truncate, not extending beyond the third segment of 

 the abdomen. Wings rudimentary. Each segment 

 of the abdomen with an irregular dorsal band of black 

 blotches. 



OOTHECA.- -In colour the ootheca is dark chestnut, 

 while in size and general appearance it is very like 

 that of E. lapponicus. The female is sometimes found 

 carrying its ootheca e. g. one at Blackgang Chine, 

 Isle of Wight (Hope Coll. Oxford), one at St. Helens, 

 I. of Wight, 25 August 1909 (Donisthorpe), one at 

 Chapman's Pool near St. Alban's Head, 26 August 

 1905 (Tomlin), one at Beaulieu Heath in the New 

 Forest 1 September 1909 (Lucas). King took a pair 

 in copula in the New Forest, 9 August 1898. These 

 dates tend to show that the species breeds at the end 

 of the summer. The abbreviated elytra of the female 

 give one the impression at first that a nymph is 

 carrying an ootheca. 



