CHAPTER IV. 



SALTATORU, OR CRICKETS, GRASSHOPPERS, AND LOCUSTS. 



Once more we are on familiar ground. Not a single example of 

 the ]\Iantida3 or the Phasmidte is known in this country, but the 

 Saltatoria are plentiful enough — some of them too plentiful in 

 the eyes of agriculturists and housekeepers. They are well 

 known by the structure of the hind legs, wdiich are very long 

 and powerful, and, wdien the insect is at rest or only walking, 

 project considerably above the body. The antennsae are slender, 

 and in some species are of a very great length. 



The first family is that of the Gryllidae, or Crickets. The 

 popular name of these insects is evidently derived from the 

 sound produced by the male insect. The instrument by Mdiich 

 the cry is made is found in the elytia, which are furnished with 

 a ridged apparatus, the friction of which produces the shrill 

 grating sound with which we are so familiar. A detailed 

 description of this apparatus is given in my " Insects at Home," 

 and need not be repeated here. The elytra lie horizontally in 

 repose, and in many species the wings, when folded, project 

 from under the elytra. In some of the Gryllidae they are very 

 greatly elongated. The fore-legs are more or less fossorial, 

 i.e. suited for digging, and the feet, or tarsi, have three joints. 



An admirable example of the elongated wings is seen in 

 Acheta monstrosa, called by some entomologists Sckizodactylus 

 monstrosus. The reasons for this second title we shall soon 

 learn. In tliis insect, the ends of the wings are not only of 

 very great length, but are rolled up in spiral coils, so as to avoid 

 interference with locomotion. The elytra, as well as the wings, 

 have this remarkable structure. On reference to the illustration, 

 tlie reader will see that there is a sort of a chequered look on 

 the elytra. This is caused by their delicacy and transparency, 



