THE FIELD CRICKET. 167 



our common Cricket is the type, agree with the 

 Gryllina, and differ from the common Grasshoppers ; 

 but they are distinguished from both these groups of 

 Saltatorial Orthoptera by the position of their wing- 

 cases, which, instead of forming a roof-like covering, 

 are laid flat upon the back. Their other distinctive 

 characters consist in their three-jointed tarsi; in the 

 great length of their wings, which, when folded up, 

 project considerably beyond the elytra in the form of 

 a pair of tapering tails ; in the presence of two long 

 bristles at the apex of the abdomen ; and of a long 

 slender ovipositor in the females. The latter, however, 

 is wanting in some species. 



We have two other well-known species of this tribe 

 in Britain, but both these are inhabitants of the open 

 country. One of them, the Field Cricket {Acheta 

 campestris) , is found in hot sandy situations, where it 

 forms a burrow, sometimes of a foot in depth, into 

 which it retreats at the slightest prospect of danger. 

 This species is a good deal larger than the House 

 Cricket, and is of a dark brown, or nearly black colour, 

 with the base of the wing-cases a very pale yellow. 

 Like the common Cricket, it appears to be principally 

 a nocturnal animal, but according to Gilbert White, 

 the chirping of the males may be heard throughout 

 the whole of the twenty-four hours during the hot 

 months. According to this observer, their food 

 consists of the plants that grow in the immediate 

 vicinity of their burrows, but both Colonel Goureau 

 and Latreille , state that they devour other insects, 

 for which they lie in wait at the mouths of their 

 burrows. 



The female lays her eggs in a hole in the ground, 

 and the larvae are hatched about the end of July, 



