58 LIFE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN INSECTS. 



moulted several times. When full grown it is 

 almost one inch in length. 



The food of the cricket consists mainly of vege- 

 table matter in the soil, but when hard-pressed they 

 will attack refuse and even clothing. 



The chirp of the cricket is well known. The 

 right Aving cover overlaps the left, and the song is 

 produced by the hard part of the former scraping 

 on that of the latter. Sharp says : "The wing covers 

 of the male differ from those of the Locustidge 

 (our Phasgonuridse), as the pairs are of similar 

 formation and each bearing a stridulating file on its 

 lower aspect." The privilege of chirping belongs 

 to the male only. The shrill notes are used in call- 

 ing his mate. 



Crickets frequently appear in great numbers in 

 wet seasons. In flood time in coastal districts we 

 have seen thousands of crickets hanging on to 

 fences just out of the water, much as a sAvarm of 

 bees w^ould do. 



They are kept in check by birds, lizards, and 

 ants devouring the young, and also the eggs before 

 they have time to hatch. 



A smaller cricket less than ^ inch in length, and 

 exactly resembling the common black cricket, is 

 often found around the edge of lagoons when the 

 water begins to dry up in the early summer months. 



The mole cricket (Curtilla coarctata) (Plate 9. 

 Figs. 3 and 5) bears a distinctive character in the 

 front legs, which are developed into a kind of 

 shovel (Plate 9. Fig. 4). by means of which the in- 

 sect burrows rapidly in the soil, soon excavating a 



