IN THI', CAUCASUS AGAIN. 253 



fellow-guests were ray old friend Y. Bianki the ornithologist, with his 

 three sons, so that all natui-o came in for a share of observation and 

 dicsnssion. j\Iy previous visit had been in Septembei-, and it was 

 particularly interesting to note the difference in the fauna in the early 

 part of July (7ih-16th). In the garden there were scarcely any signs 

 oi T/iisniatriis ilorsatiis, F. deW., and Kiiprepociifinis iiloritn>^, Charp., 

 which are so prominent in the autumn ; in their place there were 

 numbers of i^lijut/iosrelis iiulistincfj, Bol. This fine; species was first 

 described by Bolivar from Asia Minor, and then recorded by me, on 

 specimens taken by Konig, from Mtskhet and Tiflis. Since then 

 Uvaroff has recorded it from numerous localities in the Caucasus. In 

 July it was very numerous in the gardens and park at Geok Tapa ; I 

 was pavticularly struck one day, when after a tropical rain all the 

 morning, the sun came out at mid-day ; on a shrub in the garden I 

 saw no less than four specimens sitting boldly on the leaves, basking 

 in the sun, trusting to their agility to escape from any dangers. As a 

 rule it is a timid creature, lurking among the thorny stems of the 

 dense shrubs; its habits are much the same as those of our common 

 English species, (>. (iriacoaptevd, but it is a great deal larger, and its 

 leaps carry it much farther ; I noticed the same habit of chirping in a 

 particularly lively manner before an evening shower. Compared with 

 its Balkan and Mediterranean congeners, it is a size larger and more 

 powerful than O. littoralis, about as strong and big as 0. cluihy.icii, 

 but less so than 0. traiuylvaticin^ and 0. dalmaticus. 



The other common Locustid in the garden was a Poecilimon which 

 I dare not venture to identify until this very difficult genus has been 

 once more monographed and revised. It crawls sluggishly over the 

 shrubs and thistles, and is easy to pick up with the fingers ; it seems 

 quite defenceless, and its green protective colouring only advertises it 

 when it is foolish enough to sit on a big blue thistle, where I have 

 often seen a dozen or more incautiously exposing themselves, no 

 doubt fondly imagining that they were assimilated to their environment ; 

 even on green leaves, they are perfectly easy to see. It is a pity that 

 these delicate and interesting creatures are so difficult to preserve with 

 any degree of satisfaction. 



Of my old acquaintances, fjCibia iiu'nnf, L., and F. auricuUdia, L., 

 were common, the former flying to light in the evenings, often 

 in numbers. Flatijrleis (jri^ea, Fabr., PI. asaiiiiiliH, Fieb., I'l. 

 vittata, Charp., Paratctti.r iiieridionalix, Ramb., 7'cttix bipitnrtatus, 

 iditua, L., Staiirodenis hicolor, Charp., S. c<i;/natus, Fieb., Dectictis alhi- 

 /Vo?i.s Fabr., Xeiiiobiioi saiissiiri'i, Burr, were all common and adult. 

 Nymphs of Pyryomoyplia brac/ti/ptcra, Bol., began to appear; OeiUpoda 

 salina and (>. caendcsccns, L., Sphint/onntiifi cacridam, L., Acioti/liifi 

 insubricitf<, Scop., Oedalens uitjrofasciatKx, De Geer, and its slender 

 eastern relative, 0. mlohn^iciviczi, Bol., Sphunioiiutiis aziiresccns, Ramb., 

 all reached maturity daring the last week of my visit. Of Mantids, 

 only nymphs of Mantis relii/iosa, L., and Sphodroinantis binciihitn, 

 Burm., were about, but on the steppe I found Bnlivaria braclnjptcra, 

 Pall., fully grown. 



The desert had outwardly the same appearance in July as in 

 September ; the sparse vegetation was already burnt up, though 

 Frosojiis strp/i((iiiana was not yet ripe. But the Orthopterous fauna was 

 quite difi'eroit. I found no traces of Staurodcrna simplex, EVersm., 



