OBSERVATIONS ON SOME NEW ORTHOPTERA, 241 



large and peculiar insects live in large numbers in the mountainous 

 meadows of Caucasia Elinor (Semenooka, Elenooka) at an elevation of 

 7000-8000ft. above sea-level. During my excursions through the 

 lobalities surrounding the lake Hokcha I have always captured 

 specimens of X ciianiin'K either while they were slowly crawling along 

 the grass or quietly sitting on it, not attempting to nuike the least 

 movement while I approached them or took them in my hands. In life, 

 these insects are very brightly and peculiarly coloured, but, after death, 

 several of their colours disappear entirely. Since the colour of this 

 species described (from dead specimens) by Fischer and Brunner von 

 Wattenwyl is incorrect, I deem it necessary to give an excict description 

 of the female made from living specimens. The prevailing colour of 

 the body is a quite bright cinnamon-grey, over which are scattered 

 numerous dark and yellowish spots ; several dark stripes pass along 

 the raised lines of the sternum ; the dorsum of the anterior half of 

 each abdominal segment is coloured a beautiful pink, which is quite 

 conspicuously contrasted with the general body-colour ; the short hind 

 femora are, on the outside, tinted the same as the rest of the body, 

 and, on the inside, are blue ; terminally, however, they are bright red ; 

 the tibife, too, are blue and are armed with black-pointed, red spines, 

 but their terminal ends and entii'e tarsi are bright red. This red 

 colour is so prominently contrasted with the blue that it appears as 

 though the legs were sprinkled with red sealing-wax. Considering 

 the vast numbers and bright colours of these strange Orthoptera, and 

 their slow motion, one would think that they have very few enemies, and 

 from these they are probably protected either by being unsavory or by 

 poisonous properties. Their males are peculiar by the very small dimen- 

 sions of the body, as compared with the size of the females, and with their 

 somewhat more rapid power of movement. In colour, however, they hardly 

 differ from the females, only (as in the young females) their abdominal 

 segments lack the pink stripes. Besides, the venter of the abdomen 

 is bright yellow, and, on each side of each of the posterior segments, 

 there is a narrow, dark stripe that expands towards the last segment, 

 and has the appearance of two dark spots. Finally, each side of the 

 dorsum of the abdomen bears a broad, dark, longitudinal stripe. But 

 tbe most noticeal)le character in the colouring of the males is presented 

 in their hind-legs, the inner and ventral sides of the hind femora, 

 as wellas the entire tibite and tarsi, being of an uniform orange-red. The 

 tibial spines, too, except their tips which are black, are also of the 

 same colour. In some, however, a bluish tinge is still noticeable 

 upon the underside of these femora, in the form of an indistinct 

 narrow stripe. The males Fischer von Waldheim mistook for a 

 distinct species calling them Xoramdrn nihri/ics. 



Insects with colours so closely resembling their habitat, would 

 have been subject to great danger had tlieir bright hues betrayed 

 their presence. We have seen that, on this account, tlie bright colours 

 of locusts are distributed over such parts of their hind femora as are 

 normally entirely concealed. On the other hand, however, we have 

 also seen that the tibia- and tarsi are also brightly coloured, and 

 these could likewise betray the presence of the insect. In view of 

 this the Orthoptera possess several adaptations : thus, it is known 

 that each of the hind femora are provided below and on the inner 

 surface with a long and deep furrow, or rather, with a channel which 



