COLI.ECTING ORTHOPTERA IN THE CAUCASUS. 



39 



relative T/ihoicetrim adspersus, betraying its presence by its clumsy leaps 

 in the herbage ; Acrida tiiriita, L., is also common flying with a 

 clatter from shrub to shrub. The universal Standenis biculor is 

 common in parts of the steppe, and Pyviinuiorplia bracJu/ptera, Bol., the 

 west Asiatic representative of the south European F. <irtjlloides, of 

 which I chanced upon a single specimen, is common on the dry clay, 

 together with the little grey >)tanr(iderm .s/»//yZ{'.f, Eversm." hlpacromia 

 tholasshia swarms in most places, though less numerous on the dry 

 steppe itself ; E. stn^pois is rarer. On the thick hedges by the road 

 and vine-yards of Geok-Tapa, where bamboo grows to a considerable 

 height, with bramble and dense herbage, Sphndruuiantifi biociilata, 

 Burm.,'and the Mantis reliiiioaa, L., occur with Irk oratoria, L., and 

 Xip/tidimii fiisciiiii, Latr. In the thickets were a few I'lati/rhis ciifjuis, 

 Charp., and PL i/ri.sca, Fabr. It was interesting to find the western 

 railn/ti/liisdaniciis, L., and not its eastern brother /'. mvjiaturinx, L. 



One of the best collecting spots was a small field adjoining the 

 vineyard, where there was short grass and no high shrubby plants. 

 Here Staaroderus bicnlor, Charp., Chnrthippus (dbomaryinatna''-, De. G., 

 and C paralielus swarmed ; the southern element was represented by 

 Acrida turrita, L., and a single nymph of Tropodopoln ci/liiidrica, 

 Marsh. '■= The eastern influence was seen in Staaroderus cixjnatas, 

 Fieb., a typical south Russian species, I'latydcis vittata, Charp., and 

 a large green race of Ocrrt»tA».s ;)6'ZZ/((Vu.s, Scop., recently described bj' 

 Uvaroff as sub-sp. taranicu.r'-, from Turkestan. Eaprepociieinis plorans 

 was also common here. This was the only spot where I was able to 

 take Gri/lloides lateralis, Fieb., though his characteristic chirp 

 resounded through the gardens and fields all the afternoon and evening. 

 The stridulation consists of two entirely distinct but simultaneous 

 notes, one a high sharp chirp, not unlike that of Gnjllus domesticus,!^., 

 but less continuous, and a low quiet buzz that can only be detected at 

 close quarters. As there were no shrubs to afford it protection, I was 

 able to catch it on the grass with my fingers, and then took several 

 pairs, establishing beyond doubt, to my mind, that de Saussure 

 originally described the female quite correctly as having rudimentary 

 elytra, disproving Bolivar's contention that de Saussure's specimen is 

 referable to another species, and that the female of G. lateralis has long- 

 elytra. 



I was not lucky enough to come across any specimen of Gratidia, 

 the Stick-Insect of western Asia; several species occur in Turkestan, 

 and one G. bitnberculata, Stal., has been found near Geok-Tapa. It 

 was too late in the season for any species of Nocarodes, the character- 

 istic Pamphagid genus of the Caucasus and of Asia Minor. 



Beneath the dried leaves lying in the garden I found numbers of 

 an elegant light-brown Hololampni, in which the male has the elytra 

 as long as the abdomen, the disc shaded with black ; the female is 

 entirely yellowish-brown ; the elytra are shortened, extending half-way 

 down the abdomen and broadly rounded. Ii is new to science, and I 

 have dedicated it to my genial host A. B. Shelkovnikoff. 



The only other Blattids that I took were Stylopyga orieiitalis, L., 

 of which a couple of nymphs were found in the house, and the curious 

 west Asiatic Volijphaija aei/i/ptiaca, L., of which the winged male 

 occurred in the kitchen, while the apterous, heavy female buried 

 herself in the sand and dust outside. 



