INSECT VARIETY. 189 



differ greatly from the soft trill of the mole-cricket, corre- 

 sponding to the fuller play of the fiddle-how; and this is not 

 alone due to a difference in the method of stridulation, hut 

 appears, as far as tone is concerned, directly owing to the 

 formation of the elytra, as in the one we find tlie membrane 

 hard and tense, giving rise to large glassy areas similar to 

 those which exist in the leaf-crickets, while in the other the 

 membrane is softer and less elastic, presenting fewer dilated 

 fields. 



Since the sonorous areas in this tribe are not hei'e confined 

 to the anal field, but the whole of the wing-covers, and flattened 

 central disc more especially, partake of their glassy nature, it 

 naturally follows, among species provided with such effective 

 acoustic boxes, individuals should occur that rival the Locustina 

 alike in power and modulation of tone. And if we also consider 

 the tenseness of the wing-covers in the various species, the size of 

 the teeth in the wing-file, their shape, and variable number, we 

 shall see ample cause why the song of each should possess an 

 individual character, and contribute to an extensive scale of 

 cricket-music. Some, indeed, are truly powerful musicians, as 

 the (Ecanihi, tiny Continental crickets, not, I believe, occurring 

 in this country, which are remarkable on account of the great 

 angle to which the males are accustomed to raise their elytra 

 when stridulating ; and this, Herr Fischer considers, has the 

 effect of a sounding-board, carrying their trill, at sunset, to a 

 distance truly wonderful for such weak and tender insects. 

 The larvae of O.pellucens emerge in June, and the perfect insects 

 may be found beneath the leaves of bramble and other bushes 

 during August and September. In appearance they miglit be 

 easily mistaken for the Lace-wing Flies, on account of their 

 narrow, fragile wings, which confer a very fly-like look ; and it 

 has even been said they are in the habit of fluttering about 

 flowers. Their song, which has a rhythm, ''UUUU-UUU U," 

 ceases on the approach of an observer, showing that, in spite 

 of their diminutive size, their perception of sound is yet keen. 



The loudest of all European crickets is the bold and savage 

 Brachytypus megacej)halw%, whose male is heard at the middle of 

 April, on sandy flats near the sea in the Val de Noto, in Sicily. 

 It begins at the entrance of its burrow about four in the after- 



