G. vulgaris Lat. — Curt. Guide, Gen. 446. 1. — Gryllotalpa Linn. 



Velvety brown above, dark ochreous beneath ; margins of thorax tawny : 

 elytra dull yellowish white, brown towards the base and costa, nervures 

 dark brown : wings dirty white, with the costa, a longitudinal stripe be- 

 low it, and many of the nervures bi'own : anterior tibiae and tarsi subcas- 

 taneous, piceous at the apex. 



The Mole-cricket is one of the largest Insects inhabiting Britain ; its 

 structure is wonderful and its oeconomy most interesting. In its perfect 

 state it is capable of flight, and I suspect, from the resistance the thorax 

 and elytra offer to water, that it is able to swim. Its fore paws are beau- 

 tifully'adapted for burrowing in the ground, and their power is prodigious ; 

 according toRoesel it commonly employs a force equal to the counterpoise 

 of 2 or 3 pounds : there is a large tooth at the base of the anterior thighs 

 which meets the interior margin of the tibia when bent back, and this re- 

 ceiving and protecting the tarsus when in the act of digging or burrowing, 

 altogether form a large toothed sort of hoe or shovel : they are able to 

 run backward as well as forward with great facility in their burrows ; and 

 to warn them of approaching danger in retrograding, as Professor Kidd has 

 justly observed, they are furnished behind with 2 appendages similar to 

 their antennse, but not jointed*. 



They live probably the year round, and are found in gardens, meadows, 

 peat bogs, by the sides of ponds and streams, in dung-hills, pea and 

 barley fields, &c., in most parts of England, particularly towards the 

 south ; they feed on potatoes, and the roots of grass and corn, sometimes 

 causing great mischief, it is said, to the crops in Germany. Dr. Kidd says 

 they prefer raw meat, and will attack each other, when the victor devours 

 the'flesh of the vanquished, but that they can live 9 or 10 months without 

 food. I have kept a mole-cricket in a cage, but it has always managed 

 to escape ; and so interesting are its habits and history, that I should re- 

 commend those who amuse themselves by keeping mice and other animals 

 to obtain some of the crickets, and they may be rewarded by some impor- 

 tant and curious discoveries ; for this insect is supposed to be the " Will o' 

 the wisp," the " ignis fatuus," about which so much has been said and so 

 little proved, the phantom that has eluded the vigilance of the naturalist 

 and the curious for ages ! They can emit a sound more shrill but softer 

 than that of the frog, and Dr. Leach says the male sings in the evening by 

 rubbing the elytra together. 



I am not aware that any one has been able to detect an external sexual 

 character ; I am therefore happy in observing that after ascertaining the sexes 

 by dissection, I discovered that the elytra are different. It is a female that 

 I have represented flying, and on comparison it will be seen that the ely- 

 tron (Jig. 9 $), which is the right-hand one of a male, has nervures very 

 different to the other sex : the same peculiar structure is visible in this as 

 in Acrydium (pi. 439-)> the inner edge having more the appearance of a 

 costa than the outer one. The males seem to be uncommon; I have seen 

 but 2, and in them the right-hand elytron lapped over the other, but in all 

 the females it was the reverse. 



The Plant is Montia fontana (Water Blinks) . 



* The reader will find an admirable paper on the IMoIe-Cricket in the Philoso- 

 phical Transactions, by J. Kidd, M.D., F.R.S., &c. 



