THE ENTOMOLOGIST 



Vol. XXXI.] JUNE, 1898. [No. 421. 



ORTHOPTEKA NOT YET BRITISH. 



By Malcolm Burr, F.Z.S. 



(Plate II.) 



The following short notes are not uttered in the spirit of 

 prophecy, but rather to direct the attention of entomologists 

 collecting in Britain to certain species which, judging from their 

 general distribution, we may not unreasonably expect to be taken 

 in this country. The three species which seem to me to be most 

 likely to be discovered are one earwig and two grasshoppers, 

 namely, Chelidura acanthopygia (Gene.), Stenobothrus biguttulus 

 (Linn.), and Tettix fuliginosus (Zett.). 



Chelidura acanthopygia (Gene.). — The general appearance 

 of this earwig may be seen from the figure. It is quite different 

 from any of the species at present on the list as British. It is 

 small, dark dirty brown in colour, with rudimentary elytra, and 

 no wings. In the male the forceps are semicircular in shape, 

 and unarmed, the apices nearly meeting, the branches slender 

 and remote at the base. In the female the branches of the 

 forceps are contiguous at the base, slender, straight, and un- 

 armed, touching throughout their whole length, and crossing 

 slightly at the apex. The chief points which distinguish it from 

 its congeners are the broad abdomen, narrower at the apex, and 

 the form of the subanal plate of the male, which is armed with a 

 small blunt projection, sharply curved. This is not easy to 

 distinguish at first, but can be seen from beneath with a lens. 



According to Brunner, in the early part of the year it is to 

 be found under stones and dried leaves, and later in the season 

 on shrubs and brambles. It occurs in Europe from Belgium to 

 the Mediterranean, and is found in the North of France. It 

 seems to prefer elevated regions, and might well be taken on 

 the Downs. 



BNTOM. JUNE, 1898. N 



