242 INSECTS AT HOME. 



base to the tip, which divides the elytron into twc- p;irt3, 

 namely, a tolerably hard part that covers the back, and a softer 

 part that is folded on the sides, and cannot be seen when tlie 

 insect is viewed from above. On examination with a lens, 

 this nervure is shown to be a sort of hinge, and along its inner 

 side the elytron has a very deep fold, so that the soft part can 

 be turned down at right angles with the hard portion. 



Up to this point, the elytra are alike in both sexes, but now 

 all resemblance ceases. The male elytron is much broader 

 than the female, and the nervures, instead of simply running 

 in a sort of network composed of delicate threads, are very 

 strong, and converge towards the hard spot which has already 

 been mentioned, merging themselves into the fine network 

 only at the very end of the wing. On removing the right 

 elytron, and examining it carefully, the serrations which produce 

 the sovmd can be seen, if the light be properly adjusted. They 

 are not sharp, but rounded, and their outlines are waved in this 

 fashion \. I particularly mention the adjustment of the light, 

 because the serrations are not easily seen ; and indeed, when 

 I first looked for them, I had some difficulty in finding them. 



The true wings of the insect are large enough to carry their 

 owner through the air, but, like those of the cockchafer, the 

 dor, and stag Beetle, are not sufficiently large to prevent it from 

 knocking itself against obstacles. Gilbert White, in his ' Sel- 

 borne,' Letter XL VI., mentions that the house in which he was 

 writing was so infested with Crickets, that they became absohite 

 pests at night, even flying into the flame of the candle and 

 the faces of persons sitting in the room. 



Of their mode of flight, he makes the following remarks : — 

 ' In the summer we have often observed them to fly, when it 

 became dusk, out of the windows, and over the neighbouring 

 roofs. This feat of activity accounts for the sudden manner 

 in which they often leave their haunts, as it does for the 

 method by which they come to houses where they were not 

 known before. It is remarkable that many insects seem never 

 to use their wings but when they have a mind to shift their 

 quarters, and establish new colonies. When in the air, they 

 move volatu undoso, in waves or curves, like woodpeclcers, 

 opening and shutting their wings at every stroke, and so are 

 always rising or sinking.' Mr. Westwood remarks that he has 



