^i't MODERN CXASSIFICATION OF INSECTS. 



ruping is in some parts of the country deemed a propitious omen, 

 whilst in others it is regarded as a sign of ill-luck. The house-cricket 

 forms the subject of White's 89th letter. 



The field-cricket, Acheta campestris, is larger and much rarer than 

 A. domestica, and of a black colour, with the base of the wing-covers 

 yellow. Itis an out-of-doors creature, frequenting hot sandy districts, 

 where it forms its burrows at the side of foot-paths, &c., in situations 

 exposed to the sun, which are of considerable^ depth (being from six to 

 twelve inches deep, and formed by the assistance of the strong toothed 

 jaws of the insect), and at the mouth of which it sits for the purpose 

 of seizing its prey, which according to Latreille and Goureau, consists 

 of other insects * ; indeed, these authors tell us that the children in 

 France capture it by introducing an ant, tied to the end of a string, into 

 its burrow. Pliny, indeed, states that it may be captured by merely 

 introducing a straw into its burrow, whence the proverb stultior Gryllo 

 has its origin. The stridulation of this species is much louder than 

 that of the preceding. They are exceedingly timid, and retreat to the 

 bottom of their burrows on the least noise. They form several regu- 

 larly beaten tracks leading to the mouth of their burrows. The female 

 deposits her eggs in the ground, the number deposited by each being 

 about 300 ; one, however, kept in captivity by M. Goureau, only de- 

 posited four eggs : these are attached together, and glued to the 

 ground, by a gummy matter secreted by the female. The larvae are 

 hatched at the end of July, and immediately form burrows. In certain 

 seasons these young crickets assemble together and quit their retreats 

 in the twilight, especially after tempests, probably in search of new 

 abodes. The short leaps which they execute give them a great re- 

 semblance to young toads, and it has been suggested by M. Goureau 

 that these insects have been mistaken, under such circumstances, for a 

 swarm of young toads supposed to have fallen from the clouds during 

 storms; of which various accounts have from time to time been pub- 

 lished. During the winter these young larvae remain in their holes, 

 which are ordinarilj' protected by the stone beneath which they are 

 made. On the arrival of fine weather in the following year, they quit 

 their retreats, and seek a more congenial spot, where they make a fresh 



* Gilbert White, however, says (letter 88. ), " of such herbs as grow before the 

 mouths of their burrows, they eat indiscriminately." He likewise kept them in 

 paper cages, supplying them with plants moistened with water, " but if tlie plants 

 are not wetted, the insects will die." 



