ORTHOPTERA — achetida:. 445 



burrow. In their larva and pupa state they are active, and resemble 

 the imago except in the want of wings, and, of course, in being unable 

 to stridulate. On arriving at the perfect state, the male takes up his 

 abode at the mouth of the burrow, and commences his strong and 

 rapid chirp, of which the object is evidently to attract the female. On 

 confining two males together, they will fight until one is destroyed 

 and then devoured. It is in the months of May, June, and July, that 

 they are to be found in the perfect state. Ilosel (Ins. Belust. Locusty 

 tab. xiii.) and Frisch (vol. i. pi. 1.) have given complete series of figures 

 representing the growth of this insect. 



A ^&\v lines from a delightful sonnet by Leigh Hunt, addressed to 

 the two preceding species, will not be deemed out of place: — 



" Ye sweet and tiny creatures, that belong, 



One to the fields, the other to the hearth. 

 Both have your sunshine ; both, though small, are strong 



As your clear hearts ; and both were sent on earth 

 To sing in thoughtful ears this natural song, — 



In doors and out, summer and winter, mirth." 



The Other British species of the genus, A.sylvestris, is much smaller 

 than the preceding ; it was found amongst dead leaves in a gravel-pit 

 near Lyndhurst, and is remarkable for the small size of the wing- 

 covers, and the want of wings, at least in the female. 



There is a curious memoir by the Hon. J. Hall (in the Trans. Lit. 

 and Historical Soc. of Quebec, vol. i. 1829), concerning the black 

 field-crickets of North America, which are stated to approach the 

 shores of rivers in September, where they deposit an ell-like cocoon 

 six inches long; but I think there must be some error in this statement. 



From information given by Smeathmann to Drury, it appears that 

 the children in Africa search for the females of a large species of 

 Acheta, which they roast, and then eat the eggs, which are contained 

 in a kind of bag, with the greatest relish. The various African species 

 (whereof Afzelius describes nine from Guinea) Vary greatly in their 

 notes ; one small species being by far the most noisy of the whole. 



But the most singular species of the family is the mole-cricket 

 (Gryllotalpa vulgaris), one of our largest British species, and which 

 derives its name from the analogy which it affords, both in structure 

 and habits, with the common mole ; its fore legs (Jiff. 5k 15.) being 

 rather short, but remarkably strong and broad ; the tibia; being formed 

 into a thick triangular plate, deeply notched on the lower edge, and so 

 constructed as to close upon the femora; the tarsi arc also broad, and in- 



