282 Plot. L. C. Miall and Prof. G. Gilson on 



wanting or not functional, so that our cricket has no 

 tambour in the sense of Saussure,* a fact which has 

 some bearing upon its systematic position. It seems most 

 ])robable that the wing-cover has been formerly aJa[)te(l 

 lur stridulation (as in most male Trigonidid*) and that the 

 power has subsequently been lost. The wings of the 

 second pair resemble those of other Grvllidu' iu their 

 numerous radiating veins, which cover the whole surface ; 

 when folded, they project beyond the body like a pair of 

 long tails. 



The fore tibia has two auditory fenestriB and one 

 terminal sjair (tig. 13).t The tarsus is three-jointed, and 

 the middle joint, which is short and heart-shaped, shows 

 a very peculiar structure, viz. a fringe of rather long and 

 close-set sctse, protected by a thin chitinous plate, which 

 is perhaps double. A similar apparatus is found in the 

 tarsus of the mid and hind legs also (figs. 10, 11); it is 

 |)erhaps used as a comb for cleaning the body. From the tip 

 (d' the basal joint of the tarsus stands off a stout spur, ending 

 in a hook, and with one border serrated. The terminal 

 joint in all the legs bears two pointed, laterally serrate 

 claws. The mid leg differs from the fore leg chiefly in 

 the absence of auditory fenestrte and the presence of two 

 tibial spurs. The hind leg, as in other Gryllidse, is adapted 

 for leaping. The tibia of this leg bears three unequal 

 spurs, two of which are serrate, and six articulated and 

 setose spines, three internal and three external. The first 

 tarsal joint bears two unequal spurs, one of which is 

 serrate, the middle joint is short, heart-shaped, and pro- 

 vided with a comb, and the terminal joint, as in the 

 other legs, bears two seri'ate claws. The hind leg greatly 

 exceeds the others in length, and here only can we discover 

 a special adaptation to leaping on Avater. The long and 

 setose spines of the tibia are well fitted fo]' striking the 

 surface-film without breaking it. No very special modifi- 

 cation for this purjjose has been discovered in the mid 

 and fore legs. It is possible, as every-day observation 

 shows, for insects of small size, such as Nemoceran flies, 

 to rest on the surface of Avater without possessing any 



* Recti. Zout. du :\k>xi(iue, VI, pp. 297, 309 ; IMetanges Ortliupt., 

 p. 513. 



f Tiie imperfect condition of tlie female specimens does not enable 

 us to positivety say tliat the fenestra occur in tliat sex, as tliey 

 almost certainly do ; tliey are wanting in the larva. 



