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and the perfect insects emerged at Forest Hill from the middle of July to the 5th 
of August. 
Mr. W. Wilson Saunders exhibited a living specimen of a species of Locustide of 
a bright delicate yreen colour, of which he gave the following account:—About four 
months ago, Mr. Marshall, of Edmonton, gave him three small locustideous larve 
which were found in an Orchid-house, into which some Orchids from Mexico bad been 
recently introduced; these larve were taken to Reigate and placed in an Orchid- 
house under a glass cover, but as they were very sluggish and appeared to be dying, 
Mr. Saunders’ gardener proposed to allow them a little fresh air; the result was that 
all three escaped, and for three weeks nothing was seen of them. At the end of that 
time one of them was found eating the under side of the leaf of a Cymbidium; 
having been returned to its glass case, and again allowed to inhale fresh air, it again 
effected its escape, upwards of two munths ago; four days before the Meeting the 
specimen exhibited was found, afier it had completely spoilt a new Orchid (Cyano- 
phyllum, x. sp.). It turned out that the creature was entirely nocturnal in its habits ; 
by day it sat on a branch or leaf with its wings flat to the surface, the hind and middle 
legs hidden under the elytra, and the fore legs stretched straight out, with the antenne 
between and beyond them; in this position it was with difficulty distinguished from 
the plant, and throughout the entire day it remained perfectly still, but at night was 
active and ate ravenously. The insect seemed to be remarkably fond of wiping or 
cleansing its feet and antenne; and throughout its exhibition the process of gradually 
drawing the whole length of its antenne through the palpi was carried on. 
Mr. Bates thought the fact of a locust feeding by night was new, and nocturnal 
habits were the more remarkable in an insect of so bright a colour; he had met with 
upwards of fifty species in South America, but did not remember one that was 
nocturnal. The species exhibited belonged to the section of the group having the 
ovipositor curved upwards from the base and sabre-shaped (probably to the genus 
Steirodon), which suggested the question whether they laid their eggs from below, on 
the under side of leaves. It was well known that the males of this family possessed a 
drum-shaped organ on one wing-case, and a horny nervule like a file on the other 
wing-case, by means of which they were able to produce sound; there was one species 
which. was collected by the natives of the Amazons and kept in cages for its musical 
qualities, as we keep canaries. 
Prof. Westwood pointed out that the insect exhibited was not the locust of common 
parlance, but belonged to the Gryllide ; he also explained that the sound-producing 
organ was a tambourine, rather than a drum; and he suggested that the specimen was 
East Indian, not American. 
Mr. M‘Lachlan mentioned that a small species of Gryllus (Meconema varia?) 
often paid nightly visits to the sugar of Lepidopterists. 
The President said that he had requested further information from Mr. Odewahn 
respecting the mode of production of the sound emitted by the Australian Bolboceras 
which he had exhibited at the April Meeting (an/e, p.88); it appeared that the sound 
was caused by the rotation of the hind cox in the cotyloid cavity; strie were 
visible on the dorsal surface of the cox, and similar but smaller strie within the 
cavity. 
Mr. Edward Saunders exhibited Trachys pygmeus, recently captured by sweeping 
in marshy ground near Lowestoft. 
Mr. D. Sharp exhibited Cryptocephalus 10-punctatus, and the black variety 
