the Relative Edibility of Insects. 15 
Obs. 30. Sp. 20.—Cicindelid, slightly larger than 
our C. campestris ; very procryptic; coloured mottled 
grey and brown, so that when at rest can hardly be 
distinguished from its surroundings. M. watched it 
running about, and then suddenly pounced upon it 
and vigorously rubbed it on the ground. He then 
quickly crunched it up with no signs of dislike. 
(Note.—This well exemplifies how an insect that is 
eaten without sign of dislike is accorded, from fear of 
being bitten, the same treatment received by a very 
distasteful species.) 
Series F. Dec. 30.—At 2 p.m., M. having had plenty 
of food in morning, I gave him (Obs. 31. Sp. 21) a 
Histerid, Hister validus Erichs.: a large, flat, highly 
polished, smooth, black beetle, with rather large and 
conspicuous mandibles. M. looked at it with great 
interest, touched it, then left it alone. I then took 
it up and put it down, encouraging M., who, think- 
ing that after all it might be nice, took renewed 
interest in it. The beetle lay with legs closely 
pressed to the body, after the typical manner of 
a Hister, and the large mandibles widely separated, 
quite motionless. M. smelt it, rubbed it on the 
ground, and then started playing with it, but made 
no attempt to taste it. 
Obs. 32. Sp. 22.—Acridid, Dictyophorus  pro- 
ductus Bol.: a heavy, bloated, slowly crawling 
grasshopper that freely exposes itself. The colour is 
dark grey; the short elytra expose a large part of the 
abdomen, tinted with a good deal of bright red. 
M. saw from a distance that I was bringing a grass- 
hopper and became very excited: however, as I got 
nearer and its nature became plainer his excitement 
subsided. I put it on the ground, he took it and 
smelt it, and put it down again. In order to encourage 
him I pretended to taste it, and he then licked it, 
but only got a taste of the yellow froth which it 
exuded in small quantity: he showed every sign of 
disgust and would have no more to do with the insect, 
shaking his head as if tryimg to get rid of the nasty 
taste. 
Series G. Dec. 30, 4 p.m.— 
Obs. 33. Sp. 23.— Acridiid, Cyrtacanthacris 
cyanea Stoll.: another grasshopper of the type 
