29 



found it in some numbers in Norfolk. Next year Mr. W. Jeffreys 

 took several in the New Forest in the neighbourhood of Lyndhurst, 

 and from 1898 onwards I have found it present, and often com- 

 mon, in every bog that I have examined in the New Forest, 

 Besides the New Forest and various places in Norfolk, the only 

 other localities for the species at present known are in Galway and 

 Kerry. 



No doubt M. (jrossiis was so long overlooked because it has a 

 liking for the wetter parts of the bogs, and matches so well with the 

 bog-vegetation that it is almost impossible to distinguish it unless 

 it takes to the wing. This it does when disturbed, provided that 

 the sun is shining. Its flight is very heavy and not sustained for 

 more than ten or twelve yards. In September 1906, 1 saw a Robber 

 Fly (Afiiliis crabronifnniiis) carrying a male which was of about the 

 same size as itself and probably heavier ; so apparently the grass- 

 hopper was not so well hidden that its enemy could not find it. 



In general colouring M. //rossu.s is bright green tinged in places 

 with brown, and marked with black, ventrally the thorax is paler 

 green and the abdomen yellowish. The hind femora are carmine 

 beneath and the hind tibiiie are yellow with black bands and spines. 

 Size and colouring forbid confusion with any other British species. 

 It may easily be kept in captivity, if its habits are not forgotten ; it 

 feeds on grass. (The female is figured, with wings both spread 

 and closed, in " Entomologist " 1899. PI. 2.) 



Stenobothrus lineatus, Panz. — .Judging from the small number 

 of individuals of this species submitted to me for inspection, and from 

 the fact that I have seldom taken it myself, I am forced to conclude 

 that this is not one of the common grasshoppers in Britain. It 

 should not, however, be set down as a rarity, for no doubt but few 

 have sought for it. 



6'. lineatus is of fair size and bulky in appearance. It may be 

 distinguished by : — (i.) the rosy margin of the pronotum, from 

 which apparently it obtains its specific name ; (ii.) the regular 

 reticulations in the discoidal area ; (iii.) the presence of an external 

 tooth at the base of each lower valve of the ovipositor ; (iv.) a white 

 crescent on the elytra. 



Though Panzer in his original description in 1796 says : — 

 " Habitat in (rerinmiitc caiupis arenosis," it would appear to prefer 

 hill or cliff sides in Britain. Except in the extreme north, this 

 grasshopper is distributed well over Europe ; but in Britain it has 

 been recorded only from the southern part of England. The 

 following are all the localities I am able to quote : — Kent: Folkestone 

 (Briggs), Dover (Porritt), Charing (Chitty), Stonehall and Siberts- 

 wold (Burr). .S//.s.st'.c ; Selsea, Cocking Down, and Goodwood 

 (Giiermonprez). Sio-yei/ : Redhill (Bloomfield), Merrow^ Downs 

 (Lucas), Boxhill (South), Leatherhead (Burr). Berks: reported 

 from near Radley College. Hants: Bournemouth (Winston). 

 Dorset: Studland, and between Lulworth and Weymouth (Lucas). 



