50 



Fifteen families are usually given as comprising the Locustodea : — • 

 W. B.j 1. PhaneropteridiB. 

 W. B. 2. Meconemidte. 

 8. MecopodidcT. 



4. Prochilidfe. 



5. Pseudophyllidae. 

 W. B. 6. Conocephalidae. 



7. Tymphanophoridfe. 



8. Sagidfe. 

 Locust'dte. 

 Decticidfe. 

 Callimenida?. 

 Ephippigeridffi. 

 Hetrodidoe. 



14. Gryllacridte. 

 W. 15. Stenopelmatidte. 



While eight of these families are represented in Western Europe, 

 but five extend so far as the British Isles — Phaneropteridfe, 

 Meconemidte, Conocephalida?, Locustidae, and Decticidte. Nine 

 species only are certainly known to be natives of Britain. One of 

 these, however, Phasnoniira viridissima, finds a place in the typical 

 family, our Locustodea having in this respect an advantage over the 

 Acridiodea, the typical family of which group contains no British 

 species. Our nine representatives compare very unfavourably in 

 number with those found in Western Europe, which sum up to over 

 one hundred and sixty. There is apparently only a single reliable 

 record of a locustid from Scotland. 



At present I have not met with the eggs of all of our locnstids, 

 but in several cases they may be described as rather long curved 

 cylinders wath rounded extremities. § Those of Leptoplnjes puncta- 

 tissiiiia, however, are much compressed and elliptical in outline. 

 With her formidable scythe-shaped ovipositor the female places the 

 eggs below the surface of the ground in the case of some species, 

 ■\vithm the twigs or stems of plants in that of others. They are laid 

 in the autumn and apparently hatch in the spring. After some 

 half-a-dozen ecdyses the perfect stage is reached in late summer. 

 There is little post-embryonic development and a pupa- stage is 

 absent, the insects being nymphs from the time of leaving the 

 egg till the perfect state is reached. The wings become more 

 pronounced at each ecdysis after their first appearance ; many 

 species, however, remain wingless throughout their life. As a rule 

 Locustids are sedentary and nocturnal as compared with the 

 Acridians. 



While the latter are herbivorous insects, the former are not 

 entirely so, and examples kept in captivity often become cannibals. 

 It may be even that some species are entirely carnivorous. 



I W.= represented in Western Europe; B.=represented in the British Isles. 

 § Vide. "Entomologist," vol. xlvii., 1914, p. 144. 



