246 Professor Edward B. Poulton on the 
a very hot afternoon. This he very kindly did, and 
although unsuccessful in this respect, he made many 
interesting observations which I give in his own words :— 
“On the 4th September, 1895, I watched the courting 
habits of some grasshoppers on the knoll immediately 
behind the Weisshorn Hotel. 
‘At first I made my observations on the west slope, 
but there was a cool wind blowing, and the insects were 
neither numerous nor lively. Casting about I discovered 
on the south-east slope a particular hollow away from 
the wind, in the full glare of the sun, and focussing the 
heat-reflections from the hillock-slopes around it. Here 
the grasshoppers abounded and were very lively; I 
watched them for about two hours. 
““T noticed that the males, marked by swellings on 
their first legs, were much more mobile than the females, 
the latter were mostly extremely passive and had to be 
chased and caught up by the males. There was a good 
deal of this chasing which was very amusing to watch. 
Sometimes the female, as if bothered, would remain 
quiet for a time and allow the male to come up to her. 
He appeared to stroke her with his antennz, but I could 
not distinctly see what parts of her body he thus specially 
caressed. The insects never seemed to leap unless 
alarmed ; I thought that perhaps leaping was not an 
ordinary mode of progression. J saw no male clasp or 
leap upon any female; they chased and chased, threw up 
the game, started a fresh pursuit, equally bootless, and 
so went on, tireless. I was not fortunate enough to see 
any accowplement. When the male was alongside the 
female, in many cases, the insect assumed a strained atti- 
tude, the anterior part of the body being raised high, and 
the terminal segments curved upwards so that the dorsal 
line was concave antero-posteriorly. Very often a curious 
little click was heard, I thought, usually as the chase 
ended in the pair suddenly standing still by each other. 
One might suppose that it was a chirp of triumph. I 
have no doubt it was made by the male. 
“ One rather curious situation in this active little 
drama is worth noting. <A female alighted or rather ran 
up on my boot and sat quite still in the hot rays of 
the sun. She sat so still that the idea struck me I might 
try to caress her a. little myself. I accordingly looked 
round for a slender flexible grass stem or dried haulm, 
