370 PROTECTION AGAINST INSECTS. 



Generation annual, but occasionally the larvae may persist 

 over another year. 



c. Relations to the Forest. 



The insect, in all its stages, damages forest plants. It bites 

 through the roots of young conifers, especially of spruce and 

 Scots pine, when 1 and 2 years old, while making its 

 burrows, which are about a finger's width. It also uplifts 

 young plants, which fall over and die. The mole-cricket also 

 bites off the germinating shoots of oak and beech before they 

 reach the surface of the ground, and the roots of young broad- 

 leaved seedlings, tearing the latter with its fore-legs. 



Fig. 193. Nest and eggs of the mole-cricket. 



On the other hand the mole-cricket is useful by destroying 

 numbers of underground grubs. The ? has been observed to 

 eat some of her own brood. 



Favourite localities for this insect are loose level sandy 

 soils, free from vegetation, but it is also found on clay lands. 

 Thinly stocked beds of seedlings are preferred to densely 

 stocked beds, and patches to lines of seedlings. 



The mole-cricket also cuts through the roots of agricultural 

 crops. It is not yet decided whether it damages plants for its 

 own nourishment, or to clear the way for its burrows. 



The mole-cricket is only local in England, and does not 

 occur in the north. It is perhaps commoner than is generally 

 supposed, as owing to its underground habits it is seldom seen. 



