152 INSECTA. 



eacli elytron, which resembles a piece of talc. It is sometimes ex- 

 cited by a similar motion of their posterior thighs upon the elytra and 

 wings, acting like the bow of a violin. 



The greater number of the females deposit their eggs in the earth. 



This family is composed of the genus 



Gryllus, Lin., 



Which we will divide thus : 



In some species where the musical instrument of the males con- 

 sists of an interior portion of their elytra, resembling a mirror or head 

 of a drum, and where the females frequently have an extremely sa- 

 lient ovipositor, in the form of a stylet or sabre, we find antennje 

 either more slender and minute at the extremity, or of equal thick- 

 ness throughout, but very short and almost resembling a chaplet. 

 The elytra and wings, in those few which have less than four joints 

 to all the tarsi, are laid horizontally on the body. The ligula is al- 

 ways quadripartite, the two middle divisions being very small. The 

 labrum is entire. 



Sometimes the elytra and wings are horizontal ; the wings, when 

 at rest, form a kind of fillet or thong extended beyond the elytra, 

 and the tarsi have but three joints, as in the genus 



Gryllus, Geq^'. Oliv. — Acheta, (Gryllus achta, Lin.) Fab. 



They conceal themselves in holes, and usually feed on insects. Se- 

 veral of them are nocturnal. Their crop frequently forms a lateral 

 pouch. Their pylorus has but two thick cseca. Their biliary ves- 

 sels are inserted into the intestine by a common trunk. 

 They form four subgenera. 



Grtllo-Talpa, Lat. 



Where the tibiae and tarsi of the two anterior legs are wide, flat 

 and dentated, resembling hands, or are adapted for digging. The 

 other tarsi are of the ordinary form, and terminated by two hooks; 

 the antennae are more slender at the end, elongated and multiarticu- 

 lated. 



G. vulgaris; Gryllus gryllo-talpa, L. ; Roees., Insect., II, 

 Gryll., xiv, xv. Length one inch and a half ; brown above, red- 

 dish-yellow beneath; anterior tibiee with four teeth'; wings double 

 the length of the elytra. This species is but too well known by 

 the mischief it effects in gardens and cultivated grounds. It lives 

 in the earth, where its two anterior legs, which act like a saw 

 and shovel, or like those of a mole, open a passage for it. It cuts 

 and separates the roots of plants, but not so much for the pur- 

 pose of eating them as to clear its road, for it feeds, as it ap- 

 pears, on Worms and Insects. The cry of the male, which is 

 only heard at night, is soft and agreeable. 



In June and July, the female digs a rounded, smooth, subter- 

 ranean cavity, about six inches in depth, in which she deposits 



