THE GRASSHOPPER KIND. 



777 



these was so much greater than what the little 

 animals were used to, that they instantly for- 

 sook their situation, and were never heard in 

 that mansion more. 



But of all the cricket kind, that which is 

 called the Mok-Cricket is the most extraor- 

 dinary. Tin's animal is the largest of all the 

 insects with which we are acquainted in this 

 country, being two inches and a half in length, 

 and three quarters of an inch in breadth. 

 The colour is of a dusky brown ; and at the 

 extremity of the tail there are two hairy ex- 

 crescences, resembling in some sense the tail 

 of a mouse. The body consists of eight scaly 

 joints or separate folds, is brown on the up- 

 per part, and more deeply tinged below. 

 The wings are long, narrow, and terminate 

 in a sharp point, each having a blackish line 

 running down it : however, when they are 

 extended, they appear to be much broader 

 than could at first sight be supposed. The 

 shield of the breast is of a firm texture, of a 

 blackish colour, and hairy. The fore feet, 

 which arc this animal's principal instruments 

 of burrowing into the earth, are strong, 

 webbed, and hairy; it generally, however, 

 runs backward ; but it is commonly under 

 ground, where it burrows even faster than a 

 mole. It is thought also to be amphibious, 

 and capable of living under water, as well as 

 under ground. 



Of all insects this is the most detested by 

 gardeners, as it chiefly resides in that ground 

 which lies light, and where it finds sufficient 

 plenty under the surface. Thus, in a single 

 night's time, it will run along a furrow which 

 has been newly sown, and rob it of all its 

 contents. Its legs are formed in such a man- 

 ner that it can penetrate the earth in every 

 direction; before, behind, and above it. At 

 night it ventures from its under-ground habi- 



(n) iVmong this tribe maybe numbered the Great Lan- 

 tern Fly of Peru, an insect the most splendid and lumi- 

 nous of all that ere yet known. In the head is contained 

 a phosphorescent light, sufficiently vivid to nerve the pur- 

 poses of a candle in a dark room ; or, when two or three 



tation, and, like the cricket, has its chirping 

 call. When the female is fecundated, she 

 makes a cell of clammy earth, the inside of 

 which is large enough to hold two hazel-nuts; 

 and in this she lays her eggs. The whole 

 nest is about the size of a common hen's egg, 

 closed up on every side, and well defended 

 from the smallest breath of air. The eggs 

 generally amount to the number of a hundred 

 and fifty, being white, and about the size of 

 a caraway comfit. They, are thus carefully 

 covered, as well to defend them from the in- '' 

 juries of the weather, as from the attacks of 

 the black beetle; that being itself an under- 

 ground inhabitant, would, but for this pre- 

 caution, devour or destroy them. To pre- 

 vent this, the female rnole-cricket is often 

 posted as a centinel near the nest, and when 

 the black invader plunges in to seize its prey, 

 the guardian insect seizes him behind, and 

 instantly bites him in two. 



Nothing can exceed the care and assiduity 

 which these animals exhibit in the preserva- 

 tion of their young. Wherever the nest is 

 placed, there seems to be a fortification, 

 avenues and entrenchments, drawn round it: 

 there are numberless winding-ways that lead 

 to It, and a ditch drawn about it, which few 

 of its insect enemies are able to pass. But 

 their care is not confined to this only ; for at 

 the approach of winter they carry their nest 

 entirely away, and sink it deeper in the 

 ground, so that the frost can have no influence 

 in retarding the young brood from coming to 

 maturity. As the weather grows milder, they 

 raise their magazine in proportion; till, at 

 last, they bring it as near the surface as they 

 can, to receive the genial influence of the 

 sun, without wholly exposing it to view ; yet 

 should the frost unexpectedly return, they 

 sink it again as before. 8 



are put together at the end of a stick, to light travellers 

 on the road like a lantern. It is about the size of the 

 larger kind of lor.ust, and the wings and whole body are 

 beautifully variegated. 



