28 BRITISH INSECTS 



apparent relish. The adults appear at the end of 

 July, and in autumn lay their eggs in the earth, in 

 crevices of bark, or in the pithy stems of plants; The 

 young hatch in the late spring, and undergo about 

 six moults before reaching maturity. 



There are nine indigenous British Phasgonurida, but 

 only three of the commoner species can be mentioned 

 here. Meconema varium, a graceful insect, pale green 

 in colour, with a yellow dorsal stripe, lives on trees, 

 especially oak and lime, and may be shaken from the 

 foliage in late summer and autumn. The " great 

 green grasshopper " * is a much larger species in fact, 

 the largest of all. Its colour is deep green, often with 

 reddish and dark markings. It dwells among nettles 

 and coarse herbage, and is fairly common in the south, 

 particularly near the coast. The " bush cheep," 2 

 which is brown with black markings, occurs among 

 brambles and bushes, often in hedgerows. It may be 

 heard chirping on fine summer evenings, and has the 

 habit of continuing its music late into the night. 



The crickets 3 resemble the long-horned grass- 

 hoppers in many respects, but may be distinguished 

 readily by their three-jointed tarsi. The female's 

 ovipositor, when evident, is straight not curved 

 upwards, as in the preceding family. Moreover, the 

 males have a stridulating file on the underside of each 

 tegmen, while the right tegmen is usually folded 

 above the left not left above right, as with the long- 

 horns. Crickets are practically omnivorous, and will 

 eat worms, small insects, etc., in addition to leaves, 

 roots, and other vegetable food. There are four 

 British species. Of these the wood-cricket 4 is the 



1 Locusta viridissima. 2 Thamnotrizon cinereus. 



3 Gvyllidce. 4 Nemobius sylvestris. 



