CRICKETS 29 



smallest and rarest. It appears to be confined in 

 this country to the New Forest district, where it 

 dwells among dead leaves on dry banks. The house- 

 cricket 1 is supposed to be a native of North Africa, 

 where it is found in a wild state ; but it has estab- 

 lished itself in the dwellings of man in all parts of 

 Europe, living always in the neighbourhood of the 

 hearth or the oven. It is, however, far less common 

 in England than was formerly the case, and Mr. Latter 

 has suggested that it may be in process of extermina- 

 tion by the common cockroach. The field-cricket 2 

 is much larger than its domestic relative, almost black 

 in colour, with a yellow patch at the bases of the 

 tegmina. It forms burrows in dry, sandy spots 

 which are exposed to the sun ; but although common 

 in many parts of Europe, in England is confined to a 

 few isolated localities. This is the insect of which 

 the naturalist Bates wrote : " The male has been 

 observed to place itself in the evening at the entrance 

 of its burrow, and stridulate until a female approaches, 

 when the louder notes are succeeded by a more 

 subdued tone, whilst the successful musician caresses 

 with his antennae the mate he has won." It seems a 

 pity to mar the effect of this pleasing picture by 

 stating that all crickets are inveterate fighters, and 

 that in China the males are pitted one against another 

 for sport. Last, but by no means least in point of 

 interest, is the mole-cricket, 3 a large and curiously 

 shaped species that was never common in England, 

 and has apparently disappeared in recent years from 

 several localities where it was once found. The fore- 

 leg of the mole-cricket is very remarkable, being 



1 Gryllus domesticus. 2 Gryllus campestris. 



3 Gryllotalpa vulgans. 



