A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 

 ORTHOPTERA 



The order Orthoptera, including the Euplexoptera and Dermaptera, 

 contains by far the smallest number of species of any order of the Insecta 

 as represented in Britain. Malcolm Burr, in his recent work on the 

 British Orthoptera, enumerates not more than fifty species in all, and 

 many of these are undoubtedly of recent introduction. The Orthoptera 

 include such familiar and, indeed, generally unpopular insects as the cock- 

 roaches, the earwigs, and the grasshoppers. 



The order has been specially studied as it occurs locally by Mr. 

 E. G. Burgess Sopp of Birkdale, to whom is due the substance of the 

 notes which follow. 



As the economy of many of the Orthoptera, especially of the cock- 

 roaches, has been extensively modified to suit that association with man r 

 kind which they in so many cases unfortunately adopt, they have been 

 particularly the subjects of accidental immigration. Ports such as Liver- 

 pool and Manchester have thus been the avenues for the introduction of 

 many exotic species, of which some have been able to establish them- 

 selves with more or less success in limited areas ; but the greater number, 

 if they succeed in escaping instant destruction at the hands of some unsym- 

 pathetic discoverer, are only occasionally noticed and recorded by the 

 entomologist before they succumb to a climate to which they find it 

 impossible to adapt themselves. 



The following are the members of this order which have been 

 recorded from Lancashire : 



EUPLEXOPTERA BLATTIDJE (continued) 



(Earwigs] occurred in Liverpool, Manchester, 



T c , ,,, and some of the other large Lan- 



Lab.a minor, L. Southport, Warnngton, cashire towns 



Liverpool Stylopya-a (Blatta) orientalis, L. The 



Forficula aunculana, L. Generally abun- ^fLiliar ' blackbeetle ' of our kitchens 



is only too abundant everywhere. 

 There are also a few records of the 

 occurrence of strictly exotic species 



BLATTID;E (Cockroaches) from the Liverpool docks, such as 



Ectobia lapponica, L. Liverpool Blabera gigantea, L., and species of 



livida, F. the genera Epilampra and Panchlora, 



Although a few members of the but these can in no sense be con- 



genus Ectobia, including these two sidered as part of the fauna of Lan- 



species, are properly indigenous, still cashire 



it is probable that these records are of ACRIDIDJE (Grasshoppers) 



imported exotic specimens, as the Stenobothus viridulus, L.~) Generally dis- 



normal range of the genus in Eng- bicolor, Char. J tributed 



land is exclusively southern parallelus, Zett. Southport district 



Phyllodromia germanica, L. Gomphocerus maculatus, Thun. South- 



Periplanata americana, L. port district 



_ australasiae, F. Tettix bipunctatus, L. Liverpool, High- 



Mi recently introduced species town, Southport 



which have apparently succeeded to Acridium asgyptium, L. Certainly intro- 



some extent in establishing them- duced ; is also recorded from South- 



selves in a few localities ; have port 

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