THE MOLE CRICKET. 169 



and it is from this similarity that the name of Mole 

 Cricket given to the insect is derived. The purpose 

 of this peculiar organization is also the same in both 

 instances, for the Mole Cricket, like his mammalian 

 analogue, is continually engaged in forming horizontal 

 galleries immediately beneath the surface of the 

 earth, from which he only emerges at night. Like 

 the Field Cricket, either a vegetable or an animal 

 diet is attributed to this animal by different authors ; 

 and as he seems in confinement to feed upon both 

 classes of substances, it is probable that he does the 

 same in a state of nature. Unlike the Field Cricket, 

 the Mole Cricket prefers damp situations to reside in, 

 and is commonly found in moist meadows, and on the 

 banks of streams and ponds in gardens. It is not an 

 active insect, especially in the daytime, but appears 

 to fly freely at night. About the middle of April is 

 the season of their courtships, and the males then 

 come out of their burrows in the evening, and pro- 

 duce a feeble stridulation to attract their mates. 



The latter deposit their eggs in the ground about 

 the beginning of May, forming a cavity for their 

 reception, which is thus described by White of S el- 

 borne. He observes, " There were many caverns and 

 winding passages leading to a kind of chamber, neatly 

 smoothed and rounded, and about the size of a 

 moderate snuff-box. Within this secret nursery were 

 deposited near a hundred eggs of a dirty yellow 



colour, and enveloped in a tough skin 



The eggs lay but shallow, and within the influence of 

 the sun, just under a little heap of fresh-moved 

 mould, like that which is raised by ants." According 

 to Brulle the number of eggs is about three hundred, 

 and they are usually hatched in a month from the 



