SEPTEMBER. 241 



ORTHOPTERA. GRYLLIDJ;. 



GBYLLUS. 



Generic Distinctions. Antennae long and setaceous, formed of 

 many indistinct joints; palpi four; head large; thorax compressed; 

 elytra inclined ; legs formed for leaping. 



GRYLLUS VIRIDISSIMUS. (Plate III.) Great Green 

 Grasshopper. Body and elytra of a fine green, the former 

 about two inches in length, the latter still longer, and 

 comparatively narrow; the antennas are also of great length. 

 These insects are found at the beginning of autumn in 

 grassy places, and in hedges by the sides of woods ; they 

 fill the meadows with their singing, but become silent on 

 being approached. They are herbivorous, feeding in all 

 their states on grass and herbs ; though it is said that 

 when in confinement they will devour each other. The 

 long ovipositor with which the females are provided enables 

 them to deposit their eggs at a considerable depth in the 

 earth in small cells. The young ones when hatched re- 

 semble their parents in form and activity, but they are 

 destitute of wings and elytra ; in the state preceding that 

 of the perfect insect, they have the rudiments of these 

 organs. In this genus the eyes are very large, and the 

 front of the head is acute and projecting. 



R 



