964 



THE NATURE BOOK 



control both its vehemence and its 

 phrasing, can stop it instantly (it is notice- 

 able that when alarmed he ceases shrilling 

 but keeps the wing-covers raised in readi- 

 ness for a fresh start), and can recom- 

 mence either with a sharp attack or with 

 a cautiiHis crescendo. 



The male House Cricket's wing-covers 

 are of nearly the same design as those of 

 the Field Cricket, but smaller and of 

 more delicate construction. In the Mole 

 Cricket there is not nearly so much dis- 

 tinction between the wing-covers of the 

 two sexes, but such distinction as exists 

 is of great importance, as it affords the 

 only simple means of distinguishing the 

 male Mole Cricket from the female. 



Though several ]\Iole Crickets have 

 passed through my hands, I have neither 

 seen nor heard their stridulation, which 

 was once described to me by a very 

 capable observer as resembling " the 

 tinkle of a tiny silver bell." White makes 

 mention of it as " a low, dull, jarring note, 

 continued for a long time without inter- 

 ruption, and not unlike the chattering of 



1 he ear " (E) of the House Cricket. The " ears " of the other 

 Crickets and of LonShorned Grasshoppers are situated in 

 the same position on the front legs. It is possible that 

 'hev are ortans of orientation as well as of hearing, 



2—4. Three stages in the unfolding of a House Cricket's wing, 

 which, at rest, is partly folded and partly rolled. 



5, 6. Larval House Crickets. 



the fern owl, or goat-sucker, but more 

 inward." The descriptions may be best 

 reconciled by assuming that the Mole 

 Cricket varies his tune. 



The note of both Field Cricket and 

 House Cricket can be feebly imitated by 

 rubbing the wing-covers of dead specimens 

 together, or by causing them to vibrate 

 with a pin-point, but in the stage repro- 

 ductions of the " Cricket on the Hearth " 

 the " chirrup " is, I believe, effected by 

 twisting the glass stopper of a bottle, 

 and is decidedly more truthful than most 

 stage noises. 



There are innumerable species of small 

 insects in this country whose adaptations 

 to their surroundings can only be realised 

 by studying them alive under the micro- 

 scope. Among such one occasionally finds 

 modifications of structure which are as 

 extraordinary as they are iinexpected ; 

 but among our sizable insects — insects, 

 that is, whose form can be seen at a glance 

 — the Mole Cricket occupies a unique 

 position. It is perhaps as well that his 

 distribution is somewhat restricted. Essen- 

 tially an underground feeder, with 

 a preference for made ground and 

 such vegetable products as are to 

 be found in made ground, he is, 

 in all parts of the Continent where 

 he is abundant, regarded as an 

 unmitigated pest. Like his name- 

 sake, the Mole, he drives subter- 

 ranean galleries, which radiate in 

 all directions from a central 

 cavity in which he lies up during 

 the cold season. This cavity is 

 generally reached by a perpen- 

 dicular descending shaft. Were 

 his diet mainly carnivorous, his 

 tiny hillocks and the slight dis- 

 turbances of the surface soil 

 caused by his working might be 

 debited against his services in 

 destroying grubs. There is, how- 

 ever, little doubt that he is vege- 

 tarian as well as carnivorous, and 

 that the havoc which he occa- 

 sionall}' causes on the Continent 

 in flower gardens, kitchen gardens, 

 and even in cornfields, is due not 

 only to his jxilverising any roots 

 which bar his ])assage, but also to 

 his frequent indulgence in a square 

 vegetarian meal by the way. 



