FIELD CRICKET AND GRASSHOPPERS 



outside. Some old folks say it is lucky to have these 

 insects on the premises, and one writer has given his 

 testimony thus : " Personally, I like the music (of the 

 Cricket), and spare the annoyance of having my socks 

 made into mince meat by keeping them out of Mr. 

 Cricket's way." 



The Field Cricket (Gryllus campestris) is larger and 

 darker than its household cousin, and remains under- 

 ground by day, stealing forth at night to secure its food. 

 The male is most persistent in his efforts to call, or 

 soothe, his mate, and will remain at the entrance to his 

 burrow love-calling for hours on end. The larva 

 closely resembles the imago minus wings, and lives in a 

 burrow of its own making. 



The Grasshoppers are classed under two distinct 

 Families, those known as the Long-Horned being in- 

 cluded in the Phasgonuridce, and the Short-Horned are 

 relegated to the Family Locustidce, which also embraces 

 the Locusts. The former are distinguished from the 

 Crickets by having four-jointed legs, and the presence 

 of soft pads to assist them to obtain a foothold upon 

 the leaves and stems of plants. They have — as the 

 Long-Horned name implies — very long antennae made 

 up of a large number of joints (see coloured frontis- 

 piece), and as many as 480 joints have been counted on 

 the antennas of one individual. These larger, long- 

 horned species resort to bushes, shrubs, and trees, and 

 whilst some feed upon leaves, others are carnivorous. 

 The stridulating noise — cleverly likened by a boy 



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