GRASSHOPPERS, CRICKETS AND LOCUSTS 111 



the most plentiful being one which is satiny-blue above and 

 spotted with brown and grey underneath. This is to be seen 

 all the year round, especially hovering over the euphorbia 

 hedges which divide plantations from the roads. Another, 

 also tolerably common, is a large reddish-brown butterfly, the 

 wings edged with black and white. More rare is an insect with 

 four large round white spots on dark chocolate-brown wings ; 

 and another, dark brown in colour, with eye-like spots of blue 

 and red. Several small species, yellow, white, or brown, or 

 silvery-grey and blue, are found hovering over, or settling on, 

 damp places ; and there are two or three white species, with 

 black spots or lines on the edges of the wings. In the warmer 

 season a handsome large Papilio is rather common in our 

 gardens, with dark green and sulphur-yellow spots and mark- 

 ings. The eggs of some of these are beautiful objects in the 

 microscope, being fluted and sculptured like a Greek vase. My 

 friend, M. Ch. Matthey, who has made large collections of 

 Madagascar insects, tells me that there are a few cases of 

 mimicry and dimorphism, especially the latter, among the 

 butterflies of the interior. 



On the open downs, and when the sun is shining, the air is 

 filled with the hum of chirping insect life from the many species 

 of grasshoppers, crickets and small locusts which cover the 

 ground. Every step among the long dry grass disturbs a score 

 of these insects, which leap in all directions from one's path as 

 we proceed, sometimes dashing on one's face with a smart blow. 

 The majority of these are of various shades of brown and green, 

 and some of the larger species of grasshopper are remarkable 

 for their protective colouring. Here is one whose legs and wings 

 are exactly like dry grass ; the body is like a broad blade of some 

 green plant, the antennae are two little tufts, like yellow grass, 

 and the eyes are just like two small brown seeds. But, curi- 

 ously enough, when it flies, a pair of bright scarlet wings make its 

 flight very conspicuous. You pursue it, to catch such a brightly 

 coloured insect, when it settles, and lo ! it has vanished, only 

 something resembling green or dry grass remains, which it re- 

 quires sharp eyes to distinguish from the surrounding herbage. 

 Other grasshoppers are entirely like green grass blades and 

 stalks, and others again resemble, equally closely, dried grass ; 

 and unless the insects move under one's eyes it is almost impos- 



