INSECT ACROBATS 247 



is a large insect — indeed one of the largest Grass- 

 hoppers known. 



Of the wonderful leaping powers of both the 

 large Green Grasshopper and the smaller one 

 little need be said, nor of the pleasant rural sound 

 emitted by both of them. Whilst to many 

 persons' ears the chirp of the Grasshopper and the 

 Cricket is perhaps the reverse of pleasant and by 

 no means musical, I always regard the stridulating 

 noise as lending welcome variety to the sounds of 

 the countryside. The noise made is certainly fit 

 to be regarded as coming under the heading of 

 insect music, and we do not in any case look to 

 these creatures to provide us with the same enter- 

 tainment as our bird friends. 



The powers of movement possessed by some of 

 the large Grasshoppers, and even the little Frog 

 Hopper, are very remarkable, as all those who 

 have witnessed their acrobatic performances must 

 admit. An exotic Grasshopper from Brazil, which 

 I once found hopping about a road close to 

 my house, performed some wonderful feats, send- 

 ing its large body through the air a distance of 

 several feet. Whence this strange visitor came 

 has always been a great mystery to me. The 

 insect belonged to the species known as Agroecia 

 vittipes^ and it was the first occurrence of its kind 

 in this country. 



The House and Field Crickets, as almost every 



