296 THE entomologist's record. 



carnivorous in habits. They live among rough herbage and thickets, 

 and are extremely difficult to catch owing to their activity. The male 

 possesses a well-developed stridulating organ, and the ovipositor of the 

 female is long and sword-shaped. Few of the genera contain more 

 than four or five species, though TlKDiinotrhun has IH, and I'latudcia 

 32. Some forms are widely distributed, as I'lati/clris f/risca, which 

 occurs practically throughout Europe, and others again are extremely 

 restricted in distril)ution, being confined to small and narrow limits, 

 this being especially the case with many of the mountain-loving forms. 

 They appear to be closely related to the LociistiJac on the one hand, 

 and to the Sai/idac on the other. All three families, contain large and 

 powerful insects, with spiny legs and carnivorous habits. The species 

 of Anabriia, Hald., are only too well-known in the western states of 

 North America, where they have been known to assemble in great 

 quantities and to do considerable damage. They are known to the 

 Americans as the Western cricket, and reports on their devastations 

 have been published by Packard. 



The first systematic Avork upon the members of the family w'as 

 that of Herman, who, in 1874, publislaed "Die Decticiden der Brunner 

 von Wattenwyl's schen Sannnlung," 1V;7/. /,-./.•. zool.-hot. Gcs. Wien, 

 Band xxiv., pp. 191-210, Taf. iii-vi. The many European forms were 

 monographed by Brunner von Wattenwyl in 1HS2, Prodnmnis dcrciiro- 

 lia'lsc/un Ort/i(>jit('ir)i,Ije\\:)S\g, and the same author has recently (1893) 

 given us a further revision of the genera, " Revision du Systeme des 

 Orthopteres," Ann. Mux. Civ. iien., 1893. A. Pictet has described 

 several species from various localities, "Locustides nouveaux ou 

 peu connus du Musee de Geneve," Metn. Sor. Pln/s. fFHist. Xat. 

 de Geneve, Tom. xxx., no. G, 1888. Scudder has also published " A 

 Preliminary Revision of the North American Decticidae," Canad. 

 Ento)ii., vol. xxvi., p. 177, 1894. It may be here mentioned that the 

 historic paper by Brunner, entitled " Disquisitiones orthoj)terologicte," 

 containing descriptions of many new European species, Verli. k.k. zool.- 

 bot. (ies. ]Vien, Band xi., 1861, Taf. 8-15, is practically embodied in 

 the Prod nmi lis of the same author. 



The characteristics of the Decticidae are as follows : — 



Antennae inter ocnlos insertffi ; tarsoium articuli bini primi lateie longitn- 

 dinaliter salcati ; foramina tibiarum anticarum riniata vel conchata ; tibia' anticte 

 spina apicali externa instruct£e* ; tarsorum posticorum artienlus primus plantula 

 libera instructus. 



(ienus : Gampsocleis, Fieb. 



Genus : Gampsocleis, Fieb., ' Kelch. Grundl. zur Kennt.' &c., 5 

 (1852) ; Fisch. ' Orth. Eur.,' 254 (1853) ; Herman, ' Decticid.,' p. 201 

 (1874) ; Br., 'Prod.,' 318 (1882) ; 'Kevis.,' (1893). Looista, Drcticiis, 

 auct. 



DiSrOSITIO SPECIKRUM. 



1. Femora subtus spiuulosa. Elytra et aire abbreviate. 

 2. Species mediocris, europaea; pronoto postice 



quani antice angustius . . . . . . . . 1. (ihhrerintd, lir. 



2.2. Species maxima, chinensis; pronoto postice 



et antice aeque lato . . . . . . . . 2. uratiusa, Br. 



1.1. Femora omnia inermia. Elytra et aire perfecte 

 explicatffi. 

 2. Lamina subgenitalis ? emarginata vel sinuata. 



* Earely, the external apical spine of the anterior tibiae is absent, as in yirij- 

 Iniptcri^. whifb, however, cannot be reasonably placed in any other family. 



