ACHETimE. 
247 
servation by tbe nature of its haunts, and the beau- 
tiful adaptation of its structure to its peculiar mode 
of life. Its history is to be found in almost every 
elementary work on insects, and it is therefore un- 
necessary to repeat it here. The following is a 
delineation of its ante- 
rior leg, which may be re- 
garded as one of the most 
perfect examples of a fos- 
sorial instrument to be 
found in this class of ani- 
mals. The mole cricket is unknown in Scotland, 
and it is only in certain districts in the south of 
England that it is found in any quantity. 
Many different species of Achetidoe occur in foreign 
countries, and several of them exhibit very remark- 
able forms. The male of Gryllus umbraculatus of 
Linnaeus, a native of Spain and Portugal, is re- 
markable for a membranous prolongation of the 
forehead, which hangs down in the form of a veil. 
G. Pattersonii, as represented by Stoll, has a singular 
inflation in front of the head, and two long horns 
curved forwards, and placed before the eyes. The 
species which the same monographer names G. 
» Vorax, has an enormous head with large projecting 
mandibles, and antennas little short of half-a-foot in 
length. 
As an example of this curious and well known 
family, we have represented an interesting species, 
now figured for the first time. 
