INSECTS Periplanetidee. The Common Cockroach (Blatta orientalis) is such a well-known and widely distributed household pest that few can have failed to make its acquaintance. ACRIDIODEA Grasshoppers Truxalidce. Stenobothrus rufipes, Zett., seems to be fairly well distri- buted, but has not hitherto been noticed in any great numbers. S. bicolor^ Charp., is very abundant in all directions and appears to be the commonest member of the family. 5. elegans, Charp., is considered scarce and local, but may sometimes be met with rather freely on our coast sands in August. S. parallelus, Zett., has been found and is probably common, but as it has only partially developed wings and elytra, it is likely to be passed over by the inexperienced collector as an immature form. Gomphocerus macu/afus, Thunb. A pretty little species with clubbed antenna?, much smaller than any of the above, is common in dry places. QLdipodidee. Pachytylus danicus, L. This conspicuous locust is not a native of Britain but only a casual straggler to our shores. 'Locusts' have been reported from Colchester, Epping and Southend, under the names of Gryllus or Pachytylus migratorius and P. cinerascens, but apparently they were all referable to one species, which in accordance with the law of priority is now known as P. danicus. Tettigidce. Tettix bipunctatus, L., frequently turns up unexpectedly, especially in open spaces in woods, and would probably prove a common insect if systematically sought for. LOCUSTODEA Locusts Pbaneropteridce. Leptopbyes punctatissima, Bosc., has been found near Colchester, and is probably as generally common throughout the county as it is in other parts of England. Meconemidce. Meconema varium, Fabr. This pretty green insect is generally common, especially about oak trees, from the boughs of which it may be freely beaten in the autumn. It is also frequently found in a semi-torpid state on the boles of the trees as soon as the nights become colder. Conocephalida. Xiphidium dorsale, Latr., is considered rare in this country, but may frequently be found in grassy places, especially on certain of our sea walls. As a rule it is a micropterous insect, that is, its elytra and wings are only partially developed, and it is therefore quite incapable of flight ; but in August, 1899, two examples of a form with fully developed wings and elytra were met with near Clacton-on-Sea, and one of them was disporting itself in the air somewhat after the manner of a dragonfly. No previous record of such a form is known, and these may have been examples of a rare local variety or of a new 93
