SUBFAMILY VI. OECANTHINJE. 709 



places, concealing itself between the bricks of chimneys or behind base- 

 boards, frequently burrowing into the mortar of walls. It is particularly 

 apt to abound in bakehouses. It is rarely very abundant but at times mul- 

 tiplies excessively and becomes a very serious nuisance. During cold 

 weather or in cold rooms in winter, it remains torpid, but under the in- 

 fluence of warmth it becomes active and musical. It is easily kept in cap- 

 tivity as a pet, and will reward the possessor by furnishing an abundance 

 of its peculiar melody, and in Spain it is often kept, it is reported, in cages, 

 as we do singing birds. It is in the main nocturnal in its habits, coming 

 out in the dusk of the evening and roaming about the house for whatever 

 food materials it may discover. It feeds readily on bread crumbs or almost 

 any food product to which it can get access, and is particularly attracted to 

 liquids, in its eagerness to get at which it often meets death by drowning. 

 It is a very pugnacious insect and will bite vigorously if captured, and is 

 often predaceous or carnivorous, like most of its outdoor allies It is sup- 

 posed to feed on various other house insects, such as the cockroach and is 

 also probably canibalistic. A pair of native species kept in a cage by the 

 writer, for a short period manifested the greatest friendliness, but the 

 male shortly afterwards made a very substantial meal of his companion. 



"These Crickets, in common with most other Orthoptera, will occa- 

 sionally in pure wantonness seemingly, cut and injure fabrics, and are 

 particularly apt to cut into wet clothing, evidently from their liking for 

 moisture. Any of the common field grasshoppers or crickets, entering 

 houses, are apt to try their sharp jaws on curtains, garments, etc., and Dr. 

 J. A. Lintner records the case of a suit of clothing just from the tailor 

 which was completely ruined in a night by common black field crickets 

 (Gryllus luctuosus), which had entered an open window in some numbers. 

 There is a popular superstition also to the effect that if a cricket be killed 

 its relatives will promptly cut the garments of the offender. 



"The house cricket may be readily destroyed by taking advantage of 

 its liking for liquids, and any vessel containing beer or other liquid placed 

 about will usually result in crickets being collected and drowned in num- 

 bers. It may also be destroyed by the distribution of uncooked vegetables, 

 such as ground up carrots or potatoes, strongly poisoned with arsenic. In 

 the use of poisoned baits in dwellings great care, however, should always 

 be exercised." 



Walker (1904, 252) records the taking- o f all stages of (1. <.ln- 

 mesticus in late autumn in the basement of the General Hospital 

 at Toronto, Ontario. They were "lurking in the chinks between 

 the bricks of the wall and positively swarmed under loose bricks 

 close to the furnace. Morse does not mention it from New Eng- 

 land (1919a) though E. & H. (19ir>c) state that it has been re- 

 corded from Connecticut. 



Subfamily YI. OECANTHIN^E. 

 THE WHITE TREE CRICKETS. 



Slender bodied crickets of a pale color having the head elon- 

 gate, horizontal or nearly so; vertex declivent, passing gradually 



