722 FAMILY VIII. GRYLLID.E. THE CRICKETS. 



requirements being a soft fibre and pithy interior to the twigs selected. 

 Among the trees the white willow suffers most. I have seen hedges of this 

 tree so completely utilized that scarcely a twig escaped being deposited 

 into. Other species of willow, cottonwood, elm, maple, box elder, cherry, 

 dog-wood, black locust, sycamore, ash, honey-locust, and in fact almost all 

 kinds of trees, are sometimes attacked. Elder is a great favorite, too. 

 After these come weeds, as the artichoke, sunflower, golden-rod, ambrosia, 

 and many others. All of these latter being annuals, or dying to the ground 

 each year, whether attacked by the cricket or not, the conclusion is plain. 

 All the cricket requires is a receptacle for her eggs. It matters but little 

 whether a dead or a living plant furnishes that condition. 



"While woody plants are known to be very commonly used as recepta- 

 cles for the eggs of this cricket, it is by far the most numerous upon such 

 weeds as those mentioned above during its entire career; but more par- 

 ticularly so during its latter days when looking after the perpetuation of 

 its kind." 



The mating habits, oviposition and song of 0. iiif/rirornis have 

 been fully described by Hancock, Houghton and Jensen in the 

 works previously cited. Allard (1911) says that in Xew England 

 ''It dwells among weeds, grass and golden-rods nearly every- 

 where in fields and pastures. Its song is a steady, quavering, 

 sustained trill. The trill of some individuals is strong, deep and 

 rich-toned, recalling the mellow trill of 0. latipcnnis. The pitch 

 and volume of sound vary noticeably with different individuals." 



338a. OECAXTHUS NIGRICOBXIS QUADRIPUNCTATUS Beutenmuller, 1894a, 250. 

 Four-spotted Tree Cricket. 



Size and form of nigricornis. Pale yellowish-green; antennae pale 

 brown, the two basal segments pale green with two black marks on each; 

 those on second segment oblong, parallel, the inner about double the length 

 of outer; the inner mark on lower or basal segment two-thirds the length 

 of segment, its upper end curved outward but not united with the outer 

 mark, which is short and almost round (Fig. 240, d. ) Tegmina of male 

 translucent with greenish-yellow veins, the wings protruding slightly be- 

 yond their tips. Legs dull greenish-yellow, the tarsi often in part fus- 

 cous. Ovipositor brownish with black tip. Length of body, $ and $, 11.5- 

 -14; of pronotum, 2.42.6; of tegmina, 1012; of wings, 12.5 13.5; of 

 hind femora, 8 8.5; of ovipositor, 5.5 mm. Width of tegmina, $, 

 4.5 4.7 mm. 



In central and southern Indiana this tree cricket is almost as 

 common as nigricornis but in the northern part of the State it 

 appears to occur in fewer numbers. It frequents shrubbery and 

 weeds in gardens, along roadsides and borders of cultivated 

 fields, and is often found in company with nigricornis. An adult 

 female was taken in Crawford County on June 28, an early date 

 for a tree cricket in Indiana. 



In Florida I have found quadripunctatus the most common of 



