SUBFAMILY VI. OECAXTHINM], 723 



the tree crickets in late fall and winter, specimens having been 

 taken at Stanford, Cape Sable. Sarasota and Dunedin. About 

 Dunedin it occurs on the tall grasses and weeds growing about 

 low places in the pine woods and is also often swept from huckle- 

 berry bushes and other low shrubs; adults having been taken 

 during every month from October to April. It has before been 

 recorded from numerous localities in the State as far south as 

 Ft. Myers. 



By some authors, notably Fulton and R. & H., qn<nlrijninct<iliix 

 is regarded as a distinct species, but numerous specimens at hand 

 show that intermediates occur. It is often found in numbers on 

 the same clumps of weeds or bushes in company with nif/riconiin. 

 Walker (1904. 255) says: "I believe this form to be merely a 

 pale variety of 0. fasciatiis as I have a series of inter-grades and 

 am unable to draw a definite line to separate the two." Caudell 

 i: j quoted by Houghtou (1909a, 114) as stating that specimens 

 bred from the same egg clusters sent in by Houghtou represented 

 both nigricornis and quadripunctatus and that he considered the 

 latter only a variety of the former. Houghton quotes other evi- 

 dence to show that Caudell's opinion is correct. 



On the other hand R. & H. (1916) regard them as distinct, 

 slating that in addition to color differences nif/rironiis has a heav- 

 ier and wider prouotum and a depression between the eyes not "at 

 all or rarely weakly indicated in quadripunctatus." Fulton ( 1915) 

 separates them in his key only by color characters, but states 

 that they have ''constant differences in habits," quadripunctatus 

 occurring in larger numbers in upland fields abounding in medium 

 sized weeds such as aster, sweet clover, daisy, golden-rod, rag- 

 weed, and especially the wild carrot or Queen Ann's lace. Quite 

 often in a field of this character where qu(t<lri/nnt<-t<ttiix is preval- 

 ent, the brushy fence rows surrounding the area will be inhabited 

 by niyriconris. In general nif/ficoni'is prefers larger plants and 

 more dense growth than qu<t<lr\inni<'t<ititx. and its habitat is more 

 varied, it being usually found in tall, rank growths of weeds, 

 such as in swamps and river bottoms, in brush or second growth, 

 in fence rows grown up with bushes, briers and vines, in rasp- 

 berry plantings, vineyards, nurseries and even occasionally in 

 orchards." 



As noted above specimens are at hand showing not only all 

 intergradations in color from almost black nif/riroi'iiin to the pa- 

 lest of quadripunctatus } but also in the form of the thorax and 

 depression on head mentioned by R. & H. Moreover, Fulton states 



