INTRODUCTION. 



There has long been need of a single comprehensive manual on 

 the Orthoptera of the Eastern United Stales. The original de- 

 scriptions and information regarding the distribution and habits 

 of these interesting insects are scattered through scores of books 

 and pamphlets which the student has to consult in order to cor- 

 rectly determine the various species which he may collect or have 

 at hand. Many of these works are out of print or very difficult 

 to obtain. For that reason the beginner is often discouraged at 

 the very start and the study of Orthoptera has, therefore, not kept 

 pace with that of other orders of insects whose literature is more 

 available. 



The present work has been prepared to supply the need above 

 mentioned. It is an outgrowth or expansion of my "Orthoptera 

 of Indiana" issued in 100:> a:id long since out of pi-hit. In that 

 work 14s species were described and keys given for their determi- 

 nation. Since its issue the researches of Helm and Ilebard, Cau- 

 dell, Morse, Hancock, Walker, Davis and other special students of 

 United States Orthoptera have brought about numerous changes 

 in the nomenclature of the group and have added many new forms 

 to the known fauna of our country. The great majority of Orthop- 

 tera inhabiting the United States east of the Mississippi River 

 and Canada east of the 00th Meridian (the territory covered by 

 this work) are now known. The nomenclature always flexible 

 and in 1he end largely dependent upon the view-point of the stu- 

 dent is fairly well established. The time is, therefore, deemed 

 propitious for Hie appearance of such a work and it is offered as 

 the best that I can accomplish with the facilities at my command. 



In the preparation of this manual I have ever had in mind the 

 needs of the tyro and not those of the specialist in Orthoptera. 

 the primary object in view being a simple work which would en- 

 able beginners in the most direct way possible to determine the 

 scientific names and arrange and classify the Orthoptera in their 

 collections. As far as possible easily understood words and terms 

 have been used in the keys and descriptions, and many of the sub- 

 divisions adopted by other authors have been omitted in order to 

 render the work less technical and more easily followed. Keys 

 to families, subfamilies, tribes, genera and species have been made 

 an Important feature of the work. These keys are based on the 

 more salient or easily recognized characters separating the divi- 



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