274 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, '09 



Observations on the Mating Habits of Oecanthus. 



BY C. O. HOUGHTON, Newark, Delaware, Entomologist, 

 Delaware Experiment Station. 



On September 25, 1908, the writer collected two male and 

 two female tree crickets on peach trees, set last Spring, in an 

 orchard on the College Farm near Newark, Del. They 

 proved to be Oecanthus nigricornis Walk., $ $ ; 0. nigri- 

 cornis var. quadripunctatus Beutenm., $ and O. Nigricornis 

 var, argcntinus Sauss., 9*. These specimens were placed 

 singly in shell vials and brought to my laboratory, where they 

 remained, separated, over night. At 9 o'clock the following 

 morning I placed the pair of true nigricornis in a large glass 

 cylinder containing sections of small peach limbs with their 

 leaves and the other pair in another glass cylinder which was 

 similarly equipped. As soon as the males discovered the 

 females they began to trill, the sound being produced by 

 rapidly rubbing the tegmina together while they were held 

 aloft over their backs, at right angles, or nearly so, to the 

 body axis. These trills, which lasted from five to ten seconds 

 each, were repeated at short intervals and the males kept 

 working gradually toward the females. When thus moving, 

 the tegmina would sometimes be lowered but frequently they 

 would be held aloft as the insects advanced. At first the 

 females seemed a little shy and kept out of the way of the 

 males. This continued for about half an hour when (about 

 9.30 A. M.) my observations were unfortunately interrupted 

 and I was obliged to leave the laboratory for a time. At 10 

 o'clock, or very close to that time, I returned and found both 

 females resting upon the backs of the males, each with her 

 mouth closely applied to a depression in the dorsal part of the 

 thorax, just behind the base of the wings. Each female was 

 resting with the tarsi of the first pair of legs upon the femora 

 of the middle pair of legs of the male and was working away 

 at the depression, from which she seemed to be securing a 

 thick, glutinous liquid ; this was, apparently, swallowed. 



^Determined by Mr. A. N. Caudell, through courtesy of Dr. L. O- 

 Howard. 



