86 PROCEEDINGS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



first heard and captured this insect at Indian Grave Gap, 

 Towns County, north Georgia, in the scanty grass in sunny 

 clearings in the woods. L,ater I captured it in similar situa- 

 tions on Blue and Tray mountains near by. It is possibly not 

 an uncommon species in these mountains. 



Xiphidion strictum (Scudder) is a rather common form in 

 the grass and weeds around Washington, D. C. One of these 

 insects, captured November 14, 1909, sang very persistently 

 the lisping phrase, 5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5, which was greatly 

 prolonged. These phrases were without any preceding stac- 

 cato lisps. 



Xiphidion saltans Scudder is not uncommon at Thompson's 

 Mills, Georgia. It prefers the luxuriant growths of weeds 

 and grasses of moist bottom lands. It is not a very active in- 

 sect, and for that reason may be easily captured. I have no 

 record of its stridulations. 



Xiphidion brevipenne Scudder and Xiphidion ensifer 

 Scudder occur in the meadows around Washington, D. C. I 

 found Xiphidion ensifer rather common at Thompson's 

 Mills, Georgia, but have no definite knowledge of its stridula- 

 tions. 



In early September, 1910, I carefully studied the stridula- 

 tions of Xiphidion brevipenne at Oxford, Massachusetts. 

 Here I found this little insect nearly always in company 

 with X. jasciatit-m. Its notes were so faint that I could not 

 well distinguish them from other outdoor sounds. The notes 

 are rather rapidly delivered, and consist of one or two brief, 

 faint staccato lisps, tip-lip, which precede fiom one to three 

 of the usual lisping phrases, tseeeee. The notes may be writ- 

 ten thus: tip-tseee . . . tip-tseee-tseeee . . . tip-tip-tsee-tseee- 

 tseee .... tip-tsee. The song reminds one more of the song 

 of X. nemorale than of the other species. 



The species of Xiphidion are all very persistent in their 

 stridulations. These notes are so faint and atteutuated, how- 

 ever, that the}* are rarely heard, except by the keenest ob- 

 servers. Rather dissimilar habits of stridulation prevail 

 among the different species of Xiphidion. This is more no- 

 ticeable for those tiny locusts than for the larger orchelimums. 

 Among the xiphidions one species stridulates hurriedly, 

 another very leisurely. The notes of some species are char- 

 acterized by many short staccato lisps, tip-tip, which precede 

 each phrase, tseeeeeeeeeeeeee. In the notes of other species 

 one or two brief staccato notes, tip-tip, are followed by a quick 

 succession of many short phrases, tseee-tseee-tseee-tseee. It is 

 not easy to study the stridulations of these insects in their na- 

 tural habitat among the grasses. Some species are very shy, 



