36 Allard — The Stridulations of some " Kati/dids.'^ 



is a note difficult to express, but recalls the phrase, sh-sh-sh- 

 sh-sh-sh-sh. Scudderia texensis is a shy species, and when 

 flushed from the grass flies some distance, in a quiet, irregular 

 flight. It is a common insect around Washington, D. C. 



Scudderia furcata Brunner is also a very common species at 

 Thompson's Mills, Ga., and also prefers the tall grasses, briars 

 and weeds of upland fields, for it, too, is strictly a terrestrial 

 species. At Thompson's Mills, in an old, abandoned field 

 which had grown up to a dense growth of broom-grass and 

 weeds, this katydid was extremely abundant in September and 

 October. Its note is a rather soft zeep, uttered singly, or 

 occasionally two or three times in succession. Like texensis, 

 furcata is not a noisy or persistent singer, and its brief notes 

 are uttered only at long and irregular intervals, in the afternoon 

 or during the night. This species sometimes finds a hiding 

 place among the foliage of an orchard tree, from which it pro- 

 duces its stridulations. S. furcata is a very common form 

 around Washington, D. C. 



The species of Amblycorypha stridulate much more noisily 

 and persistently than the species of Scudderia. Amblycorypha 

 oblongifolia De Geer is a fairly common species at Thompson's 

 Mills, and stridulates almost entirely at night. In this locality 

 I find it almost always among the weeds and low shrubs of 

 upland situations. Here, my record of the first singer in 1909 

 was July 26. This large katydid is an especially common 

 species on Plummer's Island, Maryland, where it usually pre- 

 fers the willows and herbage close to the water. The note of 

 Amblycorypha oblongifolia consists of a single, Ijrief phrase 

 repeated at more or less regular intervals. When heard close 

 by, it is apparent that this note begins with a very rapid crepi- 

 tation, which may be likened to the sudden rasping of an 

 object across the teeth of a comb. This terminates sharply 

 with a sound remotely like " itzic." The entire song may be 

 likened to the syllables, z-z-z-z-itzic — z-z-z-z-itzic. At a dis- 

 tance, these notes recall the weak chirp of a small bird in the 

 weeds, — itzic-itzic-itzic-itzic-itzic . Amhlycorypha oblongifolia is 

 a persistent singer, and is usually heard in rather definite 

 colonies. Blatchley very aptly describes the note when he 

 likens it to a " creaking squawk — like the noise made by draw- 

 ing a fine-toothed comb over a taut string." 



