122 Journal New York Entomological Society. [\'oI. xx. 



THREE NEW SPECIES OF BELOCEPHALUS FROM 



FLORIDA. 



By Wm. T. Davis, 

 New Brighton, Staten Island, N. Y. 



While at Punta Gorda in Southern Florida in November, 191 1, 

 with Mr. Charles W. Leng and Dr. Lutz, of the American Museum 

 of Natural History, the writer was much interested in the songs of 

 two species of Bclocephalns that frequented the same clumps of 

 palmetto. One of them was a large insect averaging 40 mm. in length 

 and a bold singer. He would perch himself on the topmost leaf of a 

 scrub palmetto and stridulate a song hardly to be distinguished from 

 the rapid ik-ik-ik of the Conoccphalns cnsigcr that inhabits north- 

 eastern United States. The other was a smaller species averaging 31 

 mm. in length; was more retiring in habits, and sang a slow zcck- 

 acck-ceck. In addition to the size a difference in color was immedi- 

 ately noticed, namely the antennae of the larger species was always 

 immaculate, while the smaller species had the first ten or fifteen joints 

 spotted with black. These maculations in the brown individuals often 

 became rings entirely encircling the first antennal joints, whereas in 

 the large species, whether brown or green, the antennae were uni- 

 colorous. These two insects fed on the species of palmetto, their 

 powerful jaws enabling them to gnaw the tough leaves. 



On our way north to Jacksonville we stayed over a day at New- 

 berry in the western part of Florida, and found under the loose bark 

 of an old pine stump a Bclocephalns that differed from the smaller 

 species mentioned above mainly in the form of the fastigium, and in 

 size. Mr. Leng found four others just like it between some boards 

 piled by the side of the railroad. 



In the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. 

 XVII, 1875, Scudder described Bcloccphalus snbaptcriis from two 

 females, " one from N. E. Florida, the other from Florida.'' These 

 types have been examined, but so far good characters have not been 

 found for the separation of the females of all of the species of 

 Bclocephalns. This must await further collecting. A recent visit to 

 Philadelphia and the examination of the material collected by Rehn & 



