ENTOMOLOGY IN OUTLINE — ORTHOPTERA. 



37 



classification ample for any but the most minute, scientific study. 

 These groups are: 



1. Mole Crickets, heavy bodied, large-sized burrowing insects, fre- 

 quently brought to the surface in digging or plowing. This is among 

 the most peculiar of these insects. It is well named the " mole cricket," 

 as in its general form and habits it resembles that animal. The front 

 legs are short, very stout, and furnished with strong tibi*, well suited 

 for digging and much like the fore paws of the mole. These insects 

 live wholly un- 

 derground, and 

 feed upon the 

 tender roots of 

 plants, becom- 

 ing a very seri- 

 ous nuisance 

 where they are 

 numerous. 



2. True Crick- 

 ets, which in- 

 clude the com- 

 mon hovise and 

 field crickets, 

 which visit us 

 in such hordes 

 in the summer 

 nights. The 

 eggs of these 

 insects are gen- 

 erally laid in the 

 fall, in light, 

 sandy soil, and 

 remain until 



spring, when they hatch and the young begin to eat, grow, and molt, 

 until they attain their growth and their wings later in the summer, 

 when they become very much in evidence. They are serious pests, 

 being omnivorous feeders, and will devour anything in their way. If 

 they secure entrance to the house, which they often do, cotton and 

 woolen fabrics alike will be damaged by them. They are in no way 

 choice in the matter of diet and do not turn away from their own kind, 

 but will devour each other with avidity and a keen relish. 



3. Tree Crickets, which are found on trees and shrubs, as a rule, 

 although they are sometimes found on grass and herbs. They are 

 delicate and rather small insects, as compared with other members of 

 the family. In laying her eggs the female cuts a groove in the tender 

 canes of raspberry and blackberry vines, or of fruit trees, and in these 



FIG. 38. Stridulatiiig organs of Microcenii-uni laurifolium.. A, dorsal 

 aspect oi file (st) when the tegmina are closed; B, ventral aspect 

 of left tegmen to show file: C, dorsal aspect of right tegmen to 

 show acraper (s). 



