132 



long, the apex bluntly rounded, a little depressed ; sub-basal tooth some- 

 what flattened, with the tip sharp and decurved. 



Measurements: Male— Length of body. 18 mm.; of pronotum, 6 mm.; 

 of tegmina, 21 mm.; of hind femora, 18 mm. Female — Length of body, 

 19 mm.; of pronotum 6.2 mm.; of tegmina, 21 mm.; of hind femora, 18.5 

 mm.; of ovipositor, 7.5 mm. 



Redtenbacher places vulgare as a synonym of DeGeer's Xiphidium agile, 

 stating as his reason for so doing that Harris and Scudder have separated 

 the two " on account of small differences in the color and size of the wing 

 covers, as well as in the length of the ovipositor.'' He may be right in 

 thus combining them, but his relative measurements of X. agile, as given, 

 do not agree with specimens of undoubted vulgare in my possession. 

 Scudder, who has had ample opportunity to compare the two, says (Bost. 

 Journ. Nat. -Hist.) that the pronotum is shorter in agile than in vulgare. 

 Redtenbacher's measurements of this organ, as well as those of the hind 

 femora, are much less than the average measurements given above. Har- 

 ris, as well as Burmeister, states that the tegmina of agile are 2.5 mm. 

 shorter than the wings, while McNeill, in his description of 0. silvaliemu* 

 says that agile has the hind femora armed beneath. Taking all these 

 facts into consideration, though having no typical example of agile lor 

 comparison, I have concluded not to follow Redtenbacher but to retain 

 for the species at hand the name vulgare, by which it is best known to 

 the entomologists of the F/nited States. 



This is probably the most abundant member of the family Locustidrc 

 found in Indiana. It begins to reach maturity in the central part of the 

 State about July 20th, and more frequently than any other of our species 

 of Orchelimum it is found in upland localities, along fence rows, and in 

 clover and timothy meadows. In early autumn it seems to be very fond 

 of resting on the leaves and stems of the ironweed, Vernonia fasciculata, 

 Michx., so common in many blue grass pastures. Vulgare seems to be 

 somewhat carnivorous in habit, as on two occasions I have discovered it 

 feeding upon the bodies of small moths which in some way it had man- 

 aged to capture. The note of the male has been well represented by Mc- 

 Neill as "the familiar zip-zip-zip-zip-ze-e-e-e — the staccato first part being 

 repeated about four times, usually about twice a second; the ze-e-e-e con- 

 tinuing from two or three to twenty or more seconds." 



-Psyche, VI.. 26. 



