112 Kansas Academy of Science. 



measured about an inch and a quarter long and had a very large 

 body ; its wings were immense, It will be a good specimen for 

 one who is collecting insects." ( From Lawrence Journal, August 

 4, 1901.) 



On inquiring if the specimen could be obtained, it was learned 

 that chickens had eaten it. However, my disappointment was ban- 

 ished a few nights later when a strong rasping noise was heard is- 

 suing from a tree which stood near my home, and as the shrill 

 sounds continued all night it was evident that an accommodating 

 specimen of what was wanted had located there for my benefit. A 

 night or two after, when another songster in another tree began 

 calling also, the conclusion was reached that it was time to make 

 an attempt, at least, to capture one or both of the supposed insects. 

 Provided with lighted lantern and poison bottle, one night, the au- 

 thor climbed the tree, a moderate-sized elm, in which the first fiddler 

 was harbored, and located the fellow by his racket. He was a 

 little cautious as my light approached him and stopped his fiddling, 

 but remained within reach, although attempting to conceal himself 

 among leaves on the under side of a branch. With one well-aimed 

 grab he was secured in my hand and soon reposed safely in my 

 poison bottle. However, his comrade in the other tree, a smaller 

 elm, repeatedly evaded me by climbing out on the tips of branches 

 beyond reach and out of sight. The captured specimen was iden- 

 tified as Cyrtophyllus perspicillatus Linnseus, and is now the 

 only example of its species in the collection of the University of 

 Kansas. 



Some years ago, while living in Colorado Springs, the business 

 of insect collecting was one night unexpectedly forced upon me. 

 A migration of locusts, the Long-winged grasshopper, known as 

 Dissosteira longipennis Thomas, was evidently detracted from 

 flight over or near the city by the electric lights, directly after dark 

 one evening, and the streets soon became covered with the living 

 insects. In seeking every source of light, they invaded open places 

 of business faster than they could be cleared away. They were 

 caught in handfuls and flung into pails of scalding water to end 

 their struggles. The sidewalks and street-crossings of several busi- 

 ness blocks were covered so thickly that people walking there would 

 crush a mass of bodies underfoot at every step. Next morning the 

 street cleaners carted off dead grasshoppers by the wagon-load, and 

 for fear another invasion might come, the streets were not lighted 

 for several nights afterward. This phenomenon occurred on Thurs- 

 day evening, July 21, 1898 ; and the ridiculous part of the affair was 



