138 



been noted in numbers each time the woods were visited, though no ma- 

 ture specimens have been seen since October 20th. The young seen in 

 winter are not numerous enough to develop into the mature specimens of 

 the succeeding autumn, and, in my opinion,* those eggs which are laid in 

 early fall hatch and the insects hibernate in the burrows mentioned above ; 

 while the greater number of eggs, deposited later, do not hatch till the fol- 

 lowing season. 



The short- winged field cricket is nocturnal, omnivorous, and a cannibal. 

 Avoiding the light of day, he ventures forth, as soon as darkness has fallen, 

 in search of food, and all appears to be fish which comes to his net. Of 

 fruit, vegetables, grass and carrion, he seems equally fond and does not 

 hesitate to prey upon a weaker brother when opportunity offers. I have 

 often surprised them feasting on the bodies of their companions, and of 

 about forty imprisoned together in a box, at the end of a week but six 

 were living. The heads, wings, and legs of their dead companions were all 

 that remained to show that the weaker had succumbed to the stronger — 

 that the fittest, and in this case the fattest, had survived in the deadly 

 struggle for existence. 



Average measurements: Females — Length of body, 24 mm.; of poster- 

 ior femora, 15 mm.; of wing covers, 11 mm.; of ovipositor, 22 mm. Male — 

 Length of body 21 mm,; of posterior femora, 14 mm.; of wing covers, 

 11 mm. 



5. Gryllus LicTuosrs, Serville. The Long-winged Cricket. The House 

 Cricket. 

 Gryllus luctuosus, Scudder, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., VII, 1862, 427. 

 Id., Distribt. of Ins. in N. Hamp., 1874, 363. 

 Thomas, Geol. Surv. Terr., 1871, 433, pi. I, figs. 10, 



11. 

 Packard, Guide to Stud. Ins., 1883, 564. 

 Fernald, Orth. N. E., 1888, 15. 

 Comstock, Intro, to Eat., 1888, 121. 

 McNeill, Psyche, VI, 1891, 4. 

 This is a species of wide range, occurring throughout the entire United 

 States, but it appears to be somewhat rare in Indiana, having been taken 

 only in Vigo and Parke counties. From the preceding species, which it 



"Since verified by a letter received from Dr. C. V. Riley, in which he states that " the 

 periods are very irregular and the egg laying undoubtedly continues for a considerable 

 space of time." 



