140 



ra, 9 mm.; of ovipositor, S mm. Male, length of body, 10 mm.; of poste- 

 rior femora, 8 mm. 



A large number of specimens of this cricket were taken in two localities 

 in Vigo county, Indiana, during the last half of September. The first ones 

 discovered were on the slender twigs of some prickly ash shrubs which 

 grew in a damp upland woods. The place was visited a number of Jimes 

 and the crickets were always found, perfectly motionless, and immediately 

 above or below one of the thorns or prickles jutting forth from the twigs. 

 The tips of the hind femora were raised so as to project above the body 

 thus causing them to resemble the thorns ; and the color of the insects cor- 

 responding closely to that of the bark, made them very difficult to discover 

 even when in especial search of them. On every clump of prickly ash in 

 the woods mentioned a number of specimens were secured but they could 

 be found no where else thereabouts. The second locality where they were 

 discovered was about the roots of a scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea, Wang, 

 which grew on a sandy hillside. Here they were plentiful, and resting 

 motionless in the depressions of the bark or beneath the leaves in the cavi- 

 ties formed by the roots of the tree. 



Of all the males taken, over thirty in number, there was not one with 

 perfect wing covers, and, in almost every instance, the wing covers as well 

 as the rudimentary wings were wholly absent; while every female had 

 both pairs unharmed. I at first ascribed this wing mutilation to the males 

 fighting among themselves, but finally discovered a female in the act of 

 devouring the wings of a male. Why this curious habit on the part of the 

 one sex ? Possibly the females require a wing diet to requite them for 

 their bestowed affections, or, perchance, they are a jealous set, and, having 

 once gained the afi'ections of a male, devour his wing covers to keep him 

 from calling other females about him. Quien sabe f 



Agitator is said to be common in the middle and southeastern states. The 

 eggs of the female are there deposited in twigs of the white elm, Ulmus 

 Americana, L., and the insects are very active at night, running and jump- 

 ing about on the trunks of various trees. 



IX. (EcANTHus, Serville ( 1831 ). 



From the other Gnjllidx of the state the members of this genus may be 



known by their slender hind femora, their narrow, elongated prothorax, and 



their whitish or greenish- white color. The wing covers of the females 



are wrapped closely about the body, while those of the male are much 



