430 KEl'OHT OF STATE (iKOEOGIST. 



neath rails in tlie coriuTS of llu' old-fashionod and rapidly disappear- 

 ing A'^irginia rail fences. 



All members of the genus Gryllus have the head large and globose; 

 the eyes large and rounded; the antennae thread-like and longer than 

 the body; the pronotum broader than long and about the width of 

 the head; the hind femora of medium length but much enlarged and 

 well-fitted for leaping; the hind tibiae with two rows of strong fixed 

 spines, those nearest the apex being the longer; and the hind tarsi 

 with its first joint sulcate above with a row of minute teeth along 

 each carina. The ovipositor is, in all the species, as long as or longer 

 than the liind femora, and in the same species varies but little in 

 length. Most of the species are, however, dimorphic as regards wing 

 length, though among our Indiana species the short winged forms 

 greatly outnmnber the loiiu' Avinged ones. The inner wings vary 

 much more than the outer and sometimes are wholly lacking. 



Eegarding the general habits of the field crickets Prof. Lawrence 

 Bruner has written: "•Usually most of our North American Grylli 

 live singly or in pairs in liurrows which they dig for themselves. 

 These are used as retreats during the day time and serve as shelter 

 from ordinary inclemencies of weather. These burrows are generally 

 forsaken about midsuninier for some sort of above-ground shelter. 

 From this time on, until fall, they appear to be more social and live 

 in colonies under various sorts of rubbish. Grain shocks are a favor- 

 ite haunt for them, and since twine has been used for binding, the 

 crickets have been quite troul)lesonie by cutting the bands. During 

 late summer and fall tlic females commence pr(>parations for the con- 

 tinuance of their kiiul. ])y ilirusting their long, slender ovipositors 

 into the loose soil and dropping tlieir eggs. These sometimes hatch 

 the same year, but, as a rule, lie over until the following spring. 

 The young generally live above ground, where they hide among 

 fallen leaves, grasses and other debris, though sometimes they also 

 creep into chinks and crevices in the earth." 



The remarks of Mr. Bruner apply mostly to G. dbhreviatus, one of 

 our largest and only social species. The young of G. pennsylv aniens 

 and G. amcricnnvs are. for the most part, hatched in autumn and 

 survive the winter in the nynij)!! stages, while G. domesticus, the 

 house cricket, passes the winter either as adult or nymph. 



The synonymy of the American species of this genus has become 

 greatly confused, due largely to the fact that foreign writers have 

 attempted to monograph the genus with but a limited number of 

 specimens at hand; and again to the fact that the species, especially 

 the males, are very difTicult to se])arate. 



