4G0 



HKl'OUT OF SIATK (i KOI^Od 1ST. 



feniak', 14 mm.; of liind rcmiirji. iiuilc. S mm.. IVmalc 1(» mm.: of 

 ovipositor. 1';? mm. 



This is a soiitlu'i-ii species, wliicli in Indiana lias so far been taken 

 in small luinibers only in N'i.^o. Putnam and Marion counties; tliouoli 

 it doubtk"ss oeeurs tlirou<;liout the southern half of the State, in 

 Vigo County it was fonnd in October on the leaves of a <2:ol(len-rofl, 

 Solidapo lallfoliii 1... and on those of priekly-ash, XntillioxijJum amen- 

 ravKm ^lill.. both in dense upland woods. In Clarion County, Philip 

 IJaker hrouiiht me several s])eciniens which he 

 ifound on Angnst 2"3d, bem'ath an old coat hansr- 

 ing- on a grape arbor, in the l)ack yard of his 

 father's residence near the center of the city of 

 Indianapolis. AA'heii disturbe(l it often seeks 

 safety in flight, and when it alights flattens out 

 its body-close against its resting place. Professor 

 Kiley has given an interesting account of llie egg- 

 laying and song habits of the Jumping tree 

 cricket, from which I quote at length as follows: 

 "In l)ecember. 1^1] . 1 \vatclie(l a female of O. 

 x(il/(i/or ovipositing in the end of a dead aiul 

 lather soft twig of the soft maple at Kirkwood, 

 .Missoui'i. The twig had been pruned and the 

 bark was somewhat gnawed by the cricket and the 

 eggs tlirust in irregularly from the end and from 

 the sides. IJolh wood and i)ith were crammeil 

 with eggs, but all longitudinally inserted. The 

 favorit(> nidus of the species is. howjever. the soft 

 and somewhat corkv. rough bai'k of the trunk and older bi-anches of 

 the American elm, the eggs being thrust in singly or in small hatches, 

 either longitudinally with, or very slightly obliqm'ng from, the axis 

 of trunk or branch. The female i> very intent in the act. working 

 her abdomen deliberately from side to side during the perforation. 



"Th(^ stridulation of this cricket is a rather s(d't and nnisical piping 

 of not (piile half a second's duration, with from four to six trills, 

 but so rapid that they are lost in the distance. The key is very high, 

 but varies in different individuals and according to moisture and 

 temperature. It most resembles the vibrating touch of the finger on 

 the rim of an ordinary tumbler when three-fourths filled with water 

 — repeated at intervals of from two to four per second, and it may 

 be verv well likened to the piping of a young chick and of some tri'c 

 froys. .\s the species is \-erv common in the -outhwest its cbir]i is 



Fig. 122. 



Orochuria taltator 



Uhler. Female. (After 



Lugger). 



