65 



away, and the male, after a short chase, returned to his old haunt, singing with the same 

 vigor as before, but with more frequent pauses ; at last, finding all persuasion unavailing 

 he brought his serenade to a close, The pauses of his song wer j almost instantly follow- 

 ed by a peculiar jerk of the body ; it consisted of an impulsive movement backward, and 

 then as suddenly forward, and was accompanied by a corresponding movement of the 

 antennae together and then apart. The female was near enough to be touched by the 

 antennae of the male during the first movement, and usually started in a nearly similar 

 way as soon as touched. 



The tegmina of the male are held at an angle of about twenty degrees from the body 

 during stridulation, and perhaps at a slightly greater angle from each other. Even 

 when most violent, the sound is produced by the friction of the^nner edges of the teg- 

 mina only, and not by the whole surface. 



In different years I have noted the first time in spring that I have heard this creature 

 stridulate in the vicinity of Bost^m, Mass. In 1869, June 13; 1874, May 31; 1875, 

 May 26 (and the same year at Compton, N.H., June 1); 1878, May 18 (on the summit 

 of Blue Hill, Milton); 1879, May 31. July and August, 1867, were spent north of the 

 White M( untains, at Jefferson, N.H., and no Nemobius was heard there before Aug. 7. 



Mr. W. T. Davis says that on Staten Island there is a s uall form of this species, 

 p :irhaps distinct, in which the stridulation is " a continuous rolling whirr, instead of the 

 ordinary creak, creak, creak.'^ 



Nemohius fasciatus Scudd. I have noticed no difference between the chirp of this 

 species and that of the preceding, of which it is probably only a long winged form. 



(Ecanthas niveus Serv. The song of the common tree cricket (Fig. 39), consists of 

 a continuously sustained, equable, creaking roll, which varies much in intensity and 

 differs by day and t>y night. Dr. Harris speaks only of their song by 

 night, remarking: "When arrived at maturity the males begin their 

 nocturnal serenades at the approach of twilight and continue it with 

 little or no intermission till the dawn of day. Should one of these 

 little musicians get admission to the chamber, his incessant and loud 

 shrilling will effectually banish sleep." 



The day song of this insect is exceedingly shrill, and may be re- 

 presented by the accompanying figure, though the notes vary in rapidity ; 

 when slowest they are about sixteen a second. The song is of varied 

 length, sometimes lastins; but two or three seconds, sometimes con- 

 tinuing for a minute or two uninterruptedly ; it ir a nearly unitorm, 

 equally sustained trill, but the insect often begins its note at a different pitch from the 

 normal one — the fourth F above middle C — as if it required a little practice to attain it. 

 When singing the tegmina are raised at fully a right angle to the body. The night song 

 consists of thrrr repeated incessantly, three parts of song and one of rest in every three 

 seconds. 



^ ^ ^ '^ i^ ^ b ^ I ^ ^ l:^ ^ ^ ^ t^ i^ k! ^ ^ 't^ i^ 'i^ !^ '^ I ^ ^ ^ ^ 



-0 0-0-0-0- 



Fig. 40. Note of (Ecanthus niveus by day. 



McNeill remarks that the day song indicated by the musical notation given above 

 " seems to be the song of fasciatus, while the night song certainly resembles that of 

 angustipennis more than the song of niveus." These difierent species were not recognized 

 by me when I made my earliest notes, represented by the notation above, so that a 

 revision of the "score" of our CEcanthus --.eems desirable. 

 5 (en.) 



