ORDER III. STRAIGnT-\^aNGED INSECTS. 



113 



Figure 25. 



The Tree-cricket. 



ta nivea, Fig. 25), is a very delicate insect, of a pale ivory- 

 color, with long antennae, and a short 

 body, only half an inch in length ; its 

 wing-covers are thin, transparent, and 

 ornamented with three oblique, raised 

 lines. Like the Katydid, it is often 

 seen creeping upon the leaves of trees 

 and shrubs, without being recognized 

 as the little creature whose loud and 

 shrill sound is so familiar. Only the 

 male Cricket produces this sound, 

 which it does by elevating its sharp 

 wing-covers very high and rubbing 

 them together very rapidly. The pro- 

 cess may be distinctly seen by keep- 

 ing one under a glass tumbler and watching its movements. 

 They are, however, quite difficult to catch, as they conceal 

 themselves behind the leaves during the day and night, and 

 only occasionally come out of their shady abode. 



In the beginning of autumn the female makes incisions 

 into the tender branches upon which it dwells, and therein 

 deposits her eggs. These are not hatched until the com- 

 mencement of the following summer, when the young ones 

 come out, and attain their perfect condition about the first 

 of August, and in southern climates even before that time. 



The Field-crickets (Acheta nigixi et vittata) are black, 

 and so well known to every one that a minute description 

 of them would be superfluous. They live in meadows and 

 the margins of fields, where the grass is not very high, and 

 the spot constantly exposed to the sun. They select a 

 small spot of rising ground for their abodes, which they 

 make by digging holes into the ground, at first in a horizon- 

 tal direction, and then perpendicularly downward. They 

 always walk into their holes backward, that is to say, with 

 their hind legs first, and while singing are usually standing 



