184 THK ENTOMOLOGIST. 



it had become so 1 did not know ; but 1 had seen the cricket 

 strike the bee when it fluttered near hira; yet I hardly 

 imagine those blows were sufficient to render it hors de 

 combat. Some little time after the cricket inserted his 

 mandibles in the abdomen of the bee, and, having succeeded 

 in abstracting the honey-bag, forthwith proceeded to eat it, 

 leaving the bee still alive. I allowed the bee to live two or 

 three hours, thinking the cricket would return to it to eat the 

 contents of the abdomen; but he did not; and finding he 

 had no apparent intention of so doing, 1 killed the bee. 

 Butterflies he was immensely fond of, allowing them to live 

 very little time after being placed in his cage. In no instance, 

 however, did he eat the wings and head of either moth or 

 butterfly. He lived until September 25th. 



Two days after the cricket died a lad took it out of its 

 cage, where I had allowed it to remain, and began handling 

 it. Boy-like, and for no other purpose but pleasing himself, 

 he expanded its elytra, and then by the application of his 

 fore finger and thumb compressed them sharply. I was 

 surprised to hear a distinct chirp, — a more distinct one than 

 which the cricket himself could not have produced had 

 he been alive. I repeated the act, succeeding at will in 

 producing the chirp. This led me to examine the elytra to 

 ascertain, if possible, how the chirp was produced, and with 

 the following result : — 



On the upper surface of the under wing-case will be found 

 what may well be coujpared to the head of a drum : its 

 appearance is vitreous, and it is surrounded by a membranous 

 ridge ; on the under surface of the upper wing-cover a 

 depression exists, showing where lliis so-called drum-head 

 meets the upper wing-cover when the elytra are closed; 

 anterior to this depression is a ridge so set thai, while the 

 elytra are being closed, it chafes against the anterior left and 

 free end of the under wing-cover. This chafing or friction 

 produces the chirp. I'he edging of the under wing-cover 

 where this friction takes place appears to be composed of the 

 same membranous substance as the ridge of the upper wing- 

 cover, just mentioned. 



Mv opinion is that the chir() is produced by a ra|)id 

 closing of the elytra, and not by their expansion ; and if this 

 be true it will account for the chirping not being one pro- 

 longed sound (as in the case of whistling), even when the 

 cricket is chirping its loudest and fastest. That the cricket 

 moves its elytra when so doing is without doubt correct; 



