ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY RULLETIN. 



789 



FED-WINGED LOCUSTS. 



(Aiitberea yama-maia and A. mylitta), the Mex- 

 ican Silk Moth, {Attacus orizaha), and the 

 North American silk-spinning moths such as the 

 Cecropia, Polyphemus, Cynthia, Promethea and 

 Luna. 



Owing to the success of the series of "singing" 

 insects exhibited during the summer of 1910, 

 this feature is again being brought together. 

 The well-known fondness of the Japanese for 

 singing insects suggests a new feattire of inter- 

 est for school children here. It is among the 

 Orthoptera — the order of insects embracing the 

 crickets and the locusts — that we find the pre- 

 dominating number of species of insects that 

 sing. A cricket cage is prepared without tro'-.ble, 

 easily maintained, and it is a decided novelty. 

 Our cages provided for this purpose are fourteen 

 inches long, eight inches wide and eight inches 

 high. The front and sides are of glass, while 

 the back is covered with a panel of ^-inch screen. 

 A screen frame covers the top. Half an inch 

 of fine river sand is placed in the bottom. Sev- 

 eral flat stones and pieces of bark are laid down, 

 supjjorted by pebbles, to serve as hiding i)laces. 



HERCULES BEETLE. 



.\ meadow over which flat stones are scat- 

 tered is a favorable place to collect crickets. 

 They may be found by turning over the stones, 

 and should be placed in a pasteboard box. It 

 is the male cricket that sings, and the "song" is 

 produced by rapidly rubbing speciallj' developed 

 portions of the wings. The males may be dis- 

 tinguished by the wrinkled black wings that 

 cover the greater part of the body. The female 

 has smooth, straight wings, while the body is 

 l)rovided with an elongate appendage that looks 

 like a sting, but which is actually harmless, and 

 is employed in depositing the eggs. Four pairs 

 of crickets are enough to stock a cage. They 

 may be fed slices of banana, melon, berries, let- 

 tuce or an occasional piece of raw beef. The 

 uneaten food must be removed daily. When the 

 fresh food is provided, the cage should be 

 S'lrinkled, as these insects require water, al- 

 though a little at a time is quite sufficient. A 

 cage of crickets brings the nui.sic of the fields 

 to the citv home. R. L. D. 



