62 THE ACRIDIIDAE OF MINNESOTA 
CIRCOTETTEX«Scudd: 
Circotettix varies from medium to rather large in size, with the 
body somewhat compressed and the eyes prominent; disk of vertex 
much longer than broad, abruptly narrowed before the eyes, thence 
continued without further narrowing into the frontal costa. Pronotum 
relatively short, truncate at anterior margin and rectangulate at pos- 
terior margin; its median carina distinct and twice cut before the 
middle; lateral lobes deeper than broad, the front margin straight, 
the posterior more or less concave. Tegmina rather broad and longer 
than the abdomen in both sexes; wings pale yellow in basal area, out- 
wardly bounded by a dark curved band beyond which at the apical 
angles they are nebulous or transparent; three or more of the radial 
veins incrassate. Coloration and form suggest Dissosteira rather than 
Spharagemon as has been stated by some authors. We have but one 
species which is, however, rather variable in coloration. 
Circotettix verruculatus Kirby 
Circotettix verruculatus is a rather common insect through the 
northern and eastern parts of the State. While it often much re- 
sembles Dissosteira, not only in appearance but in habits, it may read- 
ily be separated from this by the yellow coloration of the wings and 
the flat dorsum of the pronotum. Its resemblance to dark forms of 
Spharagemon has also been noted but here another character readily 
serves to distinguish it, since in Spharagemon the median carina of the 
pronotum is cut by but one sulcus, while in Circotettix there are two 
well-marked notches. It is primarily an insect of dry or even dusty 
places and is somewhat saxicolous, loving rocky exposures. On the 
granite hills about Lake Vermillion it occurs in countless numbers and 
on a bright day the stridulation of the males in flight fills the air. The 
flight of this species is the strongest and longest of all our Oedipods, 
possibly excepting Trimerotropis, and is very indirect in its course, 
often completely circling about the observer and ending near the 
point from which it started. 
While, as stated, this insect is fond of dry places, it may also be 
taken amid the blackened logs of burnt-over areas in the forest or even 
in the dense tangle of a tamarack swamp. It has been stated that the 
forms from such burnt-over areas are dark, while those of more 
open places are lighter, but examination of material in the field at Ten 
Strike, Vermillion Lake, and other points does not support this so 
far as Minnesota is concerned. For instance, from an open, rocky 
place we took twenty specimens ; twelve of these were blackish, five 
brownish, and three neutral in tint. From an area in the woods, 
