Ixv 
real preference for a particular species of tree, though the 
majority of the couples watched happened to be in one or two 
rather bare Combretum trees standing together. However, they 
were found also in the other trees and shrubs immediately 
round, at any distance from the ground, from four or five feet 
to the full height of the trees—twenty-five or thirty feet. 
The Combretum in question is non-thorny, a fact which may 
be contrasted with some previous observations on Cicadidae. 
“In one case definitely I noted two males courting one 
female, the three of them shoulder to shoulder round a small, 
vertical twig, and both males calling simultaneously—as was 
evident from the strong vibration of both. On the female’s 
flying off, as she did after I had already seen her sex, the 
males continued to call and in doing so moved opposite to 
each other, into the position usually taken up by a courting 
pair. I did not see females coming to calling males, though 
this has of course been recorded—at any rate for certain 
species. In the case of two males to one female,—and I 
think I saw one or two other apparent cases of it out of reach, 
though I can’t trust my memory sufficiently to say so definitely 
now—it seems obvious that at least one of the males must 
have come to the female. It is unlikely that one just happened 
to find two of them together, and with so many Cicadas 
congregated in a small space it is very possible that the males 
were finding the females—by other senses than sound. Un- 
luckily the whole ceremony was in an advanced stage when 
we got there, and we could not wait long. 
“This collecting together in great numbers for courtship 
is interesting. I have seen it on other occasions, and besides 
probably giving the males opportunity to find the females 
as well as to be found by them, it certainly lends colour to 
the view that there is competition for the females in the 
matter of song. It would be interesting to see instances in 
which a male was finally refused yet another male accepted- 
Unfortunately I was unable to see the courtship through in 
which a male, apparently rejected, tried again. But, seeing 
that the courtship takes so long, the male who has to charm 
long to make the required impression will probably pair with 
fewer females in his lifetime, even if he never gets finally 
PROC. ENT. SOC. LOND., v, 1921. E 
