INSECT MUSICIANS SNODGRASS 



417 



with the "ears" of the grasshopper. No one can state positively that 

 any of these organs are ears, the principal reasoning in favor of 

 their auditory nature being " if they are not ears, what are they ? " 



THE ROUND-HEADED KATYDIDS 



The members of this first group of the katydid family are char- 

 acterized by having large wings and a smooth round forehead. They 

 compose the subfamily Phaneropterinse, which includes species that 

 attain the acme of grace, elegance, and refinement to be found in 

 the entire Orthopteran order. Nearly all of the round-headed katy- 

 dids are musical to some degree, but their productions are not of a 



Fig. 7.- 



-A biisli katydid (Sotidderia furcata). Upper figure a male; lower a female in 

 act of cleaning a hind foot 



high order. On the other hand, though their notes are in a high 

 key, they are usually not loud and not of the kind that keep you 

 awake at night. 



Amongst this group are the bush katydids, species of medium size 

 with slenderer wings than the others, comprised in the genus usually 

 known as Scudderia but also called Phaneroptera. They have ac- 

 quired the name of bush katydids because they are usually found 

 on low shrubbery, particularly along the edges of moist meadows, 

 though they inhabit other places too and their notes are often heard 

 at night about the house. Our commonest species, and one that 

 occurs over most of the United States, is the fork-tailed bush katydid 

 (Scudderia furcata). Figure 7 shows a male and a female, the 

 female in the act of cleaning the pads on one of her hind feet. 



