MEADOW SINGERS. 



93 



mens the head and its vicinity are whitish, with three 

 distinct gray -brown or dark-brown stripes. The song 

 of (E. fasciatus is shrill and rapid ; it is varied in 

 length, lasting from two or three seconds to one or 

 two minutes without interruption. During the per- 

 formance the wings of tree crickets are raised to a 

 perpendicular position and vibrate so rapidly that the 

 motion is not discernible. The notes of (E. fasciatus 

 occur at the rate of from twelve to sixteen a second, 



thus : 



- J * 92 about- 12 notes persecond.^ 



These marvelous little musicians with the glassy 

 wings can outdo the swiftest " presto " of the piano 

 virtuoso, by producing nearly one thousand notes per 

 minute ! The geographical range of (E. fasciatus is 

 the same as that of (E. niveus, from southern New 

 England to Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and southward.* 

 It is larger than (E. niveus and has the longest an- 

 tennae of all the species. 



(Ecanthus angustipennis is a narrow-winged spe- 

 cies, less common in the West than the species 

 already mentioned, and more at home in the broad 



* (E. fasciatus is reported as abundant along the roadsides of 

 Champaign Co., Illinois. 



