ORTUOPTERA. II 3 



such that by rubbing the wing-covers together they are made 

 to vibrate, and thus produce the sound. Figure 126 repre- 

 sents a wing-cover of the male of a common meadow grass- 

 hopper, and Figure 127 that of a female of the same 

 species. 



In order to facilitate the study of this family the more 

 common representatives can be arranged in four groups : 

 The Meadow Grasshoppers, the Katydids, the Cricket-like 

 Grasshoppers, and the Shield-backed Grasshoppers. 



I. The Meadow Grasshoppers. 

 — Under this head can be classed 

 our most common members of 

 the family ; they abound upon 

 grass in meadows and in moist 

 places. Figure 128 represents one F,G ' ***-xW**™ 

 of these insects. 



II. The Katydids. — The chances are that he who lies 

 awake of a midsummer night must listen whether he wishes 

 to do so or not, to an oft-repeated, rasping song that says, 

 " Katy did, Katy did ; she did, she didn't," over and over 

 again. There is no use of wondering wha 4 " Katy did or 

 didn't do, for no mortal will ever know. If, when the dawn 

 comes, the listener has eyes sharp enough to discern one of 

 these singers among the leaves of some neighboring tree, 

 never a note of explanation will he get. The beautiful, finely- 

 veined wings folded close over the body keep the secret hid- 

 den, and the long antennae, looking like threads of living 

 silk, will wave airily above the droll, green eyes as much as to 

 say, " Wouldn't you like to know?" The katydids live only 

 on trees, and sing only during the night. There are several 

 species of katydids common in the United States. The 

 Western and Southern species, called the Angular-winged 

 Katydid, Microcentrum retinervis (Mic-ro-cen'trum ret-i'ner- 

 vis) lays its eggs in neat rows upon leaves and branches ; 

 the eggs are oval, and each overlaps its neighbor slightly 



9 



