OCTOBER 83 



other kinds of beetle eoininoiily seen here, l)ut in 

 summer rather than in autumn, are the lightning- 

 bugs, the june-bugs, the ladybirds, the whirligigs, 

 and carrion beetles. Some kinds of bugs are still 

 lively, and small moths, little white and yellow 

 butterflies with an occasional monarch represent 

 the lepidoptera. A hawk-moth, a firefly, or a june- 

 bug would now be almost as much out of season as 

 a snowball or an apple blossom. In the little pools 

 of the borrowpits along the railroad half-grown 

 tadpoles hide under the weed roots, and gyratidse 

 dart about with many sudden changes of course. 

 Once in a while one of these impulsive creatures 

 when disturbed will shoot to the bottom of the 

 pool, plunge its head into the mud and wait there, 

 apparently in fear, like a child with its head under 

 the pillow in a thunderstorm. Grasshoppers and 

 locusts are numerous ; and the shrill voices of the 

 crickets rise on every side. With a little patience 

 one can approach very near a singing cricket and 

 watch his method of procedure. When your eyes 

 are less than a foot from his wing-fiddle, there is 

 something amusing in the way he lifts his upper 

 wings, making an acute angle like that of a house- 

 roof, and moves them out and over the edges of 

 the inner wings. There is something in the pro- 

 cess that suggests a rehearsal rather than a full 

 public performance.^^ 



Goldfinches, mainly in dark winter plumage, are 



15 See Appendix, Note 12. 



