376 Handbook of Nature-Study 



observe them at recess, and ask for the following observations. In 

 studying the cricket closely, it may be well to put one in a vial and pass 

 it around. In observing the crickets eat, it is well to give them a 

 piece of sweet apple or melon rind, as they are very fond of pulpy fruits. 

 Observations — i. Is the covering of the cricket shining, like black 

 patent leather, or is it dull? What portions are dull? Of what use 

 do you think it is to the cricket to be so smoothly polished ? 



2. Where did you find the crickets? When you tried to catch 

 them, how did they act? Did they fly like grasshoppers or did they 

 run and leap? 



3. Look carefully at the cricket's legs. Which is the largest of the 

 three pairs? Of what use are these strong legs? Look carefully at 

 the tibia of the hind leg. Can you see the strong spines at the end, 

 just behind the foot or tarsus? Watch the cricket jump and see if 

 you can discover the use of these spines. How many joints in the 

 tarsus? Has the cricket a pad like the grasshopper's between its claws? 

 When the cricket walks or jumps does it walk on all the tarsus of each 

 pair of legs? 



4. Study the cricket's head. Can you see the eyes? Describe the 

 antenna — their color, length, and the way they are used. Watch the 

 cricket clean its antenme and describe the process. Can you see the little 

 feelers, or palpi, connected with the mouth? How many are there? 

 How does it use these feelers in tasting food before it eats? Watch the 

 cricket eat, and see whether you can tell whether its mouth is made for 

 biting or sucking. 



5. Study the wings. Are the wings of the mother cricket the same 

 size and shape as those of her mate? How do they differ? Does the 

 cricket have any wings under these front wings, as the grasshopper does? 

 Note the cricket when he is playing his wing mandolin to attract his 

 mate. How does he make the noise? Can you see the wings vibrate? 

 Ask your teacher to show you a picture of the musical wings of the 

 cricket, or to show you the wings themselves under the microscope, so 

 that you may see how the music is made. 



6. Why does the mother cricket need such a long ovipositor? Where 

 does she put her eggs in the fall to keep them safe until spring? 



7. Look in the tibia, or elbow, of the front leg for a little white spot. 

 What do you suppose this is? Are there any white spots like it on the 

 other legs? Ask your teacher to tell you what this is. 



8. Can you find the homes of the crickets in the fields? Do the black 

 crickets chirp in the day-time or after dark? Do they chirp in cold or 

 windy weather, or only when the sun shines? 



Supplementary Reading — Grasshopper Land, Morley, Chapter XTX. 



CRICKET SONG. 



Welcome with thy clicking, cricket! No annoy, good-humored cricket, 



Clicking songs of sober mirth; With thy trills is ever blent ; 



Autumn, stripping field and thicket. Spleen of mine, how dost thou trick it 



Brings thee to my hearth. To a calm content ? 



Where thy clicking shrills and quickens, So, by thicket, hearth, or wicket, 



While the mist of twilight thickens. Click thy little lifetime, cricket ! 



*********** Bayard Taylor. 



