305 



iiig the Wabash valley about three miles southwest of Lafayette. Col- 

 lecting was done only along the right of way of the Wabash Railroad. 

 This locality was visited only once, and that on October 12, when many 

 species had died out or become very scarce. Only five species were noted, 

 four of which were common in the waste lots adjoiniug the railroad. Tbey 

 were Melanoplus femur-rubrum, Eiwop l olophus sordidus, Dissosteira Car- 

 olina and Melanoplus atlanis, the last-named being the least frequent. 

 The only other species observed on this trip was a male Scliistocerca amer- 

 icana which was found in a local growth of Andropogon furcatus. 



14. This was a very interesting undrained depression of considerable 

 size situated in an open field on the upland about two miles nortbwest of 

 West Lafayette. The substratum in the depression was a dark muck. At 

 tbe time of my visit. October 13-14. it was quite dry and crisp at the sur- 

 face, but within a fraction of an inch below was still quite moist and 

 sticky. The centre of the swamp was nearly devoid of vegetation ; doubt- 

 less in times of normal rainfall it is submerged. Surrounding this is a 

 wide fringe of reedy vegetation formed of cat-tails. Typha lati folia and a 

 tall species of rush, which was similar in general aspect to Juncus effusus, 

 though owing to the lateness of the season I was unable to certainly iden- 

 tify it. Intermixed with both of these was a luxuriant growth of rice cut- 

 grass, Homalocenchrus oryzoides: Surrounding these again was an outer 

 thicket of tall herbaceous plants, such as asters, goldenrods, iron- weeds, 

 sunflowers and their associates. 



The Orthoptera of this' swamp were unlike any found elsewhere in the 

 extreme abundance of two Tettigoniids, a peculiar colox*-phase of Orchcli- 

 mum nigripes and Conocephalus aitenuatus, both of which simply swarmed 

 throughout the Typha-Homalocenchrus areas although they largely avoided 

 tbe rush and were entirely lacking in the herbaceous marginal thicket. The 

 large numbers of Conocephalus attenuation in this place was surprising, for, 

 although it has been known for a long time to be native to the state, I had, 

 previous to my discovery of this marsh, been able to procure only a single 

 example in the region about Lafayette and was accordingly inclined to 

 look upon it as a very rare species in this particular part of the State. 



Other species associated with the two species just mentioned in the cut- 

 grass-cat-tail formation were Conocephalus mgropleurum, Conocephalus 

 ■saltans and a small OrcheUmum which Mr. Rehn has assigned to 0. agile. 

 All of tbese were quite scarce at the time I examined the place, only a 



•20— 406G 



