20 



WAYS OF THE SIX-FOOTED 



Fig. 8. Musical Instrument 

 of the Katydid. 



that suggests curiosity rather than fear. Figure 7 is 

 a picture of our common katydid ; it shows the front 

 triangular portion of the wing, 

 which is the instrument with 

 which the katydid plays. Figure 8 

 shows the details of the triangular 

 bases of the upper wings from be- 

 neath ; I is the left wing triangle 

 and r is that of the right wing ; 

 the left triangle bears the file (/) and the right 

 triangle bears the scraper (s) ; in the central portion of 

 each triangle is a translucent membrane (m), which is 

 set into vibration when the scraper is drawn across the 

 file and transmits the movement to the entire wing. 

 The file is so large that it can be seen plainly with the 

 naked eye. The song is so exactly like our own enun- 

 ciation of the words " Katy did, Katy did, she did," 

 that the singer seems almost uncanny, 

 and attracts universal attention wherever 

 he abounds. 



Of the insect musicians the cricket is 

 easily the most popular. Long associated 

 with man, as a companion of the hearth 

 and the field, his song touches ever the 

 chords of human experience. Although we, in America, 

 do not have the house-cricket which English poets 



Fig. 9. Ear of 

 Katydid. 



