320 ORTHOPTERA chap. 



of North America. There are several species of them — tlrey belong, 

 indeed, to more than one genus, — but it seems that sounds some- 

 what resembling the words Katy-did are perceptible in most of 

 their performances. These sounds are frequently repeated with 

 slight variations — Katy-did, -she-did, Katy-did-she-did. Eiley 

 describes the music of the Katydid we re]3resent in ITig. 19 6 as 

 follows : ^ " The first notes from this Katydid are heard about 

 the middle of July, and the species is in full song by the first 

 of August. The wing-covers are partially opened by a sudden 

 jerk, and the notes produced by the gradual closing of the same. 

 The song consists of a series of from twenty-five to thirty rasp- 

 ings, as of a stiff quill drawn across a coarse file. There are 

 about five of these raspings or trills per second, all alike, and 

 with equal intervals, except the last two or three, which, with 



^0^ 





\«a=» 



PiQ. 196. — Katydid, Microcentrum retinerxe. N. America. (After Riley.) 



the closing of the wing-covers, run into each other. The whole 

 strongly recalls the slow turning of a child's wooden rattle, ending 

 by a sudden jerk of the same ; and this prolonged rattling, which 

 is peculiar to the male, is invariably and instantly answered by 

 a single sharp ' chirp ' or ' tschiok ' from one or more females, 

 who produce the sound by a sudden upward jerk of the 

 wings." 



Pertinacity is one of the most curious features of the perform- 

 ance of musical Locustids. One would say they desire to distinguish 

 themselves as much as possible. Harris says that Cyrtophylhis 

 concavus mounts on the uppermost twigs of trees and there per- 

 forms its Katy-did-she-did in rivalry with others. He says even 

 the female in this species gives forth a feeble noise. Scudder 

 says that some of the Katydids sing both by day and night, but 

 their day song differs from that of the night. " On a summer's 

 day it is curious to observe these little creatures suddenly chano-, 



1 Ann. Bep. Insects Missouri, vi. 1874, p. 159. 



