Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/485

 CRICKET 481 remains concealed during the day, coming forth at night in search of bread, meal, and almost any article of domestic economy which con- tains moisture ; it is said also to devour other insects. The female has a long ovipositor, and the male makes a loud noise or chirp by rub- bing the hard internal border of one wing cover against a horny ridge on the under surface of the other ; for this familiar sound the cricket has been immortalized in verse and prose, and its merry chirp is interwoven in some of the most cheering superstitions of England; its very presence in a house was deemed a sign of good luck, and its flying away a bad omen. It is a most indefatigable musician, commencing its tune. at twilight and keeping it up without intermission till daybreak ; its note is so agree- able to some that it is kept in cages by the fire- side as a pet songster, and Scaliger is said al- ways to have had a box of them singing on his table, though this last refers more particularly to the field cricket. This species (A. campes- 1. Wingless Cricket (Acheta vittata). 2. Field Cricket (A. ab- breviate). 3. House Cricket ^A. domestica). 4> A. maculata. tris, Fabr.) is larger than the preceding, of a blackish hue, with the base of the wing covers yellowish ; in July the female lays about 300 eggs, which are hatched in 15 days; the young have no wings, and feed on vegetable matters, changing their skins before winter ; they re- main torpid in winter, and become perfect in- sects in the following June. This species is spread over Europe, where it affords great sport to children, who hunt for it with an ant attached to a hair ; from the eagerness with which it comes out of its hole in the earth when any foreign body is presented to it, thus falling into the hands of its enemies, has arisen the expression prevalent in France, " silly as a cricket;" in England people say "merry as a cricket." Their holes are made at first horizon- tal and then vertical, and they retreat into them backward; they eat grass, seeds, and fruit, carrying them to their holes ; they are fond of drinking the dew on leaves and flowers, but are very careful to avoid wetting themselves in their journeys. The young live together in peace tinder stones and sticks, but when they have attained full size they are constantly fighting with each other; the field crickets are sometimes made use of in ridding a dwelling of house crickets, the larger instantly declaring war against the smaller species and driving them out. The boys in Germany are very fond of keeping crickets in boxes for the sake of their song, and for the purpose of making them fight ; what the game cock is to the Havanese, and the bulldog to the English, the cricket is to the youth of Germany ; according to the direc- tion in which they meet, they will butt like rams, kick like horses, or scratch like cats, never ceasing till one leaves the field or is disabled. There are several species of cricket in America, though there is no house cricket. Our common field species (A. abbreviata, Harris) is named from the shortness of its wings, which do not ex- tend beyond the wing covers ; it is about three fourths of an inch long, black with a brownish tinge at the base of the whig covers, and a pale line on each side most distinct in the female. Another species (A. nigra, Harris) is entirely black with very short wings, and measuring three fifths of an inch in length. Crickets are generally nocturnal and solitary, but some spe- cies are often seen in the daytime crawling along garden paths in great numbers. Our nocturnal crickets do not excite the same pleas- ant associations as the European species do; they do not enter houses unless by accident, and their monotonous notes, continued during the autumn nights, are to most persons dismal and sad. Where crickets are numerous, they injure vegetation, eating the tenderest parts of plants, destroying great numbers of melons, squashes, potatoes, &c. ; they devour other in- sects, and thus in a certain degree are of service. They may be destroyed by arsenic mixed in grated vegetables, or in bottles partly filled with fluid, into which they crowd to drink; cats are fond of them, playing with them like mice before eating them ; swine also devour them eagerly. There is here a third species (A. vittata, Harris, genus nemobius of Serville), destitute of wings, varying in color from rusty black to dusky brown, with black lines on the back and posterior thighs; it is about two fifths of an inch long, social in its habits, fre- quenting the meadows and roadsides in the daytime. There is another kind inhabiting shrubs, vines, and trees, concealing itself in the daytime among the leaves; these are very noisy, and if one gets into a chamber it will effectually prevent sleep ; the antennae and legs are very long and slender, and the piercer is only half as long as the body. They form the genus acanthus, and are called tree or climbing crickets; there are three species in the United States, of which the (E. niveus in- habits Massachusetts. The male is of 'a pale ivory color, with the upper side of the first joint of the antenna and between the eyes ochre yellow, and a minute black dot on the under side of the first and second joints of the