. Kote of Nemobius vittatus. though it were a French word. The note is trilled forcibly, and lasts a variable length of time, sometimes for several seconds; at others it is reduced to a short, sharp click.* I once observed one of these insects singing to its mate. At first the song was mild, and frequently broken; afterward it grew impetuous, forcible, and more prolonged; then it decreased in volume and extent till it became quite soft and feeble. At this time the male began to approach the female, uttering a series of twittering chirps; the female ran away, and the male, after a short chase,
. Kote of Nemobius vittatus. though it were a French word. The note is trilled forcibly, and lasts a variable length of time, sometimes for several seconds; at others it is reduced to a short, sharp click.* I once observed one of these insects singing to its mate. At first the song was mild, and frequently broken; afterward it grew impetuous, forcible, and more prolonged; then it decreased in volume and extent till it became quite soft and feeble. At this time the male began to approach the female, uttering a series of twittering chirps; the female ran away, and the male, after a short chase, returned to his old haunt, singing with the same vigor as before, but with more frequent pauses; at last, finding all persuasion unavailing, he brought his serenade to a close. The pauses of his song were almost instantly followed by a peculiar jerk of the body; it consisted of an impulsive movement backward, and then as suddenly forward, and was accompanied by a corresponding movement of the antennas together, and then apart. The female was near enough to be touched by the antennae of the male during the first movement, and usually started in a nearly similar way as soon as touched. The elytra of the male are held at an angle of about twenty degrees from the body during stridulation, and, perhaiDS, at a slightly greater angle from each other. Even when most violent, the sound is produced * It is necessary for me to describe the peculiar system of musical notation which I have adopted. Each bar represents a second of time, and is occupied by the equivalent of a semibreve; consequently a quarter note (^\ or a quarter rest (^) represents a quarter of a second ; a sixteenth note /'^\ or a sixteenth rest /'?J'\ a sixteenth of a second, etc. For convenience" sake, I have introduced a new form of rest ("^M or ^^), which indicates silence through the remainder of a measure.
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Keywords: ., bookauthorscudders, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookyear1874
