FIELD NOTES ON VIRGINIA ORTHOPTERA. By Henry Fox, Assistant Cereal and Forage Insect Investigations, U. S. Bureau of Entomology . INTRODUCTION. The notes here recorded cover the period between December, 1913, and the close of 1915. During this time the writer was officially stationed at the field laboratory of his division at Charlottesville, where during the season of 1914 an almost continuous record of the local Orthoptera was kept. At intervals of variable duration the writer was away on field work in other parts of the State, the more important trips being to Norfolk and to Monterey, approximately a month bemg spent at each place. In 1915 practically the entire season was spent at Tappahamiock. At all these places Orthoptera were studied as thoroughly as the time that could be spared for the purpose permitted. Fairly extensive collections were made at each of the localities mentioned. These along with smaller collections from a number of additional localities enable us to form at least a pre-limmary idea of the distribution of Orthoptera in relation to the different physiographic subdivisions of the State. These as usually given in standard geographic works are five in number. Beguining at the east is the Coastal Plain, locally laiown as "Tidewater Virginia." This is limited on the west by the "fall Ime," beyond which the Piedmont region extends to the Blue Ridge which forms the third provmce. Then follows the Shenandoah or Valley of Virginia, the most fertile province of the State. West of this comes the succession of bold ridges and elevated intermontane valleys constitutmg the Appalachian Mountain province. In central and southern Virginia each of these provinces pre-sents certain peculiarities of physiography which apparently mark-edly influence the character of the respective floras and faunas. The greatest contrast is shown between the mountain section along the western border and the lower lands to the east. In the mountain section, as exemplified in Highland and Bath counties, we have the long, roughly parallel ridges and intermontane valleys typical of Appalacliian comitry, with an elevation of from 1,500 to 4,500 feet. Proceedings U. S. National Museum, VoL. 52— No. 2176. 199
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