《詩經‧螽斯》篇所詠昆蟲究為何物，不僅歷來各家詮釋不一，尚且引發「螽、螽斯」「螽斯、斯螽」是否為一物的爭議。故此，本文先董理前人說法，按照訓詁舊法疏解「斯」字詞性的判讀，並續以昆蟲學的知識與角度，來檢視各家對此昆蟲物種的指稱、「強醜捋」一詞的詮解、「股鳴」觀察的說明，本文並平議《陸疏》因版本差異，所導致的各項疑義。已見歷代注家對「螽斯」之詮解雖多有歧異，不過對原詩描述「螽斯」所用三形容詞「詵詵、薨薨、揖揖」之釋義相同，不脫「眾多、聚集、飛翔振翼」三種詞義。據此可推得《詩經．螽斯》所描述的「螽斯」，應屬於昆蟲學的「蝗蟲類」，或為具有集群飛行遷移習性，嚴重為害農作物的飛蝗，而不是分散棲居、對禾稼不甚為害的昆蟲學「螽斯類」。

There has been dispute over the identity of the insect used in the “Zhongsi Poem” from the Book of Odes. Even the words “zhong, zhongsi and sizhong” were used to refer to different insects by different authors. References were cited in discussing the semantic argument over the word “si”. The views of different authors in identifying this insect, the mistake of citing leg-grooming, the error in assuming the sound producing mechanism, and the significance of variations in the contents of different versions of the Annotations by Lu Ji were analyzed from the entomological point of view. However, despite these analyses, it is still not possible to draw a conclusion as to the identity of this insect from such diverse opinions and brief descriptions. Yet these authors were in agreement about the interpretations of the set of three adjectives the poet used to describe this insect. Based on their consensus that this insect was numerous, gregarious and on the wing, it was concluded that this insect belongs to the suborder Caelifera (grasshoppers and locusts) and not in the suborder Ensifera (crickets and katydids). This insect (zhongsi) is very likely a migratory locust that usually causes devastating damage to the crops. Insects in the suborder Ensifera are generally fewer in number, non-gregarious and less destructive.