47 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Dec., '08 



I remember as terrorizing the exemplars of the simple life, 

 was the "devil's darning needle," "snake feeder or snake doc- 

 tor," as it is called hereabouts. We are all familiar with the 

 story that this singular insect is capable of sewing one's ears 

 up, for what purpose has never been divulged, which leaves 

 us to assume that it was for "pure deviltry." Of course, no 

 credence is placed in this absurd story at the present day by 

 "grown nps," but the children in some parts of the country 

 still cling to the fallacy. 



One of the peculiar local myths with which we were fa- 

 miliar in boyhood, was that of the wooden horse, a local name 

 for the walking stick insects. Its bite was said to be peculiarly 

 fatal, one could not expect to live long enough to murmur even 

 a short prayer if bitten by one of these creatures; you simply 

 turned up your toes and died instanter. It is inconceivable 

 that this sluggish, fragile creature could ever harm a human 

 being, as it is incapable of biting anything but leaves, which 

 form its ordinary food. 



Another fallacy more widespread and popular than the last 

 is the one regarding the ability of the 17 year Cicada to in- 

 flict a poisonous bite. This fable will not down. In this re- 

 spect it reminds us of the old line in our copy book, "Truth 

 crushed to earth shall rise again." It is counterfeit, however, 

 and there is not a particle of truth in the yarn. There existed 

 for some years a spirited discussion among entomologists, as 

 to whether or not the cicada ever made any use whatever of 

 its formidable beak, but the question was at last settled by 

 Prof. Quaintance of Washington, who discovered a cicada in 

 the act of feeding, with its beak in the sap wood of a tree. 

 He killed it in situ and making a section thereof, proved with 

 the help of a microscope, the facts above mentioned. 



It seems strange to me that in spite of the tendency of the 

 people at large to attribute poisonous qualities to harmless in- 

 sects, of many kinds, there should exist in considerable numbers 

 in practically all parts of the country, insects that are capable of 

 inflicting painful bites, but of which one seldom hears except 

 through scientific publications. I refer especially to the Hem- 



