THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 227 



extinction of the native forests will have much to do with this, but their 

 natural enemies, especially the English sparrow, are having a much more 

 fatal effect. 



In 1885, in Indiana, I first saw the English sparrow come in contact 

 with the Periodical Cicada. In the city of Lafayette the insect appeared 

 in considerable abundance, and for a few days there was no lack of the 

 well-known notes of the male, but suddenly there was a decided falling 

 off, and by listening carefully one would occasionally detect a note 

 suddenly cut short at its very height, and close watching revealed the fact 

 that the sparrows had come to recognize the note as well as the form of 

 the musician, and as a result, within a few days, though there were myriads 

 in the woods, not a single one could be found in the city, the abundance 

 of wings upon the pavements showing too well the tragedies that had been 

 enacted there. 



With these observations in mind, I watched for the coming of brood 

 XV. in Ohio with considerable interest. On the morning of May 28th a 

 full complement of wings was found on the pavement under a shade tree, 

 and during the following days these detached wings became more 

 numerous, but not a Cicada note was heard. Going out into the residential 

 portion of the town at dusk, I would observe pupae emerging from the 

 lawns and making their way to the shade trees across the pavement 

 bordering the street, but not one could be found the next morning, though 

 the pavement was littered with detached wings. While back in the woods 

 a half mile away there were great numbers of them, creating almost a 

 continual din during the day ; in town during the whole season I only 

 saw a single living adult and heard not a single note. 



In southern Ohio I one day watched the Cicadas attempting to make 

 their way across a clearing, from a bit of woods to an orchard situated 

 some distance away and below the woods, which was on a bluff. The 

 afternoon sun shone directly across the clearing, thus enabling me to 

 witness every attempt of the insects to fly from woods to orchard. The 

 sparrows were in the latter, and the moment a Cicada appeared its silvery 

 wings would glisten in the sunlight for a few moments, when a sparrow or 

 sometimes two of them would make a dash for it, and if the prey was 

 missed, as was sometimes the case, the bird would turn suddenly and try 

 again, generally with better success. I watched the actions of birds and 

 insects for a couple of hours, but did not see a single Cicada cross the 

 clearing. Though there were numbers of Pieris rapic and some other 



