i8 



coming guests and the hermits of Thibet may not seem very 

 close at first sight ; but wait and see. 



The reason why these New York counties expect company 

 this year is that they entertained a large number of similar 

 guests in 1882, 1865, 1848, 1831, 1814, in 1797, and probably at 

 intervals of 17 years long before that ; however, in 1797 is tlie 

 first record ever made of the appearance of these visitors. 

 Every time they came they probably outstayed their welcome ; 

 yet they had the good quality of allowing their hosts sixteen 

 years of rest between visits. 



In order that the Junior Naturalist may recognize these vis- 

 itors I will describe their methods of arrival. Sometime during 

 the latter part of May or in early June you may hear a great 

 buzzing in some trees as if there were a thousand liliputian buzz 

 saws going at once. If 3'ou examine the trees you will find on 

 them many queer looking insects, with black bodies about an 

 inch long, covered with transparent wings folded like a roof. 

 Naturally you wall wonder how such great numbers of large 

 insects could appear one day when they were nowhere to be seen 

 the day before. But if you look at the ground beneath the tree 

 you will find in it many small holes. You will also find clinging 

 to the tree many whitish objects which at first sight seem like 

 pale, wingless insects ; but which on closer examination prove 

 to be merely the cast skins of insects (Fig. 11). These are the 

 cowls and robes which oiir little American hermits cast off after 

 they come out of their underground cells, and which they must 

 shed before they can free their wings. Our little American her- 

 mits we call the Seventeen-Year Locusts. How^ever, this name 

 is a most confusing one, since we also call our grasshoppers 

 locusts, and to them the name truly belongs. These Seventeen- 

 Year Locusts are really Cicadas ; and the}^ belong to a different 

 Order from the locusts. The real locusts have mouth-parts 

 formed for biting, while the Cicadas have mouth-parts grown 

 together in the form of a tube through which they suck juices 

 of plants. So we hope the Junior Naturalists will call our little 

 hermits by their right name, Cicadas ; and will not permit them 

 to be spoken of as locusts. 



In order that you may know the mysterious lives of these 



