BY WALTER W. FROGGATT. 527 



Croydon were calling upon the 14th of March, but a single one 

 was recorded from Rose Bay on the 29th of the same month. 



In "Insect Life," [Vol. iv. (1892), p. 248], Riley gives an 

 account of the "digger wasp," Sphecius speciosus, which stores its 

 nest with one of the common American Cicadas. As I had heard 

 that wasps had been seen killing Cicadas here, I kept a look out for 

 them. During the height of the " locust season " I frequently 

 saw the large yellow sand wasp, Priocnemus hicolor, Smith, 

 hunting over the stems of the trees frequented by the Cicadas, 

 which generally flew away with a great clatter without my being 

 able to see what had happened. Eventually I saw the whole 

 business; a hornet flew up, caught by the leg a Cicada engaged in 

 sucking up sap, and shook it until it withdrew its style and flew 

 away. The hornet then stood over the spot and eagerly sipped 

 up the sap as it exuded from the puncture made by the Cicada's 

 style. I afterwards saw the same performance on several occa- 

 sions, the hornet apparently never hurting the Cicada. 



As a general rule the Cicadas prefer the trunks and stout 

 branches to the young twigs and foHage, for with their long and 

 powerful sucking mouth they can perforate the bark and obtain 

 a plentiful supply of nourishment where the flow of sap is most 

 abundant. 



Several accounts have been recently published about the curious 

 miniature cities built by the pup?e of some of the American 

 Cicadas. The pup^e (for some reason as yet unsatisfactorily 

 explained) come up to the surface before they are ready to emerge, 

 and form a hollow dome of clay of from two to four inches in 

 height above their tubular shaft about a foot in depth; to the 

 bottom of this they again retreat, after adding this superstructure, 

 until they are ready to cast their pupal garments. 



Very little is known about the habits of tlie larva? and pupae of 

 any of our species, most of them coming straight up from a con- 

 siderable distance below the surface when ready to emerge; but I 

 have upon several occasions found a single pupa under stones; 

 such were always enclosed in a stout clay cell at the base of 

 which was a small reservoir of water. 



