MUSIC-MAKING INSECTS. 313 



sap with are physically iucapahle of eating anything 

 at all. 



"The two kinds of insects do not even belong to 

 the same order, or to the same grand group of orders. 

 The former are "Suckers" {Haudellata) ; the latter 

 are " Biters " {MandihuJata). The former belong to the 

 order Homoptera, the latter to the order Orthoptera. 

 The former have their front wings glassy and trans- 

 parent ; the latter have them more or less leathery and 

 opaque. The former have a mere apology for antenna?, 

 which the general observer would entirely overlook ; 

 the latter have quite conspicuous and rather long 

 antennae. In short, what people call "locusts" in 

 America are called "Cicadas," or " Harvest-flies," iu 

 Europe ; and what in the Old AVorld are known as 

 "locusts" are called " grasshoppers" in the United 

 States. This popular error has been the cause of 

 much confusion, and is greatly to be regretted ; but 

 one almost despairs of correcting the absurd blunder, 

 at least in this generation. 



" We have three or four species of Cicada in our coun- 

 try ; two of these appear annually : a small spring 

 Cicada {Cicada riino.m)., which begins to be heard a 

 little before the middle of June ; and the large autum- 

 nal species {Cicada pnmiosa)., which is probably the 

 best known of all. Then we have two periodical species : 

 that remarkable and famous insect tlie so-called seven- 

 teen-year locust {Cicada septemdecim)., and its close 

 ally, the thirteen-year Cicada {Cicada tredecim). Few 

 animals have so remarkable a history as the two last 



