CICADAS. 381 



been suggested that the species thus noted occupies 

 about that time in the larval stage. 



The larva is suited for this underground life by 

 the smooth, rounded form, and by the presence of 

 a front pair of cutting and digging legs — strong 

 and broad, with pincer-like claws. (Plate 48, Figs. 

 1 and 2.) One can distinguish the older larva or 

 ^* nymph" by the presence of wing-pads. (Plate 48, 

 Fig. la.) An underground home of a cicada was 

 brought to us intact by a friend, who dug it out of 

 her garden. It consisted of a branched tunnel about 

 1^ ins. in diameter ; the walls were firm and hard, so 

 that there did not appear to be any danger of their 

 collapsing. Sometimes the nymph constructs a 

 chimney three or four inches above the ground 

 surface when about to emerge. As a rule, it 

 emerges at night or just about dusk, and crawls on 

 a fence or tree. Here it waits for some time, 

 till the emergence takes place. Children some- 

 times bring the nympli into the house at evening 

 and watch the adult come from the shell. We 

 observed the emergence of a large ''double- 

 drummer" one afternoon, and the sunlight reflected 

 by the soft wings made a most exquisite sight — a 

 play of opalescent colours. 



Not much damage is done by cicadas in the 

 process of sucking the juices of plants; but the 

 egg-laying process by the females is sometimes 

 a nuisance in orchards, where the young stems have 

 the bark punctured in hundreds of places. (Plate 

 48, Fig. 3.) Also these slits make a refuge for 

 other insect pests. 



