The Cricket: the Pairing 



Even when free to escape from his 

 pugnacious mate, the superannuated Cricket 

 soon perishes, a victim to hfe. In June, 

 all my captives succumb, some dying a 

 natural, others a violent death. The mothers 

 survive for some time in the midst of their 

 newly-hatched family. But things happen 

 differently when the males have the advan- 

 tage of remaining bachelors : they then enjoy 

 a remarkable longevity. Let me relate the 

 facts. 



We are told that the music-loving Greeks 

 used to keep Cicadae in cages, the better to 

 enjoy their singing. I venture to disbelieve 

 the whole story. In the first place, the harsh 

 clicking of the Cicadae, when long continued 

 at close quarters, is a torture to ears that 

 are at all delicate. The Greeks' sense of 

 hearing was too well-disciplined to take 

 pleasure in such raucous sounds away from 

 the general concert of the fields, which is 

 heard at a distance. 



In the second place, it is absolutely im- 

 possible to bring up Cicadae in captivity, un- 

 less we cover over an olive-tree or a plane- 

 tree, which would supply us with a vivarium 

 very difficult to instal on a window-sill. A 

 single day spent in a cramped enclosure 



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