150 (IHItllH ilOMOPTKKA. 



Cicada hiu^kxpixim. 



Till" iuiilr« are ili!ttinKiii»hitl Troiu tlic foniuU-s dy tlir |io*M-s.<ii<m <•!' an a|>|>iiratti!t rt>r t)ie 

 jinMlurtloii or n rntlitr ^lulrI> luui ruttliiiR Miund, uhirh ituiy !*«• hranl untu the disUincr of 

 a miltv Thc« fi'mnlct art* <l«>titutr i>f this a|>|>nratuH, nml mny l* known from the ninlrt by 

 the ovIjKwItor iM'fon" alludc«l to. Tho inii.tiral or ioiundinR orgnn."* are hltimlcd on th«- »id»-« 

 uf the Insect, ju-t Uhlnd l\w wings. They ronti.it of |iltttte<i convex nienjl'mne*, of a 

 texture xotuewiint like tliin |>archni(-nt, und l<Mlge«l in snutll cavitiei in the .-idt-s . thcM- 

 meniltmnes emit their ixTuliur Nouiid l)y means of musch-s attaclu-tl to their iILHi<ie^, which 

 nerve alternately to Increa.si* and diniini.>>]i their tension wltli a rnpidity alnic«t Inconccl- 

 vahle, while other acces.sury memU'rs a.vii«t iii augmcoting the loudness uf tlie Ume thus 

 pruducetl by the vihratin^ niemhranes. 



Tho Cicada sefitcrndtcim is liluck ur du.sky : anterior margin of the wingcuvers, and 

 lar);er vein.-* «>r uervures orunge n-d ; eye*, rings >'( the lxj<ly, and legs of tlie ^ame color. 

 Ex|>aJLsioD of wings from '2 J - 3^ inches. The llgure ueivr the ti|> of the wing cover rt- 

 Mimltles the letter \V. 



The most interesting fact connected with the lustury uf the seventeen-yeur locust, i^ the 

 mode in which the 8]H'cie8 dei>uslts eggs and makes provision for itjs future i>n>geny. The 

 insect, in this climate, issues from the grountl about the ndddle of June. As 6<x>n as tlie 

 wings of the perlect in.<ect are in a condition for flying, it selects a tree fur the scene of Its 

 future o|ierations. The sexes |>air,and, smju after, the female |in-|>un-s to de]>osit her eggs. 

 She selects the extremity of a limb for this purjiose, and ajiplies the ovii)ositor, which \» 

 fltteti Utth for ix-rforating the branch, and for sjiwing it in such a way as to siparate and 

 detach the libres, which are afterwanis nwde to serve as a surrt)unding pn'ti-ction to the 

 eggs. The eggs are de|Miiiited along a line in which some ten or fifteen ix-rforations are 

 made, .some of which receive two eggs apiece. Soon after her lalxir is acc<>nipli.<'he<l, the 

 insect dies of exhau.stion. The limb or twig, which has receivetl its burthen, .«pee«llly 

 |H'rishes, and, Ix-ing nearly severe«l from its supi>orting bninch. falls to the ground, U-aring 

 with it the eggs ; or, if the twig lie not detachp<l. ihv eggs are hatched In place, and the 

 young fall or pn-cipitate thenwlves to the groiiml. Whether hatchwl alw'Ve or nj-'n the 

 gn>und, they s»f>n jx-iietnite the e.arth, descending among the tleein-r nx.ts, where they 

 attach thenis«lv«s ; and there they remain, extracting the juices of the roots by means of 

 tJie r*ucker with which they are provided. 



Miss Mar(;aretta H. Mouhis has the credit of having first observwl the fact that tho 

 larrtc of the cicatlidie were injurious to fruit trtM»s, by w-ounding the nw«ts with their 

 suckers, and drawing therefrom theirsiLvtenance.lt would seem that in cnnsorjuence of 

 these wounds, and the drainage of sap by the nume^lns individuals thus attached, the 

 niot In^oomes unhealthy, and inronij>etent to snpj'ly the tn-e with its rxpiisite am<>unt of 

 nutriment. I'nder .s<ime circumstances, then-fore, where a fruit-tree l>eoomes sickly without 

 an «|"|>arent ra»is«', a si-arch alniut the r-ots may disclose the fact o|>ser^eil by Mi^s Nf< rru ; 



