48 APPLE TWIGS, LOCUST PERSONS STUNG BY IT. 



margined with smoky. The two outer anastamosing veinlets of the fore wings 

 are black, with only a slender orange line along their middle, and are margined 

 Avith smoky, forming a W-shaped mark, which superstition to this day, con- 

 tinues to a slight extent, to regard as portending " war." The small opake 

 orange basal cell is black on its inner side, and the elevated vein running from 

 the outer side of this cell to the base of the wing is also deep black, with a large 

 black spot behind and a small one before its basal extremity, as seen when the 

 wings are spread. The folded inner part of the hind wings is margined with 

 smoky, and on its apical side with black. 



Characters drawn from the veins of the wings, by which to discriminate the 

 species, would appear from this insect to be of little value. Thus, the first, or 

 outermost veinlet, or cross-vein as it is termed by Mr. Walker, is separated 

 from the second veinlet about the distance of its length in the male, but often 

 by double this distance in the female. The second veinlet is slightly curved 

 in the male, whilst in the female it is straight, with a slight curve towards its 

 inner end, and in one specimen before me it is abruptly bent, forming an angle 

 of less than 135 degrees. It is of the same length with the first veinlet com- 

 monly, but is sometimes much longer. 



It would be interesting to carefully study over a large collec- 

 tion of specimens of the seventeen-year locust, belonging to sepa- 

 rate broods of this insect, and gathered from different localities, to 

 ascertain if some marks cannot be detected by which the individu- 

 als belonging to each brood can be discriminated from the others. 



When newly hatched from the pupa, the locust is soft, heavy, 

 and sluggish in its motions. At this time, as I am informed by 

 Mr. Kennicott, it is preyed upon by our large species of dragon- 

 flies or darning-needles {Libellulidce)^ which seize and devour 

 numbers of them. 



Mr. W. S. Robertson informs me, that the Indians make the 

 different species of cicada an article of diet, every year gathering 

 quantities of them, and preparing them for the table by roasting 

 them in a hot oven, stirring them until they are well browned. 



Accounts of persons having been stung by the seventeen-year 

 locust, and dying in consequence of the wound, are current in 

 different sections of our country, every time this insect makes its 

 appearance. The past summer, a newspaper article gave the 

 name, residence, and particulars of the death of a young lady in 

 Illinois, who was thus stung, stating the attending circumstances 

 so definitely as to leave no doubt that the story was authentic. 

 And it is possible that the sharp beak of this insect, or the ovi- 

 positor of the female, may inflict a puncture so extremely painful 



