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CICADETTA MONTANA IN THE NEW FOKEST. 

 By G. T. Lyle, F.E.S. 



When writing " Further Notes on the British Cicada," 

 published in the * Entomologist ' vol. xliv. p. 332, I did not 

 anticipate having anj'thing more to say on this subject, but 

 since then my acquaintance with our Cicada has so greatly 

 improved that I am venturing to send a few more notes, which 

 I hope may not be without interest to some readers. 



Walking through the Forest on the morning of May 19th, 

 1912, I passed the spot where in previous years I have found 

 many nymph cases, but as the earliest date on which I had noted 

 the Cicada before was June 6th, I did not expect to see any sign 

 of it. What was my surprise, therefore, to at once discover 

 three nymphs and five empty cases. Two of the nymphs were 

 resting on dead stalks of dry bracken some few inches above the 

 ground, the third was crawling on the grass, but soon assumed 

 a similar position to the other two; this was at 11.30 a.m., a 

 bright sunny morning. All the nymphs and cases were within 

 a space some two yards square, so I sat down to observe. 



At 11.42 I noticed that the thorax was splitting in one case ; 

 the emergence was somewhat slow at first ; however, the imago 

 gradually worked its way out, at times giving a series of jerks, 

 until it was hanging head downwards with only the anal segments 

 within the case. At 11.59 the insect bent its body upwards, 

 evidently using considerable muscular effort in so doing, until 

 able to clasp the head of the nymph case with its legs. After 

 resting a few moments in this position the abdomen was drawn 

 clear at 12.3 p.m. In colour a pale green with a dark patch on 

 either side of the pronotum and the eyes dark, the newly emerged 

 imago was considerably lighter than the nymph, which was a 

 brownish green. The wings were, of course, immature and had 

 a bluish tint; expansion, however, was rapid, for at 12.12 they 

 were fully grown, though still limp, while at 12.26 they were 

 folded over the back. 



In the second nymph the thorax split at 12.5 p.m., the imago 

 had emerged by 12.25, and the wings were fully grown at 12.34 ; 

 the time taken in emerging being thus almost identical with that 

 occupied in the first case. 



While making these notes I was sorry to find that I had 

 accidentally placed my hand on a fourth emerging Cicada, 

 unfortunately injuring it so that, although it completed its 

 emergence, the wings were crippled. Of these four Cicadas 

 which I watched emerge, the first was a male, the second a 

 female, and the other two males. Of the five empty cases found 

 four had contained males and one a female. 



At 1.20 I was obliged to leave. None of the Cicadas had 



