Twelfth Report of the State Entomologist 289 



The English sparrow was observed to feed on them continuously in some 

 places, while in others the occurrence was rather rare. Dr. J. B. Smith 

 has recently stated: "This bird seems to have an intense hatred for the 

 insects, attacking and pulling them to pieces in the most wanton manner. 

 Near the large cities where the sparrows are numerous, entire broods 

 have already been destroyed." Other birds that may be named as feed- 

 ing on the Cicada are: the cuckoo, king-bird, oriole, sparrows, cat-birds, 

 thrushes and ground-bird. Even the common land turtle was tempted 

 to include the pupae in its brief bill-of-fare. 



The only insect enemies that were seen to attack the Cicadas were 

 species of ants. They probably did not often molest the living, but con- 

 tented themselves with preying on the dead or dying. ' 



The fungus, Massosponi cicaiiina, was found destroying the insect in 

 widely different localities. At New Windsor, N. Y., many old males 

 were found infested. The same conditon was reported at Nyack and at 

 Clermont; at the latter, it was thought that possibly a few females were 

 similarly affected. The infestation was also observed at Bay Chester 

 and Clarksville, N. Y. ; it was reported from New Jersey, in many 

 instances at Morristown, and in a few at New Brunswick. The 

 fungus was not found at New Haven, Conn. Failure to learn of 

 it in other localities, by no means implies its absence, but merely that it 

 was not seen. 



Preventives of Injury. 



It is practically impossible to prevent the Cicada from ovipositing in 

 the twigs of trees, unless they are small and their value would warrant 

 the expense of enclosing them with fine netting or light cloth so as to 

 exclude the insect during the egg-laying period. 



Since the greatest injury is done to young trees, much loss could be 

 avoided by refraining from setting out new stock for the two or three 

 years preceding the time for the appearance of a brood. This would be 

 of special importance in the vicinity of forests, or on land which had borne 

 a growth of trees at the previous advent of the insect that had suffered 

 from its attack. In such localities it would be well not to prune older 

 trees the spring before the appearance of the Cicada, unless the pruning 

 be made so severe, as to leave no slender tips to serve as an invitation 

 for the insect's oviposition. 

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