REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 2i5iJ 



has had an opportunity of feeding upon tliis particular brood of Cicada 

 sejjtcnflecim, and so ravenously and persistently does this bird pursue 

 its food that the jrround is strewn with the wings of the unfortunate 

 Cicada wherever these have been at all numerous; so that, considering^ 

 tlie numbers of the sparrow and their voracity, very few of the Cica(hi 

 will be left long enough to procreate and perpetuate the species in thi.^ 

 District." 



THE SONG NOTES OF THE PERIODICAL CICADA. 



The following remarks upon this subject were communicated to Science^ 

 and are reproduced from its issue of September 25, 1885. 



" There are few more interesting subjects of study than the notes of 

 insects and the diHerent mechanisms by which they are produced. 

 They interest every observant entomologist, and it is diflicult to re- 

 cord them in musical symbols that can be reproduced on musical in- 

 struments, some of the more successful and interesting attempts in this 

 direction having been made by Mr. S. H. Scudder. I have studied 

 closely the notes of a number of species, and Lave i)ublished some of 

 the obser^'atious.* 



"In the notes of the true stridulators more particularly, as the com- 

 mon tree crickets and katydids, I have been impressed with the varia- 

 tions both in the pitch and in the character of the note, dependent on 

 the age of the specimen and the condition of the atmosphere, whether 

 as to moisture, density, or temperature : yet, with similarity in these 

 conditions, the note of the same si)ecies will be constant and easily rec- 

 ognizable. 



"A few remarks upon Cicada scpiendecim will doubtless prove of inter- 

 est now that the species has been occupying so much attention. I do 

 not find that the notes have been anywhere very carefully described in 

 detail, nor would I pretend to put them to musical scale. Writing 

 seventeen years ago, I described the notes in a general way, as follows : 



" ' The general noise, on approaching the infested woods, is a compro- 

 mise between that of a distant threshiugniachiue and a distant frog- 

 pond. That which they make when disturbed mimics a nest of young- 

 snakes or young birds under similar circumstances, a sort of scream. 

 They can also produce a chirj) somewhat like that of a cricket, and a 

 very loud, shrill screech, prolonged for fifteen or twenty seconds, and 

 gradually increasing in force, and then decreasing.' t 



" There are three i)revalent notes, which, in their blending, go to make 

 the general noise as described above. These are: 



" First. That ordinarily known as the phar-r-r-r-aoh note. This is the 

 note most often heard during the early maturity of the male, and es- 

 pecially from isolated males or from limited numbers. It is variable in 

 pitch and volume, according to the conditions just mentioned as gen- 

 erally affecting insect melodists. Its duration averages from two to 

 three seconds; and the aoh termination is a rather mournful lowering 

 of the general pitch, and is also somewhat variable in pitch, distinct- 

 ness, and duration. In a very clear atmosphere, and at certain distances, 

 an individual note has often recalled that made at a distance by iho 

 whistling of a rapid train passing under a short tunnel. But when heard 

 in suificient proximity, the rolling nature of the note will undoubtedly 

 remind most persons more of the croaking of certain frogs than anything 

 else. I have heard it so soft and low, and so void of the aoh termina- 



" Third Eep. Ins. Mo., 14, 153, 154 ; 4tli do., 139; 6th do., 150-169. 

 t First Kep. Ins. Mo., 24. 



