THE CICADA'S LAST SONG 
255 
brim in the spring a full-fledged hornet, with its 
mouth watering at the thought of cicadas. 
What a strange wonder-working medicine is 
this which the hornet carries in its laboratory ! 
In the guise of death it yet prolongs life indefi- 
nitely. The ordinary existence of the cicada, for 
instance, is but a few weeks at most, and yet it is 
claimed by Mr. Riley that if for any reason the 
egg of the wasp should fail to hatch, the paralyzed 
cicada will remain in its condition of suspended 
animation for a year, and presumably longer. 
Here is a suggestion for the materia medica 
