io6 



THE INSECT WORLD. 



male sings while she is at work. When the cell is sufficiently deep 



and properly prepared, the 

 female lays at the bottom of 

 it from five to eight eggs. 



From these eggs come very 

 small white grubs (Fig. 81), 

 which leave their nest, descend 

 by the trunk, and bury them- 

 selves in the ground, where 

 they devour the roots of the 

 tree. They then become pupae, 

 and hollowing out the earth 

 with their front legs, which 

 are very much developed, con- 

 tinue to live at the expense 

 of the roots. At the end of 

 spring these pupae (Fig. 82) 

 come out of the earth, hook 

 themselves on to the trunks of 

 trees, and strip themselves one 

 fine evening of their skin, 

 which remains whole and dried 

 Very weak at first, these meta- 

 morphosed insects drag them- 

 selves along with difficulty. 

 But next day, warmed by the 

 first rays of the sun, having 

 had, no doubt, time to reflect 

 on their new social position, 

 and less astonished than they 

 were on the preceding evening, 

 they agitate their wings, they 

 fly, and the males send forth into the air the first notes of their 

 screeching concert. The Cicadas remain on trees, whose sap they 

 suck by means of their sharp-pointed beak. It is difficult enough 

 to catch them, for owing to their large, highly-developed wings, 

 they fly rapidly away on the slightest noise. 



They inhabit the south of Europe, the whole of Africa from north 

 to south, America in the same latitudes as Europe, the whole of the 

 centre and south of Asia, New Holland, and the islands of Oceania. 

 The Cicada, which in hot climates always exposes itself to the ardour 

 of the most scorching sun, is not found in temperate or cold regions. 



Fig. 80. Female Cicada laying her eggs in the 

 groove she has bored in the branch of a tree. 



