200 EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



THE PERIODICAL CICADA IN 

 MASSACHUSETTS. 



BY C. W. HOOKER. 



The old order of cicadEe includes some five hundred members, 

 and of these North America has her full share, more than one 

 hundred being represented. Four species are commonly found 

 in Massachusetts: Cicada septendecim L., the periodical cicada, 

 or seventeen-year locust; Cicada canicularis Harr., the dogday 

 harvest fly; Cicada sayi and Cicada linnei. Recent investiga- 

 tion by Smith and Grossbeck has shown that what have been 

 called Cicada yruinosa Say and Cicada tihicen L. are really 

 two altogether different sj)ecies, which they have named Cicada 

 sayi and Cicada linnei. Two others, Cicada rimosa Say and 

 Cicada (TeUigia) hieroglyphica Say, also occur in Massachu- 

 setts, but are not common. Cicada septendecim L, comes every 

 seventeen years about the first of June, while the rest are seen 

 every year. Cicada canicularis coming with the beginning of 

 dogdays, Cicada linnei a little later and Cicada sayi in August. 



The periodical cicada — Cicada septendecim L. — is pecul- 

 iarly colored and may be easily recognized. The eyes, legs and 

 larger veins of the wings are of a peculiar reddish-yellow or 

 orange color, the abdomen is marked with bands of the same 

 color, and the rest of the body is jet black. The other cicadas 

 of Massachusetts have in common a general greenish-brown color 

 above and whitish below, but can be readily distinguished by 

 the descriptions of Smith and Grossbeck in " Entomological 

 News" (April, 190Y, pp. 116-129). 



The periodical cicada is known to occur quite generally 

 through all that part of the United States east of the Rocky 

 Mountains. None have been taken in Maine or New Hamp- 

 shire, and only two occurrences are recorded in Vermont. There 

 is a specimen, however, in the collection of the Massachusetts 



