64S 



THE CICADA. 



HOxMOPTERA. 



In the next order are comprised some very grotesque iraseets, some 

 of which have been thought to belong to other orders, and a few not 

 being known to be insects at all until comparatively late years. They 

 have rounded bodies, not more than three joints in the tarsi, and their 

 wings are four in number, wholly membranous, the fore pair being 

 larger than the hinder, but not overlapping in repose. The mouth forms 

 a kind of tube, sometimes longer than the body, and often sufficiently 

 hard and stiff to pierce the skin. 



In this curious order are placed the Aphides, those little green insects 

 that swarm upon roses and other plants and are termed " blights " by 

 gardeners, who employ that term in a strangely wide sense; the Cicadse, 

 with their beautiful membranous wings, their large heads, and their 

 loud voices ; the tribe of Hoppers, of which the Cuckoo-spit Insect — 

 known in its perfect state under the name of Frog-hopper — and the 

 beautiful Scarlet Hopper are familiar British examples ; 

 the wonderful Lantern-flies, also leapers, which are found 

 only in hot climates ; the Wax Insects of China ; ^nd, 

 lastly, the Scale Insects, or Coccidse, from which the 

 " lac " so important in commerce is obtained. 



The Cicadte have three joints to their feet, these mem- 

 bers affijrding useful characteristics in settling the precise 

 position of the various species. They are very large in- 

 sects, sometimes measuring more than six inches between 

 the tips of the expanded wings. Their mouth or beak is 

 three-jointed and very long, being tucked under the body 

 when not required. The females are furnished with a cu- 

 The Cicada rious apparatus by which they are enabled to cut grooves 

 \hUat^ ^^^' ^° ^^^ branches of trees for the purpose of depositing 



their eggs therein. 

 The male Cicada has the power of producing a shrill and ear-pier- 

 cing sound, so loud in many species that it can be heard at a consider- 

 able distance and becomes a positive annoyance, like the same tune 

 played for several hours without intermission. The organ by which 

 the sound is produced is internal, but its position may be seen exter- 

 nally by looking at the under side of the body, just behind the last 

 pair of legs, where a pair of horny plates may be seen. These plates 

 are the protecting covers of the sound-producing apparatus, which con- 

 sists of two drum-like membranes and a set of powerful muscles. The 

 color of the perfect insect is mostly of a yellowish cast, and the wings 

 are firm, shining, and membranous, somewhat resembling those of the 

 dragon-fly in texture, but having larger cells or spaces between the 

 nervures. 



