THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR LOCUST 



1287 



for a full week. I could breed no Cicadas from branches 

 that were dead and on which the leaves were withered, 

 nor from those that from any cause had fallen to the 

 ground ; this was also the case "with Mr. Vincent Bernard, 

 of Kennet Square, Chester County, Pennsylvania. After 

 the precise time was known, fresh branches were obtained, 

 and then the young Cicadas were seen coming forth in 

 great numbers by half a dozen observers in this country. 

 As the fruitful eggs were at least a third larger than 

 they were when first deposited, I infer that they require 

 the moisture contained in living wood to preserve their 

 vitality. When the proper time arrives and the proper 

 conditions are preserved, they are easily bred, and indeed 

 I have seen them evolve on the palm of my hand. The 

 eyes of the young Cicadas are seen through the egg-skin 

 before it is broken." 



Some thirty-five years ago, the late Professor Charles 

 Valentine Riley, an entomologist of great distinction, 

 published an excellent cut, giving an upper view of a 

 seventeen-year cicada, with its wings spread; two views 

 of the pupa; a twig showing the position of the eggs, 

 and a larva. They were all the size of nature, and the 

 illustrations appeared later on in many kinds of publi- 

 cations ; but for some reason the figure of the larva was 

 omitted — perhaps for the reason that it was not quite 

 accurate. 



The writer believes it was Professor Riley who first 

 discovered that there was in the South a thirteen-year 

 cicada ; he always believed that the seventeen-year broods 

 were northern and the thirteen-year ones southern — the 

 dividing line being at the thirty-eighth degree of latitude, 

 approximately, overlaps taking place at certain points. 

 He predicted accurately the probable emergences for 

 certain years, and the insects did not fail him but put 

 in an appearance in millions on schedule time. 



Professor Riley pointed out that the development of 

 the larva is extremely slow, being not more than one- 

 fourth its full size when six years old. As it moults 

 more than once a year, there must be some twenty-five 

 or thirty changes of its skin when in its subterranean 

 abode, which is not over two feet below ground during 

 the first six or seven years of its existence. At this time 

 it is in an oval cell which Professor Riley showed was 

 more often away from roots than near them. Packard 

 states : "Yet it can descend to great depths, one writer 

 stating that he found it 20 feet below the surface. As 

 the time approaches for the issuing of the pupa, it grad- 

 ually rises nearer and nearer to the surface, and, for a 

 year or two before the appearance of any given brood, 

 this pupa may be dug up within one or two feet of the 

 surface." 



During the present invasion of these insects, the round 

 holes where these cicadid nymphs came out were ex- 

 tremely numerous around many trees and in pathways 

 through the woods. Upon several occasions, when turn- 

 ing over fallen logs, the writer discovered the pupa had 

 made a chimney closely resembling the corresponding 

 achievement of the common crayfish ; this has been 

 noticed by other observers. Out at Linden, Maryland, 



the twigs of the lower limbs of hickories, oaks, and 

 maple-leaved viburnums were seen to be literally covered 

 with the empty cases of the nymphs or pupae of this 

 cicada (Fig. 1). They also covered small cedars not 

 over two feet in height, as well as many bushes. This 

 was upon the 25th of May, 1919. A few of the perfected 

 insects were distributed through these interesting and 

 very striking groups, and the "music" of the latter had 



Fig. 3. DEAD CICADAS PINNED OUT ON A "SPREADING BOARD" 

 FOR PRESERVATION IN A COLLECTION. THE LARGE UPPER 

 ONE IS THE COMMON FORM OR "HARVEST-FLY" OF THE EAST. 

 NATURAL SIZE. WASHINGTON SPECIMENS, COLLECTED BY THE 

 AUTHOR (1919). 



just begun in the trees and shrubbery the day before. 



What strikes us first upon looking at one of these 

 seventeen-year cicadas, when it is alive and in full health, 

 is its beautiful coral-red eyes, set off by its dark greenish- 

 black body. All about the base of its wings and costal 

 margins of the same, the color is of a deep, rich, and very 

 brilliant orange. The sexes are distinguished by the 

 presence of the ovipositor in the female, which is quite 

 conspicuous. 



While this emergence was on, the writer collected 

 over an hundred of these cicadas, with as many pupae 



