HEMIPTEEA. 109 



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. The consequence 



Fig. 81. Larva of the Cicada. Fig. 82. Pupa of the Cicada. 



is that the southern nations know it very well, whilst in the 

 north the large green grasshopper, which is so common in those 

 regions, and whose song closely resembles that of the Cicada, is 

 commonly taken for it. There was to be seen at the Exhibition 

 of Fine Arts in 1866 a picture by M. Aussandon, " La Cigale et 

 la Fourmi," which showed under an allegorical shape the subject 

 of La Fontaine's fable. The painter here represented the Cigale, 

 or Cicada, under the form of a magnificent apple-green grass- 

 hopper. The artist materialised here, as we may say, the 

 common mistake of the inhabitants of the north, which makes 

 them confound the Cicada with the great green grasshopper. 



For the rest, we may, by-the-bye, say that La Fontaine's 

 fable of " La Cigale et la Fourmi " is full of errors in natural 

 history. Nothing is easier than to prove the truth of this asser- 

 tion. From the very first verses, the author shows that he has 

 never observed the animal of which he speaks. 



" La Cigale ay ant chante 

 Tout 1'ete." 



No Cicada could sing " tout 1'ete," since it lives at the utmost 

 for a few weeks only. 



" Se trouva fort depourvue 

 Quand la bise fut venue." 



" Quand la bise fut venue " means without doubt the month of 



