4^^ THE FLEA LOCUST. 



Genus V. — Vje Cicada, or Flea locuji. 



J HE infe£^s of this trllie, obtain fometlmes the name of 

 grsflioppers, or froghoppers, as well as the tettigoni^ 

 already mentioned. They are far inferior in fizeas weli 

 as in their deftrudlive powers, being produced from fmall 

 larvcs that are found on plants refembling the fix- legged 

 worm. Some of -thcfe larvcc have the fmgiilar property 

 of voiding from the anus and the cutlcular por^^s, i'mall 

 bubbles which unite together, and form a fpecies of foam 

 in which the young animal remains enveloped. 



This foam, which is not unlike a fpittle, is in fomc 

 parts called the cuckoo-fpittle, and is probvoly intend- 

 ed by nature as a fr.elter to the larvae, againd the fearch 

 of other animals to which it would fall a prey : Perhaps, 

 too, this moifture may be deligned for fcreening the in- 

 fe6l, in its tender age, from the beams of the fun, and 

 the rough elem.ents by which its body might then be 

 injured "*. 



Whatever purpofes this froth maybe intended to ferve, 

 it is undoubtedly necelTary to the fubhilencc of the ani- 

 mal f, for it is no fooner wiped away, than a frcPa quan- 

 tity is feen exfuding from all parts. During its reft- 

 dence in this fpume, tlie animal acquires four tubercles 

 on its back, in vk'hich the v/ings are inclofed ; as foon as 



thefs 



* Barbut's Genera Infedc. p. ua. 



V De C-eer arte? ds Stockholm, 1741. p. sar. 



