80 Shadowings 



and 8-stmi, or " great se'mi" begins to sing as 

 early as May. It is a very large insect. The 

 upper part of the body is almost black, and the 

 belly a silvery -white ; the head has curious red 

 markings. The name sbinni-sbinni is derived 

 from the note of the creature, which resembles a 

 quick continual repetition of the syllables sbinnt. 

 About Kyoto this semi is common : it is rarely 

 heard in Tokyo. 



[My first opportunity to examine an d-smi 

 was in Shidzuoka. Its utterance is much more 

 complex than the Japanese onomatope implies; 

 I should liken it to the noise of a sewing- 

 machine in full operation. There is a double 

 sound : you hear not only the succession of 

 sharp metallic clickings, but also, below these, a 

 slower series of dull clanking tones. The stridu- 

 latory organs are light green, looking almost 

 like a pair of tiny green leaves attached to the 

 thorax.] 



III. ABURAZgMI. 



THE abura^hni, or " oil-semi," makes its ap- 

 pearance early in the summer. I am told that it 

 owes its name to the fact that its shrilling resem- 

 bles the sound of oil or grease frying in a pan. 



