5 72 HEMIPTERA-HOMOPTERA CHAP. 



the wings are totally wanting. The mode of passage from the 

 larval to the pnpal state has not been recorded. The pupa, or nymph, 

 differs from the larva by its much shorter, compressed form : by 

 being encased in a remarkably hard shell ; and by the antennae 

 approximating in form to those of the adult. It has short wing- 

 pads at the sides of the body; the front legs are remarkably 

 powerful, and the creature is capable of moving about ; the imago 

 escapes from the pupa by the splitting dorsally of the middle of 

 the thoracic segments. The empty pupa-skin does not shrivel, 

 but retains its form, and in countries where Cicadas occur, fre- 

 quently attracts attention by the strange form it presents, being 

 often placed in a conspicuous position. 



Song. — Cicadas are the most noisy of the Insect world; the 

 shrilling of grasshoppers and even of crickets being insignificant 

 in comparison with the voice of Cicada. Darwin heard them 

 in South America when the Beagle was anchored a quarter 

 of a mile from the shore ; and TympanoUrjjes gigas, from the 

 same region, is said to make a noise equal to the whistle of a 

 locomotive.-' A curious difference of opinion prevails as to 

 whether their song is agreeable or not ; in some countries they 

 are kept in cages, while in others they are considered a nuisance. 

 The Greeks are said to have decided in favour of their per- 

 formances, the Latins against them. Only the males sing, the 

 females being completely dumb ; this has given rise to a saying 

 by a Greek poet (so often repeated that it bids fair to become 

 immortal) "Happy the Cicadas' lives, for they all have voice- 

 less wives." ^ The writer considers the songs of the European 

 species he has heard far from unpleasant, but he is an entomologist, 

 and therefore favourably preposses.sed ; and he admits that 

 Eiley's description of the performances of the seventeen-year 

 Cicada is far from a satisfactory testimonial to the good taste of 

 that Insect ; liiley says, " The general noise, on approaching the 

 infested woods, is a combination of that of a distant threshing- 

 machine and a, distant frog-pond. That which they make when 

 disturbed, mimics a nest of young snakes or young birds under 

 similar circumstances — a sort of scream. They can also produce 



^ Some entomologists consider that this "railway-whistle" note is the result 

 of the combined efforts of several individuals. Cf. Mathew, Ent. Mag. xi. 1875, 

 p. 175. 



^ It is unnecessary to say that the poet was not Sappho, but one of the baser sex, 

 named Xenarclius. 



