48 APPLE TWIGS, LUCUST — PERSONS STUNG BY IT. 



The two outer anastamosing veinlets of the fore wings are black, with only a slender 

 orange line along their middle, and are margined with smoky, forming a 'W-shaped 

 mark, which superstition to this day, continues to a slight extent, to regard as por- 

 tending " war." The small opake orange basal cell is black on its inner side, and 

 the elevated rein running from the outer side of this cell to the base of the wing is 

 also deep black, with a large black spot behind and a small one before its basal ex- 

 tremity, as seen when the wings are spread. The folded inner part of the hind wings 

 is margined with smoky, and on its apical side with black. 



Characters drawn from the veins of the wings, by which to discriminate the species, 

 would appear from this insect to be of little value. Thus, the first or outermost 

 veinlet, or cross-vein as it is termed by Mr. Walker, is separated from the second 

 veinlet about the distance of its length in the male, but often by double this distance • 

 in the female. The second veinlet is slightly curved in the male, whilst in the female 

 it is straight, with a slight curve towards its inner end, and in one specimen before 

 me it is abruptly bent, forming an angle of less than 135 degrees. It is of the same 

 length with the first veinlet commonly, but is sometimes much longer. 



It would be interesting to carefully study over a large collec- 

 tion of specimens of the seventeen-year locust, belonging to sepa- 

 rate broods of this insect, and gathered from diiferent -localities, to 

 ascertain if some marks cannot be detected by which the individu- 

 als belonging to each brood can be discriminated from the others. 



When newly hatched from the pupa, the locust is soft, heavy, 

 and sluggish in its motions. At this time, as I am informed by 

 Mr. Kennicott, it is preyed upon by our large species of dragon- 

 flies or darning-ireedles (Libellulidce), which seize and devour 

 numbers of them. 



Mr. W. S. Robertson informs me, that the Indians make the 

 different species of Cicada an article of diet, every year gathering 

 quantities of them', and preparing them for the table by roastino- 

 them in a hot oven, stirring them until they are well browned. 



Accounts of persons having been stung by the seventeen-year 

 locust, and dying in consequence of the wound, are current in 

 different sections of our country, every time this insect makes its 

 appearance. The past summer, a newspaper article gave the 

 name, residence, and particulars of the death of a young lady in 

 Illinois, who was thus stung, stating the attending circumstances 

 so definitely as to leave no doubt that the story was authentic. 

 And it is possible that the sharp beak of this insect, or the ovi- 

 positor of the female, may inflict a puncture so extremely painful 



