THE PERIODICAL CICADA 



the transformation; we see only the throwing off of the 

 shell that concealed it, as the circus performer strips off 

 the costume of the clown and appears already dressed 

 in that of the accomplished acrobat. 



The Adults 



The adult cicada bears the stamp of individuality. In 

 form he does not closely resemble any oi our everyday 

 insects, and he has a personality all his own; he impresses 

 us as a "distinguished foreigner in our midst." The body 

 of the periodical cicada is thick-set (Fig. 119), the face is 

 bulging, the forehead is wide, with the eyes set out promi- 

 nently on each side; from the under side of the head the 

 short, strong beak projects downward and backward be- 

 tween the bases of the front legs. The colors are dis- 

 tinctive but not striking. The back is plain black (Plate 

 7); the eyes are bright red; the wings are shiny transparent 

 amber with strongly marked orange-red veins; the legs 

 and beak are reddish, and there are bands of the same 

 color on the rings of the abdomen. Each front wing is 

 branded near the tip with a conspicuous dark-brown W. 



With both the seventeen-year race and the thirteen- 

 year race of the periodical cicada there is associated a 

 small cicada, which, however, differs so little except in 

 size from the others (Fig. 119) that entomologists gener- 

 ally regard it as a mere variety of the larger form, the 

 latter always including by far the greater number of 

 individuals in any brood. 



The male cicada has a pair of large drumheads beneath 

 the bases of the wings on the front end of the abdomen 

 (Fig. 120, Tm). These are the instruments by which 

 he produces his music, and we will give them more atten- 

 tion presently. The female cicada has no drums nor other 

 sound-making organs; she is voiceless, and must keep 

 silence no matter how much her noisy mate may disturb 

 her peace. The chief distinction of the female is her 

 ovipositor, a long, swordlike instrument used for inserting 



[ '99 1 



