j;rri-:K oi- rRANSMiTTAi 
U. S. l)i:rAKTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
Bureau of Entomology, 
^yashington, D. C, April 16, 1907. 
Sir: Tlio su])ject of tho 2)eriodical or 17-year Cicada has been 
treated in two publications of this Bureau, namely. Bulletin No 8 
(old series), published in 1885, and Bulletin No. 14 (new series), 
])iiblisiied in 1898. Both of these publications are now out of print, 
and the accunudation of a large amount of new records of distribu- 
tion and the increase of information on the habits of this insect call 
for a new j)u])lication. Mr. C. L. Marlatt, who was the author of 
Bulletin Xo. 14, has thoroughly revised that publication, incorpo- 
rating all new records and information, and the manuscript is sub- 
mitted for publication as Bulletin No. 71 of this Bureau. 
In this publication the new numbering of the broods suggested by 
Mr. ^larlatt in Bulletin No. 18 (new series), of this Bureau, is fol- 
lowed, so that now the designation of the broods indicates directly 
their relationship to each other in time and distribution. 
The writings on this species are voluminous, and the bibliograj^hy 
])ul)lished in Bulletin No. 14 has been extended to include the 
important additions to the literature which have appeared since 1898. 
A good deal of tlie matter from Bulletin No. 14 has been used with- 
out change, but the brood records have been thoroughly revised and a 
distribution maj) has been made for each of the known broods. Some 
new ])h()tographs have been introduced to illustrate particular fea- 
tures of th(> life history of the Cicada. 
The periodical Cicada covers in its range nearly all of the United 
vStates from the Mississi])j)i Valley eastward, and has a very consid- 
(M'al)l(' ecoiioiiiic importance. The curious features of its regular 
])eriodi(' aj)])earances and its long subterranean life give it pcM'haps 
the greatest ])()pular interest whicli attaches to any insect what(^ver, 
and hnid to many in([uiries with every recurrence of an important 
brood. 
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