(M(\\I)A IITTS, OK CONKS. <);] 
The results of i1h\>^(* imcst iirat ions ]m\-e cleared up mucli of (lio 
obscurity wliich lias liitheiio siiiM-oiiiulcd [\\oso ch^Nated huirows. 
Tlie first persou to uote these structures in 1S!)4 was Mr. \Villiaiii 
T. Davis, who n^ported tlieir occurrence^ iu A])ril on Staten Island, 
New York, statinii; (hat the i)ui)a^ had heen found on the Sth of that 
niontli un(k^r hoards on the edi:;e of a meadow, wliere tliey had Ixmmi 
erecting cones of earth above the damp ground. In a later article 
he says: 
Oil the 22d of April many pup;p wore found in the woods alon*,' Willow I'look iiiidcr 
stones, loj:.^, and the chips about stumps of trees cut down in winter. Nhuiy more 
were without protection of this kind, and their presence was indicalcd hy ilic small 
irregular cones of earth among the dead leaves. A heavy footfall near tlic cone waa 
sufficient to cause the insects to retreat, l)ut if they were approached silently and 
suddenly knocked over their constructors would l)e found witliiii. 
Some of the cones were 3 inches high, but they did not average 
more than 2 inches. The experience of Mr. Davis corroborates the 
theories of Professor Potter and Mr. Ilathvon that the cicada cones, 
occurring in moist situations, are designed to lift the insect above 
such undesirable conditions. 
Early in the spring of 1894 the attention of Doctor Lintner, tlie 
New York State entomologist, w^as called by correspondents to the 
occurrence of these cones and an investigation of the subject was 
undertaken. A preliminar}" report was published in 1895,^ but his 
final report was not published until May, 1897.^ In describing the 
phenomenon in his Tenth Report, he says that the cones frequently 
occurred in many thousands and occasionally hundreds of thousands 
together, in some cases being intermingled wdth the ordinary open 
burrows. At New Baltimore, N. Y., 16 miles south of Albany, as 
early as the last week in April the pupae had brought up, apparently 
from a considerable depth, masses of soft clay-like material and 
molded it above the ground into conical and cylindrical structures 
for their temporary' occupancy. In places the ground was almost 
covered with them, as many as twenty-five being counted to the 
square foot. The cones inclined at a considerable angle from the 
peq:)endieular and measured from 2 to SI inches in lieight, and 
the cham])er within was uniform in diameter with the hole in the 
ground. In emerging the pupa made a round opening in the upper 
part of the chamber for its escape. 
In the Twelfth Keport cited, a long list of localities in New York is 
given where the cones were found in 1894, togcMluM- with notes on the 
character of the chambers and accomj^anying conditions of the soil, 
and also on the method of their construction. Ouo of the ])lates 
illustrating til is repo 1-1 is i-(>pr()diic('(| in this hnlldin (><'(' PI. 11). It 
« Tenth Report Insects New York, pp. 420-42.3. 
b Twelfth Rpix)rt Insccts'Now York, i)p. 270-280. 
