106 
THE PERIODICAL CICADA. 
RESULT TO THE PLANT OF OVIPOSITION. 
The effect on the pkmt of the cutting of the smaller twigs by the 
female in depositing her eggs has been often described, and is apt to 
be especially noteworthy and disas- 
trous in the case of such favorite trees 
as the oak, hickory, and apple, and in 
the case of the latter, especially in 
young orchards surrounded by woods, 
or in recent clearings. (See fig. 41.) 
The weakening of the twigs by the 
punctures causes many of them to be 
partly broken ofl' by the winds, and 
the brown, withered leaves are con- 
spicuous for the remainder of the .sum- 
mer. Many of the twigs break oil en- 
tirely and fall to the ground, and the 
general twig* pruning which results is 
often of considerable extent, giving 
the forests, as sometimes described, a 
gloomy appearance, or as though 
scorched by fire, from the number of 
the extremities of twigs thus injured. 
With large shade trees, 
and particularly trees 
in forests, the damage 
is not often excessive, 
and the recovery is 
usualty complete, or 
nearly so, within two 
or three years. With 
fruit trees and nursery 
stock, on the other 
hand, and especially on 
newh^ cleared ground 
or in the vicinity of 
forests or groves where 
the Cicada abounds, the injury is apt to be very con- 
siderable. 
The following extract from a letter from Mr. Wil- 
liam G. Wa^me, of Seneca Falls, N. Y., illustrates 
the injury sometimes experienced. Referring to 
the Hudson River Yalle}^ brood, appearing in 1826 
They destroyed the fruitage of the orchards almost comph^ely. Nearly all the 
tender branches of the trees were so wounded in the deposit of the eggs that they 
Fig. 41.— Egg punctures of periodical Ci- 
cada: a, twig showing recent punctures 
from front and side, and illustrating man- 
ner of breaking; b, twig showing older 
punctures, with retraction of bark and 
more fully displaying the arrangement 
of fibers. Natural size (after Riley). 
Fig. 42.— Twig show- 
ing scars from 
punctures after the 
.>;( cond year. (After 
Riley.") 
lie savs: 
