THK FOOD OF TIIF L.\K\A A X 1 > IM I'A. ]2'A 
P(»r]ia])s tlio first writci- to point out and (Icinon.^l i-.-ilc tlir tiiic 
nu'tliod of fcHMliiii:- of tli(» l:ii'\a and pupa of this inxMi in tlicii- iindcr- 
grouiul ('.\ist('n('(' was Miss Moi-ris, of (l(>nnanlo\\ ii. Pa. Thai I he 
Cicada hirva* and pupa^ j)i(M*('(^ small roots with their suckin^^ hcaks 
and 1V(h1 on the juices of the plant, as do other |)lant-feedinLr heinip- 
tcM'ous insects, as th(M"r normal, if not theii- sole iiuMhod of sul)^i^lin^• 
was fidly proved hy her invcvstiiiat ion, and has Ixmmi confirmed i-epeat- 
edly in the diir^inus nnide ])y the writer, and thei-e can no lon^-ei- he 
any possihility of donht in th(» matter. In |)i-act ically e\-ei-y case, in 
th(* writ(M'*s e\p{M"i(Mic(\ wherc^ tlu* cell in \\hich the larva iwsted \\as 
taken out in condition for examination a small root, oiu^-sixteenth to 
thr(>(>-si.\t(MMiths inch in diam(4er, was found to bordiM- iisualK the 
upper end of the cell, and in several instances larviu were found with 
their Ixniks so securely embedded in the root that they were not easily 
loos(Mied. In other instances the roots showed, by the sliii,ht swell- 
inu' an(l reddisli discoloration beneath the ])ark, nnmistakable sions of 
havini:: ])een jninctured. 
The root-fe(Hling- habit can be best witnessed in Hght, rich soils, and 
m the plantings of the brood of 1889 nnder oak trees on the Depart- 
ment grounds the soil beneath these trees was so thickly inhabited 
that between the depths of 6 and 12 inches every spadeful of (*arth 
would throw out numbers of the larvie, and a most excellent opportu- 
nity was afforded for the study of their habits. In hard, packed 
soils, perhaps scantily supplied wdth roots, the difhculty of getting out 
the cells in perfect condition is such that one might easil}^ be led into 
error, and the comparative rarity of the larvae in such soils adds fur- 
ther to the difficulty of determining their feeding habits. 
It is for this reason, I have no doubt, that the opinion has ()l)tained 
in some ([uarters that the larvae subsist not on the roots of plants, but 
on the nourishment obtained from the surface moisture of the roots, 
or the general moisture of the earth, which might be sujiposed to 
contain more or less nutrient material arising from the decomposition 
of the vegetable matter. That the moisture of the surrounding soil 
ma}', and doubtless does, supply the very delicate, thin-skinned larvae 
and pupae with a certain amount of liquid by absorption through the 
skin may be admitted, and in fact when the larvae are taken from 
their natural surroundings and exposed to the air they" very rapidly 
dry and shrivel. Larva^ are doubtless occasionally found in cells 
away from roots, and this may be explained by the fact of their being 
at that time either undergoing one, of their long resting or hibernating 
periods, which may be of fre(juent occurnMun^ in such an extremely 
long-lived species, or they may be l)uiro\\ing in search of roots on 
which to subsist. 
