4*4 
THE FLEA LOCUST. 
Genus ~V.—The Cicada, or Flea locujl* 
1 HE infers of this tribe, obtain fometimes the name q£ 
grafhoppers, or froghoppers, as well as the tettigonise' 
already mentioned. They are far inferior in fizeas well 
as in their deftru£tive powers, being produced from fmall 
larvae that are found on plants refembhng the fix- legged 
worm. Some of thefe larva have the lingular property 
of voiding from the anus and the cuticular pores, fmall 
bubbles which unite together, and form a fpecies of foam 
in which the young animal remains enveloped. 
This foam, which is not unlike a fpittle, is in fome 
parts called the cuckoo-fpittle, and is probably intend- 
ed by nature as a flielter to the larvae, againft the fearch 
of other animals to which it would fall a prey : Perhaps, - 
too, this moifture may be defigned for fereening the in- 
fect, in its tender age, from the beams of the fun, and 
the rough elements by which its body might then be 
injured *. 
Whatever purpofes this froth maybe intended to ferve, 
it is undoubtedly neceffary to the fubfiftence of the ani- 
mal f, for it is no fooner wiped away, than a frefli quan- 
tity is feen exfuding from all parts. During its refi- 
dence in this fpume, the animal acquires four tubercles 
on its back, in which the wings are inclofed ; as foon as 
thefe 
* Barbut’s Genera Infeift. p. 123. 
f De Geer artes de Stockholm, 1741. p. 221. 
