312 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
The Periodical Cicada. 
BY PROP. C. V. RILEY. 
In the last number of the American Agriculturist, 
I gave an account of the destructive Locust of the 
West, to which insect, and its family relations, the 
term “locust” ought to be confined. It is an or¬ 
thopterous insect, with powerful jaws and im¬ 
Flif. 1.— Cicada septendccim; a. pupa: 6. pupa shell; c, perfect insect 
d, twig with egg punctures, nat. size ; e, eggs, enlarged. 
mense destructive capacity, and insects of the same 
family are denominated Locusts in other parts of 
the world, and have been from time immemorial. 
Such are also the Locusts of Scripture. 
“Seventeen-rear Locust.” 
Unfortunately, however, the term “locust,” or 
“seventeen-year locust,” was applied by the Puri¬ 
tan fathers to the Cicada septendccim of Linnaeus, 
an insect belonging to a different order (Hemiptera), 
and incapable of injury to our field crops. The 
term “locust” was bestowed upon it from an er¬ 
roneous notion that the insect was the same as one 
Fig. 2.— PUNCTURED TWIG. 
of the locust plagues of Egypt, and its shrilling was 
contorted by them into the threatening cry of “ Pha- 
a-raoh.” Its habits being then unknown, its sudden 
appearance in immense numbers, and at long in¬ 
tervals, gave rise to various superstitious notions. 
Even the W-like veins near the tips of the upper 
wings were supposed to denote war. If the two 
w’s deuote anything, they denote warm weather, for 
the insects appear in the hottest season of the year. 
It so happens that two distinct broods of this 
Cicada abound at this writing (June 22d) in large 
Fig, 3.— TWIG WITH OLD PUNCTURES. 
portions of the country South and West, and the 
numerous references to them in the papers of to¬ 
day as “ locusts ” are causing a good deal of un¬ 
necessary apprehension, many people confounding 
them with the genuine destructive locust of the 
West. I have thought, therefore, that a brief ac¬ 
count of this false locust would very properly sup¬ 
plement the account of the real one. 
There is a seventeen-year race (Cicada septendccim, 
Linn.), and a thirteen-year race (Cicada tredecim, 
Riley), of this interesting Cicada, each requiring 
respectively seventeen and thirteen years for full 
development, all the time, with the exception of a 
couple of months, being spent underground. The 
periodicity in the appearance of these two races is 
so well established that we may calculate with cer¬ 
tainty on their future appearance in given sections 
of the country for centuries to come, or as long as 
the present surface conditions of the country may 
presumably last. Thus the two broods, this year 
occurring, have not appear ;d simultaneously before 
since 1660, and will not so appear againountil 2102. I 
quote the following localities where they are now 
appearing from my chronological history of twenty- 
two distinct broods, published in 1868, with the re¬ 
mark that I should be pleased to have the readers 
of the American Agriculturist send me any record 
of the appearance or non-appearance of the insects 
in the iocalities indicated, or in any other localities : 
“ In 1881, and at intervals of seven¬ 
teen years thereafter, the C. septendecim 
will, in all probability, appear in 
Marquette and Green Lake Counties, in 
Winconsin, and may also appear in 
the western part of North Carolina, and 
about Wheeling, Virginia; in Northeast 
Ohio, and a few in Lancaster Co., Pa., 
and Westchester County, New York. 
“In the year 1881, and at intervals 
of thirteen years thereafter, the C. 
tredecim will, probably, appear in South¬ 
ern Illinois, throughout Missouri, with 
the exception of the northwestern 
corner, in Louisiana, Arkansas, Indian 
Territory, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mis¬ 
sissippi, Alabama, Georgia, and North 
and South Carolina.” 
The Natural History of the Cicada. 
With the aid of the accompanying 
illustrations, this may be very briefly 
giveu. The peculiar rattling noise char¬ 
acteristic of the insects of this genus is 
made by the males only, and by means 
of organs, which may be likened to kettle-drums, 
located in cavities behind the thorax,the drum-heads 
being alternately tightened and loosened by the con¬ 
traction and relaxation of muscles attached inter¬ 
nally. The female is provided with a complicated 
and strong ovipositor, and both sexes have a sharp 
beak or h iustellum, with which they pierce 
the bark of shrubs and trees, and thus obtain 
what little sap they require for nourishment. 
After pairing, the females deposit their eggs 
in the twigs of different trees, and though for 
this purpose they seem to prefer the oaks 
and the hickories, they oviposit in almost 
every kind of deciduous tree, and even in 
herbaceous plants, and in evergreens. The 
eggs (fig. 1, e) are of a pearl white color, one- 
twelfth of an inch long, and taper to an 
obtuse point at each end. They are deposited 
in pairs, but separated by a strip of wood, 
which is wider—and thus causes the eggs to 
be further apart—at the bottom of the 
grooves than at their commencement. The 
punctured twigs bear the appearance of 
figure 2, and frequently break off and die, 
though the great majority remain green, and re¬ 
cover from their wounds. In the healing of the 
punctured parts, a knot usually forms over each 
puncture. Figure 3 represents a portion of an ap¬ 
ple twig, as it appears several years after being 
punctured. 
The eggs hatch in the latitude of St. Louis be¬ 
tween the 20th of July and the 1st of August, or in 
about six weeks after being deposited. The newly- 
hatched larva (fig. 4) differs considerably from the 
full-grown larva, but principally in having much 
longer and distinctly ei ft ht-jointed antennae. It is 
quite active, and moves its antennae as dexterously 
and as rapidly as an ant does. As soon as it has 
extricated itself from an exceedingly tine mem¬ 
brane, which still envelops it after it has left the 
undoubtedly the moisture that exudes from the 
roots of various trees, and even if the larva punc¬ 
tures such roots to obtain sap—a supposition which 
is not absolutely verified—the injury resulting from 
such feeding must be extremely unimportant where 
development is as slow as in this case. The only 
injury which the mature insects are capable of is to 
trees by the hacking of the ovipositor. This may 
be, exceptionally, quite severe on the young or¬ 
chards, but trees have never been known to be 
killed thereby. 
Reports of Stinging. 
Such are always current in Cicada years, There 
is no reason why the beak of the Cicada may not 
be used as a weapon of defence, and, indeed, some 
persons, if their evidence is to be relied on, have 
been punctured by it without, however, any ill ef¬ 
fect. I have handled hundreds, and so have many 
others, without being able to make the insect 
puncture. As the sawing with the ovipositor is a 
tedious and by no means easy process, it is quite 
improbable that this instrument can be used to in¬ 
flict the sting. The probability is, therefore, that 
most of the reported cases of stinging are due to a 
large Digger-wasp (Stizus grandis), which buries the 
Cicada as food for her young, and often flies with 
it from the top of a tree for this purpose. This 
flight of the wasp with her victim is somewhat 
heavy and rapid, and upon meeting an obstruction 
such as the head or neck of a person, it would be 
the most natural thing for the wasp to drop her 
prey and retaliate by stinging. The sting, like that 
of most other insects, will affect different persons 
differently, and, in some instances, from bad blood 
or other idiosyncrasy, might prove very serious. 
Finally, the adoption of the simple and easily- 
retained term “Cicada” for these insects, would 
do away with much of the confusion and misappre¬ 
hension alluded to in the beginning of this article, 
Fig. 4.— A NEWLY HATCHED CICADA LARVA. 
egg, the youDg Cicada drops deliberately to the 
ground ; its specific gravity being so insignificant 
that it falls through the air as gently aud as softly 
as does a feather. 
The food of the young locust under ground is 
THE DIGGER-WASP (Stizus grandis). 
while the specific term “Periodical” would dis¬ 
tinguish this particular species, whether in the 
seventeen or thirteen-year race, from the other 
speeies of the genus. 
Selecting; See*! Corn. —Our great na¬ 
tional crop is Indian corn, and anything that will 
improve that crop is of vast importance. Much 
may be done to improve the quality and increase 
the yield by the thorough and systematic selection 
of the seed to be planted. It is not enough to 
plant plump grains, separated from the smaller 
ones by means of a sieve. The work of selection 
should be begun while the plants are yet growing, 
and choosing those stalks that are of vigorous 
growth and the size and shape to furnish the best 
quality of fodder. They should be well -eared— 
by this is not understood that the larger the num¬ 
ber of ears found the better it is; also early 
enough to complete growth before frosts come, 
etc. The ears should be well formed, small at the 
butt, that they may be broken off with case in 
husking ; the husks should be soft and loose when 
ripe, and the cob covered with grain to the very 
tip, or, as it is termed, “well filled out.” The 
stalks that are to furnish the seed for next year’s 
planting should have abundant space and the best 
chance for the most perfect growth. Anything 
that will increase the vitality, that is the life of the 
grain, will be felt in the coming crop. 
