THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
203 
In mouth, eyes, shape, and wings this insect is 
strikingly peculiar, and equally so in habits and 
its manner of vocalization, which every one is 
familiar with. Though the minstrelsy of this 
insect is somewhat rough and monotonous, let 
us not disparage the poor harper, for his free, 
active life is but a short one, being limited to a 
few weeks of summer sunshine, and he seems 
to fill up the moments with song, in order to 
make the most of their brevity. 
“ In his unique green corslet and gauzy wings 
he is no ordinary creature to look at, and, being 
comparatively innocuous, his presence is not so 
repellant as that of some of the species. 
There is a near kinsman to the above, how¬ 
ever, of whom so favorable an account cannot be 
given—the well-known seventeen-year locust. 
Much less gifted in personal attractions, this 
insect would claim little notice were it not for 
the remarkable fact attendant on its reproduc¬ 
tion, and from which it has derived its name; 
and for the great destruction which is perpetrat¬ 
ed during the short active existence of the new 
crop. When the long period of earthly incu¬ 
bation has passed, and the woods and fields are 
infested by the immense swarms of perfect Cica- 
