214 
II EMI P T E R A . 
which has implanted in them an unerring guide, where rea- 
son, the senses, and the appetites would fail to direct them. 
The manner of the young Cicadas’ descent, so different from 
that of other insects, and seeming to require a special in- 
stinct to this end, would he considered incredible, perhaps, 
if it had not been ascertained and repeatedly confirmed by 
persons who have witnessed the proceeding. On reaching 
the ground the insects immediately bury themselves in the 
soil, burrowing by means of their broad and strong fore feet, 
which, like those of the mole, arc admirably adapted for dig- 
ging. In their descent into the earth they seem to follow the 
Fig. 87. 
roots of plants, and are subsequently found attached to those 
which are most tender and succulent, perforating them with 
their beaks, and thus imbibing the vegetable juices which 
constitute their sole nourishment. (Fig. 87.) 
bliss Margaretta II. Morris, who attributes the decline of 
the pear-tree and the failure of its fruits to depredations of 
the young Cicadas on its roots, has given interesting accounts 
of her observations upon these insects. On removing the 
earth from “ a pear-tree that had been declining for years, 
without any apparent cause,” she “ found the larvae of the 
Cicada in countless numbers clinging to the roots of the tree, 
with their suckers piercing the bark, and so deep and firmly 
placed, that they remained hanging for half an hour after 
being removed from the earth. From a root a yard long, 
