The Richmond Indiana palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1854-1855, 1855-07-12
From the Indiano Farmer.
THE LOCUST.

The e;cada septensaicsm, or seventeen year
locust. has made its appearance in several
portions Of the country. In Illinois, Missouri,
portions of Kentucky and Virginia. and the
aouthern part Of Ohio. they abound in great
numbers.
It is little singular that the history and
habits Of an insect which appears in large
numbers almost every year in some parts of
the country, and often in countless myriads,
should be SO little known; and that many
false statements and contradictory stories
should be told in regard to it. 1t is repre.en-
ted as being provided with a sting like a bee
or wasp, that it cuts off the twig in which 1t
deposits its eggs. and in q paper before us. 1t
is described as sucking the sap Of trees and
shrubs, and otherwise attacking and injuring
vegetation. In our younger days we firmly
believed that this insect was identical with
the one which once eatup every green thing In
the land Of Egypt. and 10 confirm us that such
was the case, il was every now and then cry
ing in plaintive tone "Pha-r-o-o-o, pha roo
o." And it would seem that this opinion is
held by grown-up boys, even At the present
day.
The locust, so called in the United States.
is an insect totally unlike the old Egyptian
Locust, clouds of which sometimes still make
their descent in Africa and other eastern
countries. darkening the air. and eating up
everything in the shape of vegetation before
them. 1t is. with single exception which
we shall shortly name. perfectly harmless.
never eating any thing in tie uinged stute.-
A. the time approaches for it TO dof the hor-
ny incrustation which envelopes it in the grub
state, it energies from the ground, fastens its
claws into the bark of a tree, or something of
the kind generally close to the ground. where
its shell remains. while the beetle escapes. and
seeks its home among the green leaves and
branches Of the nearest trees. In this state
it continues some six weeks and then dies
The female is provided with hard. horny
substance at the extremity of the abdomen,
called an o,i positor, with which she punctures
the twigs Of your apple and other trees. for
the purpose Of depositing her eggs. These
punctures or holes are usually found in row
equi distant from each other, and are perhaps
a quarter Of an inch apart and nearly half as
deep. By cutting away the wood. the eggs
are found in great numbers. In the course Of
few weeks they hatch, and young insects
fall or crawl to the ground. where they imme-
diately burrow. feeding on roots and the like.
until another period Of seventeen years is &C
complished.
The locust has. correctly speaking, no sting.
wounds are sometimes inflicted by the female
with her ovipositor, or egg-layer. which pro-
duce inflammation. causing death. Whether
she does it by kind Of mistake, thinking TO
puncture place for depositing her eggs. or.
matter of self defence. is undecided
Boys should never be allowed to catch and
handle them. place them in their hats or
on their persons as it is evidently unsafe to
do so. That the periodical return of the 10
Gust occurs every seventeen years, is fully es-
tablished. 1t is true that in some localities
they appear two or three times in the course
of this time, but they many distinct
tribes. or sets, and the return of each can be
traced to its own proper period. A few strag
glers generally precede and follow after the
main army, and in some places small num-
Der make their appearance almost every year.
but there is no doubt but seventeen years is
the regular period at which each set makes
its return