The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-06-07
SEVENTEEN YEAR LoCUsTs.

New Jerseys Woods Resonant With Their
shri1 Chirpings
About week ago the farmers in eastern
and northern New Jersey heard apeculiar
whirring noise in the fields and woodlands
around their dwellings. On investigation
they found that the sounds were made by
locusts, which covered every tree, shrub,
and grass blade for miles in ell directions.
Their loud, rasping notes fairly drowned
the songs of the birds. They are most nu-
merous in Bloomfield, Allendale, and
Ridgewood. A Sun reporter called upon
several persons In the towns along the
Morris and Essex railroad yesterday, and
all gave similar account of the coming of
the locust army.
The Rev. Mr.. Ward, who lives in
beautiful cottage at Ridgewood, and who
is fine naturalist, was raking his grassy
front yard as the reporter asked him for
information about the locusts. He took
off his straw hat, wiped his forehead, and
said "Just look around here if you want
to see locusts." The grass, the trees, the
bushes, were alive with the insects, and
the grove Iesounded with the din of their
harsh notes. Dozens of them hung upon
single spray, and the spears of grass were
bent nearly to the ground with their
weight.
"It is my opinion; said Mr., Ward, "that
this is the genuine seventeen year locust,
which appears only once in seventeen years.
This is the history of the insect. 1t lays its
eggs in hole In tree generally in the
autumn. In the spring the larva begins to
show signs of life, ard soon after drops to
the ground and burrows itself into the soil
about foot beneath the surface. At the
approach Of warm weather it works itself
up to the surface, leaving aperfectly round
hole behind it. 1t then climbs up tree or
shrub, and the work of casting off its shell
or outer covering begins. The back and
fore part of the shell splits, and the locust
comes forth, leaving the shell sticking to
the branch on which it had been deposited.
When the insect first appears it is milk
white, like white clover, and is as soft as
jelly. Its wings are scarcely visible at first,
but in an hour or so they grow out, the
color changes to dark brown, and it flies
away a perfect locust. l took newborn
insect from shrub the other morning,
and laid II on table in my house. When
first caught 1t, it was white and pulpy,
and its wings could hardly be seen. Before
we had finished breakfast and in less than
an hour from the time of the capture, it had
become perfect insect. Its wings had
grown out or uncoiled, its body was now
of rich brown color, aud it was singing as
II flew about the room.
This locust is very shor wed, and
while it lives it does no dan 1t SIM
ply clings to the FOLIAGE trees, and
with its long proboscis SUCKS in the dew or
the honey from the leaves. 1t destroys
nothing. Ifa sudden severe storm should
arise, it is probable that the whole army of
locusts would perish at once. They simply
lay their eggs, and then after short time
entirely disappear. The cause of their pc
riodical appearance is purely conjectural,
but it is thought that their offspring be-
comes either grub, caterpillar, or bee
tie, and that the change of form goes on
for seventeen years, when the original lo-
Gust re-appears. In the morning the woods
are perfectly resonant with the sonorous
notes Of these insects, and you can scarcely
hear pourself speak. The sound Is like that
made by the puffiug of steamboat when
she leaves her wharf and is getting olt in
to the stream. 1t grows louder as the day
advances and the heat increases. At sun
set the insects gradually become drowsy,
and only monotonous sleepy song is
heard. They creep further and further up
the tree boughs as the night advances, and
at length fall asleep, and the silence of the
woods is undisturbed.
One singular characteristic is that they
always come down nearly to the foot of the
trees in the morning and at night retreat to
the snmmits of the trees. They seldom go
away from the groves or woodlands, and
so the farmers who live in the open coun-
try know little of them. They have two
notes, have observed. One is their regu-
lar day song, loud buzzing note, and the
other is a soft, melodious whirr, which is
the call that they send out to their mate.
The sounds are not rlade with the mouth
of the insect, but proceed from a system of
pipes that lie in the middle OF the body, Just
under the wings. These pipes are perfect
ly white, and resemble the gills of fish
Just look here" said the clergyman, plac-
ing powerful magnifying glass over a To-
Gust that he captured on spear of grass.
Under the glass the insect looked like an
immense crab or sea urchin. The probos-
els became a tube many inches long, the
little red eyes were great beads that gilt
tered with fiery light, and the lranspar-
ent gsuze wings were like crystals. Under
the wings were the musical pipes, which
opened and closed with tremulous mo-
ton, like that made by fish in breathing.
"They'Ie delicate things, said Mr.. Ward
as he pulled the insect apart and examined
Its structure. "They seem to be raised up
TOR an hour and then they are gone. They
simply lay their eggs and then disappear.
Here Is one which died while freeing it.
self from the shell" The clergyman picked
a shell from a blade Of grass and held 1t up,
The insect was still clinging to the horny
outer covering with its hind feet, while with
its mouth and fore feet it clu,ched the grass
spear. "This Is all the life it has had in
this form, aud one might say in the words
of the old verse,
IL was so soon TO be done for,
Pray what was begun for.
~ had forgotten that this was to be the
year of their appearance, and so l was
considerably surprised when 1 heard their
songs in the grove. / went out into the
grove soon after they came up from the