Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-08-11
The 1ocUsTs
Which Visit Us Once in Seventeen
Years.

chlcTttdv ScHllcHiuii iiohi 'hs
country walked into the office of The
Post with a bottle filled with sluggish,
curious looking insects. "Ihese,"
said he, "are the famous seventeen
year locusts. | got these al New
Providence, back of New Albany.
They arc very abundant out there,
and the farmers are Il good deal alarm
ell for the safely of their crops"
The same thing might be said of
the region east of Louisville, where
the insects are to be seen in great
swarms. Indeed, they may be found
in the farming districts all around
Louisville. This singular pest is the
chief topic of discussion among the
farmers, but they should be reassured
by the statement of the Department
of Agriculture at Washington that
the plague will not be very serious
one. The seventeen-year locust is
not by any means so destructive as
the common locust. The latter bites
and chews its food, while the former
simply sucks the juice from leaves
and sprouts.
The name "Scventecn-year locust"
is a misnomer. The insect does not
resemble the common locusts, and
indeed, il does not belong to the
family of locusts at all. In the ell
tomologies the bug is considered in
the chapter OH "llarvest Flies" Its
scientific name is cicddd Septendecim,
and it is called the "Seventeen-year
locust' from the prevalent belief that
its life is prolonged to that extent in
the imperfect state. Undoubted tcs-
timony, both from popular and scien-
tiiic sources, proves that these insects
usually appear at intervals of seven
teen years. The last visitation Of this
peculiar insect was in 1868, and con-
sequently its return this season was
predicted by scientists. Accidental
circumstances may accelerate or re-
tard their progress to maturity,
though they appear in some parts of
the country probably every year, and
indeed in all districts, except North
ern New England and to the north of
that, the lineal descendants of each
swarm appear
ONLY EVER SEVENTEEN YEARS.
The popular but erroneous name of
locust was doubtless derived from
this fact of their appearance in large
swarms after long intervals Of time
like the locusts of the East.
In the perfect State this harvest fly,
or so-called locusts, is of a black
color, the anterior edge and principal
veins of its transparent wings and
covers being orange red. Near the
tips of the covers there is dusky
zigzag line in the form Of letter W.,
which by the superstitious issupposed
to indicate approaching war. AS
the mark on the other wing was i'll
verled like the letter NJ, the two let
ters, NJ w, were supposed to announce
a war with Mexico during their APP
pearance in Louisiana in 1885. 1t was
ten years though before war broke
out. The eyes are red with metallic
reflections. The rings of the body
are edged with dull orange, and the
legs are of the same color. The eX-
panse of the wings are from two and
a half to three and half inches.
Although found upon almost all
kinds of trees, except evergreen,
they prefer forests OF oak. The perfect
insect emerges from the ground from
February to the middle of June, ac.
cordihg 10 latitude and the warmth
of the season. Their numbers are
often so great that the limbs are bent
and broken from their weight, from
six to eight being sometime seen on
every leaf. The drumming sound
which they practice is heard from
morning to night, but most loudly
from the hours of II to 2 o'clock
They are not found in low, alluvia
: soil.
The males have scarcely any diges
tive system, and die soon after per-
forming the functions ofreproduction
The females have each about 800 egg
of about onc-thirticlh Of an inch il
: diameter. Their digestive apparatus j
complete, and their voracious appetite
is caused from the amount ofnourish
ment necessary TO develop these eggs
The eggs are deposited in the twig
of trees which the insect
BoRES FULL OF HOLES
obliquely to the pith and deposits flf
teen or sixteen eggs in each groove
: BY the time all her eggs are disposet
. of, she is exhausted, falls from tn
| tree and soon dies.
The eggs are of pearly whitenes
D and under favorable circumstance
5 hatch in from three TO six weeks
. The twigs pierced by the insect fire
: quently wither and fall to the ground
, and thus many of the larv,e reach til
: earth. The emerging larva is one
= sixteenth of an inch long, hairy am
grub like in form, Of yellowis
a white color and with six legs. The.
( have the rudiments of wings an
t under the breast is a long suckin
}, tube with a central tongue. Afte
!. leaving the egg in the tree they 500
G drop to the ground and bury themse
t YES beneath the surface by means Z
a their forefeet, which are like a lob
S ster's claws ON a small scale. The
do not descend very deeply into til
S soil, but follow the roots of plant
: perforating them with their beaE
o and sucking juices. They chang
" but little during their long subterrs
@ mean abode, except in size and in tn
c development Of their rudimentar
t. wings. AS the time of transforms
Q ton approaches they generally az
k vance to the surface in cylindricI
g and circuitous passages, about ha
/. an inch in diameter and from a dept
d of one or two feet. Now becom
pupe, they gradually acquire strengI
for their final change. They leaN
x the earth on warm night and ascen
trees, on which in short time IL
pupa skin bursts on the back, and Il
perfect cicada comes forth. III
ground is sometimes riddled like
IL honey-comb by their numbers, whlC
1t in q week are all dead. If these II
W sects appear every year or two in Il
ye same locality, fruit and forest tire
IN would suffer much, for although thu
% can not eat like the common locust
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