Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-06-18
THE PERIODICAL PESTS.
Trees Full of the Scventeen-year
LOCusts.
The Curious Insect, Its Habits and
Appearance A Few Interesting
Facts-Exnmine gts Wings.

The ARGUS of Saturday evening con-
tanned one of several articles which have
appeared in this paper recently with res
gard to the peculiar insects which this
year have infested the trees in great dead.
lY numbers, This last no i e was backed
by the opinion OF entomoogists who held
that these insects were not strictly seven
teen year locusts as far as eXactness of
date is concerned, as it was in 1869 when
they last visited u.s. Another eRtomolo~
gist of wide observation and reading and
of recognized ability holds, however, that
this is the year for the locusts and it GER
tainly is fact that peculiar insect has
made its appearance in incalculable num-
bers. Go out TO any grove or cluster of
trees near the city or to the watch tower.
as the writer did yesterday, and the trees
are fairly musical with the treless hum
of myraids of these insects.
There is a widespread and deep seated
misapprehension regarding these insects
Although appearing in swarms and COWS
ering the vegetation in places, they do
not do SO much herm rs would be ex-
pected The injury is not OF serious
or permanent nature. The distinguished
entOmolgist alluded to makes the follow
ing claims AS the results of his observn>
tons and discoveries:
They are not really lOcusts, but of an |
entirely different genus, that of the ci- |
cada to which also belongs the insect |
popuarly known MS the dog day harvest
fly, which appears every year. These |
seventeen year IOCusts, which are not To- |
custs, consume the vegetation but a very |
little in their mature state. The only |
harm which they do is that the females |
deposit their eggs in the very ends of the |
teuderest branches of the trees. bushes
and shrnbbery, causing them to break off |
and fall to the ground This gives the |
foliage the appearance OF being frightful
ly ravaged, but in reality the harm is
slight and transient.
The curious feature of these insects are
their regular recurrence at intervals of |
seventeen years. This is because seven
teen years is the time required by nature
The eggs drop to the ground and the
grub worms its way into the ground to
the roots of the trees and shrubbery. On
this it lives for seventeen years, when it
works Its way out, still in a grub form.
During all the spring as the ground has
been turned over, these grubs have been
seen in large numbers. Upon reaching
the surface, they work their way up on
to the limbs OF the trees or onto the plants
or fences and develope quickly into the
mature insect The appearance of them
when mature is body two inches long,
the shape of flattened cylinder of an
orange brown color, wedge shaped
head with two red eyes, one on each side
of one of the points of the wedge, and
large, lace like. transparent wings.
They live but few weeks--only long :
enough to accomplish their mission anu =
deposit their millions of eggs and then {
die, and the eggs drop off and slowly :
mature during seventeen years or more. :
The insects probably received their :
name "locusts" from the early settlers
who had never heard of any other insects a
except locusts which come in such large !
swarms, and hence thought them to be
locusts.
The females come several days earlier Y
than the males, which have an apparatus |
under their wings, with which they make /
a queer buzzing or humming sound. The |
females have no such music producing
organs.
There is an old tradition that the cora
ing of these lOcusts pOrtends war. SUI c
perstitiously inclined persons can find b
mark on their wings which can be dis c
torted into letter W by vigorous
stretch of the imagination, and the w a
stands for war, they say. =
The mature Ccada lasts but few s