Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-08

One point for which the ccada is remark
able is its cry. Ii is loud, shrill speech pro-
longed for fifteen or twenty seconds. gradually
increasing in force and then decreasing Only
the male makes this noise; the female is dumb
An ancient Greek poet, recognizing this fact
in natural history, has sung:
Envy the cicsdas their peaceful lives
Who have the hapriness Of voiceless wives"
The male has at the base Of its abdomen two
pieces of thin membrane. each of them free at
one edge. By their rapid vibration the sound
is produced. II Is a love note. The attentive
observer may watch the new fedged cicada as
he sits on a twig and utters amorous sere-
made. Presently the female, attracted by the
music, comes and perches beside him.
The voices OF insects afford most IN teresting
study. OF those which sing the cricket is per-
haps the most familiar. It has little ridges on
its wing covers and corresponding ridges on it's
hind legs. The hind legs and wing covers move
over each other and make the chirping noise.
The song OF the mosquitoes made. like that
OF the bumblebee, by the rapid vibration Of her
wings. 1t is only the female that is known to
fame. The male has no sting and does not
come near dwellings,, but stays close By the
water, the only purpose of his existence being
to perpetuate his Objectionable species He
takes no food OF any kind during the brief
period OF his existence In the perfected state.
How INSECTS MAKE MUSIC.
Everybody is familiar with the music of the
katydid. Here again it is the male that has the
voice. At the base of each wing cover is thin
membranous plate. He elevates the wing
covers and rubs the two plates together. ii
you could rub your shoulder blades together
you could initiate the operation very nicely.
Certain grasshoppers make a sound when ay-
ing that Is like a watchmans rattle-clackett
clack. very rapidly repeated. There are also
some moths and butterflies which have voices
The death s-head" moth makes noise when
frightened that strikingiy resembles the crying
of young baby. How it is produced is not
known. though volumes have been written on
the subject. The mourning cloak" butterfly
a dark species with a light border on its
wings-makes q cry Of alarm by rubbing its
wings together.
The katydids, crickets grasshoppers and
other musical insects are all exaggerated in the
tropics. assuming giant forms. Thus their
cries proportionately louder. There ia an
East Indian cicada which makes a remar kably
loud noise. 1t is called by the natives dun
duh" which means drum. From this name
comes that Of the genus, which is known as
dundubia. This is one Of the few scientific
terms derived from the Sanscrit.
The death watch" is popular name ap-
piled 10 certain beetles which bore into the
walls and hoors Of old houses They make a
ticking sound bv standing on their hind legs
and knocking their heads against the wood
quickly aud forcibly. 1t is a sexual call. MANY
superstitions have been entertained respecting
the noise produced by these insects. which is
sometimes imagined to be q warning Of death.
EntomoloSists have succeeded in recording
the cries of many insects by the ordinary sys-
TEN Of musical notation. But this method
does not show the actual pitch, which is usually
several Octaves above the staff. 1t merely
serves to express the musical intervals. 1t is
known with reasonable certainty thai many in
sects have voicess so highly pitched that they can
not be heard by the human ear. One evidence
OF this fact Is that some people can distinguish
cries OF insects which are not audible to others.