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

DOlO from Ten 10 twenty eggs lutre sue laws
in the fissure side BY side until il is filled, pac
ing them in pairs Then she goes to work to
build another nest. and continues until perhaps
she has constructed q score of such nests along
the twig. By the time her supply of 400 or 500
eggs is exhausted she is SO weak that presently
she falls down and dies.
THE YOUNG CICADAs.
The eggs one-sixteenth % an inch long
They are delicate that the forms Of the I'M
Matched insects can be seen through the shells
At the end of period. variously stated at from
fourteen TO hfty-two days, the young eieadas
come out. They are yellowish white, with six
legs, the first pair resembling lobster claws.
Under the breast il q beak for sucking They
are very lively. The first thing necessary for
them is to reach the ground. and this they ac-
complish in very extraordinary manner, 60
ing to the edge OF the limb and deliberately
dropping of. The instinct which impels them
thus feariessly to precipitate themselves from
heights Of which they can have formed no con-
ception IL more remarkable than that which
carries the gosling to the water soon as it is
Matched. Having reached the earth
they Immediately burrow into it with
their strong fore feet. In digging they
follow the roots Of plants and sub
sequently found attached to those which
most tender and succulent, perforatng them
with their beaks and thus imbibing the veget-
able juices which constitute their sole nurish-
ranean confinement they grow slowly. but un-
dergo no other change, save for the more COM
plete development OK four scale-like proni-
nences on the back which contain the future
wings These cicadas do some small damage
to fruit trees by cutting the twigs to make
nests but that il all the harm they are guilty Of
Civilization is rapidly reducing the numbers
OF the cicadas. One OF the causes at work is
the clearing Of land Domestic fowls destroy
them in great numbers. Many that bury them
selves as larve in green fields find themselves
shut down beneath asphalt and macadamized
pavements when they are ready to come up
But their worst foe is the English sparrow,
which first became acquainted with them in
1885 1t found them so palatable that it
dropped everything else and fed on them ex-
clusiyely. 1t killed SO many that the ground
over large areas was fairly strewn with their
wings. The brood Of 1885 was one of the
greatest ever known. Most people in the east
north Of Mason and Dixon's line who are now
adults remember it. But the destruction
which it encountered was so tremendous that
It is likely to be represented by comparatively
few individuals when II appears again In 1902.
On leaving the ground the insects are at
tackled by many reptiles and mammals. as well
as By birds and cannibal insects. When they
have attained the winged state birds pursue
them and deyour them voraciously. 1t has al
ready been observed that the numbers OF sue
cessive broods are diminishing.
FEAR OF ITS STING.
During the memorable season of 1885 there
was widespread fear Of the cicada on account
of its supposed sting. People denied them
selves blackberries. raspberries and other fruits
because they were afraid OF being poisoned by
the eggs. Others believed that the insect poi
soned water. Entomologists have devoted
much attention to Investigating this question,
and several theories have been offered in ex-
PLANTATION of the many seemingly weli-authenti-
Gated instances of locust bite" very large
digger wasp supplies its nest with cicadas,
which serve as food for its young. 1t has been
suggested that she might occasionally, while
carrying a cicada, alight on a human being.
and on being brushed of. she might fly away.
after singing the offender. leaving the cicada
behind to be held accountable for the mischief.
However. investigation proves that the cicada
is able to inflict bite with its jaws, and posi-
bly, it does SO sometimes.