Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-05-24
WITH 1 ~W' ON ITS WINGS.


The seventeen-YeAr LOcnst Is Back Once
More-It May Drum Out Hard Timss-It
WAs Here Last whom the Pretty Girls Of
the Present. Were the Babies OF the
Past.
The ssventeen-year locust is once
more abroad In this part Of the land. Il
drummed out the hard times in the
seventies, and perhaps it has = similar
work down on its programme for this
year. Its last appearance was In 1877,
when il exended from Troy, on the
Hudson, through Connecticut, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary
land, Virginia and the District OF Co.
lumbia. 1t has again returned in due
time, has completed It's term OF inpris-
Onment, and come to psrpetuate its race
and revisit the scenes OF its birth. For,
saws the New York Times, II has been
far away. L, has been quietly feeding
upon the roots OF the apple and the oak
trees, possibly never StrayiBE from its
first selected tree, doing no harm, but
fulfilling It's curious purpose In nature Of
making up for seventeen years Of silence
by q terrible din when IL gets the
chance. And then II dies happy.
IL is stout-bOdied insect, with broad
gauzy wings. IL is far better looking
In It's few days Of maturity than in its
previous stage, in which IL is homely
grub or an ugly pupa. But IL has the
advantage OF being we'll behaved, and q
modest, silent creature, strictly devoted
to its own business, which is to burrOw
in the ground for seventeen long years.
During this time il craWis along the
roots Of the trees, TO which IL attaches
itself, puncturing them and sucking the
sap.
When the proper time, which solomon
tells US every creature knows by natural
intuition, comes, the mature insect,
fully provided with wings, claws out OF
the ground, always at night, and seeks
3 tree, up which 10 creepS, and fastens
itself by its etrong, sharp claws. Then
IL Is a soft, whitiSh grub. The skin
dries, cracks aud bursts open along the
back, and the perfect cieada creeps out
through the rent, leaving the empty
she'll still adhering TO the tree as semi
transparent, Darchment-liEe skin. Then
IL energies into the open air. and, after
few preliminary attempts 10 spread it's
WAARoi " WhiNA bhCg utO cNihNAoN
and dried, the fly rises in the
air with strong, swift flight, aud, Sc
lecting it's temporary home in which to
pass the few days Of It's perfect stage,
proceeds TO active business. The fe-
male, hearing the call of its mate, Sc
lects its partner and makes prepare
tions for depOsiting its eggs. This is
done on the small branches Of the trees,
the eggs being deposited in neat double
rows, up and down the bark. Many
such rows are made on each twig, so
that the majority OF them dry and lie,
leaving the tree often bare and dead,
apparently, but wholly so as TO the in
jared branches and twigs. The fly is
not known TO feed in this stage, but
simply performs its parental functions
and then dies.
ThSFstter Nv" is quite plainly mark
ed on forewings Of the mature insect,
and some superstltiOus persons have
greatly alarmed themselves, most
unnecessarily by thinking this meant
war.
The peculiar sound made by the
clcada is the effect Of a vibrating sep
tam drawn tightly over a frame like a
seml-globular drum, or. in fact, a pair
Of them, under the wings Of the insect,
and this membrane, acted upon proba-
bly, by air drawn and forced out OF the
drum, makes the strideRt sound uttered
by this insect
Il is harmless to vegetation.