The Daily Texarkanian., 1894-05-30
SEVENTEEN YEAR LOCUST.
What Kind and Character of Insect
The Farmer will Con-
tend with.


A Government bulletin, on the
subject of seventeen year locust,
whose appearance in Arkansas has
already been announced from sew
eral different points, has this to
say;
The fact that the periodical cica-
da or so-called '17-year locust" is
to appear in two great broods the
present season is stated by a num-
Der of newspapers to have been an
nounced by the United States de-
partment of Agriculture, and these
statements have caused some un-
necessary alarm among those who
do not understand the exact nature
of the insect or who confound
it with true locusts or so-called
"grasshoppers, owing to the
somewhat careless newspaper
wording The department has
made no such public announcement
the present year, although the
cicada chronology published by
Prof, Riley in bulletin No. 8 of the
division Of entomology in 1886 pre-
dicted an extended appearance Of
the insects in 1894.
The entomologist of the depart
ment has been interviewed on the
subject and states that the damage
done by these insects is, as rule,
quite immaterial, consisting in the
light cutting, breaking and deaden-
ing Of the terminal twigs of fruit
and shade trees by the females in
the act Of laying their eggs. The
injury becomes serious only when
the insects are exceptionally abund-
ant and oviposit in young nursery
stock.
According to Prof. Rileys chron-
ology given in his first report on the
insects of Missouri 1869, two
broods are due in 1895 and the in
sects will make their appearance
during the last week in May.
Brood II is composed of the II year
form [Septendecim], and its last
appearance was in 1871 1t then
occurred in the immediate vicinity
of New York, Brooklyn and Jersey
City and on both sides of the Hud-
son river rs far north as Troy, in
portions of Connecticut, New Jer-
sey Pennsylvania, Virginia and the
District of Columbia
Seventeen years previous to 1877
the insect was recorded in North
Carolina; in Dearborn county, lndi-
ana, and in Kalamazoo county,
Michigan. The last three localities
however, we're not substantiated by
reports received in 1877 In all the
localities mentioned above cicadas
may be expected during June of the
present year. Brood 18 is of the 13
year race [tredeciml, and as with
other 10 year broods, its range is in
the more Southern states, rather
than in the northern part of the
country. It's last appearance was
in 1881, when it occurred in south
er Illinois, throughout Missouri,
with the exception of the north
western corner, in Louisiana, Ark
ansas, Indian Territory, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia and North and South Caro-
lima.
The larvae, which live under
ground and feed to some extent up
on the roots Of plants, gradually
rise to the surface of the ground
when nearing full growth, and from
about May 20 to June /, they begin
to make their appearance above
ground in the nymph or pupa con-
dition. They crawl up to the trunk
of trees, cast their skins, and the
winged insect comes forth. The
adults are prevalent for five or six
weeks, and, as above stated, do
some little damage to trees and
shrubbery by puncturing them for
the purpose of egg laying. The
eggs hatch in about two weeks and
the young larvae drop to the
ground, which they enter to begin
their long subteranean life.
The entomologist of the United
States department of agriculture
will be glad to receive during the
present season any accurate locah-
ty notes of the appearance Of these
insects, as he has been engaged for
many years in mapping the exact
distribution Of each brood as it APP
pears.