The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-08
SEVENTEEN-YEAR LOCUSTS
They and Their i3-YeaT Cousins Will
Visit Us Next Summer.

Visit Us Next Summer.
Periodical or Red-eyed Cieadas Is the
Name of the First-Their Birth, Enc
mics, and Long Development to Ma
turity-C Conform alton and Habits OF
the Insect.
From the New York Sun.
Within few days now the agricultural
department at Washington will probably
issue a bulletin 10 farmers announcing
that the insect pests commonly called
"seventeen-year locusts'' are due in
twenty-five states and territories during
the months of May, June and July. Such
bulletin was issued prior to their ap-
pearance in 1877, and the enormous num-
bers Of them that year in the valley of
the Hudson river and all the suburbs of
Brooklyn, Staten Island and Jersey City
will never be forgotten by those who OBJ
served them. If they do not appear in
large numbers this year it will be be-
cause the chronological authorities are
all at sea in their predictions or else the
growth of civilized communities has had
a tendency to decrease their broods
The real name Of this interesting insect
is the periodical cicada, or the red-eyed
cicada, as bug hunters Familiarity call it,
IL does not belong to the locust tribe,
which are near relatives of the grass
| hopper and distinguished by great ability
to jump. The red-eyed cicada does not
jump The dictionaries derive the word
| locust from two Latin words, meaning a
burned place, and the popular use of that
4 word as the name Of the cicada is justified
! by the testimony of writer's who have de-
scribed the ravages of the 11-year locusts
! One who Travelled 100 miles through the
! forests of Pennsylvania and Ohio after
they had appeared said the whole forest
| looked as ii il had been scorched by fire.
Before the natural history of the sew
| enteen-year locust was understood, its
! appearance was regarded as a supernat-
ural manifestation. In Louisiana in 1885
it was regarded as presaging war with
| Mexico. There is a dusky Zigzag line
/ near the tip of the creatures wings
which looks like W, and is said tostand
/ for war. The omen would not hold good
| in other languages, but the seventeen
| year locust does not prevail in other
! lands. 1t is distinctly American prod
uct, and of the $50, coo varieties of insect
! life known to science it has the longest
! life. 1t is a little singular that the Arabs
! trace In the wings Of the genuine locust q
message from God written In Arabic.
Q. V. Riley United States commits
! sioner of agriculture in 1885, has done
much to clear up the mystery which in
! volved the seventeen-year locust. He has
! found that there are two kinds Of period
! zeal cicadas, the northern variety, with a
| period of development lasting seventeen
| years, and another variety, supposed to
! have come originally from the south, with
a period of thirteen years. There is no
| perceptible difference between these two
| kinds of cicada, except the period Of their
! development, but Mr.. Riley says they do
not associate with each other or cross in
! breeding. Mr. Riley thought he had dis
covered twenty-five broods of these in
| sects, but afterward reduced it to twenty
one, because his predictions as to the APP
| pearance Of one brood were not realized.
| OF these twenty-five broods, seven are
| those of thirteen-year locusts and fifteen
those OF seventeen-year locusts. Since
! 1850 one brood or another has made its
| appearance in the United States every
! year, except in 1873, 1887, 1890 and 1892.
This year, according to Pro- Rileys
| schedule, the country is to be visited bya
| thirteen-year brood and q seventeen-year
! brood together. Small broods Of both
! sorts appeared at distant points last year
! and in 1885, but IN 1855 both sorts APP
| peared in vast reaches of territory east of
the Mississippi, and the last visitation be-
/ 4OLG bllub u Il VIII bCOil- cur UIOOu anu a
| seYenteen-year brood in the same year
was in 1865.
The seventeen-year locusts are sched-
uled to appear this year in connecticut,
| New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia,
North Carolina and Michigan. they are
called by MIR. Riley Brood XII. and are
very numerous.
The thirteen-year locusts are sched-
uled to appear in Alabama, Arkansas,
| Georgia, Illinois, Indian Territory, Ken
| lucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Mis-
| souri,, North Carolina, South Car
DINA, Tennessee, Texas and Vir-
| ginia. They constitute Brood XVIII.
| OF Mr.. Riley's classification. He says
this is the largest of the thirteen-year
! broods and the most widely extended.
! Only in Virginia and North Carolina are
| both varieties predicted to appear to-
| gether, although they may overlap in the
! vicinity of Michigan and Illinois.
II is Mr.. Riley's brood XII. that is of in
! terest to the Suns readers. He predicted
| its appearance in 1877, and thus wrote of
! it after it did appear:
This is one OF the best recorded broods, and
as 1t appears in the immediate vicinity of
! New York, Brooklyn. Jersey City, and other
! great centers OF population the records for
! the year 1877 are abundant in newspaper artf-
| cles as well as in letters from correspondents
| The reports from New I ork state agree that
I inc ClNaUaS were extremely ABUNDANT
| Staten island, much less so on Long island,
| While there were mono within the city OF New
| York.
| Along both sides OF the Hudson river they
! were observed ut many points. reaching so
/ far north as the vicinity of Troy in Rensselaer,
| county, thus exactly combining the extent OF
the brood as given above. In Connecticut
| they were observed by Mr. William H. Pat
! ton, who wrote me as follows on July g. 1877:
/ May r. large NUMBERS OF pupae we're found
/ under stones in woods near Meriden Conn.
/ May "a, l saw the FIRST perfect insect here in
/ New Haven, and can ind no knowledge of its
earlier appearance. although heard rumors
/ OF its appearance before that date At the
| present writing they are still plentiful in the
I limited localities which they frequent"
! In New Jersey they we're seen and heard at
many points in Hudson. Bergen. Essex and
| MtddleseX counties, and much less frequently
! in other parts OF the state but Mr. A, RI
/ Newton, OF Ancora, in Camden county. oh
served them near his place, and wrote me on
/ June %, 1877: From what hear from other
{ localities 4 judge that Southern New Jersey
generally. as we'll as northern. is SUBJECT To
the visitation. They are doing little damage. "
thus Dr. smiths statement that they occur
! throughout the state seems to be confirmed
/ In Pennsylvania according to conmuni.
/ cation to the New York Weekly sun from
| Milford, dated June II, they appeared In
! immense numbers In Pike county, having
been much less numerous in 1890 No news
( comes TO me from the southern portion OF the
7 state, where this brood is evidently not nu-
/ merouS.