The Portland daily press., 1899-06-20
SEVENTEEN YEAR LOCUsTs.
Onondsgo indians Again Indulging In
Their Favoritc Dish OF Upland
shrimp.


tFroin the Syracuse Post-Standard.)
Whether the 'serentesn-year locust
(Cicada septsndecim) actually hibsrnates
In the ground for seventeen years before
reappsaring again IN the treetors TO man
gle and torture the peaceful summer all
with its stridnlous cnll has been mootet
question. Frequently quoted authorities
on the subject say il Is supposed" toEdt
so. The people out in Ouondaga Valley
say they know it. Seventeen years age
this very summer, as the memory of every
inhnbitant cid enough at that time to re-
member anything doth attest, the trees
about the valley were full OF the noisy
creatures; visitors, uDaccustomed to the
noise Of the locust, could not sleep o.
nights, and for one Ehappy summer ths
songbirds, chickens and onondaga In
dians lived like gourmands.
Every summer at the valley has seen O
few struggling iocusts OF this variety, but
this Summer, seventeen years from their
last previous appearance In hordes, the
clcadas are present again by the million.
The trunk OF every tree whose bark ID
rough. it's bare branches as high as the
eye can distinguish, every bush and
shrub that lines the highways and rail-
fences, the fences themselves and the
walls Of buildings. even the very grass In
the meadows-All are decorated with the
empty. beetle-shaped husks from which
the locusts have emerged, the newly re-
incsrnated cioadas all in white drying
their iiabby wings, and the adult insects
in black and green with little red bead
like eyes, Hddling away "a II the perpetu.
alton of their species depended upon the
noise they made. Indeed, the proposition
is not improbable, for the strident,
rasping noise the locust makes is believed
by many who have watched their habits
to be in tho nature of love ditty, or the
call of the insect to Its mate.
A representative of the Post-Standard
went bug hunting In the cicada district
yesterday, and saw more scventeen-year
locusts In two hours than an expert ac-
oountant could enumerate In two years II
he counted them in blocks of fifty. Along
the public roads on both sides OF the val
ley the empty shells from which the loousts
have emerged can he seen by thousands,
cliuging with skeleton feet TO the bark of
trees and other rough objects. Further
south in the bottom lands of Onondaga
Creek, near ths Onondaga Reservation,
they are more numerous. The ground is
fairly honeyOum bed with the holes whicn
they have burroWed in coming to the sur
face. This grass Of the mea lows bends
beneath the weight OF three or four of the
huge Insects, half az large as hummlng
bird, clinging to each spear and their
discarded pulpA SHELLS form heap around
the base OF every tIee.
In some orchards It would be difficult
to find space big enough to lay ones
hand upon the bark of any tree that had
not already been appropriated by the cica-
das. Farmers ploughing in ths bottom
lands crunched beneath their feet at every
step numbers of the pupae that had not
yet made their way TO the surface. The
whole underlying soil seemed to be full of
them,as well as the trees and grass above
ground.
Upon the Indian reservation children
with baskets gather the pupas as they
emerge from the ground. In this stage.
and just before transformation into the
insect stage, the oicadas are about one
inch long and as large in diameter as a
lead pencil They look tride like an
ochre-colored bumblebee without wings.
When they emerge from the ground they
are soft and easily crushed, but the OUT
side shell hardens after the cicada has
emerged. The pupae are gathered in
quantities and eaten by many of the In
oians, who esteem them a great delicacy.
In preparation for the table they are
dropped whole into boiling grease and
crlsped like doughnut In an instant.
The reporter didn't eat any, but could
see no reason why they should be more
repulsive than shrimps or soft-sheiled
crabs, which are recognized delicaoies.
An Indian said the Great Spirit lived
on locusts and that the Indians them
selves regard them as heayen-sent
delicacy. This, possibly, may be tradi-
tion of the aborigines or an idea gained
from tine Christian" Indians, who have
heard in Sunday school about John the
Baptist eating locusts and wild honey.
The slndians had never eaten honey on
their locust tritters. but thought 1t might
be good.
When the pupa of the cicada emerges
from the ground, which Ii usually does at
night, perhaps because the dew attracts IL
to the surface, 1t Immediately looks about
for something to climn, appearing to have
as strong proclivities In that direction as
the average small boy. Its ambition
seems to be to climb as high as possible
before Its back splits open, for all the
world like the seat of juvenile trousers
engaged in like occupation. When the
shell bursts, climbing stops. Sope of the
pupae ge. almost to the tops Of the trees,
~eloAS Duo :" AAetto way up tuc tIuuht Whilc
others still have only time to hurry half
way up dandelion stalk.
when the cicada feels his coat begin
ming to rip, he plants his front claws
firmly and resigns himself to the inevi :
table With cut as clean as II made py
a sharp knife, the entire back of the shell
splits open. and from 1t at Iengh emerges
an insect nearly twice as long as the dis
,arded case. AS it leaves the pupa the
cioada is a creamy white, except for his
little red, beadlike eyes. Its wings are
draggled and IL can scarcely crawl But
a few hours in the morning sun work a
wonderful transformation. The body of
the insect becomes shining black, the
wings become transparent, except for
ribs of bright green. Ihe red eyes retain
their color After one hour of sunshine
the cicada is ready TO fly up into the tree
tops and commence tiddling.
The farmers at the valley say they have
not yet observed any damage done by tn .
locusts, Seventeen years ago they stripped
many trees of their foliage. and will
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