The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1902-03-13
THE SEvENTEEN-YEAR LOCUST.
Mr.. Guy L. Stewart, of the Baltimore and
Ohio Industrial Department,
Writes of the Pest.

"AAhOS u Sho GoSs
So many inquiries are now made in
regard to the damage of this pest and
the danger of setting fruit trees this
spring that short sketch may make
plain the danger from the Cicada.
The material for this article is taken
from W. Va. Sta. Bulletin No. so, by
DIR. A. D. Hopkins.
In the first place this locust is not a
locust as he is commonly called, but
is properly known as the periodical
cicada. This distinction is drawn be-
cause the cicada belongs to the true
bugs, taking nourishment through a
piercing tube as the squash bug does,
instead of by biting jaws as the true
locust does.
So well has this insect been studied
that it is definitely known when the
brood is due. These broods do not
appear in every section every seven
teen years, but it's seventeen year
resting time may end in one section
one year, as did the brood of 1898, or
Brood XVII as it is known, and in
another section it may appear in 1900,
or as this year, in 1902. Some coun-
ties in West Virginia appear to have
an overlapping of broods as does JEFF
ferson, which is scheduled for the
brood of 1902, 1906 and 1910, while the
greater part of Berkeley is to have
only the 1902 brood.
The 1885 brood, which was the par
ent of this years brood, occurred in
certain known counties in West Vir-
ginia and from that it may predicted
they will occur in the following coun-
ties this year; 1.-THE greater part of
Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hamp-
shire, Mineral, northern part of Har-
dy, eastern part of Preston, Pendle-
ton, Pocahontas, Greenbrier and Mon
roe," and this 1885 brood having been
very large may occur in many other
places in the State.
The life history is as follows Dur
ing the spring of the 18th or 10Th year
a few of the full grown ones may be
found near the surface, but about
April of the 18th year the pupe be-
gin preparations for emerging from
the ground by excavating burrows.
These burrows are completed about
the latter part of April, extending
generally only to the surface but
sometimes projecting from four to six
inches above. This tube is made of
clay carried up. When ready these
pupe emerge from shutdown till prob
ably ten o'clock. AS soon as they are
out they make their way to some up
right object as tree, building, fence,
post or weed, or anything where they
can climb up and expose themselves
to the open air. In about one hour
the skin along their back splits open
and the full grown insect crawls out.
The wings and their other body parts
are at first very soft but they grad
uallY harden until the following day
when they take leave for short
aerial existence of about thirty days.
During this period they eat but littl 9
If at all, the males spending the time
making the well known noise while
the females spend their time deposit
ing eggs in the soft twigs of the trees.
This takes place during June, each
female depositing from 800 to 500 eggs
in ragged punctures in twigs of shrubs
or trees and sometimes in stems of
herbaceous plant. These eggs hatch
in from six to eight weeks, the Larvae
or worms emerge from the twigs and
fall to the ground. They then bur-
row into the ground feeding on the
liquid from the roots and possibly
from the soil itself. They change
their position from time to time and
may enter the ground to a depth of
eight or ten feet. During the fif-
teenth or sixteenth year they ap-
| proach the surface and then go
through the process above detailed.
In the warmer southern states these
broods appear every 10 instead of II
years. Of these regular broods there
are two swarms, distinguished by size
and the peculiar noise made by the
females.
Enemies; - Before leaving the
ground it is devoured by hogs, and
other animals also by disease. AS
adults they are destroyed by para
sites and predaceous insects and in
damp rainy weather they are de-
stroyed by thousands by fungi. The
English Sparrow also has one redeem
ing trait of destroying many cicada.
Squirrels and poultry destroy great
quantities of the adult insects.
Injuries caused by the Cicada:-The
injury to the roots of trees by the
young is not considered serious. The
adult female causes serious injury to