The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-06-06
AGAIN THE 17-YEAR LOCUSIS
MARYLAND REPORTS THEIR
 REAPPEARANCE
And the Birds and Squirrels Are
 Glad.

Glad.
 Baltimore has reported the appear
 ance in the public parks there of the IT,
 year locust, for which the naturalists
 and others have been on the lookout
 this month, and it is expected that they
 will be reported within few days or
 weeks from other parts of the country.
 What the ravages of the pests this year
 will be is no way to tell, but as almost
 every year is a 17-year locust period in
 some part of the country, there is no
 doubt that the insects will be seen in
 other regions than Maryland before the season is much advanced.
 There are several species of the cicada
 in this country and they are known as locusts and also as harvest flies The
 17-year locust is the Cicada septem-
 dicem, and it is found in all parts of the country to the eastward of the great
 plains. There are two races, one. of them essentially northern In it's distribu-
 tion, and the other southern, which diff l leIS lIOIl US nOTlleIH DTtLIISu III LlldL it's periods are 13 years Of each specie there are several broods, so that the supply is never exhausted in any season | of appearance.
 | The cicada deposits it's eggs in the outer twigs of trees, in grooves cut by the ovipositor In about six weeks they hatch, and the young almost imme- diately after liberation leap from the | boughs and burrow into the ground, in which the major part of their life is spent. The young live in the earth un- til near the expiration of the period of 17 years, burrowing to the depth of 20 feet in some instances. The locusts in this part of their career live on the roots of trees and on other plants, and at the same time extract some of their nourshment from the soil through cer- tain hollow hairs at the tip of the pro- boscis, To extract the sap from the l roots of the trees they are equipped | with sharp, long peaks. During the | period of their life underground the larvae shed their skins many times. At | the expiration of the term they tunnel | upward, and, issuing from the ground | by thousands, climb the nearest tree, | shed their skins for the last time and | appear a S perfect insects. Creamy white | in color at first. they turn rapidly to dark shade nexposure to the air and | their development is remarkably fast The ascent of the cicada takes place about the end of May earlier or later. according to the local conditions, and the ascent into the trees Is made be- tween sunset and mid night
 The superstitious believe that the To- custs bear prophecy. The 17-year broods have a well-defined w on their backs, and an old superstition is that this presages the coming of war
 If is supposed that the brood that has appeared in Baltimore is the fore runner of other broods, which will prob ably appear late in July and last through August and into September In case these broods are very numerous, { the shrubbery and small trees will show { the effects in rapid whitening of the { branches from the tips inward. ( in some cases resulting in the death of s the tree In some districts of this state I in past years the damage from 17-year I locusts has been considerable. notably { in the case of swarm which covered 2 the central part of the state in the early hUS. HIS SWdTH TtCuTreu III ul1LeTeTL | localities for several years.
 Of natural enemies the cicada has 1 plenty In spite of it's predominance of shell structure over flesh anumber of creatures look to it for food supply Several varieties of common birds pur- sue it with avidity, but by no means in- with success, for the ungainly- looking insect flies swiftly and is an , expert dodger Squirrels pick the clcada off the branches of the trees where it perches while singing it's hot-weather song In the South it's most formidable v antagonist is the great bald hornet |. which stings 1t to death and Jugs it off nome as reserve for a rainy day. The ,icada's only protection is Its swiftness z If flight and the difficulty of distin- \ gushing it from the limb on which it 'ests. It's noise Is little guide to the oursuer, as it is very difficult to locate. q When entomologists have nothing else ~ Q quarrel over they can find material \ or discussion in the cicada family. Sci T nee has not yet determined the perodi- al appearance of the so- called 17-year fl ocust some authorities holding that U he appearance is to some extent for uitous, occurring sometimes at the ex- ,iration of 13 or 15 or 17 years while le he other school holds that the Swear el 'ariety Is distinct. The other point of ir dispute pertains to the noise producing u processes of the creature. Whether the o ocust rubs it's proboscis aginst it's cor s, u ugated breastplate or simply plays astanets with it's legs is still a moot cc uestion. It Is difficult to persuade ocust to sing his song when held be- ween the thumb and forefinger and = ven when he does let out an occasional q rotesting buzz his musical method Is ot apparent to the eye-New York un.