New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-05-28
Story of an Insecf Hermit
BY Helen 3. Sehoonhoven.

! the cicada il would be a sight n.v.r n 10
| forgotten. All around us novv under our
feet are these waiting insects and some
night soon. perhaps even tonight. tust af-
Ter sunset all at once. as IL they had some
e's"a' or Underground telephone system,
! tney will come forth by the hundreds
iA'ue humps and hillocks. chimneys or
cones IKE this We found this morning will
\ seem 10 rise out of the earth like magic,
ana suddenly out OF every little hump. for
All the world like jack-in-a box there will
| pop an active. brown insect in a tremendous
hurry 10 get somewhere else. of he Will
go 70 the nearest tree or sturop and climb
until he finds secure fastening for his
toes. so he can hang on. He knows some
! thing is 10 happen TO him. and he must
he ready, for, after waiting seventeen years
FOR this moment. II is very important So
he hangs on 20 the bark Of the tree and
in little while his whole hack splits open.
out or this shell comes something that
looks like a white worm. with pink ewes.
his head hanging down and all tender and
limp, but. ! can imagine, very eXpectant.
FOR this ia not the end. All through the
night this pretty, white wornnlike creature
goes on changing and changing Real wings
come on each side thin. like gauze. with
orange edges. and tho body turns black.
When the sun rises the woods are ful
OF these dark winged insects. The tree
trunks are covered with the dry shells
we'll find some Of these later this spring
Isn't it more wonderful than the fairies
dancing in 2 ring in woodland dell? Re
fore people knew as much about the locust
IL a -e
them suddenly appeared in the morning
light drumming and flying and making a
cloud over the sky. that they foretold war.
The mark of W. is on their wings so
they said IT must mean war
The BOY was listening intently. What
10 they eat. dad2'
They have long sucking tube and
they drin, the Juice Of plants or the blood
Of animals. but they chiefly live on plant
Juices. In reality they eat very little.
They have so much 70 do in the few weeks
they can stay above ground IN get all the
EGGS ready 70 make the next lot Of grubs
that they spend very little time feeding.
and consequently do slight damage to trees
or crops They live just long enough for
the mother insect 20 lay her eggs n tho
encouraging music Of the males continual
drumming She does this by means OF A
curious instrument nature has given her
She cuts V-shaped sits in the bark Of
young trees or on the twigs Of older trees
and then pokes her eggs into these little
cuts. which are made deep enough to
allow the Juice Of the tree 10 nourish B.
baby insect when it matches. Sometimes
one cicada lays six hundred eggs. These
eggs hatch in short time. and the gruhs
about the size Of ants-ether drop n the
ground or the branch furnishing food dies
and drops off. Then the grubs burrow IN
the earth and go peacefully TO sleep for
their appointed seventeen years"
BY this time the sandwiches had disap-
peared and Fathers story was finished
Full of content. they still fingered on the
log. drinking in the wonder and beauty OF
tho springtime.
At last the Boy spoke
Il say dad. there's nothing in the world
so queer and interesting as how things
live and grow"
And Father agreed with him. Do you?
Note-The Iocusts appeared May "a. Just
the dav they were expected. but Few mlstook
the date and came out little earlier.