The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1911-06-01

who have written about it. They
seem TO be made when the soil is
shallow or when there is some I'M
usual warmth which brings the
pupae to the surface in advance
of the normal time and also some
times when the soil is excessively
moist. The conditions, in other
words, must be somewhat abnormal
or the chimneys are not construc-
ted.
When the proper time arrives,
the pupae leave the ground almost
with a rush. They all come out
nearly together and scramble for
some tree trunk or fence or busth
On such base they climb upward
for a considerable distance and then
seize hold firmly and rest. This
scramble from the ground begins
always Just at shutdown and con-
TUNES until nine or ten o'clock in
the evening. About an hour after
they have risen and fixed them
selves, the skin begins to burst 4
along the back Of the thOrax and~
the adult Cicada slowly crawis out
I'm from twenty minutes to an hour
or more the issuance is complete,
and the newly issued adult, white
m color with red eyes, clings either
to the pupa shell or to the bark Of
the tree or to the other object up
on which the pupa may be fixed,
and gradually the wings expand and
dry, and during the night the dark
brownish color of the insect be-
comes evident
The Cicada has not many natural E
specific enemies, and this is quite
to be expected from its rare ap-
pearances. Nevertheless, many
birds feed upon its white ayidity,
and the English sparrow, rather
contrary to its normal habits,
seems to begin a prolonged feasting
whenever the Cicada comes. Sc
generally are the Cicada destroyed
in the neighborhood of cities by
this city nuisance that each year
the broods have become smaller
since this sparrow was brough toY
this country. One of the natura
enemies is the largest of the dig
ger wasps, Sphecius speciosus. This
wasp stores its burrows with Cica-
das. The periodical Cicada as a rule &
appears too early for the wasp,
which finds the bulk of its prey inn
the common dog-day harvest fly
that comes out after the SEVENTEEN
year locust has disappeared, bu
many of the late-flying seventeen
year Cicadas are captured by the
earliest of the wasps to issue, are 4
stung by them and carried away
and packed in the long wasp bur-
rows beneath the ground.
The eggs of the Cicada are preyed
upon by certain mites, and there's
is a little internal parasite which
destroyes them as well.
1t sometimes happens that orch
ards located on cleared lands or ii
the vicinity of standing forests ar
very seriously injured by the Cica
das laying their eggs; but on TIN
whole they do little damage. Wher
damage of this kind is feared, tn
remedies consist in destroying TN
pupae as they arise from the grounF
-vffYrc---sLss ss4-are. more or leS8
torpid and sluggish A very strorF
solution of Kerosene emulsion hal
also been used with excellent eff
feet. It should be sprayed Owe
the pupae and newly formed adultX
in the early evening. A heavy Goa
of whitewash on the trees will kee
them away to some extent wheN
there are other trees in the neigl%
borhood. Bordeaux mixture SEEM
to have some effect of the SAM
Kind. Owners of young orchard
forewarned of the coming OF brod
of Cicadas, should neglect all pruI
ing operations during the wint9
and spring in order that their tree
may be pruned for them by th
Cicadas, thus distributing the dam
AGE over a larger surface. Anothe
precaution when Cicada year
expected is to defer the plantin
of orchards, especially in the vicin
ity of old forest land, until til.
danger is past.