The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1911-06-01
HICKMAN COUNTY KENTUCKY THURSDAY JUNE L. 1911

SNbAA W udlCu ldlc III july anu luc
active little larvae drop to the ground
and burrow beneath the surface,
where they remain until the end Of
May Of the seventeenth year there
after. These larvae ar not grub-hke,
but are active. four-legged creatures
and burow readily through the soil
by means Of enlarged forelegs They
do not seem 10 injure the roots Of
plants. but to derive their sustenance
from the organic matter contained In
soil moisture.
Ia late spring OF the seventeenth
year, they have passed through their
last mott and have become pupae,
but In this stage they are as active
as before Sometimes reaching the
surface OF the soil. they will build
little cones or chimneys Of earth a.
bove the surface of the soil, building
upward continually for several weeks
before the time Of issuing Why they
should build these chimneys OF tur.
rets or huts. as they have been call
ed, has been a puzzling matter for
the people who have written about IT,
They seem to be made when the soil
lie shallow or when there is some IN
usual warmth which brings the pupae
TO the surface in advance Of the nor
nal time and also sometimes when
the soil Is exceedingly moist The
conditions, in other words, must be
somewhat abnormal or the chimneys
are not constructed.
When the proper time arrives, the
pupae leave the ground almost with
@ rush. They all come out nearly to-
gether and scramble for some tree
trunk. fence or bush. On such base
the climb upward for a considerable
distance and then seize hold firmly
aud rest. This scramble from the
ground begins always just at sun.
down and continues until nine OF ten
O'Clock in the evening. About an
hour after they have risen and fixed
themselves. the skin begins to burst
along the back Of the thorax and the
adult Cicada slowly crawls out In
from twenty minutes to an hour or
more the issuance Is complete. and
the newly issued adult, white In color
win red eyes. clings either to the
pupa shell or TO the bark Of the tree
OF 70 other objects upon which the
pupa may be fixed. and gradually the
wings expand and dry. and during
the night the dark brownish color Of
the insect becomes evident.
The Cicada has not many natural
specific enemies. and this is quite to
be expected from its rare appearance
es. Nevertheless, many birds feed
upon II with svidity. and the English
sparrow, rather contrary to its nor
NAL habits. seems to begin prolons-
ed Teasing whenever the Cicsda
comes. So generally are the Cicadas
destroyed in the neighborhood of cit
les by this city nuisance that each
year the broods have become smaller
since this sparrow was brought TO
this country. One Of the natural enc
mics is the largest OF the digger
wasps This wasp stores its burrows
with Cicadas The periodical Gcada
ss a rule appears too early for the
wasp, which finds the bulk of its prey
in the common dog-dsy harvest fly
that comes out after the seventeen
year locust mas disappeared, but
many Of the late-fEing seventeen
year Cicadas are captured by the ear
lest of the wasps TO issue. are stung
by them and carried away and packe
in the long wasp burrows beneath
the ground
The eggs of the Cicada are preyed
upon by certain mites, and there is
q little internal parasite which de-
stroys them as we'll.
II sometimes happens that orchards
located on cleared lands or in the vi
entity OF standing forests are very
seriously injured by the Cicadas lay
ing their eggs; but on the whole
they do little damage Where dam
age of this kind is feared, the RENE
dies consist in destroying the pupae
as they arise from the ground and
while they are moro or less torpid
and sluggish. A very strong solution
of kerosene emulsion has also been
used with excellect effect. 1t should
be sprayed over the pupae and newly
formed adults in. the early evening.
A heavy coat Of whitewash on the
trees Will keep them away to some
extent when there are other trees In
the neighborhood. Bordeaux mixture
seems to have some effect Of the
same kind Owners Of young orchaN
forevarned of the coming on a brood