Newark post. (Newark, Del.) 1910-1969, 1919-05-07
SEVENTEEN YEAR
LOCUST MAY APPEAR
ANY DAY
Popular Fear Confuses This
Insect With The
Grasshopper
OrasshOpper

The advent of the periodical cicada
or so-called II year locust, due to ar
rive early in May, has caused some
fear and misrepresentation. People in
the Il States where this insect will
appear, apprehend greater damage
than will actually occur and conse-
quently refrain from planting certain
Things from fear of having their crops
eaten up.
This fear is due to confusing the
cicada with the real locust, which
sometimes comes in devastating
hordes, sweeping across large sections
OF the country and devouring every
green thing. People who have had ex-
perlence with the real locust and the
ruin it works have reason to fear a
return. The cicada, however, is not
a locust at all, but species of dry
weather by-a strictly American in
sect. The real locust, the destructive
kind, is a grasshopper which is found
in many parts of the world and has
had place in history for thousands
ct years. One species plagued the
Egyptians; another has sometimes
ravaged the great plains and other
sections of the United States.
These two have little in common
except that both occur in large num-
bers and both have at times been used
as human food.
The real locust is an indiscriminate
eater, grain fields, cornfelds, mea-
dows, pastures, weed patches-every-
thing falls before him. The period.
cal cicada or so-called locust is dainty
almost beyond belief. 1t was long
believed that this insect in the adult
stage took no nourishment at all. On
rare occasions it had been observed
with it's beak apparently thrust into
twigs, but it was not until II years
ego, the last previous appearance of
the large brood that comes out this
year, that it was definitely determined
that This belief was erroneous. The
"17 year locust" does eat while in the
adult stage, but its diet is confined tc
the juices of plants, sucked out ir
very small quantities and without
causing appreciable injury to plants.
So far as periodicity of outbreaks is
concerned, the real locust or grass
hopper is a law unto itself. The
hordes may appear any year or not al
all. The hordes of the "17-year locust
or periodical cicada appear with :
regularity that would almost put tt
shame Government clock. In spite
of their extremely slow development
under ground the multiplied million!
of individuals reach maturity anc
emerge almost at the same moment
and exactly II years from the date OF
the previous appearance-that is, il
they are of the 17-year race. There
is 13-year race of the periodical ci
cada, but it is just as regular, just a!
exactly on schedule, as the other one
Rea! Locust NOmad.
The real locust is sort of nomadit
militant. It's hordes, like those O.
Attila the Hun, or of Genghis Khan
sweep hither and yon, always on th'
move, destroying as they CO. The so
. called l7-year locust or cicada is {
home body. Stevenson's lovable char
acter, "Will O. the Mill" did not sticl
so closely to his birthplace as doe.
, the periodical cicada. Literally, HI
abides always under his own vine anc
fig tree" The tree from which any
individual cicada dropped as a newl,
Matched larva II years ago is ths
exact tree under which he will emerge
this spring, up which he will mos
, likely crawl to cast his pupal skin, anc
in which he will meet his mate an(
sing his love song, in which he will
pass his days of decreptitude, anc
from which, in few weeks, his deat
body will fall, almost upon the spo
where he-as a larva--fell II year!
tvt'ore and burrowed into the ground
Where the periodical cicada came int
existence, there he spends his day!
and dies.
Every crop suffers from the raw
ages of the real locust. Only tree!
suffer at all from the 17-year locust
and only very young fruit and orna
rental trees are likely to be severel!
Injured.