The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1919-04-29

This is ''locust year." and the
usual popular fear and misapprehen-
sion attend.
People in that large part Of the
United States over which the period
zeal cicada will appear are disposed,
as always, to apprehend greater dam
age than will occur-many times
greater. Of the remainder of the
United States large sections are I'M
der another misapprehension, which
is that the insect about to appear is
the real locust that some times comes
in devastating hordes, sweeping
across large sections of country and
devouring every green thing The
latter misrepresentation is, perhaps,
the more widespread and disquiet-
ing, according to entomologists of
the United States department of ag-
riculture. People who have had ex-
perience with the real locust and the
ruin it works never forget, and the
word locust" even though it be a
misnomer, is likely to be signal for
dread.
Locust Is Grasshopper.
Now, the 17-year locust-the in
sect that will appear in 81 states this
spring-is not locust at all.
The real locust-the devastating
kind is a grasshopper.
The periodical, miscalied locust, is
strictly an American insect. The real
locust, commonly called grasshopper,
occurs in many parts of the world
and has had its place in history for
thousands of years. There are many
species. The one that plagued the
Egyptians and probably the one on
which John the Baptist fed The one
that has sometimes ravaged the
great plains and other sections of the
United States is a related species.
Have Little in Common.
The real locust or grasshopper and
the so-called locust have very little
in common-nothing in fact, except
that both occur in large numbers and
both occasionally have been used as
human food, the former mostly by
certain peoples of the near East and
the latter by the Indians.
The real locust is an indiscriminate
eater, grain fields, corn fields, mead
ows, pastures, weed patches-every-
thing falls before him The periodical
do = l..
almost beyond belief. 1t was long be-
lieved that this insect in the aduis
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
ago, the last previous appearance of
the large brood that comes out this
year, that it was definitely determin-
ed that this belief was erroneous. The
"17-year locust" does eat while in the
adult stage, but it's diet is confined
to the juices of plants sucked out in
very small quantities and without
causing appreciable injury to plants.
So far as periodically of outbreaks
is concerned, the real locust or grass
hopper is 4 law unto itself The
hordes may appear any year or not
at all.
The ho~des of the "17-year To-
Gust" or periodical cicada appear
with a regularity that would almost
put to shame a government clock
In spite of their extremely slow de-
velopment under ground the multi
piled millions of individuals reach
maturity and emerge almost at the
same moment and exactly II years
from the date of the previous ap.
pearance-that is, if they are of the
17-year race. There is 13-year race
of the periodical cicada But it is
just as regular, just as exactly or
schedule. as the other one.
Real Locust a Nomad.
The real locust is a sort of nom
adic militant. It's hordes, like those
of Atilla the Hun or of Genghis Kahr
sweep hither and yon, always on the
, move, destroying as they go. The so
called 17-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!