The Washington times., 1919-03-16
Remarkable Photographs of the
Evolution of the Locust-An
This Happens in 2 or 3 Hours


This Happens in 2 or 3 Hours
1-UsinR It's Powerful Front Legs the
= Locust Digs Up Through the Ground
30 the Surface After IL Years in the Earth
THE United States Department Of
Agriculture has sent out a warning
- that during the coming Summer
the United States will see the temperance
Of "the 'seventeen-year locusts," perhaps
the most remarkable of all insects. The
Government is able to foretell the occur
renee Of this event with the same pre-
cision that science foretells the return Of
= comet.
For seventeen years this insect has
been living and moving beneath the
earth in darkness and cold and gloom.
During the last week Of May or the first
week Of June it will emerge from the
earth, grow wings and enjoy few weeks
Of gay life in the light Of day. Billions
Of these insects viii then come to light
The insect chooses a time toward sunset
to crawl out Of the ground, so that it may
be ready to fly bright and early next
morning. It will climb up tree, and by
its struggles viii shake itself free Of its
old brown skin, from which it emerges
very much as a stout man struggles out
of his clothes.
When it first comes out Of its skin It
will have small, white soft useless wings.
With almost miraculous rapidity these
will grow on the air of day until they
are large, strong wings, with which the
seVenteen-year cicada can ny and buzz
The actions Of the insects during their
process Of coming to light are fully de-
scribed by a naturalist, who witnessed
them, further on in this article.
After assuming the winged form the
locust viii enjoy only five weeks of open
air life. Almost Immediately the female
begins to lay her eggs. In order to make
q place for them she chisels grooves in
the young branches of trees, thereby
causing considerable damage Then she
dies.
In a few weeks the grubs hatch out of
the eggs, crawl out of the branches, down
the tree to the ground, dig in and there
spend another seventeen years in dark
ness. Why they spend this particular
period underground is a good deal of a
mystery. One philosopher has called it
symbol Of the resurrection of the body.
One large brood spends thirteen years
instead of seventeen, and a few smaller
ones, perhaps, different but still long
periods underground.
When the billions Of newly Matched flies
first appear in the air they make a trem-
endous buzzing. A few weeks later, when
they die, their bodies are sometimes dis
agreeably numerous.
While laying her eggs in twigs and
small branches, the female uses a sharp
instrument called an ovipositor and the
puncture caused by this instrument does
the principal damage. When many pune
lures are made in a twig it may become
weakened and fall to the ground. This
makes it easier for the Matched out grub
to reach the earth, but in any case it would
crawl down the tree and reach there 1t
enters the ground near some rootlet.
Under ground the insect molts four
times, the first time after one year to
eighteen months, the second two years
later, the third three years later, and the
fourth three or four years after that. In
this stage it is known as a larva, or active
grub. During the remaining three or four
years it is a pupa.
The front legs of the insect in the larval
stage are very large and resemble the
cutting Jaws Of biting insects. They are
designed for digging and transporting
earth. The insect is believed to live on
humus soil and roots.
The Government gives notice of the
places where the locusts will be most
numerous, and how to guard against the
damage they may do. Incidentally, it tells
us that the name seVenteen-year locust is
erroneous, and that it should be called the
seVenteen-year cicada or in Latin ''Cicada
septendecim."
In addition to the great seventeen-year
brood, a thirteen-year brood will appear
his year. The former will appear mostly
u the North and the latter entirely in the
South.