Evening star., 1928-06-01
417-YEAR LOCUST
HELD HARMLESS
Fear of Cicada GroundIeSS,
Or. A. /. QuintanCe
Declares.

While the periodic cicada. falsely
called i7-year locust continued tc
emerge from the soil by hundreds OF
thousands in nearby Virginia, DR..
A L. Quaintance, acting chief of the
Bureau of Entomology of the Depart
nlent of Agriculture. assured the people
OF Washington and vicinity that any
alarm over the invasion was entirely
g-oundleSS.
Persons at all interested in nature. "
Or. Quaintance said, should rather be
thankful for an opportunity to witness
one OF the strangest events in insect
life, which in some respects still IS
obscure 70 scientists"
The periodic cicada. DR.. Quaintance
said, does not make itself at all dis
agreeable TO persons walking in the
woods, where it abounds and gives no.
body an excuse for keeping indoors.
Last Seen Here in 1911.
The present invasion is that Of a
smaller brood. which last appeared in
the vicinity OF Washington in 1911. The
great local brood last appeared in 1918.
and will not make its appearance again
until 1885 This brood is expected to
extend only SIS far west as West Viz
ginia.
With each appearance of the periodic
cicaCa. DR.. Quaintance said, the Bureau
Of Entomology has conducted expert
ments IN ways OF destroying them, but
their habits are such that there has
been little progress. Spraying trees with
poison before the shells harden, 1t is be-
lieved, might accomplish some good. but
the insects usually come out at night,
and the next morning would be too late.
This year nothing is being done, be-
cause nobody has offered any suggestion
for new procedure. and the damage is
SO slight that the problem never Is
pressing.
The periodic cicada. DR.. Quaintance
pointed out, is not even distantly re-
lated TO any Of the locust, or grass
hopper, famiIy-aS were the 17-year
locusts of the Bible and the Rocky
Mountain locusts. Both Of these are
grass and crop eating pests, which do
enormous damage. The insect now in
vading Washington was tagged with the
name Locust" by the Pilgrim Fathers
during an invasion shortly after the
settlement Of Plymouth, which put them
IN mind Of the lpcustS of the Bible.
VIII Live in Ground.
The females now emerging from the
ground In a few days will have bored
holes under the bark OF tree twigs, gen
orally selected two-year wood, and laid
their eggs. Sometimes the borings ex-
tend to the pith Of the twig. In four
or five weeks these eggs will hatch ard
the young viii fall from the twigs 10
The ground Immediately they VIII start
boring their way under the surface.
There they viii remain, feeding on
tree roots, for exactly IL years-almoSt
to the day and hour. The periodic ci-
cadas are the longeSt-liyed Of all in
secIs-no other known species living
more than three Of four years.
When the IL years Is Up, stirred By
some mysterious prompting Of nature,
the whole brood Of millions Of tndividu-
ais viii start simultaneously Ous Of the
living graves II which they have lived
90 long. into the sunlight to die. Those
nov coming out Of the ground never
VIII 20 back again. Once q new genera
tann Is provided for they have no further
Interest n Life.
Adults Eat Little.
The adults eat practically nothing. II
long Was thought that they were tncapa-
bic Of eating after the transformation
which takes place In the first few hours
after their emerging, during which they
are equipped with wings Dr. Quaint
arace beiieTeS, however, that they do
take q little noursshnent from the
leaves.
A curious habit, which never has been
explained, is their practice Of pushing
up from the soil hollow cylindrical
towers Of mud Just before their erneT-
gence. Sometimes the floor Of moist
patch Of woods viii be literally coy
cred with these little towers.
The only damage caused By the To-
cz1Et IL that Due 70 boring the twigs
The beS. procedure, DR.. 0uzintance
Easd. IS 20 cut CT these twfgS as SOON
as tie invasion has passed. az the same
time stimulating the tree with q little
nitrate, 80 that new growth viii start.
They never kin a tree. however. and 10
gse&t yoss is suffered II nothing Is done.