Evening star., 1936-06-13

they are clever, these insects often I'M
press the careful observer as rather dull
in mentality, and especially slow in CO.
ordination. We have watched them
climb for minutes over the stub end Of
clipped priyet hedge branch, going
around and around, evidently not know
ing when to let go or how to do 1t.
Yet in other ways they are clever
enough. 1t may be believed, however,
that their ancestral purposes are ac-
complished only at the expense Of q
frightful mortality, as is common in
Nature. We forget how many million
eggs o mother cod lays, but it is tremen-
dous. Naturalists tell us that Of 1000
eggs finally Matched out, only one grows
into a big fish. And this does not take
into account the literally hundreds of
thousands Of eggs which are eaten by
other fishes, including the parents.
The cicadas impress this observer as
perhaps the cleaneSt- looking insects he
has ever seen.
The insect, as form Of life, usually
makes little appeal to any one except
the scientist.
Most people regard insects as "bugS,"
solely, and tend to shrink away from
them. In many instances this comes
about partly because we know the crea-
ture harbors inimical forms Of life, per-
haps microscopic or is allied in some
way to human dirt.
Some insects strike the observer as
sticky, or in other ways repulsive.
1t is pleasure then, to meet the
cicadas, after their seventeen years be-
low. They are clean in appearance and
in fact, as far as We can discover.
They are dry in composition, with
smooth, shining surfaces, interesting
colors, especially their fine red eyes,
clear wings with interesting markings.
The darker mark near the end Of the
wings, though 1t does seem to spell
"W," in reality Is merely vein Of the
wings, and scarce could be in any other
form.
Scientists are concerned with finding
whether the cicadas are dying out, and,
II SO, where they seem TO be less at this
appearance than in their previous mani
festations.
The large amount of publicity which
has attended the present visitation has
not, in the main, been a good thing for
these cicadaS, since 1t has turned
toward them the attention of thousands
of persons with utterly no interest in
Nature,
1t is unfortunate that with so many
humans the one instinct, when con-
fronted with something strange in the
way of life. is to kill it.
Thus the sole idea Of some Is to
destroy these harmless things, insects
which are beautiful viewed with open
eyes; insects which are both clean and
interesting, insects which give cause for
speculation and scientific investigation.
If the attention of so many persons
had not been called to them thousands
Of them would not have been trampled
to death, but would have gone on their
ancestral ways unharmed.
Many persons would not have noticed
them at all. But, having had their at
tention called to them, their idea has
been to destroy them, or curse them on
general principles.
The cicadas have had many friends,
however, there is no doubt of that, per-
sons who are willing to wait to see what
damage, if any. the insects have caused
to shrubs and trees. Our belief is that
time will prove them absolutely harm
less, wonders Of Nature which we are
priviledged to see and hear.