Evening star., 1936-01-02
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory and Study.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

ST. LOUIS, January 2-Early next
May will take place the weird resurrec-
ton of the 17-year locusts.
An appeal for cooperative obServa-
ton to clear up some of the mysteries of
one Of the Strangest OF all biological
events was made before a section of
the American Association for Advance
ment of Science here today by j. A. Hys-
lop, entomologist of the Department OF
Agriculture.
Not only is the largest of all the
American broodS due to make its periodic
emergence throughout the Eastern
States, Mr. Hyslop said. but almost at the
same time through the South will ap-
pear. the 13-year locuSts.
Practically nothing is known. Mr.. Hys-
lop said of these insects, which are
known to entomologistS as periodical
cicadaS, although the strange phenome-
non of their emergence has been observed
in North America for 200 years. Nobody
ever has seer them come out of the
ground They always make their exit
at night. Some fine morning the fields
and groves are Swarming with them.
They fly to the nearest trees, mate, lay
eggs and die. The eggs hatch, the larvae
fall to the ground, burrow into the soil,
and. in turn, remain buried for II years.
Then they emerge and the weird life
cycle is repeated. The emergences are
repeated with clocklike regularity.
They are extremely destructive insect
pests during their few days of life, the
entomologist stressed. Sometimes they
completely destroy young orchards.
Sometimes the fruit crop of mature
orchards is practically eliminated the
year following an outbreak. Naturally,
little is known about them. There is
only a few days in which to study their
habits. after which one must wait for
another II years.
This year, Mr.. Hyslop said. the Bureau
of Entomology is broadcaSting warm
ing of their coming and asking for State
surveys of their times and places of ap-
pearance, SO that an accurate diStribu-
ton map can be made. The Govern
ment entomologistS are especially eager
to know how the insects get out of the
ground.
Nobody ever has seen one coming out
of the ground" Mr.. Hyslop said. Some
have stated that they open their bur-
rows several days before emerging and
others that on the evening before the
first wave of emergence not hole is
visible. 1t also has been stated that
month prior to emergence they move to
within a half inch of the surface. 1t
has been definitely proved that they con-
struct an open chamber from l to 6
inches long. Do they await there
signal to come out?"
Once out of the ground. the pupae,
still wrapped in their grave clothes"
crawl toward trees. Once up a tree
they carefully fasten themselves tc the
trunk, where they cast OF the pupa case
and come out as adults. Immediately
they are out of their shells the males
start singing. This, Mr.. Hyslop said,
undoubtedly is mating call. 1t might
be possible to eliminate brood alto
gether, he pointed out, If some means
could be devised of making such noise
in the neighborhood that the females
could not hear the music of the males.
AS soon as the males have sung their
song and the females have laid their
eggs, Mr.. Hyslop pointed out, they die:
There is evidence. he said, that many OF
them suceumb to fungous disease, the
spores of which they may carry with
them through all the dark years they
remain in the soil, only to die of it almost
as soon as they come to life"
Having Matched, Mr.. HySlop ex-
planned, the young larvae are said to
jump or fall to the ground, where they
burrow or crawl into cracks and finally
reach a. rootlet upon which to feed. It
also is supposed that, having once fixed
themselves to rootlet, they remain
there for ths entire n years, unless the
root dios and they sye forced 70 ind neW