The Cicada Many Things to Many People
In this century of rapid scientific discovery, there still exist natural phenomena with the power to inspire wonder and mystery. The cicada, an insect known since ancient times, is one such phenomenon. Because scientificknowledge of the cicada contains many gaps, these mysterious insects can still stimulate our imagination or leadus into confusion. At the present time, the cicada is many things to many people: it is a curiosity that should be approached scientifically; it is a source of superstition and dread; it is also little more than an annoying, seasonal inconvenience. The cicada is a stout, black insect about an inch in length. Various species of this insect can be found all over North of the America. When the cicada is at rest, its large, transparent, veined wings are folded over the top of its body and extend about a quarter of an inch beyond it. Cicada wing veins are and information reddish orange in color, as are its eyes and legs. The front legs are sharp and crablike, allowing the animal to hold tight to the bark of trees. The species of American cicada most written about by scientists and most wondered about by the general public is known as the periodical cicada. Its scientific name is Magicicada septendecim.
Attached to the underside of a cicada's abdomen is a pair of large drumheads. This egg-laying leads only "to a kind of natural pruning and an injury that all but the young trees can easily withstand. It immediately sheds its skin for the last time and begins to darken in color. "Few disagree with the opinion that the skins shed by cicadas aboveground are an unsightly form of natural litter. They shed their skin four times before they reach adult size. Of course, the cicada sound with which humans are familiar is actually made by thousands of cicadas singing together, and it has a hypnotic, droning effect. " Millions of plant lovers use the name as an excuse to fear and detest cicadas. The eeriness of this group effort has puzzled humans for centuries. Brody, who writes science articles for The New York Times, the only harm done to trees by cicadas occurs during egg-laying. This idea stems from an observation of the adult cicada shortly after it appears above ground.
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