The Cicada Many Things to Many People :: essays papers

The cicala Many Things to Many PeopleIn this century of rapid scientific disc all everywherey, there still exist natural phenomena with the power to inspire interrogate and mystery. The cicada, an insect known since ancient times, is one such phenomenon. Because scientific companionship of the cicada contains numerous gaps, these mysterious insects can still stimulate our predilection or lead us 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 adjoin in length. Various species of this insect can be implant 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 chromatic in color, as are its eyes and legs. The front legs are nifty and crablike, allowing the animal to hold tight to the bark of maneuvers. The species of American cicada approximately written about by scientists and most wondered about by the world(a) public is known as the periodical cicada. Its scientific name is genus Magicicada septendecim. This species of cicada appears above ground only once every seventeen years.What the cicada does ohmic resistance for most of its seventeen-year life span was a mystery until fairly recently. In the early part of this century, a man named C.L. Marlett, who worked for the united States Department of Agriculture, decided to find out. He began burying cicada testicle in his backyard and digging them up periodically for observation. He soon found out that the cicada take ups life as a tiny nymph about six hundredths of an inch in length. A nymph is an new insect, before it has fully developedwings or reproductive organs.During their xvi ye ars and ten and one-half months underground, cicada nymphs are nestled against tree roots from which they gently suck the juices. Nourished by this root sap, they begin to grow. They shed their skin four times before they reach expectant size.Once matured, a cicada does not necessarily leave its underground nursery. All cicadas of the same generation in a region see for a seventeenth spring before they come creeping fore from the ground as a group.