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By LYT WOOD
County Forester So far this year, the periodical cicada has attracted more attention than any other forest insect in this area. The questions about cicadas most often received at our office are as follows: 1. Why do you call them “cicadas?” 1 always called them locusts.”
A. Locust, jar-fly and harvest-fly are all common names for what is more properly called “cicada.” These insects are, oddly enough, closely related to the tiny scale insects, aphids, and tree-hoppers. “Locusts" belong to a different order of insects (crickets, grasshoppers) that sometimes feed heavily on grain crops. Likewise, the “flies” are members of another separate insect order, which includes gnats, mosquitoes, and our common house-fly.
2. What damage do they do?
A. During their 17-year period undergrown, cicada nymphs feed on plant-juices by sucking the roots. Damage is negligible. After emerging, molting, and mating, adult cicadas lay eggs in the twigs of hardwood trees. The egglaying activity causes branches to die back from the tips.
Except for ornamental or orchard trees, this damage is also negligible. Twig die-back is just now becoming apparent in this area.
3. What control is recommended?
A. Small ornamentals can be protected with netting. Fruit and nut trees in heavily-infested areas can be treated with insecticide. Except in these situations, no control is necessary. (Most of the damage from this year’s brood has already been done.)
4. What good are they?
A. In the ecological sense, cicadas have many, many fuctions, most of which are, undoubtedly, still unknown.
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