Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Sept. 9, 1976, edition 1 / Page 12
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Of Insect World UNC Zoologist Studies The Sleeping Beauties By Joan Hill Special To The Post CHAPEL HILL-An insect with haunting red eyes and a piercing voice that spends 17 years underground "growing up," then lives above ground for only three to four weeks, has been the object of man's scientific curiousity-and su perstitious awe-for hundreds of years. Benjamin Franklin and Tho mas Jefferson kept records on their strange comings and goings. Indians ate them before go ing into battle because it was thought the "W" on their orange-yellow wings brought good luck. And some North Carolinians may have a close-up look at them as early as next year. The insects, periodical cica das (pronounced sih-KAY duh), are found only in the hardwood forests of the east ern United States and their extensions into the plains of the Midwest. They live under ground for up to 17 years, then, cued by some mysteri ous signal from nature, mil lions of them pop out of the ground, have a brief romantic fling, and fade away-not to be seen again until the next cycle is complete. Not just one, but three spe cies of cidada do this. Thus, in every emergence, three spe cies of cicadas are in perfect synchrony. A zoologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, under a $40,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, is studying periodical cicada biology to better under stand mechanisms of survival in long-lived populations such as this one. Some of the questions she is trying to answer are: Why do they require such a long develop ment period? How can they be made to grow up in a shorter period of time? What are they UVU15 wmuï uuuci|iuuuu: "The more we study forms of life such as the cicada," says Or. Jo Ann White, one of the world's foremost authori ties on the locust-like insect, "and understand certain prin ciples that apply to their life strategy, the more we can apply these principles to other more 'complex' forms of life." White says although the ci cada is a member of the locust family, it is not the same type that has plauged man since Bibical times. Cicadas eat very little and are harmless to humans. The nymphs suck on tree roots for nourishment during their years under ground, she says, but "amaz ingly, they don't seem to harm the trees." The only way they harm trees, she says, is by laying the eggs in the branches. The adult female has a little knife like attachment on her under side that is used to slit the bark of the tree branch where the eggs are laid. "This is what causes the damage to fruit trees in orchards when the cicadas emerge." This may be avoided .by enclosing the trees with protective net ting to prevent the bugs from lighting on them, White says. White, an insect population ecologist, decided to special ize in cicadas during her graduate days at the Univer sity of Chicago working with Dr. Monte Lloyd. She says there weren't many people Photo by Joan Hill UNC zoology professor Dr. Jo Ann White is shown with a model of cicada mud cells (emergence burrows). To make it, she poured a fiberglass resin into the mud cells, let it harden for two days and then dug it up and inverted it for further UiUUJ . working in the field so almos everything she does is nev and interesting. "And they are so small anc vulnerable," she says rathei maternally," and mysterious too. Their only purpose in life seems to be to mate." In the last several years White has spent time in 11 states studying the two races of cicadas: the 13-year race, generally located in the south and in high altitudes such as the North Carolina mountains and the 17-year race, general ly located farther north. When the cicada awakens from its 13 - or 17-year sleep, II emerges from the ground and crawls to the nearest tree, since it must be upright to shed its shell. "If it makes it to the tree," she says, pointing out that birds, cats, dogs and even humans find the young cicada quite tasty, "it sheds its skin, spreads its wings, hardens overnight and looks for a mate-sometimes within the next 48 hours." Only the male insects sing the earth-shaking, rhythmic song that has been described as ranginf from an airy Neil Young-like cry to a kind of Johnny Cash croak. The sound they make is so intense that when there is a major emer gence, two people face to face in the woods can hardly hear each other talk. The males have .. three songs: a disturbance squawk, a congregational song and a courtship song. The latter at tracts the females, who do the choosing of mates, and if the male is of the right species, she mates with him. "If the female doesn't re cognize her specie?* mating song," White says, "she doesn't mate-or rarely does." The females lay their eggs In slits along the tree bran ches, the larvae hatch a few weeks later and after a period of six to seven weeks of growth the young nymph flutters to the ground and digs in for another 17 years. Why the insects remain un derground for 13 or 17 years is a mystery White would like to solve. It is speculated that escaping predators is a major force in creating such a long cycle. The insects are such a delicious morsel for birds and other animals (the taste is something like that of a raw .potato with a touch of avocado or of clam juice) they proba bly would have become ex tinct if they emerged every year In small numbers. By emerging in huge swarms, satiating and surprising pre dators, they have been able to' confound their natural ene mies and hence to survive over the centuries into modern times. In her current NSF re search, White will be investi gating three ecological pro blems involving periodical ci cadas: What is it in the environ ment that accounts for their exceedingly long development period? Why do the females deposit their eggs in only certain trees? (This is a problem of major concern to orchard owners. White says, because cicadas damage and destroy massive apple, peach and other massive apple, peach and other fruit crops every time they emerge.) And what effect does the superabundance of food (cica das) in certain years have on the breeding success of birds? Charles Strehl, one of White's graduate students, is studying this problem. White will also make com parative studies of 13-year cicadas and 17-year ones to try to discover why early growth of the 13-year cicadas is much faster. A STARTLING OFFER! Gentlemen : I Would Like To Have The Charlotte Post Mailed To My Home (Or Business) Each Week. Please Enter My Subscription As Follows: Name Phone . 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The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 9, 1976, edition 1
12
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