CICADA, a genus of insects of the order beviiptera, sub-order homoptera, remarkable for the sounds which they emit, the loudness of which is very extraordinary, when con sidcred with reference to the size of the creatures producing them. The largest Euro pean species are only about an inch long. The elytra, or wing-covers, of the cicada' are almost always transparent and veined. They dwell on shrubs and trees, of which they suck the juices. The. male insects alone possess the organs of sound perfectly developed. These are in no way connected with the mouth or throat, but may be described as a musical apparatus on the under side of the abdomen. This apparatus is very complicated, consisting of a set of membranes and fibers connected with power ful muscles. The sound can be produced even after the insect has been long dead, by pulling the fibers, and letting them escape. Cicadas are most common in tropical and
warm temperate regions, and are scarcely known in Britain, although one or two species have been found in the s. of England. The ancients regarded the sounds of these insects as types of music and eloquence. In some countries they bear names which signify that sleep is banished by their din. The sounds produced by some of the South Ameri can species, which are much larger than the European, are loud enough to be heard at the distance of a mile, and have been likened to the sound of a razor-grinder at work. The Greek name of the C. is tettix, often erroneously translated grasshopper. These insects have indeed no resemblance to grasshoppers, and no power of leaping. C. is the Latin name. The modern Italian is czcale, the French cigale. Byron speaks of the " shrill cicalas."