Ferdinand von Mueller

1

Letter not found. For the text given here, see Eucalyptographia, Decade 10 (B84.13.19), under Eucalyptus viminalis, third page of text.

[…]

2

M introduced the correspondence by saying: 'An experienced entomologic observer in Tasmania, Mr. Aug. Simson, wrote to the author in October 1879 and May 1880, that …'. It is not clear which parts of thi text were written in October 1879 and which in May 1880.

he had seen near George's Bay trunks of E. viminalis with streams of so-called Manna adhering to them even to near the base; it was exuding from perforations of the bark, made by Cicada moerens; hundreds of these insects were on the trunk, with their boring organ buried in the bark. This borer is about half an inch long, tubular and very slender, and terminates in a saw, with which they pierce the bark at right angle to their body, the whole length except the short broad base going into the bark; through this apparatus they suck up the sap. They are easily caught when their boring organ is thus buried in the bark, as they cannot withdraw it rapidly. In its larval stage it lives underground, presumably on roots; there also it becomes a pupa, much the same in form as the perfect insect minus the wings. When ready to emerge it comes out of the ground, nearly always in early morning, and ascends the first object it comes across. There it fixes itself by the claws of its frontlegs; the case splits up along its back, and the insect escapes, withdrawing its limbs singly from the enveloping case. The wings in a very short time attain their full dimensions and become of proper consistency, though soft at first, and the insect flies away. [He saw

3

At this point M wrote 'All this is much in accord with many other insects. He saw'.

] hundreds of these Cicadae come up, where the ground had been cleared of ferns and timber, and they had to climb stems of grasses or of small herbs in full sunshine, so that they got their wings or their case dried up, before they had quite escaped; consequently could not liberate themselves, but became prisoners in their pupa-case, half in, half out, shortly afterwards to be attacked by ants and to be devoured.

4

M continued: 'Eucalyptus-Manna occurs, however, also in the South of Tasmania, where the large Cicadae, according to Mr. Simson, are unknown, but where species of much smaller size are to be met with.'