Wildlife of Alligator River

Alligator River stories

THE CATALPA TREE
By William R. West

There was a huge old catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) tree in the yard at the Anne Liverman Place, and a clump of yaupon grew on the field side next to it. The catalpa was hollow, and a rectangular hole had been cut through to the hollow on one side. Years before, the hole had been used as the base for the end of a lever pole used to crush the apples that grew nearby for cider, and scuppernongs that grew on the opposite side of the yard for juice and wine. Daddy used the hole for the same purposes.

The old tree taught me many lessons in natural science. Up early on July and August mornings, I would find the cicada nymphs that had emerged from the loamy soil at the base of the tree and climbed up to eclose (shed). There were many brownish colored shed skins still attached to the rough bark, but it was the greenish, still-living nymphs that I sought. They would find a spot that suited them, and then begin eclosing.

First, a split would appear in the nymph's back, then split wider as the nymph's ivory-green thorax began to emerge from the old exoskeleton. Once it had eclosed fully, the cicada would orient its body perpendicular to the trunk and begin to pump blood into its crumpled wings. The wings expanded downward, partly in response to gravity.

Sometime later the adult cicada, now much darker, produced a few raspy sounds, began to vibrate its thorax and thin, transparent wings, warming up for flight. It would then fly up into the catalpa or one of the nearby elms and emit a buzzing sound in an attempt to lure a mate.

The mated female selected the tender end of a limb, inserted her sawlike ovipositor into slits it cut into the twig's bark, and deposited her eggs. When the eggs hatched, the tiny nymphs dropped to the ground, unhurt, and burrowed into the soil There they found a suitable tree root, inserted their mouth stylets, and fed on sap for the next 13 to 17 years (depending on the species).

The catalpa produced inches-tall racemes of pretty but unpleasantly scented flowers that were followed by long, pealike fruits. In late summer, the tree's leaves would suddenly disappear as ivory and black caterpillars with "horns" on their tails ate all except the leaf veins. Some folks gathered the caterpillars, tore them in half, turned the pieces inside out, and used them as fish bait.

Special thanks to Ohio State University for the photo of the catalpa tree.