THE _shinne-shinne_--also called _yama-zemi_, or "mountain-semi";
_kuma-zemi_, or "bear-semi"; and _o-semi_, or "great semi"--begins to
sing as early as May. It is a very large insect. The upper part of the
body is almost black, and the belly a silvery-white; the head has
curious red markings. The name _shinne-shinne_ is derived from the note
of the creature, which resembles a quick continual repetition of the
syllables _shinne_. About Kyoto this semi is common: it is rarely heard
in Tokyo.
[My first opportunity to examine an _o-semi_ was in Shidzuoka. Its
utterance is much more complex than the Japanese onomatope implies; I
should liken it to the noise of a sewing-machine in full operation.
There is a double sound: you hear not only the succession of sharp
metallic clickings, but also, below these, a slower series of dull
clanking tones. The stridulatory organs are light green, looking almost
like a pair of tiny green leaves attached to the thorax.]
[Illustration: PLATE III.
_Aburazemi._]