Its chosen twig never lies along the ground; it is always in a more or
less vertical position. It is usually growing in its natural position,
but is sometimes detached; in the latter case it will by chance have
fallen so that it retains its upright position. The insect prefers a
long, smooth, regular twig which can receive the whole of its eggs. The
best batches of eggs which I have found have been laid upon twigs of
the _Spartium junceum_, which are like straws stuffed with pith, and
especially on the upper twigs of the _Asphodelus cerasiferus_, which
rises nearly a yard from the ground before ramifying.

It is essential that the support, no matter what its nature, should be
dead and perfectly dry.

The first operation performed by the Cigale consists in making a series
of slight lacerations, such as one might make with the point of a pin,
which, if plunged obliquely downwards into the twig, would tear the
woody fibres and would compress them so as to form a slight
protuberance.

If the twig is irregular in shape, or if several Cigales have been
working successively at the same point, the distribution of the
punctures is confused; the eye wanders, incapable of recognising the
order of their succession or the work of the individual. One
characteristic is always present, namely, the oblique direction of the
woody fragment which is raised by the perforation, showing that the
Cigale always works in an upright position and plunges its rostrum
downwards in the direction of the twig.

If the twig is regular, smooth, and conveniently long the perforations