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The Sulphur Cap in
Maritime Supply Chains
Environmental
Regulations in
European Logistics

Olli-Pekka Hilmola
The Sulphur Cap in Maritime Supply Chains
Olli-Pekka Hilmola

The Sulphur Cap


in Maritime Supply
Chains
Environmental Regulations in European Logistics
Olli-Pekka Hilmola
Kouvola Unit
Lappeenranta University of
Technology
Kouvola, Finland

ISBN 978-3-319-98544-2 ISBN 978-3-319-98545-9 (eBook)


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98545-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950555

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
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Follow the little footsteps in the combat against climate change
and lower emissions –
oil producers and refiners are taking chips from the table.
Preface

I had a chance to live through the sulphur regulation change in Finland


and Estonia during the years 2011–2015. In the very beginning, it was
not even well recognized that regulation would be implemented at
the demanding 0.1% maximum level; however, as the years progressed
towards the implementation year of 2015, it became evident that noth-
ing could stop this from happening. Many different parties (companies,
sea ports, associations, NGOs, labour unions etc.) criticized this new
legislation, and the most horrible scenarios indicated that a significant
number of heavy industries and manufacturing would be lost (or severely
hurt) due to this. The additional price tag for shipping costs for Finland
alone was estimated to be several hundred million EUR annually (in
some cases the price tag given was as high as more than one billion EUR
p.a.). The price harm level in Sweden was argued to be at a similar level
to Finland. Fortunately, all the most depressing scenarios were not real-
ized, and companies responded to this change by trying to sustain their
operations with the lowest possible cost impact (or harm). These small
changes are so numerous that I saw it as important to write a book for
the global audience in the face of the 2020 sulphur challenge.
The forthcoming change in 2020 is only a short time away, and many
parties have not realized which is to come. What is comforting news
is that the global sulphur level is set to a maximum of 0.5%. This is a
demanding level, but yet at the same time it is a level that is much eas-
ier to manage than the maximum 0.1% content. For the 2020 sulphur
cap, companies can still mix very low sulphur level diesel and higher

vii
viii    Preface

grade diesel together to reach the acceptable level of 0.5%. In the


year 2015 within the Baltic Sea and North Sea, this blending activ-
ity was basically out of the question as the sulphur level was set so low.
However, what is demanding now is the tight implementation schedule
(2020, instead of 2025), a big change from a 3.5% sulphur level down to
0.5%—and simultaneous global implementation. It is difficult to know
how much implementation will eventually cost global maritime supply
chains. Worldwide, it is definitely a cost tens of billions of EUR higher
per annum, but it could even be 40–50 billion EUR.
Due to receiving an individual research grant for the year 2014, I was
obligated to examine this transition from the Finnish perspective, and
most of the findings of this book arise from this one-year period of inten-
sive research on this topic. What has been fruitful in my own journey with
the topic is the basic fundamental change that was already recognizable in
2012–2014. Very short sea shipping routes would benefit and attract vol-
umes, and maritime supply chains would modify accordingly. This change
has also had its implications on the amount of hinterland transport, and
further dependency on high emitting road transportation. What was sur-
prising in writing this book was to see that this was not only a matter
for Finland, but that the also same applied to Sweden and Estonia. All
three countries examined in this book (Estonia, Finland and Sweden) also
experienced the fundamental change in their maritime transport system,
where volumes were no longer necessarily growing in handled tons, but
where maritime business was increasingly driven by unitized transport
means. Heavy industries and mass manufacturing have swallowed the loss,
but not suddenly; it was a rather gradual change (before and after 2015).
In Finland, governmental support for maritime (fairway due payments
of shipping companies, 50% reduction) and railway (track tax removal)
transport during 2015–2017 (also continued in 2018) played a role in
sustaining the volumes and foreign trade performance.
As so many parties are hurt and costs increase significantly, it is rea-
sonable to ask which parties are benefitting from sulphur regula-
tion tightening. The beneficiaries are society and its people, as the air
becomes less polluted, which results in less sickness and fewer allergies,
and even in fewer mortalities. This, of course, increases the quality of
life and macro-productivity as well as lowering external costs in socie-
ties (typically paid for by the governments). It is clear after the experi-
ences of 2015 that technology development and machinery sales related
to decreasing shipping emissions could benefit from this change too.
Preface    ix

In addition, oil refineries benefit very handsomely in financial terms.


In the global implementation of 2020, oil refineries are likely to gather
record profits out of supplying desperately needed low sulphur diesel oil
with good profit margins and high volume. A friend in need is a friend
indeed.

Kouvola, Finland Olli-Pekka Hilmola


Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 General Economic and Trade Environment 17

3 Was Sulphur Regulation the Reason for Growth


of Unitized Cargo Between Finland and Estonia? 35

4 Unitized Cargo: Growing Truck-Based Volumes


at the Sea Ports of Estonia, Sweden and Finland 53

5 Maritime Supply Chains: How They Experienced


the Regulation Change 73

6 Longitudinal Survey Findings from Northern Europe 101

7 Simulation of Different Supply Chain Strategies 113

8 Conclusions 135

Index 141

xi
List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within 28


countries of the European Union during time period
1990–2015 (indexed from million tons CO2 equivalent,
where 1990 = 1.00) (Source (data) European
Commission 2018a) 3
Fig. 1.2 Effects of speed and sulphur directive on inputs
and outputs of maritime supply chain 6
Fig. 1.3 Two maritime and unitized supply chains using either
container ship or RoPax ship (from Northern Europe
to Central Europe) 7
Fig. 2.1 Development of nominal GDPs in three countries during
the period of 2000–2017 (indexed, where 2000 = 1.000)
(Source (data) Statistics Estonia 2018; Statistics
Finland 2018; Statistics Sweden 2018) 19
Fig. 2.2 Development of import and export of Estonia during
period of 2000–2017 (in EUR) (Source (data) Statistics
Estonia 2018) 22
Fig. 2.3 Development of import and export of Finland during
the period of 2000–2017 (in EUR) (Source (data)
Finnish Customs 2018) 23
Fig. 2.4 Development of import and export of Sweden during
period of 2000–2017 (in million SEK) (Source (data)
Statistics Sweden 2018) 24
Fig. 2.5 Oil price (Brent quality) in USD during the period
of May 1987–May 2018 (Source (data) EIA 2018) 26

xiii
xiv    List of Figures

Fig. 2.6 Oil price (Brent quality) in euros during the period
of January 1999–May 2018 (Source (data) EIA 2018) 28
Fig. 2.7 Rotterdam sea port prices (USD per ton) of MGO
(maximum 0.1% sulphur content) and IFO 380
(maximum 3.5% sulphur content) maritime diesel
oils from 23 February–8 March 2018 (first period),
and 5 June–18 June 2018 (second period)
(Source (data) Bunker Index 2018) 29
Fig. 2.8 All sea port prices (average) of MGO (maximum 1.5%
sulphur content) and IFO 380 (maximum 3.5% sulphur
content) maritime diesel oils in 2 January 2017–31
May 2018 (Source (data) Bunker Index 2018) 31
Fig. 3.1 Unitized cargo volume development to and from Finland
in the years 1998–2017 40
Fig. 4.1 Sea port handling volumes in all sea ports of Estonia,
amount of transit and handling amount of port
of Tallinn (thousand tons) (Source (data) Statistics
Estonia 2018; Port of Tallinn 2018) 56
Fig. 4.2 Revenue and profit before taxes at Tallinn sea port
(Estonia) from 1999 to 2017 (in EUR) (Source
(data) Port of Tallinn 2018) 57
Fig. 4.3 Total assets of Tallinn sea port (Estonia) from 1999
to 2017 (in EUR) (Source (data) Port of Tallinn 2018) 58
Fig. 4.4 Unitized cargo handling in Estonian sea ports from 1997
to 2017 (trucks have limited data availability, only from
2005) (Source (data) Statistics Estonia 2018) 59
Fig. 4.5 Railway freight volume (in thousand tons) in year 2016
between Finland, three Baltic States, Poland and Germany
(in parenthesis is the freight volume between neighbours)
(Source (data) European Union 2018) 60
Fig. 4.6 Total amount of cargo handled in Swedish sea ports,
and that of Trelleborg during 2000–2016 (indexed,
where year 2000 = 1.000) (Source (data) Swedish
Confederation of Transport Enterprises 2018) 61
Fig. 4.7 Total volume of containers (in thousand TEU) handled
in Swedish sea ports during period of 2000–2016
(Source (data) Swedish Confederation of Transport
Enterprises 2018) 62
Fig. 4.8 Amount of trucks handled in four Swedish sea ports and
handling overall from 2000 to 2016 (indexed, where year
2000 = 1.000) (Source (data) Swedish Confederation of
Transport Enterprises 2018) 63
List of Figures    xv

Fig. 4.9 Railway wagons handled and loaded/unloaded


to the ships in total in Sweden and in the port
of Trelleborg from 2000 to 2016 (Source (data)
Swedish Confederation of Transport Enterprises 2018) 64
Fig. 4.10 Intermodal transports at Swedish railways during the years
2005–2016 (in thousand tons) (Source (data) Transport
Analysis 2018) 65
Fig. 4.11 Railway freight transports between Sweden and Finland
during years 2000–2016 (thousand tons) (Source (data)
European Union 2018) 66
Fig. 4.12 Total volume of cargo handled in Finnish sea ports from
2000 to 2017 (Source (data) Statistics Finland 2018) 67
Fig. 4.13 Total volume of containers (TEU) handled in Finnish sea
ports from 2000 to 2017 (Source (data) Statistics Finland
2018) 68
Fig. 4.14 Total volume of trucks with trailers, and semi-trailers
handled in Finnish sea ports from 2000 to 2017
(Source (data) Statistics Finland 2018) 69
Fig. 4.15 Total volume of trucks with trailers in two selected
sea ports (Hanko and Vaasa) of Finland from
2000 to 2017 (Source (data) Statistics Finland 2018) 70
Fig. 5.1 Alternatives to old world thinking in the face of sulphur
regulation 75
Fig. 5.2 Annual revenues of most active shipping companies
in Northern Baltic Sea (thousand EUR), serving three
countries of interest during years 2005–2017 (year 2017
data: RoRo shipper II and RoPax II not available)
(Source (data) Annual reports, profit and loss statements) 78
Fig. 5.3 Profit and loss of most active shipping companies
in Northern Baltic Sea (thousand EUR), serving three
countries of interest during years 2005–2017 (year 2017
data: RoRo shipper II and RoPax II not available)
(Source (data) Annual reports, profit and loss statements) 79
Fig. 5.4 Total assets of the most active shipping companies
in the Northern Baltic Sea (thousand EUR), serving three
countries of interest during years 2005–2017 (year 2017
data: RoRo shipper II and RoPax II not available)
(Source (data) Annual reports, profit and loss statements) 80
Fig. 5.5 Annual revenues of two Finnish hinterland transportation
companies (million EUR) during the years 2009–2017
(year 2014 data: road transportation company accounting
xvi    List of Figures

period length only 9 months, others 12 months)


(Source (data) Annual reports, profit and loss statements) 84
Fig. 5.6 Profit and loss of two Finnish hinterland transportation
companies (million EUR) during the years 2009–2017
(year 2014 data: road transportation company accounting
period length only 9 months, others 12 months)
(Source (data) Annual reports, profit and loss statements) 85
Fig. 5.7 Total assets of two Finnish hinterland transportation
companies (million EUR) during the years 2009–2017
(Source (data) Annual reports, profit and loss statements) 86
Fig. 5.8 Revenue as well as profit and loss development (thousand
EUR) of sea port terminal operator located in the southern
part of Baltic States during 2009–2017 (Source (data)
Annual reports) 89
Fig. 5.9 Total assets of sea port terminal operator (thousand EUR)
located in the southern part of the Baltic States during
the period of 2009–2017 (Source (data) Annual reports) 90
Fig. 5.10 Monthly prices of natural gas (USD per million metric Btu)
in three different locations (denotations: PNGASEU: Russian
natural gas border price in Germany; PNGASJP: Indonesian
Liquefied Natural Gas in Japan; PNGASUS, Natural Gas spot
price at the Henry Hub terminal in Louisiana) during the
period of January 1992–June 2017 (Source (data) IMF 2018) 93
Fig. 6.1 Transportation units used in larger companies in Finland
(all years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015), Estonia (year 2015)
and Sweden (all years) in years 2010 (n = 25), 2011 (n = 26),
2012 (n = 28), and 2015 (n = 28) 105
Fig. 6.2 Transportation modes used (percent share from total)
in the 2015 survey during years 2014 (realized), 2017
(forecast) and 2022 (forecast) 106
Fig. 6.3 Change in transportation costs due to implementation
of sulphur regulation in respondent companies during the
2015 survey (n = 28), where the black column includes all
responses (Finland, Estonia and Sweden), and lighter grey
includes the Finnish (FIN) responses only 108
Fig. 7.1 Hypothetical supply chain costs from Finland using
very short sea shipping Estonian (Tallinn) route with trucks
and semi-trailers to reach Central Europe
(Source (simulation) Forio Simulate 2018a) 116
Fig. 7.2 Hypothetical supply chain CO2 emissions from Finland
using very short sea shipping Estonian (Tallinn) route
List of Figures    xvii

with trucks and semi-trailers to reach Central Europe


(Source (simulation) Forio Simulate 2018a) 117
Fig. 7.3 Hypothetical supply chain costs from Finland using the
container shipping route through the Baltic Sea, and
hinterland transport with trucks (Source (simulation)
Forio Simulate 2018a) 119
Fig. 7.4 Hypothetical supply chain CO2 emissions from Finland
using the container shipping route through the Baltic Sea,
and hinterland transport with trucks (Source (simulation)
Forio Simulate 2018a) 120
Fig. 7.5 Hypothetical supply chain costs to reach Finland from
Asia (e.g., Hong Kong or Shanghai) using mostly air
transport, and in hinterland truck (Source (simulation)
Forio Simulate 2018a) 122
Fig. 7.6 Hypothetical supply chain CO2 emissions to reach Finland
from Asia (e.g., Hong Kong or Shanghai) using mostly
air transport, and in hinterland truck (Source (simulation)
Forio Simulate 2018a) 122
Fig. 7.7 Hypothetical supply chain costs to reach Finland from Asia
(e.g., Hong Kong or Shanghai) using container ships (deep
sea and feeder) (Source (simulation) Forio Simulate 2018a) 123
Fig. 7.8 Hypothetical supply chain CO2 emissions to reach Finland
from Asia (e.g., Hong Kong or Shanghai) using container
ships (deep sea and feeder) (Source (simulation) Forio
Simulate 2018a) 124
Fig. 7.9 Hypothetical supply chain costs to reach Finland from Asia
(e.g., Xian) using mostly container trains, and in door-
to-door transport trucks (Source (simulation) Forio
Simulate 2018a) 125
Fig. 7.10 Hypothetical supply chain CO2 emissions to reach Finland
from Asia (e.g., Xian) using mostly container trains,
and in door-to-door transport trucks
(Source (simulation) Forio Simulate 2018a) 126
Fig. 7.11 Diesel price (absolute EUR price) changes in different usage
groups with simulation default settings (diesel price increases
in year 2020 by 30%, and ships need to use 50% more
expensive 0.5% sulphur fuel) (Source (simulation)
Forio Simulate 2018a, b) 128
Fig. 7.12 Relative (%) diesel price changes in different usage groups
with simulation default settings (diesel price increases in year
2020 by 30%, and ships need to use 50% more expensive 0.5%
sulphur fuel) (Source (simulation) Forio Simulate 2018a, b) 129
xviii    List of Figures

Fig. 7.13 Diesel price changes and shipping freight level (diesel price
increases in year 2020 by 30%, and ships need to use 50%
more expensive maximum 0.5% sulphur fuel, diesel fuel costs
of ship estimated to be 30% of overall costs)
(Source (simulation) Forio Simulate 2018a, b) 130
List of Tables

Table 3.1 Regression model to explain unitized cargo transport


between Finland and Estonia from 1998–2017
(cargo amounts in thousand tons) 44
Table 3.2 Regression model to explain unitized cargo transport
between Finland and Sweden from 1998–2017
(cargo amounts in thousand tons) 46
Table 3.3 Regression model to explain unitized cargo transport
between Finland and Germany from 1998–2017
(cargo amounts in thousand tons) 49
Table 5.1 Correlation between monthly gas prices and prices
of two oil qualities at three different locations 94

xix
CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Abstract Transportation logistics and supply chains in general are facing


increasing environmental demands. It could be argued that the sector is
coming late to the demands for reductions in greenhouse gases (GHGs)
and environmental emissions. For a long time it was enough for global
policies that trade and economies grew. This is no longer the case. The
transportation sector is responsible for a significant amount of emis-
sions, and in Europe, they are still on track for long-term growth. Most
troubling among these modes of transportation is truck transportation.
The main challenge in maritime supply chains is not the amount of CO2
emissions, but that of sulphur and nitrogen emissions, and the concen-
tration of these emissions to a limited amount of major sea ports.

Keywords GHG · Emissions · Trade · Transportation · Shipping

Globalization and trade growth have created the platform for actors in
the logistics sector to grow and internationalize. Companies have become
ever larger, and concentration to the only small number of global play-
ers, for example, in container shipping (United Nations 2017) and third-
party logistics services (Bowman 2014), is already a fact. In addition, the
market shares of the biggest companies are significant. These all changes
have meant that margins of operation are becoming increasingly smaller,
as competition is becoming more global and intensive.

© The Author(s) 2019 1


O.-P. Hilmola, The Sulphur Cap in Maritime Supply Chains,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98545-9_1
2 O.-P. HILMOLA

Nowadays, talk about environmental emissions and prevention of


climate change is prevalent everywhere. Previously, factories controlled
emissions (e.g., by implementing emission trading systems), but dialogue
about examining the various activities of transportation logistics between
raw material mining and reaching the final customer, and eventually con-
sumer, was rare. The same story applies to private car use: within the
European Union and globally, emission cheating has been observed,
along with massive corporate fraud, in diesel-powered cars, for example.
As a result, fingers are now being pointed at the automotive industry
(Oldenkamp et al. 2016; Li et al. 2018). However, the finger should also
be pointed at politicians and citizens, since they continue to escape from
reality with higher and more demanding vehicle emission standards, with
the belief that further regulation will solve the outstanding problems
(also partially concluded in Li et al. 2018). “Technology development will
solve these issues,” many were thinking. However, the problems were actu-
ally solved by vehicle manufacturers taking shortcuts to success (where
there are now a number of legal processes going on), which enabled
much lower CO2 and nitrogen emissions to be reported than what the
reality was (Hotten 2015; Oldenkamp et al. 2016). Moreover, everyone
believed that emissions were under control, even if diesel cars consumed
nearly the same amount of diesel per distance driven as earlier models
did (in real life). Air quality in European cities and roadsides also did not
improve as much as expected (e.g., in terms of nitrogen oxides) by the
implementation of tighter standards (Henschel et al. 2015). Should the
behavioral and car usage systems have changed instead? Strategy drives
structure, which in turn, gives the performance (results). Regulation
itself is not the strategy, it is just legislation, which will be adapted to
human and organizational behavior. For a long time, it has been known
that diesel-powered car and truck engines are great problem in Europe,
and should have a higher tax treatment than other alternatives (Mayeres
and Proost 2001). In addition, studies exist from diesel car ban locations
(like El-Zein et al. 2007), where the health of inhabitants has improved
since the ban took place (the long-term effects were not that clear
El-Zein et al. 2007).
One way of observing the argued situation in retrospective (transpor-
tation logistics environmental demands) is to analyze greenhouse gas
(GHG) development in 28 countries in the European Union through
official statistics (Fig. 1.1). It is true that from the base year 1990
(a time when still many countries were hugely polluting due to the
1 INTRODUCTION 3

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

Railways Total emissions Road Transportation Emissions from Transport Maritime, International

Fig. 1.1 Annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within 28 countries of the
European Union during time period 1990–2015 (indexed from million tons
CO2 equivalent, where 1990 = 1.00) (Source (data) European Commission
2018a)

Soviet legacy), GHG pollutions overall have developed favorably—in


2015, they were 22.1% below the base year. However, this is the trend
in overall activity. Transportation is very different compared with the
general trend, and in the last observation year (2015), its share of the
total GHGs was 26.6%. Since 1990, transportation has grown in GHG
emissions by 23%. The highest polluter in this sub-sector is road trans-
portation, which in the last observation year (2015) represented 72.1%
of all transportation emissions. Road transportation GHG emissions
have also grown by 20% over the years, despite all activity, technology
development, implementations and legislation process accomplished.
International maritime transport produces 11.4% of GHG emissions
from the transportation sector, and it has also grown by 22.2% during
the period (1990–2015) in its emissions. The only positive segment
of the transportation sector are the railways, which have been able to
accomplish a 54.4% decrease in emissions. This is of course partially
because of technological progress (i.e., more energy efficient traction and
4 O.-P. HILMOLA

trains overall) and implementations (such as higher use of electricity as


traction), but also partially because of declining raw material transpor-
tation (especially coal) from the early 1990s and the lost market share in
freight and passengers (especially in former Eastern Europe). In real life,
some companies have started to utilize railways at a larger scale in order
to combat high transportation CO2 emissions. For example, BMW has
reported that nearly 60% of vehicles leaving the manufacturing plant are
transported for first part of the journey by railways (BMW 2017).
Of course, some might argue that the situation is good, since overall
GHG emissions in Europe are on the long-term decline. As a counter-
argument, it could be stated that overall, across the entire world, GHG
emissions are still strongly increasing. Readers could go and check the
oldest measurement point, that of Mauna Loa (Hawaii) and the devel-
opment of CO2 emissions in this Pacific observatory from the late 1950s
to the present date (NOAA 2018). The growth is really impressive and
leaves no question as to where the world is heading. All actions, agree-
ments, meetings and panels have done very little to the global CO2 lev-
els: it is still clearly increasing. Perhaps the achievement has been that it
has not increased at a much higher rate.
A similar kind of process as with the regulation of ‘private diesel cars’
is now underway in freight transportation within the European Union.
Initially, countries opened a ‘wish box’ of great hopes of further inte-
gration and globalization, only to discover that transportation activity
had increased considerably (due to the much higher rate of trade and
the low inventory, as well as high order frequency systems such as just in
time). Now the situation is such that, in Europe, different countries have
road use payments for trucks, and taxation is increasing for diesel fuels
at gas stations almost annually. In addition, there is already agreement
regarding incorporating transportation in CO2 emission demands for
the year 2030. These CO2 reductions are massive to Finland, Sweden,
Denmark and Germany, for example (around 40% reduction needed in
2030 from the 2005 level; European Commission 2018b). The mari-
time sector is not alone in here—in the year 2015 within Europe, strin-
gent sulphur regulation was implemented in emission control areas
(Baltic and North Sea), where sulphur content of used diesel was set at
a maximum of 0.1% (IMO 2018a; Hilmola 2015). In 2015, a low sul-
phur level was also required for coastal areas of North America (together
with some parts of US Caribbean Sea; IMO 2014). Sulphur con-
tent was globally decreased from 4.5% to 3.5% (in the year 2012).
1 INTRODUCTION 5

In the same vein, China also implemented its own domestic sulphur
emission control areas for three major sea port regions with cap of 0.5%
(Liu et al. 2018); these started to be effective in some areas from the
early part of 2016 and have enlarged in areal size in the years 2017 and
2018 (Hong 2017). Shipping is not like road transport, and its main
problem is not CO2 emission levels (3% from global CO2 emissions;
Stevens et al. 2015), since this is already very low compared with its
absolute dominance in transported volumes (80% global modal share
based on United Nations 2017). However, for a long time, shipping
used inexpensive heavy fuel, which produced significant amounts of sul-
phur and nitrogen (Stevens et al. 2015; Lindstad et al. 2015). These
in turn were, and still are, a very serious issue in populated areas due
to their associated harmful health effects and, eventually, casualties.
In North American coastal areas, implementation of demanding sul-
phur limits during the years 2012 and 2015 have also considerably
decreased particular matter emissions, which in turn will mean improved
health among the population living in close proximity to the coast
(Kotchenruther 2017). Although, shipping-related CO2 emissions are
really low as compared with its transportation sector volume dominance
at the global scale, IMO (2018b) have initially agreed that shipping CO2
emissions ought to be reduced by at least 50% before the year 2050. As
comparison year in emissions within here is 2008 level, and CO2 emis-
sions should reach their global peak as soon as possible.
Now, as decided by the International Maritime Organization (IMO),
the sulphur cap for the entire world is going to be 0.5% from the year
2020 onwards. This will change maritime-based supply chains in the
coming years and decades. The change is such that decision-makers need
to think everything through in terms of costs and profitability, instead of
scale and market share. Previously in shipping, fuel costs were not par-
ticularly high, when oil was trading 10–20 USD per barrel (in 1980s and
1990s); however, as prices have increased to the level of 50–100 USD
per barrel and as legislation is forcing the use of lower-emitting grades,
it will mean only one thing—the increase of variable costs. Previously,
as the cost structure of maritime supply chains was capital intensive and
the most worrying issues besides this were labour cost, profit taxation
and payments for sea ports (as per visiting these to unload and/or load
cargo). Now energy will enter the spotlight. Demands for shipping will
not end here—CO2 emissions will soon become part of the agenda, as
has already happened with nitrogen emissions.
6 O.-P. HILMOLA

Of course, it is so that all forthcoming problems could be solved with


money, in other words by large-scale investment in technology and new
equipment. For example, sulphur could be washed with sea water by using
ship-installed scrubbers (Ma et al. 2012; Yang et al. 2012; Lindstad et al.
2017). These scrubbers could be retrofitted to old ships as well. The
only downside of this is that they would cost millions of euros, and their
operation would not be free of charge (there is an ongoing demand for
electricity and sulphur waste treatment at sea ports; see up-to-date esti-
mates, Olaniyi et al. 2018). However, the use of scrubbers could buy time
in order to use old fleet and heavy diesel oil. As Fig. 1.2 illustrates, the
sulphur directive in 2015 (as well as in 2020) will either lead to higher
capital investments or oil (fuel) costs. Reduced levels of sulphur in the
environment will also mean higher overhead costs for some period of time
as preparing for these changes. These changes will also have their effects
on freight volume (most probably declining overall) and price (increasing).
Similarly to sulphur regulations, the speed of vessels is having its effects on
the maritime supply chain: higher ship speed and handling at sea ports will
lead to better capital and labour turnaround (against revenue), but also,
on the negative side, to a higher consumption of oil. Speed will also result
in a higher number of port visits, and related payments. If oil is cheap

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Fig. 1.2 Effects of speed and sulphur directive on inputs and outputs of mari-
time supply chain
1 INTRODUCTION 7

and there are no environmental regulations concerning CO2 emissions,


it is really worthwhile for the shipping community to have higher speeds
and a high consumption of heavy diesel. In some cases, routes were able
to offer competitive prices, short lead times and high frequencies—and
all this with a high freight volume gained. However, the logic of speed at
shipping has lost its momentum, mostly due to high oil (fuel) costs and
increasing environmental demands. In addition, globally, shipping has suf-
fered from over-capacity in recent times, and this has resulted in the need
to proceed slowly at deep sea in order to save costs and utilize the extra
capacity for something. It will not be that surprising for the reader to dis-
cover in the following chapters that very short-distance sea journeys have
won volumes at the Baltic Sea during the implementation of sulphur regu-
lation. Companies are simply increasingly using the truck with semi-trailer
combination to quickly load and unload cargo to ships (as forecasted in
Notteboom 2011; Hilmola 2014, 2015), which connect to short-distance
sea ports. This will of course favour speed, but increases the labour used
and adds extra weight to ships. These factors will increase CO2, even if the
speed of operations improves.
It is rather difficult to understand the reason why trucks with
semi-trailers were taking the market share in sulphur or environmental
legislation tightening in Northern Europe. Figure 1.3 illustrates reasons
for this further. Even if a container ship is polluting significantly less CO2
and could be considered to be very environmentally friendly and sustain-
able due to high utilization ratios and slow speeds, it is not the winning

Container

Hinterland:
Hinterland: Hinterland: Sea Port: Sea Port:
Loading Sea:
Loading Items to Container to Truck with Stevedoring Lifting Container
Container ship
Container Truck Container Company to ship

1-2 days lead time min. 2-3 days lead time 7 days lead time

Ropax

Hinter land: Hinterland: Sea Port: Sea Port: Driving Sea:


Loading Items to Truck with Semi- Truck in Waiting Truck Inside of
Ropax ship Ropax ship
Semi-Trailer Trailer Line

0.5-1 day lead time 2-4 h lead time

Fig. 1.3 Two maritime and unitized supply chains using either container ship
or RoPax ship (from Northern Europe to Central Europe)
8 O.-P. HILMOLA

solution (Hilmola et al. 2015; Hilmola 2017). The reason is the con-
tainer itself—even if it solves the handling issues of small-parcels/varying
sized parcels, and eventually inefficiency at sea ports, it is still a trou-
blesome concept for fast cycle-time supply chains (like those operating
inside of Europe). First of all, containers (empty ones) need to be called
to terminals or factories, where items are going to be loaded. Sometimes
it is the case that empty containers travel hundred or even several hun-
dreds of kilometers to reach the loading point. After this, the container is
loaded full of items, either through automation or with a forklift (or even
a more primitive device, such as a pump trolley). The more manual this
operation is, the longer it takes (and the lower the quality). Thereafter,
the container needs to be loaded on the truck trailer platform. It can
be lifted, or alternatively the truck drives below loading platform in the
terminal, and just takes the container on the trailer (It can be lifted, or
alternatively the truck drives below container in the terminal, and just
takes the container on the trailer (e.g. using legs besides container to
have it lifted up in terminal). Thereafter, the road transportation combi-
nation starts its journey towards the sea port. The travel time is of course
dependent on distance, the necessary breaks (based on legislation, per-
sonal and/or technical needs), traffic on the roads (and possible jams)
as well as weather. It will take a minimum of one to two days that items
reach sea port from the hinterland terminal (incl. loading items to con-
tainer as shown in Fig. 1.3). At the sea port, the container is unloaded
from the truck, and is put in the waiting area, where it is placed due to
operations planning and customs issues (typically container supply chains
at sea ports are required to enter custom zones since containers could
travel to the EU, China, USA etc.). From this waiting area, containers
are possibly moved using reach stackers close to ships for loading with
cranes. Alternatively, gantry cranes may move them directly to ship. This
whole operation takes a lot of time as even in Northern Europe volumes
and feeder container ships are much smaller than those used by conti-
nental routes. Consider completing this activity for 400–600 containers.
From the beginning of the process of terminal item loading to the point
of reaching the container ship will take at least 3–5 days. Sea transport to
destination easily requires a combination of the Baltic Sea and North Sea
for at least 7 days (in some very limited cases this could be 4 or 5 days).
Then containers need to go through foreign sea port formalities again,
and a few days later (in the best-case scenario) they are free to be trans-
ported by hinterland to somewhere. Therefore, even to Central Europe,
1 INTRODUCTION 9

container shipping is not greatly used. Even if it were cost competitive,


it would easily require two weeks’ time, and for all this time all the items
are held in inventory, which increases inventory holding costs and causes
possible quality damage. In addition, customers are required to wait
longer, and, in rapidly changing markets, items lose their value. This sys-
tem is also very dependent on the availability of different machines of
container handling, shipping schedules (low frequencies, typically weekly
or bi-weekly) and labour with various union contracts as well as skillsets.
Some readers might wonder, why these maritime supply chain examples
do not contain the railway. It is as environmentally friendly (or in some situa-
tions, even better) as container shipping, and favoured in public appearances
of politicians everywhere. The reason is very simple: it is even slower than the
truck used to transport containers to the container ship. The container train
contains 20–40 wagons (this differs between European countries, and also as
a result of transportation demand), and in each one of those, there are pos-
sibly two containers. It varies as to whether trains can leave directly from fac-
tories (those with sufficient volume) or alternatively container shall start first
with a truck, and continue to nearby railway terminal. Railway transportation
is by itself complex combination of different issues, where traction engine(s)
is needed, free capacity is needed to be booked from railway network, con-
tainer wagons are needed and then lifting at terminal area is required and so
on. At the sea port, the situation is similar; a railway terminal is needed and
then the operations with regard to the container ship are as earlier described.
Railways and container ships are really the solution in the environmental
sense, but together they are far too slow. In Fig. 1.3, it shows that operations
prior to the sea port took in the truck case 1–2 days. With railways, this time
is at least 3–4 days (of course, there might be situation where this lead time
is close to trucks, but it requires a high volume railway route with numer-
ous daily departures). Lower emission maritime supply chains exist, but they
will require items moving much more slowly. Railways are typically used if the
distance from sea port to the hinterland point is between 500 and 1000 km
(at least). Shorter distances could be utilized, but the only successful exam-
ples are from Sweden (so called dry port concept; Roso et al. 2009; Roso
and Andersson 2017), and the dry port system in Sweden has the challenge
of transporting semi-trailers over a large scale (Woxenius and Bergqvist 2011;
Bergqvist and Cullinane 2017) since it is merely a container-based system.
The alternative for this, which is also truck based, is to load items
at the terminal to a semi-trailer (Fig. 1.3, lower part), which comes
together with the truck (or then empty semi-trailer is taken from
10 O.-P. HILMOLA

somewhere, and it is picked by truck). This semi-trailer combination will


proceed through the hinterland to a sea port of a RoPax ship (or RoRo),
where it enters the waiting line. Typically, a couple of hours at the wait-
ing line is sufficient that the truck driver is able to drive truck and semi-
trailer combination inside of ship. Loading operations at RoPax ships
are really straight forward, and do not take a long time. As an example,
in Finland, RoPax ships will in most cases enter EU area countries, and
then the custom formalities are very simple (or indeed, they do not exist
at all). RoPax ships typically operate in fast mode at the sea, they con-
sume a lot of diesel (fuel) and they pollute a lot. However, they benefit
cargo a lot too. The service is fast, and it is not greatly dependent on sea
port labour (very little indeed), and various union issues can be avoided
(e.g., stevedoring strikes). In the best situation of under a day, cargo is
for example from Finnish manufacturing unit or logistics terminal within
the road network of Estonia. Within day or two out of this, most of
the destinations in Central Europe can be reached (using Baltic roads).
This system of course produces a high level of pollution and could be
too expensive, but in reality, it is not. Trucking is always under a vast
amount of competition (due to deregulation processes taking place in
the European Union), so there are always options available, and prices
are reasonable. Drivers come from a diverse set of countries, where sal-
aries are competitive. In addition, diesel prices differ inside of European
Union countries considerably (reader may check diesel prices in Poland,
three Baltic States, Finland and Sweden e.g. in DKV 2018; differences
are still there). Even if environmental demands substantially hit the mari-
time sector, it will not have a significant effect on very short-sea shipping
routes (max. 100–150 km). Hinterland taxes for road transport would
need to greatly increase in order for this system not to be competitive.
It will also provide many other positive business impacts: inventories
are really low and tied capital is much lower, the quality of operations
is higher (punctuality and lower product damage), RoPax ships typ-
ically have numerous daily departures, and it enables a door-to-door
chain with few controllable actors. As Woxenius and Bergqvist (2011)
concluded from research into the Swedish situation, containers deal in
long-distance continental transports and the time-frame is in weeks,
whereas trucks with semi-trailers are operating within a time frame of
hours. Precision in transport service is also very different since in con-
tainers it is measured in days, whilst in semi-trailers it is hours (Woxenius
and Bergqvist 2011).
1 INTRODUCTION 11

The following chapters will review the changes that took place due to
sulphur regulation implementation at Baltic Sea. This is examined mostly
through combining, compiling and analysing second-hand data from differ-
ent sources. Most datasets already have three years of data since the change
took place, so interpretation for the medium term can be made. Chapter 2
starts this analysis by examining three countries of interest at the northern
Baltic Sea: Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The macro-economy and trade
situation is analysed, along with the oil price dynamics that have taken place
in the previous two decades. Significant oil price decline in the latter part of
2014 and in 2015 considerably softened the effects of sulphur regulation
in the Baltic Sea, but did not remove them completely (Zis and Psaraftis
2017; Hilmola et al. 2017). It could be considered as a short-term finan-
cial aid. Chapter 3, in turn, describes what happened to the unitized cargo
flows of Finland to three main destinations: Estonia, Germany and Sweden.
It is clearly shown that the Estonian route benefitted in volume terms from
the implementation of sulphur regulations, while the German and Swedish
routes were hurt. The situation of cargo handling, and particularly unitized
cargo handling, at the sea ports of these three countries (Estonia, Finland
and Sweden) is dealt with in Chapter 4. As an interpretation of results, it
could be stated that trucking, and particularly using trucks accompanied
with semi-trailers, has increased significantly over the years as these are
loaded onto short-sea shipping routes. This is not only the situation in
Finland and Estonia, but also in Sweden. In other respects, sea ports have
experienced challenges regarding volume development (tons) overall, but
also have clear weaknesses in container handling. However, maritime supply
chains using trucks and semi-trailers have clearly been the benefitting party.
Company-specific issues of mostly Finland and Estonia are dealt with in
Chapter 5. It could be identified that shipping companies are not grow-
ing that much, and actually, revenues are experiencing a small, but long-
term decline. In addition, asset values are declining. It seems that shipping
companies, which invested mostly in scrubbers to tackle sulphur regu-
lation, produced best the financial results during the years 2015–2017.
However, opposite was also the case, as shipping company in bulk segment
performed pretty well in the period, even if mostly relying on low sulphur
content diesel. Two publicly traded hinterland transports companies were
also analysed (due to clear change in the mindset and use of new routes),
and in here, it seems that the trucking companies were able to show a con-
tinuum in revenue growth. However, the company’s profitability did not
change much over the years. Chapter 5 also analyses the situation of using
12 O.-P. HILMOLA

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the sea port perspective (LNG ter-
minal, which has some years of operation), and also by analysing LNG
price development in different continents. This is owing to the fact that
many analyzed shipping companies have invested in LNG ships or are in
the process of building them through shipyards; in addition, private sec-
tor interviews revealed interest for this fuel and technology as part of
tackling change. LNG is a promising new source of energy to be used
in maritime supply chains, but it has its technical, infrastructure, emis-
sion and business risks. Multiyear surveys completed primarily by Finnish
and Swedish companies are analyzed in Chapter 6, and the last survey of
2015 includes also Estonian responses. An introduction and analysis of
three simulation models follows in Chapter 7. The book ends with con-
cluding discussion in Chapter 8.

Critical questions for readers (book will facilitate and/or provide


answers):
• Are you aware of the cost effects of the coming sulphur regula-
tions on supply chains?
• How much is your company is dependent on maritime supply
chains?
• What is the form and performance of maritime supply chain, if
the maritime component is being minimized? What is the role
of different hinterland transport modes?
• What is your strategy to tackle the coming sulphur regulation
change?
• What is the CO2 emission level (direct result of diesel con-
sumption) of your maritime supply chain?
• How will different routes (e.g., export, import, semi-finished
goods or raw materials) experience the coming regulation cost
increases? Can use of more cost-efficient routes be increased in
the short amount of time available?
• Is your supply chain network more regional rather than con-
centrating globally on some products in dedicated locations? If
the network is globally focused, are you aware of transportation
cost implications?
• What kind of environmental investments could make such that
your organization is better prepared and more competitive in
the new low-sulphur world?
1 INTRODUCTION 13

References
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realism in the face of global hype. Research in Transportation Business and
Management, 22, 224–231.
BMW. (2017). Sustainable value report 2016. Munich, Germany. Available at
https://www.bmwgroup.com/content/dam/bmw-group-websites/bmwgroup_
com/ir/downloads/en/2016/BMW-Group-SustainableValueReport-2016–
EN.pdf. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
Bowman, R. (2014, June 3). Third-party logistics providers are shrinking in
number, growing in size. Forbes. Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/
robertbowman/2014/06/03/third-party-logistics-providers-are-shrinking-
in-number-growing-in-size/#7eb83252426e. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
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ervice.com/DKVMaps/. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
El-Zein, A., Nuwayhid, I., El-Fadel, M., & Mroueh, S. (2007). Did a ban on
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port. Brussels: European Commission. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/
transport/facts-fundings/statistics/pocketbook-2017_en. Retrieved 22
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Henschel, S., Tertre, A. L., Atkinson, R. W., Querol, X., Pandolfi, M., Zeka, A.,
et al. (2015). Trends of nitrogen oxides in ambient air in nine European cities
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Sector Management, 9(1), 120–132.
Hilmola, O.-P. (2017). Transport modes and intermodality. In J. Carlton, P.
Jukes, & Y.-S. Choo (Eds.), Encyclopedia of marine and offshore engineering.
New York: Chapter for the Wiley Publishers.
Hilmola, O.-P., Kiisler, A., & Hilletofth, P. (2017). Cabotage and sulphur reg-
ulation change: Cost effects to Northern Europe. International Journal of
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demands and the future of Helsinki-Tallinn freight route. Maritime Economics
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body; a projection from the thoracic side-pieces, forming a long
pouch, into which a fold on the inner side of the elytra fits, the two
being subsequently locked by the action of some special projections.
This arrangement is similar to that which exists in the anomalous
family of water-beetles Pelobiidae. In order to make this mechanism
more perfect the side-pieces in Belostoma form free processes.
Martin has informed us that the young have the metasternal
episternum prolonged to form a lamella that he thinks may be for
respiratory purposes.[499] About twelve genera and upwards of fifty
species of Belostomidae are known. None exist in our isles, but
several species extend their range to Southern Europe. In the waters
of the warm regions of the continents of both the Old and New
Worlds they are common Insects, but as yet they have not been
found in Australia.

Fam. 24. Notonectidae.—Prosternum short, so that the legs are


placed near the back part of it as well as near the front; back of the
head overlapped by the front of the pronotum.—The water-boatmen
are extremely common in our ponds, where they may be seen rising
to the surface and raising the posterior extremity of the body for
breathing. They swim on their backs instead of in the usual position,
and have an elaborate arrangement of long hairs on the body to
assist them to carry about an air-supply. They are said to be lighter
than the water, and to have some difficulty in keeping away from the
surface. Notonecta glauca is the only British species, but we have a
second minute Insect, Plea minutissima, belonging to the family. It
lies in the mud at the bottom of shallow waters, and may sometimes
be fished up in great numbers. It is considered by some authors to
form a distinct family. The oviposition of Notonecta has been
observed by Regimbart; the eggs are inserted into the stems of
aquatic plants.

Fam. 25. Corixidae.—Prosternum short, as in Notonectidae; summit


of the head free from the thorax.—We have numerous species of the
genus Corixa in Britain; and others extremely similar in appearance
occur in various parts of the world. The head is remarkably free, and
capable of great rotation. On dissection it is found to be attached to
the thorax only by a narrow area; in this respect it differs widely from
Notonecta, which possesses an extremely large occipital foramen,
and the head of which possesses but little freedom of movement.
The extremely short proboscis is more or less retractile, and
therefore frequently appears absent. A second British genus consists
of a single species, Sigara minutissima. These Insects, unlike
Notonecta, are quite at home beneath the water, where they scurry
about with extreme rapidity, and occur sometimes in enormous
numbers. In Mexico the eggs of Corixa americana and of C.
femorata are used as food, and are said to be very nice. The Insects
themselves are used as food in both Mexico and Egypt. The species
of this family can make a noise beneath the water by rubbing the
front feet against the proboscis.[500] The males have a very complex
asymmetry of the terminal segments, and in some species possess
on one side of the dorsal surface a curious asymmetrical organ
consisting of rows of very closely-packed, intensely black, comb-like
plates, called by Buchanan White a strigil. This organ seems to be
similar to the peculiar structures found on the terminal segments of
certain species of Scutellerides.

Sub-Order II. Homoptera.[501]

Fam. 1. Cicadidae.—Head with three ocelli, placed triangularly on


the summit between the compound eyes; antennae consisting of a
short basal joint, surmounted by a hair-like process divided into
about five segments. Front femora more or less thick, armed with
teeth. Peduncle (or basal joints) of antennae without sensitive
organs.—This important family consists chiefly of large Insects, few
being as small as one inch across the expanded wings, while in
some the expanse is as much as seven inches. As a rule the four
wings are transparent and shining, with the nervures remarkably
distinct and dark coloured; but there are numerous forms where the
whole creature, including the wings, is highly pigmented in a showy
manner; frequently in black and yellow. Cicadas are said to be
without any special protection, and to be destroyed in considerable
numbers by birds and other animals. The body is broad and robust,
and is never shaped into the extravagant forms we meet with in
some of the other families of Homoptera.

Fig. 280—Cicada septendecim. North America. (After Riley.) A, Larva;


B, nymph; C, nymph skin after emergence of the imago, D; E,
section of twig with series of eggs; F, two eggs magnified.

Cicadidae are almost confined to the warmer regions of the earth,


but we have one species, a great rarity, in the extreme south of
England; altogether there are about 800 species known. These
Insects are seen above ground—so far as the life-histories are at
present known—only in the perfect condition, the creatures in their
earlier stages being subterranean and living on roots. As soon as the
individual comes out of the ground it splits open the nymph-skin, and
the perfect Cicada emerges. One species—the North American
Cicada septendecim—is a most notorious Insect owing to its life-
cycle of seventeen years. It is considered that the individual, after
nearly seventeen years of underground existence, comes to the
surface and lives for a brief period the life of a noisy Insect. This is
the only Insect at present known having so considerable a longevity.
This fact, and several other peculiarities, have attracted much
attention, so that there is an extensive literature connected with the
seventeen-year Cicada. It has a wide distribution over the United
States, but does not confine its appearance to every seventeenth
year, being found somewhere or other—frequently in numerous
localities—almost every year. The evidence as to its periodicity has
been obtained by taking the locality and other points into
consideration as well as the year of appearance. By so doing it has
been found possible to establish the existence of twenty-two broods
which are distinguished by consecutive numeration. This being done,
the evidence as to the years during which Cicadas have appeared in
any given locality is examined, and the result is believed to bear out
the view that the life-cycle of the individual Insect is really one of
seventeen years. According to this view there are, underground, in
certain localities individuals of different ages that will appear on the
surface as mature individuals in different years. Thus in 1885 it was
understood that there were underground in Alabama two broods, viz.
brood xviii. that would appear on the surface in 1894, and brood iv.
that would appear on the surface in 1896. The predictions made as
to the years in which Cicadas would appear in some given locality
are considered to have proved correct. Moreover, particular
entomologists have in certain localities verified by personal
examination the appearance of the Insects for several consecutive
periods of seventeen years. These facts appear fairly conclusive, but
they are much complicated by another point, viz. that in certain
localities the period is one of thirteen, not of seventeen, years. This
is to some extent a question of climate, the thirteen-year interval
being chiefly characteristic of the Southern States. It is not, however,
entirely so, for there are localities in which the broods have an
interval of either thirteen years or seventeen years. Another fact
should be remembered, viz. that it is admitted that not quite all the
individuals of a particular brood are true to their proper time of
appearance; in other words, a few specimens may appear
precociously a year or two before their comrades, while some may
lag behind to a considerable extent. It is therefore a matter for great
surprise that, under these circumstances, the broods should keep
distinct at all, for one would suppose that time-variation of this kind
would lead to completely obscuring the distinctness of the broods.
We must also call attention to the fact that both the seventeen-year
and the thirteen-year broods have a dimorphic form, or sub-species,
called C. cassinii which accompanies the ordinary form, with which it
is apparently as a rule not connected by intermediates.[502]
Cicadidae are provided with powerful ovipositors. The eggs of C.
septendecim are deposited in the woody stems of bushes; after
remaining there a few weeks the young hatch out, drop to the
ground, and, as previously stated, disappear for nearly seventeen
years, nearly the whole of which time is passed in the larval state,
the nymph-condition existing for only a few days. They feed on the
roots of various trees; it has been said that they are injurious in this
way, but other authorities maintain that they suck only a moist
exudation from the roots. It is very difficult to obtain information as to
their strange, prolonged, subterranean life; it said that the Insects
sometimes penetrate to a great depth—ten feet, even twenty feet are
mentioned;—and as great changes may take place on the surface
during their long lives, these Insect Rip Van Winkles sometimes
emerge in very strange conditions, and may appear even in deep
cellars. When the pupa comes to the surface it hooks itself on to the
stem of some plant or other object, the skin of the back splits, and
the Cicada emerges. Among the inexplicable peculiarities of this
Insect must be mentioned the fact that when emerging it sometimes
constructs chimneys, or flues, extending several inches above the
surface of the ground. The reason for this is much disputed; it was
said that they are for refuge against inundations, but this appears to
be very doubtful. Certain of the broods consist of an almost
incalculable number of individuals, and it is very strange to hear
woods, or other localities, that have been for many years free from
these Insects, all at once resounding with their noisy song. The
seventeen-year Cicada is considered to be doomed to a speedy
extinction; the extension of cultivation and building, and the
introduction to America of the English sparrow, are likely to prove too
much for the Insect.

Although Hemiptera are classified by many among the Ametabola or


Insects without metamorphosis, it is impossible to deny that the
Cicadidae exhibit a considerable amount of metamorphosis, and
they are usually mentioned as exceptional. The young (Fig. 280, A)
is totally unlike the adult in form and colour, and maintains, to a
certain extent, its existence by the aid of a different set of
implements. The larva of the Cicada is colourless, with an
integument of very feeble consistence, rather large antennae, and a
remarkable pair of fossorial legs; the wings are totally wanting. The
mode of passage from the larval to the pupal state has not been
recorded. The pupa, or nymph, differs from the larva by its much
shorter, compressed form; by being encased in a remarkably hard
shell; and by the antennae approximating in form to those of the
adult. It has short wing-pads at the sides of the body; the front legs
are remarkably powerful, and the creature is capable of moving
about; the imago escapes from the pupa by the splitting dorsally of
the middle of the thoracic segments. The empty pupa-skin does not
shrivel, but retains its form, and in countries where Cicadas occur,
frequently attracts attention by the strange form it presents, being
often placed in a conspicuous position.

Song.—Cicadas are the most noisy of the Insect world; the shrilling
of grasshoppers and even of crickets being insignificant in
comparison with the voice of Cicada. Darwin heard them in South
America when the Beagle was anchored a quarter of a mile from the
shore; and Tympanoterpes gigas, from the same region, is said to
make a noise equal to the whistle of a locomotive.[503] A curious
difference of opinion prevails as to whether their song is agreeable
or not; in some countries they are kept in cages, while in others they
are considered a nuisance. The Greeks are said to have decided in
favour of their performances, the Latins against them. Only the
males sing, the females being completely dumb; this has given rise
to a saying by a Greek poet (so often repeated that it bids fair to
become immortal) "Happy the Cicadas' lives, for they all have
voiceless wives."[504] The writer considers the songs of the
European species he has heard far from unpleasant, but he is an
entomologist, and therefore favourably prepossessed; and he admits
that Riley's description of the performances of the seventeen-year
Cicada is far from a satisfactory testimonial to the good taste of that
Insect; Riley says, "The general noise, on approaching the infested
woods, is a combination of that of a distant threshing-machine and a
distant frog-pond. That which they make when disturbed, mimics a
nest of young snakes or young birds under similar circumstances—a
sort of scream. They can also produce a chirp somewhat like that of
a cricket and a very loud, shrill screech prolonged for fifteen or
twenty seconds, and gradually increasing in force and then
decreasing." The object, or use of the noise is very doubtful; it is said
that it attracts the females to the males. "De gustibus non est
disputandum!" perhaps, however, there may be some tender notes
that we fail to perceive; and it may be that the absence of any
definite organs of hearing reduces the result of a steam-engine
whistle to the equivalent of an agreeable whisper. No special
auditory organs have been detected[505] as we have already
intimated; and certain naturalists, amongst whom we may mention
Giard, think that the Insects do not hear in our sense of the word, but
feel rhythmical vibrations; it is also recorded that though very shy the
Insects may be induced to approach any one who will stand still and
clap his hands—in good measure—within the range of their
sensibilities. There is a good deal of support to the idea that the
males sing in rivalry.

Vocal structures.—Although we may not be able to pronounce a


final opinion as to the value to the Insect of the sounds, yet we
cannot withhold our admiration from the structures from which they
proceed. These are indeed so complex that they must be ranked as
amongst the most remarkable voice-organs in the animal kingdom.
They are totally different from the stridulating organs that are found
in many other Insects, and are indeed quite peculiar to the
Cicadidae. Some difference of opinion has existed as to the manner
in which the structures act, but the account given by Carlet, some of
whose figures we reproduce, will, we believe, be found to be
essentially correct. The structures are partly thoracic and partly
abdominal. On examining a male Cicada there will be seen on the
under surface two plates—the opercula—usually meeting in the
middle line of the body and overlapping the base of the abdomen to
a greater or less extent according to the species, sometimes nearly
covering this part of the body; these are enlargements of the
metathoracic epimera; they can be slightly moved away from the
abdomen, and, as the latter part is capable of a still greater extent of
movement, a wide fissure may be produced, displaying the complex
structures. In order to see the parts it is better to cut away an
operculum; underneath it three membranes can be seen, an
external, the timbal; an anterior, the folded or soft membrane; and a
posterior, the mirror. This last is a most beautiful object, tensely
stretched and pellucid, yet reflecting light so as to be of varied
colours; there are also three stigmata, and some chambers
connected with the apparatus. The sound is primarily produced by
the vibrations of the timbal, to which a muscle is attached; the other
membranes are probably also thrown into a condition of vibration,
and the whole skeleton of the Insect helps to increase or modify the
sound, which is probably also influenced by the position of the
opercula. The stigmata probably play an important part by regulating
the tension of the air in the chambers. In the female some of the
structures are present in a rudimentary form, but there are no
muscles, and this sex appears to be really quite voiceless.

Fig. 281.—Musical apparatus of Cicada plebeia. (After Carlet.) A,


Ventral view (Operculum on right side is removed); ap, apophysis;
C, cavern; c, trochantin (cheville of Réaumur); ent, part of internal
skeleton of abdomen; mi, specular membrane; m.pl, soft or folded
membrane; P, base of leg; st, st′, st″, stigmata; t, drum "timbale";
v, operculum; 1a, first, 2a, second abdominal segment: B, same
seen laterally, portion of abdominal wall as well as operculum
removed; A, point of insertion of hind wing; Mes, mesothorax; sc,
scutum of metathorax; 3a, third abdominal segment; rest as in A.

Fam. 2. Fulgoridae.—Ocelli two (rarely three, or entirely obsolete),


placed beneath the eyes or near the eyes, usually in cavities of the
cheeks, antennae placed beneath the eyes, very variable in form;
usually of two joints terminated by a very fine hair, the second joint
with a peculiar texture of the surface, owing to the existence of
sensitive structures (Hansen). Form of head very diverse; vertex and
face forming either a continuous curve, or the planes of the vertex
and face forming an acute angle, or both prolonged so as to form a
projection or growth that may be monstrous. Prothorax neither
armed nor unusually developed.

Fig. 282—Fulgora candelaria. × 1. China.

This family is of large extent, and includes at present so great a


variety of forms that it is really almost impossible to frame a definition
that will apply to all. The unusual situation of the ocelli and the
peculiar second joint of the antennae must at present be taken as
the best diagnostic characters: occasionally a third ocellus is
present. Some of the Fulgoridae are amongst the largest Insects,
others are quite small. The family includes the so-called Lantern-
flies, in which the front of the head forms a huge misshapen
proboscis that was formerly believed to be luminous. Many of the
species are of brilliant or beautiful coloration. A great many—and of
very different kinds—have the curious power of excreting large
quantities of a white, flocculent wax. This is exhibited by our little
British Insects of the genus Cixius, and in some of the exotic forms is
carried to an extent that becomes a biological puzzle. The Tropical
American genus Phenax may be cited as an example; being about
an inch long it flies about with a large mass of this waxy substance
twice as long as itself; indeed, in the Mexican P. auricoma, the waxy
processes are four or five inches long. This wax forms a favourite
food of certain kinds of Lepidoptera, and two or three larvae of a
maggot-like nature may frequently be found concealed in the wax of
the live Fulgorids; this has been recorded by Westwood as occurring
in India; and Champion has observed it in the New World.[506] The
wax of Fulgorids is used by the Chinese for candles and other
purposes; and this white Insect-wax is said to be much esteemed in
India. Very curious chemical substances have been obtained from it,
but its importance in the economy of the Insects that produce it is
quite obscure. We have about seventy species of Fulgoridae in
Britain. They belong to the subfamilies Tettigometrides, Issides,
Cixiides, and Delphacides, which by many authors are treated as
separate families. The exotic subfamily Flatides is highly peculiar. In
some of its members the head is very different from that of the
ordinary forms, being narrow, and the vertex and front forming a
continuous curve. Some of these Insects are remarkably like
butterflies or moths (e.g. the African Ityraea nigrocincta and the
species of the genus Pochazia), but the young are totally unlike the
old, the posterior part of the body bearing a large bush of curled,
waxy projections, several times the size of the rest of the body.

Fig. 283—A, B, Heteronotus trinodosus. A, Male seen from above; B,


profile of female; a, terminal part of pronotum; b, terminal part of
abdomen: C, front view of head and pronotum of Cyphonia
clavata. Both species from Central America. (From Biol. Centr.
Amer. Rhynch. Homopt. II.)

Fam. 3. Membracidae.—Prothorax prolonged backwards into a


hood or processes of diverse forms; antennae inserted in front of the
eyes; ocelli two, placed between the two eyes.—This family is of
large extent but its members are chiefly tropical, and are specially
abundant in America. Although not of large size the Membracidae
are unsurpassed for the variety and grotesqueness of their shapes,
due to the unusual development of the pronotum. We figure two of
these forms (Fig. 283).[507] Very little is known about their habits and
life-histories. We have only two species of the family in Britain, and
these do not afford any ground for supposing that there are any
peculiarities in their lives at all commensurate with the oddness of
the Insect's structures. Belt has recorded the fact that in Nicaragua
the larvae of certain Homoptera were assiduously attended by ants
for the sake of a sweet juice excreted by the bugs, but it is by no
means clear that these larvae were really those of Membracidae. In
North America Ceresa bubalus and C. taurina place their eggs in an
extremely neat manner in the woody twigs of trees. The young have
but little resemblance to the adults, the great thoracic hood being
absent, while on the back there is on each segment a pair of long,
sub-erect processes having fringed, or minutely spiny, margins.[508]

Fam. 4. Cercopidae.—Ocelli two (occasionally absent) placed on


the vertex; antennae placed between the eyes. Thorax not peculiarly
formed.—In the characteristic forms of this family the front of the
vertex bears a suture, touched on each side by one at right angles to
it, or converging to it so as to form a triangle or a sort of embrasure;
the hind tibiae have only one to three strong spines. The Cercopidae
are much less extraordinary than many of the previously considered
families. But some of them have the habit of secreting a large
quantity of fluid; and when in the immature stages, certain of them
have the art of emitting the liquid in the form of bubbles which
accumulate round the Insect and conceal it. These accumulations of
fluid are called cuckoo-spits or frog-spits; and the perfect Insects are
known as frog-hoppers, their power of leaping being very great. The
most abundant of the frog-hoppers in our gardens is Philaenus
spumarius, a little Insect of about a quarter of an inch long, obscurely
coloured, with more or less definite pale spots; it is so variable in
colour that it has received scores of names. Some of the Insects do
not use their fluid in this manner, but eject it in the form of drops, and
sometimes cast them to a considerable distance. The phenomena
known as weeping-trees are due to Cercopidae; some of the species
make such copious exudations of this kind that the drops have been
compared to a shower of rain. In Madagascar it is said that Ptyelus
goudoti exudes so much fluid that five or six dozen larvae would
about fill a quart vessel in an hour and a half. The frog-spit is
considered by some naturalists to be a protective device; the larvae
are, however, a favourite food with certain Hymenoptera, which pick
out the larvae from the spits and carry them off to be used as stores
of provision for their larvae. In Ceylon the larva of Machaerota
guttigera constructs tubes fixed to the twigs of the tulip-tree, and
from the tube water is exuded drop by drop. According to Westwood,
this Insect is intermediate between Cercopidae and Membracidae.
[509]

Fam. 5. Jassidae.—Ocelli two, placed just on the front margin of the


head (almost in a line with the front of the eyes or more to the front)
or on the deflexed frons. Hind tibiae usually with many spines. This
vaguely limited family includes a very large number of small or
minute Insects, usually of narrow, parallel form, and frequently
excessively delicate and fragile. They are often mentioned under the
name of Cicadellinae. Ashmead distinguishes two families,
Bythoscopidae, in which the ocelli are clearly on the frons or front,
and Jassidae, in which they are on the upper edge thereof. Ulopa,
Ledra, and a few other exceptional forms, are also by many
distinguished as representatives of distinct families. Very little is
actually known as to the life-histories of these small and fragile
Insects, but it is believed that the eggs are usually deposited in the
leaves or stems of plants, and more particularly of grasses. In North
America the development of Deltocephalus inimicus, from hatching
to assumption of the adult form, has been observed by Webster to
occupy about six weeks. As Jassidae are numerous both in species
and individuals it is believed that they consume a considerable part
of the vegetation of pastures. Osborn has calculated that on an acre
of pasture there exist, as a rule, about one million of these hoppers,
and he considers they obtain quite as large a share of the food as
the Vertebrates feeding with them.

Fam. 6. Psyllidae.—Minute Insects with wings usually transparent,


placed in a roof-like manner over the body; with three ocelli, and
rather long, thin antennae of eight to ten joints. Tarsi two-jointed.—
These small Insects have been studied chiefly in Europe and North
America, very little information having yet been obtained as to the
exotic forms. They are about the size of Aphidae, but in form and
general appearance remind one rather of Cicadidae. The wings are
in many cases even more perfectly transparent than they are in
many Cicadidae. They are sometimes called springing plant-lice, as
their habit of jumping distinguishes them from the Aphidae. Löw has
called attention to the remarkable variation in colour they present in
conformity with either the age of the individual, the food-plant, the
climate, and, more particularly, the season of the year.[510] Réaumur
long since pointed out that at their ecdyses these Insects go through
a remarkable series of changes of colour, and Löw found that this did
not take place in the normal manner in the winter generation that
hibernates. This has been confirmed by Slingerland in North America
in the case of Psylla pyricola,[511] which has been introduced there.
He finds that there are several generations in the year, and that the
hibernating adults differ from the summer adults in size, being nearly
one-third larger; in their much darker colouring; and especially in the
coloration of the front wings.

Fig. 284—Psylla succincta. x 15. Europe. (After Heeger.) A, larva


before first moult. B, larva after third moult. C, adult.

In the earlier stages, Psyllidae differ greatly in appearance from the


adult forms; the legs and antennae in the newly hatched larvae are
short, and have a less number of joints. In the nymph the shape is
very peculiar, the large wing-pads standing out horizontally from the
sides of the body, so that the width of the creature is about as great
as the length. The period occupied by the development apparently
varies according to season. Witlaczil, who has given an account of
many details of the anatomy and histology of various Psyllidae,[512]
considers that there are four larval stages; Heeger's account of
Psylla succincta is not quite clear on this point, and Slingerland
indicates a stage more than this, the perfect Insect being disclosed
as the result of a fifth moult; it is probable that he is correct. In these
earlier stages the body bears long hairs called wax-hairs; according
to Witlaczil in the young larvae of certain species—Trioza rhamni,
e.g.—these are broad and flat, so as to make the body appear
studded with oval processes; he states that these hairs change their
form during the growth of the individual. Nothing is more remarkable
in Psyllidae than the amount of matter they secrete or exude from
their bodies; in some species the substance is a "honey-dew," and
the nymph may keep itself covered with a drop of it: in other cases it
is solid, as shown in Réaumur's figures of P. buxi, where this
exudation forms a string several times longer than the body, and
attached to it. Another form of exudation is a light downy or waxy
matter. Slingerland says that honey-dew was exuded by P. pyricola
in such quantities that it "literally rained from the trees upon the
vegetation beneath; in cultivating the orchard the back of the horse
and the harness often became covered with the sticky substance
dropping from the trees. It attracts thousands of ants, bees, and
wasps, which feed upon it." The writer last year observed in the New
Forest a stunted sloe-bush, about which a large number of Bombi
were busily occupied; and examination showed that they were
thrusting their proboscides into the curled and deformed leaves, in
which were secreted nymphs of a Psylla exuding honey-dew. It must
not be assumed that this honey-dew is the excrement of the Insect;
this also is known, and is a different substance. Those who have
tasted it say that the honey-dew has a clean, good flavour. The
source of the honey-dew is not quite certain, but it seems probable
that it comes, like the solid matter figured by Réaumur, directly from
the alimentary canal, and not from hairs or pores on the body.
Psyllidae give rise to definite formations or galls on certain plants;
sometimes these Psyllid galls are mere changes in form of a limited
part, or parts, of a leaf, giving rise either to crumpling or to growth of
a portion in one direction only, so that on one surface of the leaf a
swelling is formed, and on the opposite side a more or less deep
cavity in which the Insect dwells. A formation of this kind on the
leaves of Aegopodium podagraria is described by Thomas[513] who
states that the growth is due to the deposition of an egg of the
Psylla, and is independent of the after life of the Insect; a fungus—
Puccinia aegopodii—forms similar structures on the leaves.
Structures much more definite than this may be the result of the
attacks of Psyllidae; for an example the reader may refer to
Réaumur's account of Psylla buxi.[514] In Australia and Tasmania
there are Psyllidae known as Laap or Lerp Insects, the products of
which are called leaf-manna or Lerp, and are used as food. This
manna is a scale produced by the young Insect on the leaves of
Eucalyptus as a covering or protection. The scale is fastened to the
leaf by a hinge, and is somewhat like the shell of a cockle. Although
the scales are said to be in some cases objects of great beauty, very
little is known about these Australian Psyllidae, one of which has,
however, been referred by Schwarz to the genus Spondyliaspis,
Signoret.[515] About 160 species of Psyllidae are known to occur in
the Palaearctic region, and about fifty of them have been found in
Britain.[516]

Fam. 7. Aphidae (Plant-lice or Green-fly.)—Minute Insects; as


usually met with destitute of wings, though many individuals have
two pairs of transparent wings. Antennae long, or moderately long,
three- to seven-jointed; abdomen frequently with a pair of tubes
(siphons), or short processes on the upper side of the fifth abdominal
segment. Tarsi two-jointed, first joint sometimes excessively short.—
These soft-skinned Insects are frequently called blight, and are so
abundant in temperate climates that a garden, however small, is
sure to afford abundance of specimens during the warm months of
the year. This great abundance is due to peculiarities in the
physiological processes that render these obscure little animals
highly important creatures; the individual life for several generations
is restricted to constant, or at any rate copious, imbibition of food,
accompanied by an almost uninterrupted production of young by
parthenogenetic females, the young so produced becoming rapidly
(sometimes in the course of eight or ten days, but more usually in
about twenty days) themselves devoted to a similar process; so that
in the comparatively short period of a few months the progeny
resulting from a single individual is almost innumerable. This
remarkable state of affairs is accompanied by other peculiarities of
physiology, with the result that the life-histories of successive
generations become very diverse, and complex cycles of series of
generations differing more or less from one another are passed
through, the species finally returning to bi-sexual reproduction, and
thus inaugurating another cycle of generations. The surprising nature
of these facts has in the last 150 years caused an immense amount
of discussion, but no satisfactory light has yet been thrown on the
conditions that really give rise to the exceptional phenomena. These
phenomena are (1) parthenogenesis; (2) oviparous and viviparous
reproduction; (3) the production of generations of individuals in which
the sexes are very unequally represented, males being frequently
entirely absent; (4) the production of individuals differing as to the
acquirement of wings, some remaining entirely apterous, while
others go on to the winged form; (5) the production of individuals of
the same sex with different sexual organs, and distinctions in the
very early (but not the earliest) stages of the formation of the
individual; (6) differences in the life-habits of successive generations;
(7) differences in the habits of individuals of one generation, giving
rise to the phenomenon of parallel series. All these phenomena may
occur in the case of a single species, though in a very variable
extent.

The simple form of Aphid life may be described as follows:—eggs


are laid in the autumn, and hatch in the spring, giving rise to females
of an imperfect character having no wings; these produce living
young parthenogenetically, and this process may be repeated for a
few or for many generations, and there may be in these generations
a greater or less number of winged individuals, and perhaps a few
males.[517] After a time when temperature falls, or when the supply
of food is less in quantity, or after a period of deliberate abstention
from food, sexual individuals are produced and fertilised eggs are
laid which hatch in the spring, and the phenomena are repeated. In
other cases these phenomena are added to or rendered more
complicated by the intercalated parthenogenetic generations
exhibiting well-marked metamorphosis, of kinds such as occur in
apterous or in winged Insects; while again the habits of successive
generations may differ greatly, the individuals of some generations
dwelling in galls, while those of other generations live underground
on roots.

Parthenogenesis.—Returning to the various kinds of peculiarities


we have enumerated on the preceding page, we may remark that
the phenomena of parthenogenesis have been thoroughly
established as occurring in Aphidae since Bonnet discovered the fact
150 years ago; and though they have not been investigated in much
detail it is known that the parthenogenesis is usually accompanied
by the production of young all of the female sex. In other cases
males are parthenogenetically produced; but whether these males
come from a female that produces only that sex is not yet, so far as
the writer knows, established. A note by Lichtenstein[518] suggests
that usually only one sex is produced by a parthenogenetic female,
but that both sexes are sometimes so produced. There is not at
present any species of Aphid known to be perpetuated by an
uninterrupted series of parthenogenetic generations. It was formerly
supposed that there are no males at all in Chermes, but, as we shall
subsequently show, this was erroneous. It has, however, been
observed that a series of such generations may be continued without
interruption for a period of four years, and we have no reason to
suppose that even this could not be much exceeded under
favourable conditions. The parthenogenetic young may be produced
either viviparously or oviparously, according to species.

Oviparous and viviparous reproduction.—The distinction between


these two processes has been extensively discussed, some
naturalists maintaining that they are thoroughly distinct ab initio. This
view, however, cannot be sustained. The best authorities are agreed
that in the earliest processes of individualisation the ovum, and the
pseudovum[519] giving rise to a viviparous individual, are
indistinguishable. Leydig, Huxley, Balbiani, and Lemoine are agreed
as to this. Nevertheless, differences in the development occur
extremely early. The nature of these differences may be briefly
described by saying that in the viviparous forms the embryonic
development sets in before the formation of the egg is properly
completed. Balbiani says, "In fact at this moment [when the
viviparous development is commencing] the germ [pseudovum] is far
from having obtained the development it is capable of, and from
having accumulated all the matter necessary for the increase of the
embryo, so that the evolution of the former coincides, so to speak,
with that of the latter. On the other hand, in the true ovum the two
processes are chronologically separate, for the rudiment of the new
individual never appears before the egg has completed the growth of
its constituent parts."[520] As regards the difference in structure of
the organs of viviparously and oviparously producing individuals, it is
sufficient to remark that they are not of great importance, being
apparently confined to certain parts remaining rudimentary in the
former. Leydig, indeed, found an Aphis in which certain of the egg-
tubes contained eggs in various stages of development, and others
embryos in all stages.[521]

As regards the physiology of production of winged and wingless


individuals there has been but little exact inquiry. Vast numbers of
individuals may be produced without any winged forms occurring,
while on the other hand these latter are occasionally so abundant as
to float about in swarms that darken the air; the two forms are
probably, however, determined by the supply of food. The winged
forms are less prolific than the apterous forms; and Forbes has
noticed in Aphis maidi-radicis, where the generations consist partly
of apterous and partly of winged individuals, that when the corn
begins to flag in consequence of the attacks of the Aphis, then the
proportion of winged individuals becomes large.[522] The
appearance of winged individuals is frequently accompanied by a
peculiar change of habit; the winged individuals migrating to another
plant, which in many cases is of a totally different botanical nature
from that on which the apterous broods were reared: for instance
Aphis mali, after producing several apterous generations on apple,
gives rise to winged individuals that migrate to the stems of corn or
grass, and feeding thereon commence another cycle of generations.
The study of this sort of Aphis-migration is chiefly modern, but many
very curious facts have already been brought to light; thus
Drepanosiphum platanoides, after producing a certain number of
viviparous generations on maple (Acer), quits this food-plant for
another, but after two or three months returns again to the maple,
and produces sexual young that lay eggs.[523] Histories such as this
are rather common. Even more interesting are the cases of those
species that, after some weeks of physiological activity on a plant,
pass into a state of repose on the same plant, and then after some
weeks produce sexual young. On the whole, it would appear that the
appearance of winged forms is a concomitant of decreasing nutrition.
It is a very remarkable fact that the sexually perfect females are
invariably apterous, and this is frequently also the case with the
males. It is also highly remarkable that the sexually perfect
individuals are of comparatively small size. There are at least three
kinds of males in Aphidae—1, winged males; 2, wingless males with
mouth well developed; 3, wingless small males with mouth absent.
As regards some of these points the conditions usual in Insect life
are reversed.[524] Huxley inclined to treat all these products of a
fertilised egg, that are antecedent to another process of
gamogenesis (i.e. production with fertilisation), as one zoological
individual: in that case the Aphis zoological individual is winged
before attaining the mature state, and is wingless and smaller when
mature. Some species may have as a rule two, others three, winged
generations in a year.

Fig. 285—Chermes abietis; hibernating female or "winter-mother."


Europe. Much magnified. (After Cholodkovsky.)
Parallel series.—In certain cases individuals of one generation
assume different habits, and so set up the phenomenon known as
parallel series. This has been recently investigated in the genus
Chermes by Blochmann, Dreyfus, and Cholodkovsky. This latter
savant informs us[525] that a wingless parthenogenetic female of
Chermes hibernates on a fir-tree—Picea excelsa—and in the spring
lays numerous eggs; these hatch, and by the effects of suction of the
Chermes on the young shoots, galls are formed (Fig. 286), in which
the Insects are found in large numbers; when they have grown the
galls open, and allowing the Insects to escape these moult and
become winged females. They now take on different habits; some of
them remain on the Picea, lay their eggs thereon, and out of these
there are produced young that grow into hibernating females, which
next spring produce galls as their grandmothers did; but another
portion migrates to the Larch (Larix); here eggs are laid, from which
proceed wingless parthenogenetic females, that hibernate on their
new or secondary plant, and in the following spring lay their eggs
and give rise to a dimorphic generation, part of them becoming
nymphs and going on to the winged condition, while the other part
remain wingless and lay eggs, that give rise to yet another wingless
generation; in fact, a second pair of parallel series is formed on the
new plant, of which one is wingless, and exclusively
parthenogenetic, and continues to live in this fashion for an indefinite
period on the secondary plant, while the other part becomes winged;
these latter are called sexuparous, and go back to the Picea, and
there lay eggs, that give rise to the sexual forms. If we would
summarise these facts with a view to remembering them, we may
say that a migration of a part of a generation from the Picea was
made with a view of producing a sexual generation, but that only a
portion of the migrants succeeded in effecting the object of the
migration, and this only in their third generation. Thus portions
remained on the Picea, producing unisexual (female) individuals,
and a portion of those that emigrated to the Larix remained thereon,
producing also unisexual (female) individuals, while the others
returned to the Picea and produced a sexual generation. How long
the production of the unisexual generations may continue has not
been determined.

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