Cicadas

I love these little buggers!!!

It's been quiet around here lately. You all must be out climbing with the cicadas!

I was in a Black Tupelo the other day and it had a bunch of the Cicadas in it. They are noisy as a bunch, but have you ever heard the sound of just one of them? It's sorta pretty!

Any fun cicada stories? Anybody eat one yet?

love
nick

You're right, Nick--it's kinda neat being in a tree and watching and listening to them.

I haven't eaten any (and probably won't), but for those who are interested, here are some recipes from the University of Maryland, via NPR:

http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1866011

On this site, there are several links to other cicada-related stuff, plus an audio segment.

As an old guy, this is the fourth time I've seen the critters; quite a phenomenon.

Those of you who haven't witnessed them are missing something of nature that is pretty neat.

As a child I was quite the entomologist. I had one big insect collection. I was raised in Dallas and cicadas were a fact of life every summer. They always signaled the hot days of summer. Their shimmering sounds matched the heat waves. Remember those buzzers you could buy at a trick store where if some one shaked your hand they woudl get a surprise buzz in the palm of the hand? When you pick up a live cicada it is much the same because their loud buzz makes them almost impossible to hold with a bare hand. Theses bugs suck moisture from branches. I knew this as a kid (both my parents were naturalists) and often had nightmares about having my blood sucked out by cicaddas while tree climbing. It never happened. I used to flush these bugs out of the trees while climbing. They let out a loud buzz when they launch themselves. It was always a surprise because they are very hard to see with the naked eye. They know how to hide. As a kid I used to collect cicada skins and scare girls with them too. I would never do that now though. Right? Well, maybe, if I could get away with it. Some people never grow up in certain ways.

I was pruning a massive white oak in the Baltimore area last week....tons of cicadas in that thing! I would go out a little ways on branch, then jump up and down on it...just shake the heck out of it to get all the cicadas off it....These bugs are harmless......unless a whole swarm of them make you lose your footing and send you swinging back to the trunk!

Why do 90% of the cicadas avoid the tops of the branches. I always see them on the bottoms of branches or on vertical branches.

love
nick

The top of a branch is high profile making them an easy target to see. Vertical wood would make them look like a knot or stub. Pretty smart huh?

I love the waves of sound they make. I was in the woods the last time our 17 year brood came out to play, and was entranced by it. The buzzing would start in the east and, like a wave, travel west through the trees. Truly amazing.