periodic cicadas

“They're back!



http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/03/12/cicadas.return.ap/index.html”

“I thought we had some last summer where I live. My kids and I actually got to watch one come out of its chrysalis last year. We still have the chrysalis and a few others. They're cool....”

“Hell, the little bastards come every year at my house...ya can't sleep for the noise...then they leave their little alien-lookin' exoskeletons everywhere...”

“Only had the "normal" ones up in NY. Not sure how much I'm going to enjoy this.”

“they are thick here too. we've watched many shed their skins....trippy creatures to say the least. i love that darth vader lookin mouth they have. they get very loud”

“Has it been that long since the last time they were here? Seems like I heard them only a couple of summers ago.”

“Man Becomes Ill After Gorging on Cicadas
Updated: Tuesday, May. 18, 2004 - 11:58 AM

http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=104&sid=205220

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - A man who cooked and ate nearly 30 cicadas
sought medical treatment after suffering a strong allergic reaction
to the sauteed insects.

The man showed up at a Bloomington clinic Thursday covered from
head-to-toe in hives, and sheepishly told a doctor he'd caught and
ate the cicadas after sauteing them in butter with crushed garlic and
basil.

"He said they didn't taste too bad, but his wife didn't care for the
aroma," said Dr. Al Ripani, the doctor who treated the man at
Promptcare East.

The man, who has a history of asthma and shellfish allergies,
suffered a "significant allergic reaction," after eating the cicadas,
Ripani said.

He said he gave the man antihistamines, steroids and a shot of
adrenaline, then observed him for two hours before sending him home.

After living underground for 17 years and feeding on tree roots, the
so-called Brood X cicadas are emerging by the billions across the
Eastern U.S.

Ripani said recent newspaper articles extolling the tastiness of
cicada cuisine should have warned people that dining on the bugs can
be dangerous for some people.

"Severe food allergies such as this can be fatal," he said. "I feel
that needs to be stressed in these articles."

He said the University of Maryland's department of entomology's
Cicada-licious cookbook, which includes recipes for Cicada Stir-Fry
and Cicada Dumplings, contains a disclaimer urging people to consult
a doctor before eating cicadas.

"We ask that you please take special caution if you have other food
allergies, such as soy, nuts or shellfish, or if you know of any
contact allergies that you may have to other insects," it states.

-- 30 --


Bon appetit!”

“YUM”

“Cicadas are expected to emerge at 1.5 tons per acre around here. That's a lot of bugs.”

“They're cicada-licious!”

“There everywhere, for the last week they've been getting steadily louder but I didn't see many. Now they are deafening, and you can't go outside without getting divebombed and stepping over the crunchy carcasses of the dead ones. Right now one is hitting my office window about every five seconds.”

“I held one in my hand today and it did it's mating song for me. lol”

“Haven't heard or seen one yet.”

“Not many in my 'hood. I see a few at dusk on my rooftop and tons on my commute. Kind of dissapointed.”

“We had some last year. I think ours are out of sync with the rest of the broods.”

“I've got a butterfly net and frying pan on my desk but none here yet.”

“We are on the fringe of Brood X territory but I haven't heard one yet.”

“Deafening outside my office building, but not too bad around our house. Kind of funny, lately when I talk to people on the phone I almost always hear the background tone of the buzzing on the other end. Talked to my parents yesterday - buzzing. Talked to my insurance agent this morning - buzzing.”

“Unfortunately we don't get the 17 year ones up here. We get other sorts in August.”

“whats a cicada?”

“blue eyed cicadas.....what color are thier eyes normally?”

“red”

“I remember when these things emerged 17 years ago. I lived in Reston, Virginia at the time. We had to shovel them off the sidewalk so we could walk without slipping. My daughter was 2 at the time and they scared her to death. So far I haven't seen any around here yet (Richmond, Virginia).”

“None here in my neighborhood yet either.”

“Too Dang Cold”

“we don't get 'em down here. to damn hot, i guess.”

“I got pounds of them here and their rotting bodies are beginning to stank.

Blue eyes are a recessive gene from what I've heard. I've seen quite a few mutant, undeveloped ones as well.

The big hatch is over in my 'hood I think now I just have to wait it out.

Actually had a cicada related car accident here the other day. Some woman had one fly into her face while driving, she lost control and took out a fire hydrant. Its a good thing it was not a bus stop.

The daylight chorus of all those in the 'hood sounds like a distant jet in the background. On avg. here its @ 90 decibels.”

“I thought it was a helicopter the first time I heard it.”

“I live about 15 miles east of Huntsville, AL. I live on the bluff of a mountain at an elevation of around 1300ft. The first time, 17 yrs ago, that I heard these dang creatures was out in my front yard on the mountain. My wife thought it sounded like sirens going off in the city and called the police to find out what was going on. The police said "no lady, it's those bugs, we've been getting calls all night about the noise."

I haven't seen them yet up on the mountain at my house, but just north of here in eastern TN I've heard them already.

:p”

“They are singin' their asses off here in Baltimore.

In the heat of the day they get real loud with the sound rising and falling.

They almost drown out the lawnmower.”

“They are supposed to be louder then a jet engine. I have worked a few jet engines and I would say yes.

I think my neighborhood is ground zero. The smell of the thousands of bugs dieing at the base of the is bad. I could careless about the bug. I was swarmed while cutting my grass today. I would just flick them off my shirt. But the smell. The base of my trees are damp with the carcasses. They come down when at night time. I guess they found thier little honey for the night and doing what they popped up from the ground to do.”

“http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=966512

anybody look at my link above?

lots of cool cicada pics.

i don't understand the 17 year thing cuz we have them here every year. they haven't come out yet this year.”

“Yes, we have them here in North AL every year too...usually around July/August. I guess they're a different breed/brood?”

“i just got the latest issue of organic gardening magazine in the mail....there is an interesting article about the periodic cicadas in it.....
some little fact: They are attracted to the sound of weedeaters.....”

“sometimes in my yard here in NW ARK, in july when it's really hot, they get goin all together and it's deafening. when they start emerging, there will be holes in the dirt alal over the place. i think they like areas with no grass and my yard fits the bill. the boys collect the shells they leave behind all over the place. all the trees will have new shells every morning. we also usually find a couple that have craweled out of the ground but haven't metamorphisized yet. theyare REALLY trippy. a couple years ago i had the idea of using that sound in a song someway. they actually get a rythem going and it'd be cool to work it into something because it's such a unique sound.


ihave heard an even more awesome sound from an insect. a few years back i was working overnight in SE OKLA and i couldn't find a hotel room in town so i had to go to the lake nearby and rent a cabin. down there in the ouchita mountains it's all pine trees, way different from here. there aren't too many locuts(what we call cicada's in the south) but that night, i went out to sit on the picnic table in front of my cabin to play my acoustic. well i was absolutely stunned by the sound of the insects that night. there were many different sounds all blending together but i have a little game i play in noisy environments where i pick out all the distinct sounds. i guess it's a musician thing. anyway, there were cricit sounds and frogs but the main sound, the really loud sound, was coming from there large(4 inches long) bright green katydids. they are grasshopper-like and the wings look like leafs. they sound they make is very very rythmic and like........EHH EHH EHH EHH EHH.....when i'd sit still the sound would build up and just get overwhelming. it's was INCREDIBLE! it really blew me away how all these tiny creatures could be so loud as to reach the point of hurting my ears. it would be an awesome sound to record and incoperate into a song.”

“No cicicadas where I am. They say there's some in the valley, but not a one up here.”

“A number of people around here are convinced that we aren't going to get any this year. Boy are they in for a surprise.”

“there were an assload in the wolf gap area this weekend. they were very loud during the mid-day. when i drove in on friday, as i started up into the gap area, i thought my fan bearing was going from the sound. they really weren't bothersome as far as getting in your face. i had one on my leg when i got in my car to do a shuttle and hoi found one in his hat once but that was about it.”

“Some think they're annoying. I say that when you're Uberhiking and ou want to conserve weight, the cicadas are "free food".”

“anyone interested in hearing what the cicadas sound like should turn on ESPN now. They are televising the Memorial golf tournament in Ohio and the cicadas are practically drowning out the announcers.

3-6 pm (EST) thurs and fri on ESPN.”

“Pennsy any cicadas down by you? I haven't seen or heard a single one up here.”

“nothing here in Easton but I've been doing some trail running at Merrill Creek Reservoir near Phillipsburg, NJ. It's pretty eerie because one area of the trail will be noiseless and another deafening.”

“hoi and i experienced the same thing this weekend at wolf gap. one minute it sounded like there was a battalion of ambulances in the distances, headed toward you, then, half mile down the trail, it was normal sounds (except that dog blocking the trail and barking at hoi).”

“the dog barked at HOI but not you? What did you do, charm him with your banjo?

btw - how was Wolf Gap? I'd love to get back there sometime this year.

I wonder if there will be more reported rattle snake bites during cicada season?
Hey, do you hear that? Sounds like a rattler. Nah, it's just those dang cicadas.”

“wolf gap was NICE! you do have to go back and do the trail from half moon up over to wolf gap (the section we nixed last trip). i would be happy to go back and hike the entire loop. hoi and i did it as a day hike.

i guess dogs like me, or maybe it is that i like them. not sure.”

“I did a 7 mile loop at Trough Creek Park @ Raystown Lake (PA) over the weekend and there was plenty of critters around there. Some areas are much louder than others but - they were there.”

“Still haven't heard a single cicada in MI. They might come out later into summer. It's pretty cool here still. I hope they do.”

“I've been wondering if we get any, Sass. I hope so cause I think they'd be pretty cool!”