After 17 years they're back! Cicadas

[wngsprd]

Took these photos of emerging 17-year cicadas on Sunday - it was very windy, so a couple of them aren't the best. The news says they are part of a brood that is hatching in the east from Conn. down to the Carolinas after 17 years underground. I still remember the damage they did to the trees 17 years ago after laying their eggs. Maybe last night's late season frost took out some of them. The last photo shows one drying its wings.

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[clemsonfor]

We had them last year. I live in upstate/midstate south carolina, along the GA line. Ours were last year, none this year.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Took these photos of emerging 17-year cicadas on Sunday - it was very windy, so a couple of them aren't the best. The news says they are part of a brood that is hatching in the east from Conn. down to the Carolinas after 17 years underground. I still remember the damage they did to the trees 17 years ago after laying their eggs. Maybe last night's late season frost took out some of them. The last photo shows one drying its wings.

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Time to set out a trot line!

 

[Ted Summey]

I bet they do make good fish bait -"They" say cicadas taste like shrimp!

 

[dmccarty]

We have not seen/heard the Cicadas this year. Not sure we will but I hope we do though they make a heck of a racket.

Years ago I was reading an article, I think in the Smithsonian Magazine, about people living around the Great Salt Lake. These were people living thousands of years ago and one of the questions was how would be survive in that area. One possible answer was grasshoppers. :licking::shocked: They noticed that grasshoppers would fly over the lake but would not have the ability to reach shore so the insects would drown in the salt water. Wind would blow the salt incrusted grasshoppers to shore where they were very easy to harvest. The boffins sent the grasshoppers off to the lab and a cup of the wee insects was as many calories as a Big Mac... Not sure Jiminy Cricket's cousins taste as good as a Big Mac though....

Well, I know grasshoppers do not taste as good as a Big Mac. They ain't bad though.

The Science Museum in Raleigh has an event called Bug Fest and we went years ago when the kids were around four and six. Part of Bug Fest is bug food. Not food that bugs eat, but food that people eat containing bugs. :laughing::laughing::laughing: They had jello and cookies with ants as well as a stir fry with grasshoppers. You really could not taste the bugs though there was a nice crunch with the ants and grasshoppers. :shocked:

What was funny was that our kids really wanted the cookies even though there were ants sprinkled on top. I had brought a couple of cookies for the kids, they would not eat the jello or the stir fry :confused3:, but they were a bit iffy about eating the cookies. They could SEE the ants. The ants looked like little sprinkles. :laughing::laughing::laughing: The kids really wanted the cookies but they did not want to eat the ants. They kept asking me if those really were ants on the cookies and I kept saying yes. They wanted those cookies bad. They kept asking if I was telling them the truth about the ant cookies. They wanted the cookies but did not want the ants and they could not believe someone would put ants on cookies. In the end, they decided that I was lying about the ants so I could eat their cookies, and they ate the cookies ants and all. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

We still laugh about this today.

Ants are easy. They just crunch. Grasshoppers crunch but the problem is the legs and antennae sticking in your teeth which kinda grosses people out. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[creekbend]

We haven't seen or heard of any yet in our location. My Wife hates the noise they make. I agree with the "Trot Line" idea. Surely everyone has a few plastic milk jugs lying around.:licking:

 

[farmgirl19]

I have always loved the sound the cicadas make around here. They are big, but not the 17 year variety. We get them every summer!

dmccarty; I am not squimish, but eating ants and grasshoppers, would definitely get me on a DIET (no matter if needed, or not). Some things, I just don't think I'd be able to do!

 

[legbuh]

I think people are confusing cicadas and locusts. We have cicadas every year. But the mass infestation of locusts seems to be every few years.

We hear them all summer singing away (annoying sounds) and every tree in our yard has the empty shells on them.

 

[xring100]

I think people are confusing cicadas and locusts. We have cicadas every year. But the mass infestation of locusts seems to be every few years.

We hear them all summer singing away (annoying sounds) and every tree in our yard has the empty shells on them.

Cicadas in michigan are long cycle 17 years some areas of us are 13 years.

http://insects.about.com/od/truebugs/tp/cicadabroodmaps.htm

http://www.cicadamania.com/where.html

 

[Ted Summey]

Finally heard them today. No loud but definitely cicadas! I am sure it will be worse before it is better.

We too have cicadas every year but not in the numbers of the 17 year hatch.