Seventeen year phenomenon

[sack]

This little buggers will be hitting the Chicagoland area around june. I remenber the last time they came out to play, took over the whole city, more or less. They lay in the ground for for 17 years sucking on the ends of the roots of trees until it's time to lay their eggs and then die, the babies incubate for six weeks, they then hatch, dry their wings and mate. After mating they go back under ground for another 17 years. What a spectacle, squirrels and birds have a feast and you see people on the news eating them fried, breaded and raw. There's so many that they survive for another cycle. Sometimes nature is just COOL! :thumbs:

 

[insight]

Linked for those saying WTF

 

[Saxjazzman]

This little buggers will be hitting the Chicagoland area around june. I remenber the last time they came out to play, took over the whole city, more or less. They lay in the ground for for 17 years sucking on the ends of the roots of trees until it's time to lay their eggs and then die, the babies incubate for six weeks, they then hatch, dry their wings and mate. After mating they go back under ground for another 17 years. What a spectacle, squirrels and birds have a feast and you see people on the news eating them fried, breaded and raw. There's so many that they survive for another cycle. Sometimes nature is just COOL! :thumbs:

I can't agree with you more. Nature is cool!!

 

[BailBonds]

Looks like a mix between a locust and a scary bee.... ya learn something every day.

 

[sack]

Looks like a mix between a locust and a scary bee.... ya learn something every day.

The ones that come from my area have the biggesr red eyes you ever saw, sort of like devil bugs, but with a cool disposition!

 

[BailBonds]

Looks like a mix between a locust and a scary bee.... ya learn something every day.

The ones that come from my area have the biggesr red eyes you ever saw, sort of like devil bugs, but with a cool disposition!

Imagine getting plagued with those..... ???

*EDITED FOR OPTIMISM*

 

[LilBastage]

When I was at home in Indiana I loved when these came around. They make great bait for fishing!

I should say I loved when they came around at first. The noise is enough to drive you up a wall after awhile.

 

[Burnt Tongue]

I remember the last time they were here, they make a lot of noise at night especially if you live in a quiet area.

 

[boonedoggle]

Yep, we called em locusts growing up.

 

[JHolmes763]

Yep, we called em locusts growing up.

Heh... even says that in the wiki:

Cicadas are sometimes called "locusts", although they are unrelated to true locusts, which are a kind of grasshopper. Cicadas are related to leafhoppers and spittlebugs.

 

[AngryFishH]

Can you really eat them?

 

[PetersCreek]

Can you really eat them?

Yep, you can. IIRC, we (in the USA) are actually in the minority among the world's cultures...more of 'em eat bugs than don't. I haven't sampled cicadas but I've had a few ants, grasshoppers, caterpillars, etc.

I loved cicadas when I was a kid. For some reason, collecting the pupae husks just seemed way cool. They'd cling to tree trunks with lots of little hooks on their front legs while they molted...kinda like Velcro...and we'd wear as many of the dried shells as we could stick to our clothes.

 

[BailBonds]

Can you really eat them?

Yep, you can. IIRC, we (in the USA) are actually in the minority among the world's cultures...more of 'em eat bugs than don't. I haven't sampled cicadas but I've had a few ants, grasshoppers, caterpillars, etc.

I loved cicadas when I was a kid. For some reason, collecting the pupae husks just seemed way cool. They'd cling to tree trunks with lots of little hooks on their front legs while they molted...kinda like Velcro...and we'd wear as many of the dried shells as we could stick to our clothes.

Now I remember doing something similar when I lived in Southern Missouri... The cat wore shells, the dog wore shells, we all wore shells of the "locust" anyway. Will never forget that big ol' locust tree. :sign:

 

[Ludwig]

Maryland had them about 2 years ago...what a pleasure

 

[BigMacFU]

I remember those crazy buggers, they're huge, we'd play with them at summer camp, see how many we could put on our hat or fishing hook.

There's another variety that comes along more often than 17 years.