The Cicadas Are Coming; 17-Year Army Set To Deafen Parts of US: VA, WV, NC

[appalachiablue]

2020, Right on time...'After 17 Years of Quiet, an Army of Cicadas Are About to Emerge in Parts of The US,' Science Alert, May 21, 2020.

It's going to be a very noisy summer in some parts of the United States. After 17 years underground, a brood of periodical cicadas are ready to emerge into the world above in several east coast states.

Once they breathe in that first bout of fresh air and shed their underground coats, these harmless insects (of the genus Magicicada) have a mere four to six weeks to live, so there's no time to be shy.

As male cicadas begin singing out to silent females, using vibrating membranes on the sides of their abdomen, the resulting courtship can cause quite the racket.
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(Wiki). As food and folk medicine: Cicadas were eaten in Ancient Greece, and are consumed today in China, both as adults and (more often) as nymphs. Cicadas are also eaten in Malaysia, Burma, North America, and central Africa, as well as the Balochistan region of Pakistan, especially in Ziarat. Female cicadas are prized for being meatier. Shells of cicadas are employed in traditional Chinese medicines. The 17-year "Onondaga Brood." Magicicada is culturally important and a particular delicacy to the Onondaga people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada



- Deep fried, Shandong cuisine.
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With as many as 1.5 million cicadas expected per acre in Southwest Virginia, parts of North Carolina, and West Virginia, some residents are about to cop an earful.

"Communities and farms with large numbers of cicadas emerging at once may have a substantial noise issue," warns entomologist Eric Day at Virginia Tech.

"Hopefully, any annoyance at the disturbance is tempered by just how infrequent - and amazing - this event is."

Brood IX (nine) periodical cicadas will emerge in May of 2020 in parts of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. Are you ready? https://t.co/7eK2Tn2IVy #cicadas pic.twitter.com/Waf6NMxnt6
- Cicada Mania (@cicadamania) February 26, 2020
It's the first time this brood - known as brood IX - has emerged since 2003. While some cicada species emerge annually, others mature underground for 13 or 17 years.

These are known as periodical cicadas, and their life cycle is amongst the greatest mysteries of nature we are yet to fully understand...

More, https://www.sciencealert.com/after-17-years-of-quiet-cicadas-are-set-to-deafen-parts-of-the-us

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. They're wonderful. NT

[appalachiablue]

3. Our Cocker Spaniel thought they were yummy

Last edited Sat May 23, 2020, 04:44 PM - Edit history (1)

[Xipe Totec]

2. Here in deep South Texas we get the Quesada gigas (Giant San Juan cicadas)

"...it ended in a long and loud note resembling the steam-whistle of a locomotive engine" - Henry Walter Bates (1863)
much like a steam-engine or loose fan belt in your car
These sound like turbine engines!
so loud that normal conversation is not possible
a bit unnerved by the sound
Is that a train?
sounds like "banshees"
in the Rio Grande Valley, the chicharra's song was THE sound of summer
so loud we almost need to shut the doors to hear the television!

http://texasento.net/Cicada.htm


This is the sound of just one:

http://texasento.net/cicada.mp3

Imagine them by the hundreds or thousands.

[appalachiablue]

4. I remember them in DC once, not so much the sound

but that they were everywhere-- on sidewalks, in the car, on porches. Our pooch loved them as snacks.

[Xipe Totec]

6. The one's I'm talking about are green and as big as your full thumb to the base.

Three or four times the size of regular cicadas.

[dutch777]

5. One of nature's most interesting spectacles

I saw/heard this twice while I lived or visited family in PA. I think its a different brood and cycle but it was amazing. The sound is unworldly. We had cicadas in small numbers all summer in PA routinely and their singular voices are loud for their size and unique but not deafening like the full hatch out of a 17 year cycle. I highly recommend that folks within driving distance go and experience this. In a major hatch out area you can find the shed skins on the lower portions of trees like ghost insects. Right up there with whales breaching close by, major thunderstorms and high surf crashing on rocks to make one appreciate the wonders of the natural world.

[locks]

7. I lived in DC and Alexandria VA

from 1954 til 1967 and I remember well the incredible noise in our trees one year that went on and on. The online chart notes 1961 and 1962 as years the 17 year cicadas came back. I don't remember them coming in the house but it was an amazing time for my children.