Midwest Readies For Emergence Of 17-Year Cicadas

Midwest Readies For Emergence Of 17-Year Cicadas

DetroitFreeP.com

Coming soon: Brood XIII.
It sounds like a bad horror movie. But it's actually the name of the billions of cicadas expected to emerge this month in parts of the Midwest after spending 17 years underground.
The red-eyed, shrimp-sized, flying insects don't bite or sting. But they are known for mating calls that produce a din that can overpower ringing telephones, lawn mowers and power tools.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.chicagosuburbannews.com
www.suburbanchicagonews.com
www.bloomberg.com



[edit on 5/22/2007 by shots]

[edit on 25-5-2007 by UM_Gazz]

I wonder how much damage these critters will cause, they will number in the billions which is around 1.5 million per acre.

I do not know how true it is but I heard on the radio they are louder then a siren on emegency vehicles so if you llive in one of the areas you might consider ear plugs

sports.espn.go.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I have heard that today is the day they start. But I am wondering if we will see them in tennessee?

[edit on 5/22/2007 by Termite197]

Cicadas think they're soooo cool. Hangin' out underground, emergin' every 17 years, flyin' around, buzzin', matin' and stuff.
I hate Cicadas.

I grew up in Norther Illinois and was 13 or 14 last time these things came out. I remember because I was graduating Jr. High.

Originally posted by shots
I wonder how much damage these critters will cause, they will number in the billions which is around 1.5 million per acre.

I don't recall them doing any damage. We had a pretty big garden and a cornfield across the dirt road from our back yard, and I don't remember any problems. None of our trees were destroyed. Come to think of it, what do they eat?

The worst part is that they are everywhere. No more playing outside barefoot for about 2 months. There is the month or so that they are alive, mostly in trees, but they do fall out and crackle/squish when you step on them (think big grasshopper or cricket) and then there is the next month or so where there hard shells are all over the ground. I recall it kind of hurting when you stepped on those. Course that was probably mostly a ccombo of tender young feet and psych factors. I hate bugs.

As for the noise, they can get pretty loud.

Stupid bugs. Think they can come out to party every 17 years.



[edit on 5/22/2007 by WellSee]

well for those of you who live in those states, i cant wait to see pics!!!

In my area, we usually have about a month or 2 in the summer where cicadas are around. There is never many of them, and they are just stupid and harmless. They are easy prey and it seems like every animal and insect are after them.

They dont bother me too much, i do know people who are deathly afraid of them. They are so harmless you can pick one up and play with it and it wont even try to bite you. I'd take cicadas over spiders any day!!!!

I live here in illinois and the cicadas are not even showing themselves. It may be days before the attack. On a side note, it depends on the area you live in, areas with a lot of construction and farmland 17 years ago will be hit hard.

Originally posted by WellSee
Come to think of it, what do they eat?

From what I could find it appears to vary from area to area but mostly it is tree roots from what I can gather

Plants Attacked
In Virginia both the 17-and 13-year cicadas damage many ornamental and hardwood trees. Oaks are commonly attacked but the most seriously damaged are newly planted fruit and ornamental trees such as apple, dogwood, peach, hickory, cherry, and pear. Pines and other conifers are not commonly attacked.

Damage
Damage caused by nymphs feeding on plant roots is considered very minor. The adults do not feed on the upper portions of the tree after they emerge, but egg laying by the female cicadas causes significant damage to small twigs. The female places her saw-like egglaying tube, called an ovipositor, into small branches and twigs that are about the diameter of a pencil. Twigs will die because the branch is split when the eggs are placed under the thin bark. This dead twig contrasts with the surrounding green foliage, a condition called "flagging". Young trees are the most severely damaged by flagging because they have more branches of the preferred size for egg laying by the cicada.

Damage in Virginia

So are these "special" cicadas? I see and hear them every year where I live in Michigan. I actually quite like the sound they make.

Originally posted by shots

From what I could find it appears to vary from area to area but mostly it is tree roots from what I can gather

Yeah, I actually bothered to read the sources after I posted. Then they don't feed once they are out, too busy gettin' busy .

Sounds like the only risk is to saplings. That explains why I don't remember any damage from last time. That also explains why we haven't wiped them off the face of the Earht yet. If they were like a swarm of locusts every 17 years, we (people) would have found a way to nuke them while they are hiding underground.

Originally posted by WellSee
Sounds like the only risk is to saplings. That explains why I don't remember any damage from last time.

I am not sure but I do think they destroy root systems of most all young trees in this case many Fruit trees and Oaks perhaps a few other but I am not sure. It would not surprise me to find out they damage more then roots and twigs though. Science is funny as we all know and no one really knows.

Hateful little buggers. I live on the 19th floor and with the windows open, the noise is quite annoying! And I live in a built up area.

My friend lives in a rural village type thing, and every year they have to wear ear defenders for about a month (at least he can't hear his wife - the woman knows how to nag.)

I sure we have them every year out here. You can even get little ones carved in jade.

It wouldn't surprise me if the locals ate the little buggers, they eat everything else!

Originally posted by ChiKeyMonKey
It wouldn't surprise me if the locals ate the little buggers, they eat everything else!

Recipies

They do eat them! I'm sure it is some kind of delicacy, but so are Rocky Mountain Oysters. How does that line go..."Sewer rat may taste like pumkin pie but I'll never know 'cuz I won't eat the #@$%*^'s."

Originally posted by WellSee

They do eat them!

Well if anyone eats them they have to be off their rocker as fa as I am concerned.

Now I have one question; how can some members see them every year when they only come out once in either a 13 or 17 year cycle???

Originally posted by shots
Now I have one question; how can some members see them every year when they only come out once in either a 13 or 17 year cycle???

Different kinds of Cicadas. This link includes a recording of them that automatically plays whe you open the link. Kind of cool if you have never heard them.

Wiki lists some more varieties.

And this site explains the long and prime-numbered life cycle. (Wiki goes into this as well)

More than I ever wanted to know about bugs, but also pretty interesting.

Edit to fix code


[edit on 5/23/2007 by WellSee]

[edit on 5/23/2007 by WellSee]

[edit on 5/23/2007 by WellSee]

Originally posted by WellSee
More than I ever wanted to know about bugs, but also pretty interesting.

Same here and I did not need to listen to the link they are already starting here but not real bad assume it will only get worse. Has something to do with the soil temp as I understand it and we are high so our ground warms up sooner while those in lowlands are still a degree or few degrees cooler.

This may come as quite a shock but

This isn't the first time. There are so many generations of Cicadas in South Texas that they rise, fly, mate, and make noise, and eventually finally die, every freaken year here.

I remember the last time they came out... They are loud... They don't over power sirens from my memory, but they are loud. They have different breeds apparently, cause I remember hearing them every summer. One of the signs of summer for me anyway.

Such a tragic existence, hatched for a 30 day orgie. Snacks for the murders that are infesting cities in large numbers. All the cycles are changing, with more carbon in the air, ivy like nettles etc. is getting bigger and more toxic. We'll soon live on a planet teeming with giant nettles and 20 pound cicadas.

20 pound Cicadas, that's a fantastic prospect.

No one in China will ever go hungry, heck if we could speed up the yearly/17 year cycle we might be able to feed everyone.

Not so sure about the nettles, but I think some sort of alcoholic drink can be made from them. So that's not all bad either.