They're here!

[Steven Cohn]

Washington, DC's 17 year visitor returns for sex. Croutons anyone?

[Lenny]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Scott Heidt]

What the hell is that! :fire: Does it bite? Dam! And I thought we had some big bugs down south!

[gcarter]

Thats a great photo! :shocking:
How did you do it?

George

[McGary911]

We are supposed to get cicadas in Jersey too. They can be as dense as 1.5 million per square acre. Damn they are ugly. and noisy. I had one of them drop off a tree, and fall down my shirt once. Then it started making that hellish noise as i felt its legs try for a grip on my chest. That wasn't the best experience of my life, id say.........

[Steven Cohn]

The Washington Post has recipes for these guys. YUK! No, they don't bite or sting, but they're everywhere. The racket starts in a few days when they mature and begin mating.

[Morgan's Cloud]

Man ... you just never know what's going to show up on this site for discussion !

When I was a (very little) kid in the 60's these things were very common here in the summertime.I was lucky enough to have lived in 'the country'.. a rural farming area actually.
These critters would show up in the summer and cling to the cedar trees feeding on the sap. We never knew their real name for years but because of the noise they made called them 'singers'. Sometimes we could creep up behing the low ones and catch them in our hands.
"City" kids did'nt have a clue what we were talking about when we said 'singers'.
Oddly enough they all vanished many years ago and now there is probably only 10% of the population who remembers them or knows what they even are !

[ToonaFish]

Your little critters must be what decimated my beloved Shasta's overnight...

Below are the before and after photos... do you think you can positively identify the cicada droppings, Steve, if I send you a large sample of photo three? :biggrin:

Bunches,

Celene 'yes, I answer to Daisy'

[gcarter]

Celine, I think what made that has four hooves and a long hairy tail! :biggrin:

George

[ToonaFish]

Celine, I think what made that has four hooves and a long hairy tail! :biggrin:

George

CrazyHorse ate my flowers? :rolleyes:

[Fish boy]

CrazyHorse ate my flowers? :rolleyes:

ROTFLMAO!!!!! :rlol: :rlol: :rlol:

[Steven Cohn]

CrazyHorse ate my flowers? :rolleyes:
I don't think CrazyHorse's diet consists of that variety. Pehaps, the alluring Mrs. CrazyHorse could tell us. BTW, I'm not the Bug Man and those aren't my bugs. However, it would be interesting to see (from a distance) the insect that dropped that. :rolleyes:

[Rootsy]

Your little critters must be what decimated my beloved Shasta's overnight...

Below are the before and after photos... do you think you can positively identify the cicada droppings, Steve, if I send you a large sample of photo three? :biggrin:

Bunches,

Celene 'yes, I answer to Daisy'


HMMMMM looks like a "Hay Burner" wanted a bit of variety in it's diet...

JR - almost outta glue

[Rootsy]

Read alll about the little bastads that keep you awake...

http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/michigan_cicadas/Index.html

[Last Tango]

Other than being all over the national news for the last week, I'm stunned to find so many folks unaware of the 17 year Locust. Yep, once every 17 years thay hatch, grow, mate, lay eggs, and die all in a space of just a few short weeks. Billions will be born and go through this cycle this year, then the eggs will lay dormant in the ground for 17 years and then do it again. They don't bite, they don't sting, their legs feel strange when they are on you because they use them like crampons to hold themselves to the tree. Cincinnati, Ohio is ground zero or epicenter for this natural phenomenon of the Greater Midwest and Central East Coast, wherever apple trees blossum. They have many natural predators - primarily bats. Enjoy their love song because in a few short weeks it will be gone for another 17 years. And you thought YOU had a long wait between your wifes headaches!
Oh, and these Cicadas should not be confused with other types of Locusts. These critters will not destroy your crops or cause famine and pestilence. They are strictly tree-huggers.

[RedDog]

They don't bite, but try hitting one at highspeed on a motorcycle :shocking:

One between the eyes while in the Donzi will be a rude awaking as well...