16 years and waiting

[cweg]

If this need to be moved, please do.

Next year there will be a graet bounty of T food.
Next summer the 17 year periodical cicadas will emerge where I live. There will be millions of cicadas that emerge simultaneously to avoid predators. Last time this happened it was pretty amazing. Thousands of red eyed bugs crawling everywhere, and the noise in the woods was overpowering.

 

[nocturnalpulsem]

I remember my first swarm...god that was great. I was in kindergarten and we went to the zoo, and the things swarmed while we were there. It was like something out of the bible Most amazing thing I've seen in most of my life. One flew down my teacher's shirt. I still remember the look on her face!

Are there some that don't do the 17 year thing? That swarm I remember was prolly...*counts*...13 years ago (give or take), and I know I've seen the little buggers around, jusy not swarming.

N.

 

[Buspirone]

Here's a great site with alot of info...http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/Michigan_Cicadas/Periodical/Index.html

There's a chart that shows the emergence history of the 12 broods that are on the 17 year cycle and of 3 that are on a 13 year cycle. Scroll down futher and there are sound files of the chirping/buzzing noise they make. I remember these around here when I was young. They are neat bugs!

 

[nocturnalpulsem]

That's it! It was a 13 year brood that swarmed in '89. God that was a great day...prolly my only happy childhood memory (how sad it that?).

N.

PS- thanks a lot for the page. Very cool.