• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Cicadas

I helped friend move out of a bad neigborhood (the corner of Crack and Eightball) to a less populated area just north of DC. In his new back yard he has one lone maple tree just covered with empty cicada casings and partially emerging cicads. About thirty yards past this tree is his shed. As I was carrying some boxes to the shed I noticed that nearly all the cicadas in the yard were either actively crawling toward the tree or were facing it. Even the ones twenty yards away in the direction of the shed were facing it.

Do they have good eyesight?

How else could they know where the tree is?
 
Uh_Clem said:
As I was carrying some boxes to the shed I noticed that nearly all the cicadas in the yard were either actively crawling toward the tree or were facing it. Even the ones twenty yards away in the direction of the shed were facing it.

Do they have good eyesight?

How else could they know where the tree is?
Click to expand...
I don't know how good their eyesight is, but the little buggers have FIVE eyes. The two characteristic red eyes, plus three more BETWEEN the red ones.

Dunno why they're heading toward the tree, though. At my house, casings are all over my front porch, and every time I open the door, there are one or two of them on the door, trying to get in the house. Must be the overpowering effect of cicada pheromones I've been spraying in the foyer. Meanwhile, they ignore the giant oak tree twenty feet away. Honestly, I'm starting to think that the only thing stupider than a cicada is a Jerry Springer guest.
 
bug_girl said:

and it may help you to understand cicada cognition if you think of them more as genitalia with six legs and wings. :D
Click to expand...


Or just a huge mob of very loud, very horny 17-year-olds experiencing their first taste of freedom.
 
Been disappointed, I live in Reston, VA, about 15 miles west of DC. The cicadas came out at the beginning of last week. I only have about a half a dozen in my front yard, they aren't flying or making any noise. Still look cool though. I can hear them in the distance somewhere else in Reston and at work.
 
That site made my day!

"FACT: Cicadas are vicious killers.

FACT: Cicadas prey on innocent children and pets.

FACT: Cicadas are seething with deadly venom and flesh-eating bacteria.

FACT: This year Cicadas in Cincinnati will kill more people than snakes, spiders, scorpions, and sharks combined!"
 
Are all cicadas' lives synchronized? So the 17-year mark happens in every local population from state to state? Shouldn't there be at least a few that have gone off-cycle somehow? And why is it so precise? Wouldn't you think that wet/dry/hot/cold years would cause it to be one year early or late, sometimes?
 
American said:
Are all cicadas' lives synchronized? So the 17-year mark happens in every local population from state to state? Shouldn't there be at least a few that have gone off-cycle somehow? And why is it so precise? Wouldn't you think that wet/dry/hot/cold years would cause it to be one year early or late, sometimes?
Click to expand...
I think they call this years group "Group X" or something because it's the biggest 17 year cicada population. I'm pretty sure there are smaller populations that are on a different 17 year cycle. Maybe those are more local.
 
All the cicadas I'd seen before today have been black, but today I saw at least two white bodied cicadas. What's up with that?
 
wjousts said:
All the cicadas I'd seen before today have been black, but today I saw at least two white bodied cicadas. What's up with that?
Click to expand...
They are white when they first emerge as adults. The body darkens as their outer shell hardens.

They are best eaten in the milky-white "softshell" stage. ;)
 
I keep hearing people, such as TV reporters, refer to the big cicada emergence as “Brood X,” pronouncing “X” as “eks.” Since there are broods I, II, III, IV, etc, shouldn’t that be “Brood ten”? How come so many of them can’t figure that out?
 
Bluegill said:
I keep hearing people, such as TV reporters, refer to the big cicada emergence as “Brood X,” pronouncing “X” as “eks.” Since there are broods I, II, III, IV, etc, shouldn’t that be “Brood ten”? How come so many of them can’t figure that out?
Click to expand...

"Brood X" sounds sexier than "Brood 10". Fits in with "Gen X", "X Games" etc...news is all about what's sexy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom