Are space aliens invading us?
May 27th, 2008 categories: Interesting Tidbits
For the last couple of weeks I get up in the morning, open my windows and hear a very eerie sound, reminiscent of those sci-fi movies when there’s a space ship hovering nearby. It’s pretty loud and lasts all day until dark, then it dies down to complete silence. It took me a few days to figure out what the noise was, but somewhere in my long-term memory I did recall this sound many, many years ago. What is it? The mating call of the Cicada. I apologize for the fuzzy photo of this bug, I couldn’t get my camera to focus very well even after several tries. On second thought, you probably don’t care to see a crisp shot anyway, they’re not very attractive . . .  I picked this one up myself on the way home from my daily walk, I’m just a little proud of myself for “touching” it. Apparently there are two kinds of periodical Cicadas, the 13 year variety and the 17 year sort. I’ve heard that these are the 17 year variety.Â
They spend 17 years feeding on tree roots as a nymph underground, then some magical signal goes out and they all emerge from the ground at the same time!! The whole process only lasts a few weeks and it’s back to hibernation for another 13-17 years. I really mean it when I tell you how loud it is collectively around here, it’s no surprise to know that the male Cicada makes the loudest sound in the insect world, so put a few billion together in one area, and it’s LOUD! Cicadas are harmless to animal life and all trees except young saplings, and they only live 30-40 days.
So, the next time you’re out & about and wonder what that weird sound is, it’s the sound of Cicada love in bloom!
I have not seen cicadas in the longest time. I would guess we are about due for them to emerge in the next several years. Nice piece of work. Thanks
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