Magicicada periodical (Brood II) cicada
In 1996, while hiking in Shenandoah National Park, we began to get into an area where there had been a cicada emergence. The "din" of noise gradually increased and after an hour or two of hiking in relentless noise, you felt as if the sound had infiltrated and become a part of your brain - it wasn't quite maddening, but it was terribly annoying. It was a real relief as the cicada chorus became less intense and gradually faded away as we put miles between ourselves and the emergence area. Friday before last, the 17-year cicadas finally began emerging in the woods around the house and the "din" was back .... at least there is relief in the house where you either barely hear it, or don't hear it at all. Cicadas also began to appear on various plants and trees, but the emergence was not very heavy in our yard. The noise in the distance indicates a larger emergence farther away and friends down the road have had a driveway heavily littered with cicadas.
In looking for information about the 17-year cicada, I ran across two terrific websites along with an interesting article that has an updated coverage map and also talks about cicadas as a food item. I have no personal experience eating cicadas (nor will I, ever!), but I can tell you that the quickest way to start a chicken fight around here is with six hens and one 'tasty' cicada! The links to the websites are below and I found myself spending a lot of time looking through the FAQs, pictures, maps, information, etc. As "alien" as the red-eyed cicadas may look, they are fascinating creatures .... even if they do majorly disturb the 'sound' of silence while hiking in the woods and elsewhere.
Cicada nymph skin that has been shed.
Update June 4, 2013: The SNP had a Facebook post regarding the 'cicada choir' and the description was .... "deafening"!
(Photos: Merlot, May 17 & 19th, 2013)
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