Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Washington braces for frenzy of mating and death (NOT about the Kennedys)
Sydney Morning Herald ^ | May 13, 2004 | Alec Russell

Posted on 05/12/2004 7:43:23 AM PDT by dead

As if George Bush did not have enough on his plate, Brood X has started to take over his capital.

With a mixture of fear and fascination, Washingtonians prepared for an infestation of biblical proportions as the first of a swarm of billions of cicadas emerged after 17 years underground.

Red-eyed, black skinned and up to five centimetres long, the first cicadas this week wriggled out of holes in the ground where they have been waiting since the height of Ronald Reagan's presidency.

Within days, large parts of the city and areas across the eastern United States will be blanketed in cicadas. Scientists predict that for the next six weeks the noise will be staggering as billions of males rub their legs with the vigour of 17 years' anticipation in search of the perfect mate.

Schoolchildren have been given instructions on how to cope and told not to panic. Weddings, soccer matches and many public events will be rescheduled or moved indoors.

In the middle of next month the females will lay eggs in trees. The adults will all die. Their offspring will drop down to the ground and burrow under the soil, for their own 17-year vigil.

"It's the grandest natural phenomenon of the century," said Gary Hevel, an entomologist at the Smithsonian Institution. "This is the largest brood of periodical cicadas. It is the big one, a matter of billions and trillions.

"People tend to be annoyed and fearful about the lack of knowledge. We are trying to get the word out that they are not dangerous. They crawl out of the ground, they mate, they lay eggs and then they die."

There are many species of periodical cicadas, but Brood X - or Brood Ten - is by far the largest and most numerous, and its visitations are rites of passage for veteran Washingtonians. The trigger for their emergence is when the earth temperature reaches 18 degrees, which happened some time on Monday.

"Brood X is likely to be the largest insect emergence on Earth," said Keith Clay, a cicada expert at Indiana University at Bloomington.

He says cicadas can reach densities of up to 3000 kilograms a hectare. Cicadas are notable not only for their vast numbers, but also the noise they make.

On Tuesday, residents roamed the leafier parts of Washington spotting the husks of the early risers who had already taken to the trees fully formed with amber wings after shedding their skins, and the corpses of those that had failed their one and only test.

"I was in school and the noise was incredible," recalled Barbara Beelar, 62, who was born and raised in Washington. "You couldn't sleep at night. Everyone was sleep-deprived. It's a wonderful example of nature grabbing your attention.

"They crawl out. Their great hope is to meet someone from the other sex and then they die. If you look at those things you can see where a whole genre of horror stories came from."

When colonists first witnessed the phenomenon they thought it was a sign from God, akin to the 10 plagues in Egypt. But in recent decades reactions have been more relaxed and the cicadas more welcome.

Jacques Tiziou, a French-American, was in his kitchen, freezing his first cicadas. He said: "They are pure protein. No fat. There are plenty of countries where the only food is some form of insect."

The Telegraph, London; Reuters


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia
KEYWORDS: cicadas
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061 next last
To: Izzy Dunne
Hahahah,,,I cannot wait to tell my liberal sons in law
41 posted on 05/12/2004 8:15:21 AM PDT by cajungirl (<i>swing low, sweet limousine, comin' fer to Kerry me hoooommmee</i>)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: dead
Schoolchildren have been given instructions on how to cope and told not to panic.

. . . . told not to panic . . .

Are "you" kidding me. . . . . I'll give you instructions on what to do with them.
1. Carry a spool of clear thread to school with you.
2. Catch several of the varmits.
3. Carefully tie the thread around the main body.
4. Use your imagination.
OK - OK - OK don't kill them, let them loose (usually after you get in trouble) and let them finish their seventeen year cycle.

I once "flew" one for almost five hours.

42 posted on 05/12/2004 8:16:19 AM PDT by Freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Badeye
We get them pretty bad here in NJ too. I remember being a kid and smacking them out of the sky with a wiffleball bat. They explode when you get them good.
43 posted on 05/12/2004 8:16:26 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: dead
With a mixture of fear and fascination, Washingtonians prepared for an infestation of biblical proportions as the first of a swarm of billions of cicadas emerged after 17 years underground.

I can see the headlines now:

"Women and children hardest hit"

"Bush's budget cuts forces thousands to eat dog food and cicadas"

44 posted on 05/12/2004 8:18:30 AM PDT by Fury
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kevkrom
Surely we can convince them that RATS are tasty.
45 posted on 05/12/2004 8:20:20 AM PDT by mtbopfuyn
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: William Terrell
All these trillions of insects will have to eat something. What do they eat?

The adults don't eat. They live off the stored fats the froggy says they don't have. The Larvae suck juices from roots.

46 posted on 05/12/2004 8:20:39 AM PDT by null and void ("Don’t duck! They couldn't hit an elephant at this dis...", the late Gen. John Sedgwick 1813-1864)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: dead
...and the corpses of those that had failed their one and only test.

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

47 posted on 05/12/2004 8:21:35 AM PDT by Fury
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dead
Jacques Tiziou, a French-American, was in his kitchen, freezing his first cicadas. He said: "They are pure protein. No fat. There are plenty of countries where the only food is some form of insect."

There are plenty of countries where the only food is some form of insect."

Name one. . . . . just ONE!

48 posted on 05/12/2004 8:22:01 AM PDT by Freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kevkrom
In Cincinnati they are on CICADA WATCH:

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/cicadacentral/index.html

http://www.cincinnati.com/freetime/cicadas/

http://www.fox19.com/Global/category.asp?C=52631&nav=0zHEMrHk

http://www.700wlw.com/main.html



49 posted on 05/12/2004 8:22:03 AM PDT by GreenLanternCorps (Hit Tagline, Win Suit - Abe Stark)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: kevkrom
Cicadas -- the other white meat.

Cicadas -- the green meat.

50 posted on 05/12/2004 8:22:28 AM PDT by null and void ("Don’t duck! They couldn't hit an elephant at this dis...", the late Gen. John Sedgwick 1813-1864)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Owl_Eagle
Of course, there's no greater pleasure than whiling away a summer afternoon with a glass of fresh squeezed lime ade eating mating cicadas right off the leaves.

Well, I am a little short of money for lunch tomorrow...

51 posted on 05/12/2004 8:23:27 AM PDT by Fury
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: Izzy Dunne
1936=Roosevelt
1919=Wilson

52 posted on 05/12/2004 8:28:30 AM PDT by GreenLanternCorps (Hit Tagline, Win Suit - Abe Stark)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: Polybius
Thanks for the link. I can't wait to eat the little buggers.
53 posted on 05/12/2004 8:34:14 AM PDT by TBall
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: egarvue
I remember the 1970 infestation when I was on ROTC maneuvers at Fort Indiantown Gap. Jeez, what a racket! It was deafening.
54 posted on 05/12/2004 8:34:53 AM PDT by Publius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Publius
One horrible memory the kids have, our standard poodle used to eat them, by the pound, then he would vomit them up,,,it was truly one disgusting sight, rest his dear soul. He thought they were just great.
55 posted on 05/12/2004 8:36:44 AM PDT by cajungirl (<i>swing low, sweet limousine, comin' fer to Kerry me hoooommmee</i>)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

To: Publius
ROTC camp 1972... Recondo! Was there from UVM w/ General Haldane. We had snakes and hurricane Agnes.
56 posted on 05/12/2004 8:37:00 AM PDT by Broker (dojeeh!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

To: 2banana
"We get cicadas every year. What is a few billion more?"

Try to envision 1.5 million of these things per acre, and this 17th year cycle is supposed to be much worse.

57 posted on 05/12/2004 8:38:40 AM PDT by JustAnAmerican
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: dead
We're doomed, doomed I tell ya!

No, wait, it's Washington that's doomed.

Hmmm, not a bad thing if the good guys get out of town first.
58 posted on 05/12/2004 8:55:23 AM PDT by pt17
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: null and void
The Larvae suck juices from roots.

Whitefont. Read at your own risk.

I guess the gay crowd will say this is another example of the normality of homosexuality in nature.

59 posted on 05/12/2004 9:19:01 AM PDT by William Terrell (Individuals can exist without government but government can't exist without individuals.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: HEY4QDEMS
Yum! Cicada with a nightshade garnish!
60 posted on 05/12/2004 9:35:47 AM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Islam: Nothing BEER couldn't cure.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson