[hole_n_one]

Let's see.....

A billion bugs flying amok vs. SoCal's fires, floods and earthquakes.

I Love LA!!!

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Strange that there was no mention that when the 17-year cicadas emerge they strip the trees down to bear branches.

Dylan’s Day of the Locusts, written at the time he received an honorary degree in music from Princeton, is titled based upon the 17-year cicadas that had emerged that year (1970).

At that same time, I was a little boy swimming in a wading pool at my grand parents’ house on the outskirts of Princeton and remember asking my grand father what that noise was. I remember him explaining the cicadas to me and pointing out how bare the trees were.

[JustDoItAlways]

The 17 year cycle is to avoid predators and the mating cycle of other circadas.

Predators might time their life cycles to match the cicados. 17 years, being a prime number, means that predators can’t match or even partially match the circada’s cycle with a 2 year, 3 year, 4 year, 5 year etc. cycle of their own.

13 years sounds like a better way to go to avoid predators by the same principle. But another circada species already had that 13 year cycle tied up. A 17 year cycle avoids predators and the other circadas which might make it difficult to find food, maybe find your own circada species for mating.

Definitely an extreme version of timing of a mating cycle to avoid the maximum number of predators and maximize resources available and avoid competition with similar species.

[Vision]

Maryland’s 17 year hatching happened a few years ago. It was terrible. As soon as the sun came up the noise would wake me up in my apartment. Maddening.

[Celtic Conservative]

While not noisy, the great lakes phenomenon known as "fish flies" are downright dangerous. They swarm so thickly that they can restrict visibility. When they die they can coat the roads so heavily that they cause cars to slide out of control and have been known to cause accidents. They present a real economic and safety concern to lakeside communities. But they are also a part of the local fishes food chain, so discouraging them is a bad idea. fortunately their life span is short, and they only hatch briefly in late spring.

CC

[Osage Orange]

Is this a terrorist or illegal alien article?

[Gideon Reader]

Eagerly awaiting the AMNESTY promised by McCain-Kennedy.

[RansomOttawa]

So once in 17 years, cicadas emerge for one month to get some before they die, but they get eaten by a dog first.

Life sucks.

[BurbankKarl]

I like mine covered in Chocolate

[Xenalyte]

Will these bad boys make it to Texas?

[eyedigress]

In 2004 you couldn’t hear anything but these 17 year cicadas when they got ramped up around sunset(East TN). They seem to always be on time.

[N. Theknow]

More illegal aliens coming here to have babies!