So, where’s Hillary on that sound comparisons chart?
;-)
They emerged in the ‘70s in Virginia when I was growing up. We lived on 60+ acres of forest and hay pasture, so you can only imagine how many cicadas there were...they were EVERYWHERE. The noise was overwhelming, like a UFO, and loud too. Our poor dogs were going crazy. They’d ping off our cars like hail when we drove, and there were so many bug bodies as they died off, we’d crunch over them on the roads. It was really neat to see, but I’m glad it only happens every seventeen years!
}:-)4
Maybe the Cape has a particularly large crop in this cycle, but we see them every 2-3 years around here, just not in overwhelming numbers.
These things make great fertilizer. After the last big hatching we had here I vacuumed them up with my shredder-vac. It took several days just to do the 100ftx400ft stand of trees at the front of our property, but I treated our vegetable garden with them and it was one of the best crops we’ve ever had.
It’s been bad here in East Tennessee too.
Started about a month ago and still going strong.
I really hate cicadas.
Apparently Cape Cod's hatching is also going to hit N. GA, just not as hard:
I was on Cape for the ‘74 and’91 hatchings, really something to see. It’s really erie at dusk when that sound you’ve been trying to shut out all day suddenly stops.
Yup - "Big buzz as cicadas arrive after 17-year gap," by Laura Nelson. Nature, 20 May 2004, page 233."
I suppose a few confused ones come in summer but the BIG SWARMS are a 13 or 17 year event.
Live in southwest Ohio. We had a large 17 year variety cicadas outbreak in 2004. They’re back this year, but in smaller numbers. The highest concentrations are in the western and northern suburbs of Cincinnati ... I was north of of the city yesterday on I-71 ... my windshield is plastered with cicada remains. They are awkward fliers, almost comical to watch.
Cicada Sauerbraten with Spätzle Marinade: 1/2 C vinegar 1/2 C water 1/4 onion, sliced 1/4 stalk celery or 1 tsp celery seed 1/4 carrot, chopped 3 peppercorns 2 cloves 1/16 tsp mustard seeds 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp honey 1/4 tsp ginger Mix together in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Sauerbraten: 1 portobello cap 1/4 1/2 C blanched, teneral cicadas 1/4 lemon, sliced Mix mushroom and cicadas together in a bowl. When the liquid is boiling, pour it over the mushroom-cicada mixture. Add the lemon slices, cover the bowl, and let the mixture marinade forat least several hours (preferably, overnight). Drain, then sauté the mushroom, cicadas, onion, and carrots (and celery) in olive oil. Gravy: 1-2 T whole wheat flour 2 T yogurt 2 T raisins Heat the marinade mixture. Give the peppercorns, cloves, and mustard seeds some time to add their flavors to the mixture, then remove them. Stir a little of the marinade into the flour, then stir that back into the whole batch, and cook until thickened. When the mixture is thickened, turn off the heat and add the yogurt and raisins. Spätzle Noodles: 1 egg whole wheat flour, as needed Beat the egg slightly, then mix enough whole wheat flour into it to form a thick batter. Use a spatula to mash through a colander into boiling water. Remove when cooked. Assembly: Serve the sauerbraten over the spätzle, with the gravy drizzled/poured over the top.
German Chocolate Cicada Cake Ingredients: 1 4-oz package German sweet cooking chocolate, coarsely chopped 1/3 C water 1-2/3 C all-purpose flour (or 1 cup flour and 2/3 cups finely ground dry cicadas) 50 Female cicadas (blanched) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 C butter or margarine 1 C sugar 1 tsp vanilla 3 egg yolks 2/3 C buttermilk 3 stiff beaten egg whites coconut-pecan frosting (homemade or from the grocery) Assembly: Grease and lightly flour two 8 × 1½ in round baking pans, and set aside. In a small saucepan combine the chocolate and water, cook and stir until chocolate melts, then cool. Stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter or margarine on medium speed of an electric mixer for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well on medium speed, then beat in the chocolate mixture. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately to beaten mixture, beating after each addition. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Turn cake batter into prepared pans. Bake in a 350° F oven for 30-35 minutes or until the cake tests done. Place the cake layers on wire racks and cool for 10 min. Remove the cake from the pans and cool thoroughly. Fill and frost top with coconut pecan frosting. After the frosting is on, line up female cicadas in a circle around the bottom base as well as the top the cake for that elegant decoration that makes this cake delicious. Makes about 12 servings.
Ohio has them right now. Loud suckers!
Tax the Cicadas!
Those bugs get around......
And my all-time favorite...
The cicadas provided a memorable accompaniment to my college graduation, which was held outside anyway. That brood should emerge again in 2016. I hope I get to be there.