Cicadas

[SSOWorld]

These large insects go big on many things - especially noise, and bugsplats to your car.  Came across the "hatches"  of these in a region surrounded by Indy, Cindy and Louisville.  Post your Cicadas.

[Scott5114]

The cicadas we have in Oklahoma come out every year, usually in July or August. They are usually loud enough that it impacts the audio quality of anything recorded outside.

When I was a kid they used to seriously irritate me for some reason and I'd throw rocks in the trees to try to get them to shut up.

[Bruce]

The only cicadas we have in the Pacific Northwest are the smaller, quieter kind (Orchard cicadas), which apparently run on 4-year cycles. I don't think I've ever noticed them myself.

[kurumi]

I didn't get a photo; but Tokyo and Kyoto in summer have a cicada soundtrack. Mainly "miiiiiiiin minminminminmin" multiplied by thousands of them. Even movies will insert that sound to signify summer.

[jmacswimmer]

As mentioned by yours truly in the "Minor things that DON'T bother you"  thread, the 17-year cicadas are out in full force by me in the Mid-Atlantic. The past few afternoons (aka when they're loudest) my cats have been glued to the windows chattering, standing on their hind legs, scratching at the windows, running back & forth between different windows, and holding intense staredowns with any cicada that dares to land on the window screens.

And yes, my windshield is quickly getting disgusting

[MCRoads]

Don't these things have a cycle based on the fibonacci sequence or something?

[1995hoo]

We've largely missed the 17-year cicadas here because we were in Florida for the past two weeks. When we got home and got out of the car on Tuesday afternoon, the cicada noise was quite noticeable immediately, but there aren't tons of them in our neighborhood. That might be because in 2004 there were almost none–our neighborhood was built in 1992—93, so whatever ones were in the ground here were destroyed during construction, and perhaps the big mass of them hasn't recolonized the area yet. Guess I'll find out in 2038. (That's not to say there are none. I see a dead one outside on the deck as I type this.)

I'll happily take cicadas over mosquitoes any day, though. Cicadas don't bite.

[Dirt Roads]

Don't these things have a cycle based on the fibonacci sequence or something?

Not the Fibonacci sequence, but indeed some scientists believe that periodic cicadas have developed their prime number rhythms (13-year and 17-year) to evade their predators.  The theory is that periodic predators cannot match the cicadas sequence, and other annual predators must survive without a cicada diet for too long to become interdependent.  As a result, they have no natural predators and simply overwhelm the vegetation in their cycles.

For the record, the FDA just reminded folks with shellfish and seafood allergies not to eat them.  That eliminates another predator.

[kphoger]

When I was a kid they used to seriously irritate me for some reason and I'd throw rocks in the trees to try to get them to shut up.

I remember them being especially loud if they were on an outdoor TV antenna.

[JayhawkCO]

I almost wish we had them out here in Colorado.  The sound reminds me of summertime living in KC (as I did for 15 years).

Chris

[hbelkins]

There have been a few reports of infrequent sightings in this area, but we don't get our invasion for another four years. I remember the 1991 and 2008 emergences quite well, and also remember 1974 because they were said to be good bait for fish (they weren't). I remember running around catching them to use when my brother and I went fishing with our grandfather. The 2025 emergence will be the fourth of my lifetime.

For the record, the FDA just reminded folks with shellfish and seafood allergies not to eat them.  That eliminates another predator.

I'm not allergic, but there's no worries about me eating them.

[tidecat]

The noise is very noticeable in certain neighborhoods in Louisville, largely depending on the tree cover in the area. Around Cherokee Park seems to be the loudest. There seems to be a decent population around Hikes Point as well, although it seems to be fade rather quickly on either side of there due to all of the development.

[Mr_Northside]

I haven't noticed them much here in SW PA...... but last week me and the family went down to Ocean City (MD), once we got past, say Somerset, that's when I noticed (as the driver) how "bombed" the windsheld was getting.   It was pretty much like that until we got to the Chesapeake. 
And, despite hearing about the noise, I was still impressed with how loud they were when we stopped at the "Welcome Center" in between Hagerstown & Frederick.

[Dirt Roads]

For the record, the FDA just reminded folks with shellfish and seafood allergies not to eat them.  That eliminates another predator.

I'm not allergic, but there's no worries about me eating them.

I spent a summer at Berea College before my senior year of high school.  A college-age friend there from Ethiopia would tease us that we put chocolate on them and still wouldn't eat them.  I would probably eat anything fried in lard, but my doctor would not approve.

[1995hoo]

When I went out for a walk yesterday afternoon I didn't hear the cicada hum as background noise and I didn't see any flying around, although there are plenty of dead ones on the ground. I suspect they're largely past their peak.

[SSOWorld]

I haven't noticed them much here in SW PA...... but last week me and the family went down to Ocean City (MD), once we got past, say Somerset, that's when I noticed (as the driver) how "bombed" the windsheld was getting.   It was pretty much like that until we got to the Chesapeake. 
And, despite hearing about the noise, I was still impressed with how loud they were when we stopped at the "Welcome Center" in between Hagerstown & Frederick.

The noise was loud enough that I could hear it while driving at 75 on the freeway from Cincinnati to Louisville.

[hbelkins]

I haven't noticed them much here in SW PA...... but last week me and the family went down to Ocean City (MD), once we got past, say Somerset, that's when I noticed (as the driver) how "bombed" the windsheld was getting.   It was pretty much like that until we got to the Chesapeake. 
And, despite hearing about the noise, I was still impressed with how loud they were when we stopped at the "Welcome Center" in between Hagerstown & Frederick.

The noise was loud enough that I could hear it while driving at 75 on the freeway from Cincinnati to Louisville.

I need to ask my brother if he had/heard them. He lives in the triangle.

[Dirt Roads]

I haven't noticed them much here in SW PA...... but last week me and the family went down to Ocean City (MD), once we got past, say Somerset, that's when I noticed (as the driver) how "bombed" the windsheld was getting.   It was pretty much like that until we got to the Chesapeake. 
And, despite hearing about the noise, I was still impressed with how loud they were when we stopped at the "Welcome Center" in between Hagerstown & Frederick.

The noise was loud enough that I could hear it while driving at 75 on the freeway from Cincinnati to Louisville.

I need to ask my brother if he had/heard them. He lives in the triangle.

They are not here in Central Carolina.  They seem to be in Tennessee almost all the way along the North Carolina border, but the only county in North Carolina that has them is Cherokee, which is the one furthest west.  But we've had some spectacular displays of synchronous lightning bugs in back yard the past few weeks.

[hbelkins]

Checked with my brother, and he said they had them, although they are waning in sound and numbers. He said the last time he mowed his yard, every time he bumped a tree limb, he ended up covered in them.

[capt.ron]

They're starting to emerge in my neck of the woods (Central AR). They usually come out slowly by mid-June and by July they're in full force. However this year since it's been cooler, the cicada noise has been way down compared to normal.

[bm7]

I usually hear them where I live, but I haven't heard any so far this year.

[wxfree]

Here in the DFW area, we have annual cicadas.  I usually hear them once the weather gets hot, but this year I've heard them only once.  I don't know where they went.  I've also noticed that we don't have any fleas this year.  I frequently visit someone who lives next to a creek and has cats.  Those cats interact with creatures from the creek and get fleas pretty bad every year.  They get on me, and then my cat has fleas, which I have to fight with every year.  She's mostly white, so I can see the fleas pretty easily.  So far this year, I've seen two, weeks apart.  I never really believed what people said about cold weather "killing off the bugs," and generally a cold winter doesn't lead to a slower summer insect season, but it seems that it actually happened this year.  We had an abnormally cold winter, with some lows below ten, and one at 2 below zero (the second lowest on record and only the fifth time below zero since 1898).  It seems to be true, but only in the most extreme cold.

[Scott5114]

^ Don't forget the ridiculous frequency of rain we've been getting this year, too. That may have delayed them as well.

[wxfree]

^ Don't forget the ridiculous frequency of rain we've been getting this year, too. That may have delayed them as well.

That was actually my first thought about why the bugs aren't out, since it's an unusual scenario, but I've never noticed if rain in late spring delays their emergence.  It may be, but I don't know why and haven't noticed it before.

[Dirt Roads]

Here in the DFW area, we have annual cicadas. 

In West Virginia, we called them "jarflies".  I think that term is pretty common in the South.