I could swear I've heard their distant droning in some 50s or 60s sci-fi b-movie.

These are the only insect I have ever witnessed flying straight and level for at least 40 yards. It just ain't right. I discovered one of the holes pictured above right outside the garage while working on a motorcycle. I squirted some B-12 Chemtool down the hole to discourage the wasp that made it, then lit it on fire. The wasp emerged, ass first and on fire. It was actually able to take flight briefly and tried to attack me. Fair enough, but I still had the B-12 and the long lighter so I gave him another hotfoot, partially while in flight, and it eventually fell to the ground and was unceremoniously ground under my shoe.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
We had cicada killer wasp burrows screwing up our lawn last year

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A couple of cicada pics.

Porn:



My garden:



My fat Squirrel:



My tree:



My knee:

quote:

Originally posted by skywag:
The easiest way to get rid of them is to catch them, tie a firecracker on them, light and release. The way we kids did it in the 1950s!

Have you ever tied a sewing thread to a June bugs leg so he flew around you in circles as you held the other end of the string?

quote:

Originally posted by pulicords:

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:

quote:

Originally posted by sig 226:
They taste like chicken...

Don't give Tyson Foods any bright ideas.

They're all over the country and we even have them here in the Arizona (Sonoran) Desert. When I was a kid, I'd find them in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley and even in some of the vegetation bordering the beach in Malibu! Never in the quantities I'd see/hear in the Midwest, when my Dad lived in Indiana (CRAZY numbers there), but I recently learned something interesting about Cicadas: They happen to be among the favorite foods of certain snakes, particularly Copperheads!!! These will even climb trees to feast on the insects!

Unfortunately...we have Cicadas and Copperheads aplenty around here. I walked right over the top of a large Copperhead in a Bamboo Grove a couple of years back. They can blend in perfectly.

83V45, that wasp looks like bad attitude. Thank you for the excellent pics skins. I wish to live long enough to see another brood.

Thst isn't a wasp, its what we call a cicada killer. I guess they're in tall cotton these years, while they normally only feast on the bigger green annual cicadas. Oldest son and his oldest discovered that the plastic shooting BB guns will separate the head from the body with a good hit.

We don't have many yet. The maple tree out front does have maybe a dozen empty shells. No live critters. I did see one at the dive we went to for lunch (they advertise they've got the best burgers in town, and they may be right). The little guy was walking at the doorway. A sure way to get squished. Later on I fully expect to see the roads greased with their smashed bodies. I hate it when they hit the windshield. Too much goo per bug.

Last time up for the cicadas. I find I actually like the lil critters. South of rburg maybe 10 or 12 miles they came out heavy on the 8th. Took a day or so for the robins and sparrows to figure out they are food. The noise along I75 is incredible. Almost a rattle sound and very loud. The sparrows at the Market are like little interceptors snagging them right out of the air. I will be 79 when they next come out. Means I may never see them again. They are a small blessing in that respect. If someone happens to feel up to posting The Cicada Song video @ the tube.. . I thank you.

Driving though Kentucky on I-75 yesterday at 80 mph in my F350 diesel with the windows up and AC on, I started to hear wind noise like a piece of trim was loose outside of the truck somewhere. The weird thing was slowing down didn’t change the pitch or volume of the new noise. Then what seemed like a hummingbird went splat on my windshield followed by several more. Then I remembered this thread and rolled a window down when traffic slowed to a crawl, the noise got louder, and I could see them flying around. We don’t have them in my part of Florida.

I agree with Para, in that the south would never be the same without cicadas. I will admit that the copperheads and the crows really seem to enjoy feasting on them. Can't say that I would want that to be the preferred way of population control but I have seen a few copperheads laying around that are just FAT from gorging themselves.

There is one thing to appreciate though.....at least they arent lovebugs!

Spent last week in KY and driving through they were just smashing themselves into cars everywhere. I ended up having to wash my car when we got to our destination and they were just in every crevice. Even in my wheels. Had to do it again when we got home.

I haven't heard or seen many cicadas around my house, but they are just a few miles up the road.

Speaking of cicadas, there are 13 year, 17 year cicadas known as periodical cicadas. Then there are annual cicadas, which are larger.

Growing up as a kid I loved hearing them. We would scare our young siblings with the exoskeleton.

A funny side note.

A couple of weeks ago I was dropped off my first kiddo on the bus. I had my music on and turned up fairly loud. I pull up at the kiddos house and I hear a noise. I turned off the music and I couldn't figure out what it was, I thought it was the fan belt on the bus going bad. So I turned the bus off and what did I hear? Yep the cicadas....LoL....

All was well with the bus. Loud little buggers!


ARman

Don't worry. Brood XIII will be out in force in 2024, particularly in southern IL. The brood map show this year's brood (X) mostly in IN. There must be a bit of overlap, with the map only showing where they are most concentrated.

I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and I remember some Cicadas every year. Some years there were a lot, sometimes just a few, but always some.

Still haven’t seen or heard the first cicada this year

I was reading a bit about their little noise maker. Called a tymbal muscle. It contracts between 120 and 480 times per second. To our ears it sounds like a constant sound.