Cicadas

[tercel89]

Where are the cicadas ? I remember back in 1998 they were everywhere . They are supposed to come out now but I havent seen one at all ? I guess all the rain and floods slowed the time they were supposed to emerge from the ground .

[R1100R]

They are all over here near Lebanon.

[Oh Shoot]

There are cicadas every summer but this summer is a 13 year cycle hatch, there's also a 17 year of a different strain. Supposed to be most concentrated in middle TN this summer, for whatever reason that is.

They emerge in may and june, but generally don't start making the major racket till July and August in E. TN.

- OS

[mikegideon]

I saw one at my house. They're not near as thick this time

[vontar]

I believe not as many survive the cycles any more to leave eggs any more and probably fewer survive the cycle the cycles then in years past. I have never seen a very large outbreak. I have seen a couple cycles. I love to take them fishing.

Go to a quite place late at night and listen to them, some place where there is allot of them.

About every 10-15 minutes you can hear some thing that will almost send chills down your back.

It is almost like you can hear them say pharaoh.

Second, Catch a live one. Look at the wings close, they have dark veins for a lack of a better work that look like letters. a N on one and a W on the other.

At least if these are the ones I believe you are talking about. I haven't seen any yet this year. When I do I will do my best to get a picture of the wings of what I am talking about if someone doesn't do it before me.

[TGO David]

Millions of the little buggers here in Rutherford Co.

[BryanP]

I've got plenty of them here in Smyrna. I find the sound oddly soothing.

[TGO David]

I've got plenty of them here in Smyrna. I find the sound oddly soothing.

I agree. My wife disagrees. It's a sound of my childhood. We used to get them what seemed like every summer growing up in Kentucky.

[brooksjr]

I've heard a lot of them at my place of business in Winchester but once I cross over Tims Ford Lake heading back to Estill I don't hear any?!

[vontar]

In Tennessee, it is illegal to harm, kill, remove from the wild, or possess native cicadas taken from the wild without the proper permits.

I don't think anyone is going to buy this work of fiction. It is dedicated to TGO David's new avatar.

[tercel89]

Well here in Montgomery county we dont have any at all . I was just in Jackson and in Lawrenceburg yesterday . About 100 miles apart and both had no cicadas .

[safeandsecure]

Anybody wanting some can contact me. I've got enough for EVERYBODY here on TGO.

Don't mind them. But the "crop" this year seems to exceed anything I've seen in the past.

[Loon160T]

Have you ever noticed that cicadas sound like a sound effect from a 50's SciFi movie?

There's plenty of them around southern Franklin County.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Haven't heard any in Chatt yet this year.

Dunno if it is cicadas or just crickets, but they put on a stereo chorus with a slow "wave cycle" in my back woods in mid summer. They will gradually build up on the left side, then the middle will join in, then the left fades as the right chimes in. After the center fades the left begins again as the right fades.

Over and over. Seems a fairly periodic cycle but haven't used a stopwatch to measure how precisely periodic it is. It is fun to hear. Wonder how many insects are in each sub-chorus? One? A Hundred?

When the cicadas get old but ain't dead yet, they make fabulous dog toys. The cicadas lay on the ground looking dead, then if the dog approaches and sniffs, cicada makes a lot of noise, startling the dog into backing off.

Then the half-dead cicada quiets down, dog warily approaches and sniffs again, cicada makes a lot of noise and dog backs off again. Finally dog gets brave enough to run in for a quick bite and toss. Dog circles around doing bite-and-toss maneuvers several times until cicada really is dead, then dog picks it up and carries it off for a snack.

Have seen this play out with three different dogs. Got a great video tape of the old Lab when she was about 9 months old, fighting a cicada in the living room floor for about 10 minutes. Funny!

[Good_Steward]

We are absolutely covered up with them. Anywhere there is a wooded area, you can't even hear yourself think.

Considering NAPALM. That bad.

[Guest bkelm18]

The empty shells freak me out, but I love the sound. Nothing like a good southern evening, sitting on the porch, listening to the noise makers.

[Guest db99wj]

None. Actually had to check the date to make sure it was current or not. I like em.

[bajabuc]

During digs in Montana, cicada holes were one of the things we included in our site maps. The dirt (in our case, sand) is the same color and consistency through it's length. Some holes were 30 feet deep.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

During digs in Montana, cicada holes were one of the things we included in our site maps. The dirt (in our case, sand) is the same color and consistency through it's length. Some holes were 30 feet deep.

Interesting!

Is there any opinion whether they dig them new each season, or re-use them for as long as the holes stay viable?

[TN-popo]

We got a "suspicious person" call the other night. Turns out, they were out collecting cicadas.

Why, you ask?

http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/pdf/cicada%20recipes.PDF

Edited May 22, 2011 by TN-popo

[bajabuc]

Interesting!

Is there any opinion whether they dig them new each season, or re-use them for as long as the holes stay viable?

New hole every time...biologists told me that when I asked the same question.

[bajabuc]

TN-popo...your avitar is highly amusing!

[TN-popo]

TN-popo...your avitar is highly amusing!

That's HitGirl from the movie "Kick Ass."

Edited May 22, 2011 by TN-popo

[enfield]

Haven't heard any in Chatt yet this year.

Dunno if it is cicadas or just crickets, but they put on a stereo chorus with a slow "wave cycle" in my back woods in mid summer. They will gradually build up on the left side, then the middle will join in, then the left fades as the right chimes in. After the center fades the left begins again as the right fades. . . .

More likely Katydids. They keep up serenade until the wee hours of the night.

[Ebow1]

I've been hearin' 'em all night and day, but I don't see any like I did the last time they were around. Last time I couldn't go outside without walkin' over shells and seein' 'em everywhere. I need to round some up. I'm gonna boil 'em like crawfish and see how they taste.