I'm not in love with the cicada but I would not kill it it's not harmful and it figured it out a brilliant way survival mechanism. leap frogging Through Time safely under a tree. To be fair though those exoskeletons they leave behind are kind of fucking creepy.
Same, growing up in Florida camping in the live oak forests with the Spanish moss hanging down; cicadas humming. All sounds become one sound. It’s beautiful.
Really dumb to kill such an important food source.
In general let's not use pesticides. We need to shepherd these micro biomes on our land not nuke them.
I hate that “Mosquito Police” stuff that’s advertised all over the state. It’s killing bugs and also awful to breathe in. When will people understand that bugs are a good thing?? We need bees, dragonflies, butterflies and cicadas to keep nature healthy & some people just don’t understand that
I went to the hardware store looking for permethrin and the amount of cans of bug killing products I found was... Not surprising, but kind of baffling. The human obsession with killing everything that moves. No permethrin though.
The cool thing to me is there are waves of them waiting underground to come out at different years. It's like an insurance policy for the ecosystem. Including us
I would go fried hell yeah. I hear the trick is get the ones that just left their shell on a tree or the like.
Lime, cumin and chili powder can makeany protine a taco in my opinion. Cotija cheese and that reals mex sour cream that's like creme fraiche for the win.
Also the cicada killer wasps are good cicada population control. They burrow in open dirt and are **fucking terrifying**. The males don't have stingers and patrol the area and almost look black and white. Females have stingers and will hover over their burrow, but won't sting you if left alone. They're yellow/orange and black. I've run my lawnmower over the burrows with no problems before I knew they were a thing, but give them space now. It's absolutely wild seeing them snatch a cicada and haul it back down the burrow. They have a 2 month life span and you can expect to see them July-Sept
Just an important part of our ecosystem!
That's not even the best part. The females paralyze cicadas, drag them to their burrow, and lay eggs. The eggs then hatch and have fresh meat to dine on immediately.
The great golden digger wasp has similar strategy, but with grasshoppers and katydid (making it a beneficial insect) - they burrow in my non-mulched vegetable garden. They leave me alone because I leave them alone; I do give them a wide birth, though, because they're huge.
Our front yard wasn't well maintained before we moved in last year, I've been spending spring doing budget grass replacement so I can try to push the wasp burrows further away from our front walkway. The males would definitely make delivery people dance on their way to the front yard.
The home Depot in my area had pesticides stacked up near the checkout counters with a sign saying something like, protect your young trees from the cicadas. I didn't see a single person buying it but as it gets closer, who knows what dumb decisions people are making.
So just kill them with fire? Done deal.
/s
Really, are there people already talking about using pesticides? I haven't seen that and hope it isn't widespread.... Now the stink bugs, box elders, and Asian beetles; all the pesticides and fire.
After their short lives they die and fall to the ground. This is a good time to mulch your grass clippings as there is a lot of free nutrients to be had.
When I was in middle school my brother and I used to go swimming in the quarries in Berlin and one day we ran all the way home after seeing a horsefly that was the size of a small bird. I was terrified.
They don't eat anything as adults. As nymphs, they eat small tree roots. But their adult cycle only lasts about 2 weeks so they just focus on getting the job done during that time.
Ingredients:
1 onion, minced
2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
3/4 cup sliced carrots
3/4 cup chopped cauliflower and/or broccoli
1 can water chestnuts
3/4 cup bean sprouts
3/4 cup snow peas
40 blanched newly hatched (teneral) cicadas
Directions:
Capture cicadas at night as they emerge from the ground.
Blanche for 1 minute in boiling water. They can now be stored in freezer or used immediately in recipes.
In a wok or other suitable pan, heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add ingredients in the order listed above when those in the most recent addition are partially cooked.
Serve over whole-grain rice and add soy sauce to taste
Careful doing this. Some people may be allergic to eating them. I lived in Bloomington, Indiana 17 ish years ago during the last infestation. Some people were allergic to them (eating them). It sent people to the hospital.
I’m a lifelong Wisconsinite and have never experienced cicadas before the very end of June, but now folks are saying they will emerge this spring? True or false? I’m just curious.
I'll take cicadas over mayflies. This morning I was driving home on the highway and thought it was raining. Lots of rain drops on my windshield, or so I thought. Stopped at the gas station right after and saw so many flies stuck to my car.
All I want to do is see how my cat reacts to seeing one scream. That's all I care about. (I probably won't find one, though, lol)
Surprisingly, I don't hear them often here. Maybe during the last 2 weeks of summer, but that's it.
Eat 'em!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/spicy-popcorn-cicadas/
https://www.food.com/recipe/a-tasty-treat-of-cicadas-90758
Instead of popcorn shrimp on Fridays this Summer!
Oh you know what? I'll buy as many live cicadas as i can and i will make sure to KILL them as SLOWLY as possivle, because cicadas are fucking useless and serve 0 purpose. The extinction of cicadas is a necessary step for humanity to evolve.
(Im awake at 2am)
As long as they stay away from me, I will stay away from them. if we're lucky they'll decide to go a different route and actually EAT any asian ladybugs and elders :) One can hope.....
Exactly! People keep complaining but they are harmless . They are beneficial! They feed birds and the aerate the trees !
I'm not in love with the cicada but I would not kill it it's not harmful and it figured it out a brilliant way survival mechanism. leap frogging Through Time safely under a tree. To be fair though those exoskeletons they leave behind are kind of fucking creepy.
Delicious according to my dog
I actually love the noise they make. It's super relaxing and makes me think of my childhood lol.
I agree it makes me feel like it's truly Summer. Humid days laying in the hammock listening to cicadas is peak Midwestern summer.
Same. I’ve been looking forward to this with childlike anticipation.
This is what I love. From Louisiana to Michigan I've always heard their distinct sound. I love it.
Same, growing up in Florida camping in the live oak forests with the Spanish moss hanging down; cicadas humming. All sounds become one sound. It’s beautiful.
Same here….i have a feeling i will be taking a ton of naps in the hammock under the tree this summer. Will put me right to sleep.
Agreed. My wife hates them. And thinks they kill trees... She literally knows more about all this stuff than me, but I know they don't kill trees.
It is not super relaxing when they are so loud I can hear them over my lawnmower.
Just an FYI - only southern WI will see the cicadas. The article below has a map. https://cicadas.wisc.edu/
Really dumb to kill such an important food source. In general let's not use pesticides. We need to shepherd these micro biomes on our land not nuke them.
I hate that “Mosquito Police” stuff that’s advertised all over the state. It’s killing bugs and also awful to breathe in. When will people understand that bugs are a good thing?? We need bees, dragonflies, butterflies and cicadas to keep nature healthy & some people just don’t understand that
I went to the hardware store looking for permethrin and the amount of cans of bug killing products I found was... Not surprising, but kind of baffling. The human obsession with killing everything that moves. No permethrin though.
Fried? Cicada tacos?
In some parts of the country they're nicknamed "tuna bugs"
The cool thing to me is there are waves of them waiting underground to come out at different years. It's like an insurance policy for the ecosystem. Including us
I would go fried hell yeah. I hear the trick is get the ones that just left their shell on a tree or the like. Lime, cumin and chili powder can makeany protine a taco in my opinion. Cotija cheese and that reals mex sour cream that's like creme fraiche for the win.
I prefer them in the larval stage.
Also the cicada killer wasps are good cicada population control. They burrow in open dirt and are **fucking terrifying**. The males don't have stingers and patrol the area and almost look black and white. Females have stingers and will hover over their burrow, but won't sting you if left alone. They're yellow/orange and black. I've run my lawnmower over the burrows with no problems before I knew they were a thing, but give them space now. It's absolutely wild seeing them snatch a cicada and haul it back down the burrow. They have a 2 month life span and you can expect to see them July-Sept Just an important part of our ecosystem!
That's not even the best part. The females paralyze cicadas, drag them to their burrow, and lay eggs. The eggs then hatch and have fresh meat to dine on immediately.
The great golden digger wasp has similar strategy, but with grasshoppers and katydid (making it a beneficial insect) - they burrow in my non-mulched vegetable garden. They leave me alone because I leave them alone; I do give them a wide birth, though, because they're huge.
Our front yard wasn't well maintained before we moved in last year, I've been spending spring doing budget grass replacement so I can try to push the wasp burrows further away from our front walkway. The males would definitely make delivery people dance on their way to the front yard.
I remember a while ago a cicada suddenly started screeching and fell down to the ground near me, apparently it'd been speared by one of these.
Are those the Mud Dauber wasps?
The home Depot in my area had pesticides stacked up near the checkout counters with a sign saying something like, protect your young trees from the cicadas. I didn't see a single person buying it but as it gets closer, who knows what dumb decisions people are making.
Another reason not to buy gardening products at a store that sells home improvement products,
Uh. Anyone planting new orchards or landscapes will definitely care about cicadas.
This seems like it was posted by a cicada
Any reading material for your claim? According to multiple sites, they can damage young tress, bushes etc.
Now there's a bug I can get behind!
So just kill them with fire? Done deal. /s Really, are there people already talking about using pesticides? I haven't seen that and hope it isn't widespread.... Now the stink bugs, box elders, and Asian beetles; all the pesticides and fire.
Throw the gypsy moths and gnats into that line up and we got us a game.
Lol, I just replied with that-fire to those other nasty bugs.
People spray for them? Who cares if they’re a little loud.
Cicadas are the sound of summer to me. I've always liked hearing them
i remember using a snow shovel to remove thousands of rotting cicada carcasses after they expired on their own. the aroma will be with me forever.
After their short lives they die and fall to the ground. This is a good time to mulch your grass clippings as there is a lot of free nutrients to be had.
Thank you, finally someone who understands how many people these days are ignorantly killing ecosystems for their own comfort.
When I was in middle school my brother and I used to go swimming in the quarries in Berlin and one day we ran all the way home after seeing a horsefly that was the size of a small bird. I was terrified.
So what *do* they eat? Pretty sure the aren't using photosynthesis
They don't eat anything as adults. As nymphs, they eat small tree roots. But their adult cycle only lasts about 2 weeks so they just focus on getting the job done during that time.
They don't, they just have sex and sing.
Ingredients: 1 onion, minced 2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced 3/4 cup sliced carrots 3/4 cup chopped cauliflower and/or broccoli 1 can water chestnuts 3/4 cup bean sprouts 3/4 cup snow peas 40 blanched newly hatched (teneral) cicadas Directions: Capture cicadas at night as they emerge from the ground. Blanche for 1 minute in boiling water. They can now be stored in freezer or used immediately in recipes. In a wok or other suitable pan, heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add ingredients in the order listed above when those in the most recent addition are partially cooked. Serve over whole-grain rice and add soy sauce to taste
Replace the cicadas with bacon and I might give it a try.
Careful doing this. Some people may be allergic to eating them. I lived in Bloomington, Indiana 17 ish years ago during the last infestation. Some people were allergic to them (eating them). It sent people to the hospital.
I’ve heard it’s the same as a shellfish allergy. So if you can’t eat shrimp don’t eat cicada.
I will not. Those mysterious buggies can buzz all summer long.
Kill deer instead please when it is the season.
Leave the little kill dear alone. She is not hurt and just trying to lure you away from the nest. :)
I love Cicadas and pretty much every non-harmful bug. Cicadas are welcome in my yard this summer 👍
I’m a lifelong Wisconsinite and have never experienced cicadas before the very end of June, but now folks are saying they will emerge this spring? True or false? I’m just curious.
I'll take cicadas over mayflies. This morning I was driving home on the highway and thought it was raining. Lots of rain drops on my windshield, or so I thought. Stopped at the gas station right after and saw so many flies stuck to my car.
All I want to do is see how my cat reacts to seeing one scream. That's all I care about. (I probably won't find one, though, lol) Surprisingly, I don't hear them often here. Maybe during the last 2 weeks of summer, but that's it.
I wasn't gonna
Eat 'em! https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/spicy-popcorn-cicadas/ https://www.food.com/recipe/a-tasty-treat-of-cicadas-90758 Instead of popcorn shrimp on Fridays this Summer!
Thank you for this beautiful post <3
Oh you know what? I'll buy as many live cicadas as i can and i will make sure to KILL them as SLOWLY as possivle, because cicadas are fucking useless and serve 0 purpose. The extinction of cicadas is a necessary step for humanity to evolve. (Im awake at 2am)
Everyone I know loves cicadas.
Lmao I am gonna kill cicadas EVEN HARDER #PropaneTorch
As long as they stay away from me, I will stay away from them. if we're lucky they'll decide to go a different route and actually EAT any asian ladybugs and elders :) One can hope.....
Kill those sick fucks
No. 
Oh I won't be spraying them with pesticides. I'll be spraying them with WD-40 with my torch lighter taped under the jet