Those of you that were fortunate enough to head north might have missed a 13 year phenomenon when the Cicada - The Great Southern Brood - emerges from their 13 year hiding underground. When the soil reaches the magic temperature of 65 degrees the Cicada nymphs will emerge, crawl up into trees, shed their skin and then begin the most annoying noise making you have ever heard. At this point they are searching for their mate. This horribly loud noise begins early in the day and continues until dusk. The sound is deafening.
Mike and I love sitting out on our patio in the early evening and just enjoy watching our birds as they come to the feeders. The noise emitted by these little creatures is so loud that it literally drove us inside. When you hear them from a distance (if that ever happens) it sounds like a machine running constantly. I did a little research on these little visitors and found out that in mature trees (older areas) their noise can reach 85 decibels. A jet flying overhead can reach 60 to 70 decibels. Now that’s loud!!
Although they are harmless they have a tendency to fly or dive bomb right at you. I sometimes wonder if they can see where they are going. Because they don’t hang around for an extended amount of time the loud decibels will not damage hearing.
They will remain with us for about four to six weeks. During this time they will be searching for their mate, they will mate and the female will lay her eggs. Then they will die.
The joy just continues…..when they die they begin to decay and with this step in their life cycle comes a horrible stench. So even though annoying at times we have been able to experience a unique natural phenomena of nature. See ya in 2024...Nature is amazing!!
Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do. ~Michel de Montaigne
So, do the nymphs live for 13 years? Or are the eggs dormant for some of that time?
ReplyDeleteIn Chicago, we had 17 year locusts. They're noisy too.
ReplyDeleteWe had the joy of experiencing this marvelous act of nature when we lived in VA. It was just incredible. You could barely drive down the road without the car being covered with them. I only lived there long enough to experience it once and that was enough for me.
ReplyDeleteThat's the sound of summer. Love your header picture.Have a good weekend...
ReplyDeleteI wondered what the Cicadas were?..have never heard of them until this post!..thanks for the biology lesson!
ReplyDeleteI believe we have heard thos Cicadas during our travels but I never knew what they were called. I do know that they are every bit as noisy as you say!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures of these critters, but glad that so far we have missed them.
ReplyDeleteI remember experiencing cicadas in the Chicago area in the early 70s. Not only were they noisy, but crunchy underfoot because there were so many of them. It was not a pleasant experience!
ReplyDeleteWe have Cicadas here in Southern Ontario & sometimes hear them on hot summer days but have never experienced them in any large numbers. In fact, they are rarely seen, only heard. Nice header pic of the male Cardinal.
ReplyDeleteYes, one year they were so noisy, you could hear them while driving down the road. It is amazing how many of them there are. Beautiful flower pictures.
ReplyDeleteWe just expeienced the cicadas in Branson, MO, and the noise was incredibly loud. Glad we left before they all died!
ReplyDeleteLoved the photos! We love to follow nature. Oops ... it's all around us.
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