Cicadas

MoKelly · May 13, 2021

ponytug said:
The thought is that the 7/13/17 year cicada swarms evolved to overwhelm predators with a mass hatching, mating, and egg laying that allow large numbers of cicadas to successfully complete their lifecycle. Rather hard to definitively prove, but there are very few areas where all three types overlap.

While the mass hatch event is on, yes, the predators go wild. Given the high protein and fat content of cicadas (and most insects), it would be like a McDonalds with free food, figuratively speaking.

All the best,

Peter

Thanks. That is interesting. Nature is amazing.

MoKelly

txndncowboy · May 14, 2021

kenmbz said:
Try June bugs-they hurt.
Cicadas fly so poorly I have been hit by them many times, always a fun thump to scare the wits out of you while working on the car or landscape.

If you ride a motorcycle you'll discover dragonflies hurt like the dickens too. About like a rock.

Jstpssng · May 14, 2021

txndncowboy said:
If you ride a motorcycle you'll discover dragonflies hurt like the dickens too. About like a rock.

So does a bee when he gets into your helmet.

Hay Dude · May 14, 2021

We got those cicada-killer wasps that hunt them around here.
Guess the wasps will have a trophy season and use all their “cicada tags”. lol

p0opstlnksal0t · May 14, 2021

We see those every spring in Houston. Never noticed a year that had more or less than other years

Diggin It · May 14, 2021

MossRoad said:
This is what they sound like. I probably won't be bothered by them as it sounds exactly like my tinnitus.

That's me. I probably can't hear them over the 17 batches of 17 year versions inside my head.

czechsonofagun · May 15, 2021

ChuckT said:
Kohoutek?

Where does that come from?

lman · May 15, 2021

Years ago I heard crickets in the summer, now I them year round, even when there's snow on the ground.

MossRoad · May 15, 2021

czechsonofagun said:
Where does that come from?

Comet Kahoutek was hyped up to be the most brilliant comet since sliced bread and it was a bust. Very anticlimactic.

Now the news is abuzz (I threw in a pun there) with cicadas.

Has anyone seen them yet?

If so, where?