The Cicada Spring.

    When I lived in Florida, a friend of mine worked for one of the local news stations, where he was a camera operator and he confirmed what I had always expected.   That TV news was a form of entertainment and that the old adage of "If it bleeds, it leads" was true.   

    Thus it's important to remember that a lot of what we are seeing on the internet or on the TV news concerning the coming of the so called Brood X Cicada is either not true or inaccurate.  This is not a "once in a lifetime" event but rather part of the bug's mating cycle, occurring every 17 years.  

    No, they will not eat crops, bite you or your animals nor will they leave questionable stains on your patio furniture.   Yes, they are loud. 

    What makes Brood X so news worthy however is the mere size of their emergence.   It stretches from upper state New York to as far south as Tennessee and Northern Georgia; to as far west as Illinois.  It's been estimated that there could be 1.5 million cicadas per acre in some areas.  In other words, that's a lot of bugs, or about 30 for every square foot.

    Exactly when they will emerge depends mainly on the ground temperature; it needs to be above 64 degrees (17.8 C) and relatively dry.  For most of the United States, this will be late April, early May.   Although Scientist's are watching this Brood closely to see how, and if, global warming will affect their behavior. 

    Well they are harmless to humans - in that they don't bite, spread disease or eat crops - they are capable of producing a droning noise that can reach 80 to 100 decibels.   Or, if you want to think of it this way...run your lawnmower indoors for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Then stretch that out for four to six weeks.  That noise serves two purposes; it's used to attract a mate and repeals birds. 

 

    After mating, the females will often cut into newly planted or young trees, where they will lay a clutch of eggs about the size of a grain of rice.   Eventually these eggs will hatch and enter the ground, where the larva form of the Cicada will feast on root sap for the next 17 years until the cycle repeats.

    Even the adult Cicada will feast on tree sap but generally they look for certain things in a young tree.  Does that tree have twigs the size of a pencil?  Great, that's prime egg laying material right there.  The eggs, while more or less harmless to that tree as a whole, can cause that twig to die from where the eggs were buried to the end of the twig.   Get enough eggs laid in one tree and that can kill the tree.

    Cicadas are not a picky bug but generally like to eat, and lay their eggs in, younger Oak, Maple and Fruit trees.   It's that last part that is of concern to farmers and homesteaders alike.

    If you want to protect your young trees it's best to put a netting around them that the bugs can't get through meaning that bird netting is out.   The netting has to be a half (1/2) inch or smaller.   Be sure to tie the netting to the trunk of the tree as well as the entire tree is wrapped.  

       If you do use netting, I would recommend following some of the rules for it outlined here.  

    Due to the sheer number of Cicada's that are expected, pesticides are going to be largely ineffective. 

    Both domestic and farm animals may eat so many cicada's that they could get sick.   In other animals, such as the Copperhead snake, it could promote a feeding frenzy.  This worried the state of Illinois so much that they issued a warning to that effect. 

    Once the cicada's die, the ground will be covered with them.  HOWEVER the carcass will break down and is roughly the equivalent of a pound of fertilizer per square yard on the forest floor.   Science has shown rapid tree growth for several years after Cicada emergence as nitrogen and other nutrients are added back into the soil.   In other words, compost those dead bugs! 

     While I'm not a fisherman, I understand they can also be frozen and used as fish bait and that the carcass can make nice jewelry.   It also seems that they are edible, and millions of people around the world do eat insects as part of their diet...I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to try it.   However the idea did have enough merit to earn an article in Food and Wine magazine.  I even found a recipe for Blackened Cicada and Cheese Grits with Grilled Onions and Peppers.  Which, I have to admit sounds wonderful...except it has bugs in it

**EDIT**  Seems that some home brewers have tried to make ales out of cicadas as well.    That link is here.