Here's a little visual for those of you who haven't yet seen the Brood X cicadas in person. this is one molting from its shell - about to have its little fling, after 17 years of life underground. i know they're already rampant in D.C. and Maryland, so i've been waiting for them to start emerging in my large backyard. now, in today's local newspaper i find this welcome headline: SUSSEX SKIPS NOISY CICADAS. that's Sussex County, Delaware. the article goes on to say "Predictions are that Sussex County and parts of Kent County will be spared the noise and nuisance associated with the Periodic Brood X Cicadas which are emerging....by the billions in Maryland, Washington and other deciduous regions of the Mid-Atlantic." Apparently they don't like the coast. In fact, the mayor of Ocean City, MD was on TV recently advertising the fact that his vacation location will be cicada-free, so come on down and party, folks! the Agricultural Extension Agent says "You have to have the right environment for them to live in. They like deciduous trees. We don't have the right kind of forests and soil for them."
i'm often dissatisfied with living in what is called "slower lower Delaware," but this is one occasion when i'm thankful to be here with our nondeciduous forests of evergreens and our sandy soil.
my neighbor came over to chat earlier this morning, said a female peacock showed up in his yard a few days ago and seems to be hanging out there. we were thinking she'd have a lot of cicadas to feast on soon. looks like she won't. ah, well.
4 comments:
cool picture....im hearing alot of about these things around here, now ill know what to look for.........thanks
http://journals.aol.com/bernmilo/WAYNEATOPICTURES
I've never seen cicadas but they sound like the big cockroaches in the old country that used to kamikaze dive at people when disturbed. Not fun.
Do you have a spare bedroom? I'm thinking a trip to the shore, or any where that I can escape the creepy things would be great.
ugh...They're here in Louisville, KY, now...when I got off work today, the racket they were making was literally like a constant roar...even in the car, on the expressway, with the windows up and the radio on, you can hear them. I HOPE it stays like that, hearing but no seeing!
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