If you really like noise,
I have just the thing for you: cicadas.
We are talking over 80 decibels loud in some places—maybe over 100
decibels if you are nutty enough to hang one of the little song-makers from
your ear. Presently, one of the 17-year cicada
broods is emerging from the earth in parts of Ohio. Billions upon billions of cicadas will crawl
from the earth in the Eastern United States this year and take to the skies.
Let me explain. First, cicadas are bugs. Almost-as-big-as-your-thumb bugs. Several species of Cicadas exist. Moreover, cicada “broods” appear on different
cycles. “Periodical cicadas” such as
those emerging this year, emerge in either 13-year or 17-year cycles.
The life cycle of
periodical cicadas begins when an adult female lays her eggs on trees. She lays her eggs in grooves she cuts into
the limbs of trees. Upon hatching, the
nymphs (juveniles) drop to the ground and burrow deep into the soil. The slowly growing insects then spends the
next 13 or 17 years in the ground (depending on the brood cycle). They live on tree juices they steal from the roots.
When the temperature is
right (as is occurring right now here in Ohio) the juveniles burrow up out of
the ground and climb the nearest trees.
Clinging to the bark, they shed their nymphal skin and emerge as winged
adults.
Adults have three things
in mind: eating, making noise, and sex. In
this regard they are very near human.
Living for another 4 to 6
weeks as an adult, the cicadas overwhelm the countryside where they have
emerged. While all other insects and animals
might feast on them, the cicadas also feast on the fluids of greenery. Though they do not defoliate plants and trees
the way a locust does, they can cause considerable damage and kill trees. Near the end of their life-cycle, the cicadas
reproduce to start the cycle anew. The cicadas may also cause considerable harm
when they cut into trees to deposit their eggs.
Yesterday, while hiking
in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, I encountered a brood of 17-year cicadas in
the forest there. Consider this—when
these insects first burrowed into the ground, the price of gas was about $1.20
per gallon. Britney Spears and Ricky
Martin were charting songs. You could
mail a Dear John letter for a mere 33
cents.
Now, 17 years later, the
cicadas have emerged to make song.
I have posted a couple of
photographs and a video I captured.
Turn up your sound and enjoy the cacophony!
--Mitchell
Hegman
Amazing how they can be sort of "dormant" for more than a decade.
ReplyDeleteMind boggling, really.
ReplyDelete