Cicadas.....

[FuNkY CaPrIcOrN]

I get Time Magazine every week and they had this in this weeks issue.....





They're Baaack:
They've been lurking underground for almost two decades. Now billions of cicadas are coming out for a final, noisy farewell. Then the whole cycle starts anew

They're not locusts (which are a type of grasshopper), but for much of the Eastern U.S. this year, they're certainly a plague. Some cicadas appear almost every year, but the Brood X periodical cicada, as scientists call this variety , is the big one: the world's largest insect swarm. For the next five weeks, sidewalks will be littered with crunchy brown shells, ant treetops will be buzzing with an ear-splitting screech.

Cicadas look scary with their vaguely devil-shaped heads, but they're really harmless, and some communities even look forward to their arrival. Cincinnati, Ohio, for example, is planning cicada festivals, parties and even meals. Gene Kritsky, a cicada expert, is testing out a new recipe this year, cicada chowder. But entomologist John Cooley, who studies cicadas at the University of Connecticut, won't touch it. "Seventeen years underground just to end up as someone's dinner?" he says. "They're too marvelous to waste."


LIFE STAGES (Duration)

1 EGG (6-10 weeks)

In her dying act, an adult female cicada creates the next generation, laying 400 to 600 eggs inside a slender tree branch by cutting small slits in it with her ovipositor, an organ that works like a saw. Six to 10 weeks later, the eggs hatch, and nymphs fall to the ground

2 NYMPH (17 years)

After hitting the ground, the nymphs munch on grass roots and then tunnel down about 12 in. (30 cm) to feed on tree sap by attaching a strawlike organ to the roots. There the wingless bugs stay — for 17 years

Finally, their biological alarm clock goes off. When that time comes, scientists think, a soil temperature of 64ºF (18ºC) signals the nymphs to tunnel back up

3 ADULT (3 weeks)

Transformed overnight into adults, the emerging cicadas start out with soft, milky white bodies. After two hours their wings unfold and dry. They suck some plant fluids and live to mate and lay eggs

Three hours after emerging, their bodies have fully darkened, and their shells begin to harden. Male cicadas head for the treetops, where the warmth of the sun improves their singing

Skin: The night the nymphs emerge, they climb the nearest vertical surface and shed their skins on everything from window screens to lawn chairs

Little drummer boys
The deafening shrill that can be heard almost a mile away is the mating cry of the male cicada. His instrument is called a tymbal, which produces a popping sound in his hollow abdomen. Males from each of the three Brook X species have their own song. One sounds like pha-roah, another makes a sizzling noise, and the last — and rarest — makes a rhythmic call that sounds like a lawn sprinkler

The good, the bad (and they're ugly)
BENEFITS
Cicadas do not sting or bite, and they are not poisonous. The insects don't eat much, and healthy trees can actually benefit from the pruning that takes place when branches die from the hundreds of slits the females cut to lay eggs. On the ground, cicada exit holes aerate the soil

NUISANCES
Aside from the noise and later the smell from the piles of dead insects, there is some evidence that cicada root sucking can restrict tree growth. And if you were planning to hold an outdoor wedding this month, you may want to reschedule it or move it indoors

GOOD EATIN'
They're filled with protein, and people say they taste like cold asparagus. But most of Brood X will end up providing a smorgasbord for a variety of wild creatures, including songbirds, snakes and spiders. The cicada's primary defense is its vast numbers. Predators can gorge all they want, but they'll make only a dent in the cicada population

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER
Although the queen termite has a longer lifespan, the 17-year cicada lives longer underground — more than 95% of its life. By comparison:

Cicada (Brood x) 17 years
Queen honeybee 7 years
Monarch butterfly 6 months


FC B)

[ck-uk]

fc you need to sort your spelliin' out...i bet its hangin' with them retards to long no good for you man

[FuNkY CaPrIcOrN]

Originally posted by ck-uk@19 May 2004 - 01:18
fc you need to sort your spelliin' out...i bet its hangin' with them retards to long no good for you man

What in the hell are you talking about kid?Look what you just did....

"spelliin"

Who needs the help with what?

[ck-uk]

only a friendly warnin' mate take it how you like

[FuNkY CaPrIcOrN]

Originally posted by ck-uk@19 May 2004 - 01:32
only a friendly warnin' mate take it how you like

Yeah I did ck.And I warned you also.

Friendly warnin you say?By saying somebody is retarded.Or even makeing fun of somebody who might be?

Why don't you point out where I spell like a retard.

[Rocktron]

Originally posted by ck-uk@19 May 2004 - 07:32
only a friendly warnin' mate take it how you like

Blah!

[shn]

Originally posted by Spindulik@18 May 2004 - 22:56

Actually their not bad.

[FuNkY CaPrIcOrN]

OMG!I go out by the shed this Morning and they are takeing over!Do you think they know we took 2 of the Babies last night and thought about eating them?!








Look at that one.He just hatched.

[backlash]

I used to play with those as a kid. I can't believe it's been 17 years since I've seen one.

[leezathehoneybird]

I love the sound that the Cicadas make I could chll out in the sun with a beer and listen to it all day but i'm not too keen on being up-close with 'em since one flew in my face