Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Insect love that stirs the ear

By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published September 11, 2006

Roll down your windows. Turn off the air conditioner.

- Hear that whirring drumbeat overhead?

- That chorus of high-pitched buzzing singing from the trees?

- It's the sound of your summer ending.

- Every year, cicadas begin their end-of-summer ritual, shaking the evening air with their collective call. As the sun drops and the day cools, the mysterious insects bring their loud party to oak-lined streets, shaded back yards, open fields and country trails.

- If you don't stop and walk outside - halt the errand running, cell phone chatting, grocery shopping, TV watching, instant messaging, kid chauffeuring - you might miss them.

- And missing them means you lose out on a chance to wonder, "What is that?" nSo, go outside tonight and listen.

- Then, come back and read this. It's just about everything you might have wondered about cicadas had you taken the time to notice them sharing your world.

Q: What is a cicada?

A: Pronounced suh KAY duh or suh KAH duh, it's a dark colored insect, about 1 to 2 inches long, with four thin wings that fold over its body. It lives in tropical and subtropical areas and belongs to the order Hemiptera and the family Cicadidae. A cicada is neither a locust, a fly, nor a June bug.

Q: Why and how do cicadas make that noise?

A: It's the sound of love - in a biological, entomological kind of way. Male cicadas make the high-pitched buzzing in an effort to attract female cicadas ("lady-cadas"?). It's actually the sound of two thin sheaths of skin on the male cicada's abdomen vibrating as fast as 400 times a second. Every cicada species has its own song.

Q: How many species of cicadas are there?

A: Hundreds or maybe thousands in North America alone. But the best known are the Magicicada, a.k.a. periodical cicadas or 17-year locusts (even though they aren't locusts), and the Tibicin, a.k.a. dog-day cicadas.

- Dog-day cicadas appear each year in July and August and, as we're experiencing here in Tampa Bay, apparently into September, too. They take four to seven years to develop from an egg to an adult and are large and dark with greenish markings.

- Periodical cicadas take 13 or 17 years to develop and usually appear in late May and early June. They are the superstars of the cicada world, since each brood emerges only one every 17 years, attracting plenty of fans.

Q: Is it true cicadas are born underground?

A: Not exactly. Female cicadas slice small holes in tree twigs where they lay their eggs - as many as 600 - a process that often kills parts of trees. The eggs hatch within about six weeks and young wingless nymphs appear. The nymphs soon drop to the ground, burrow underground and live on sap from tree roots until they are full-grown. Then, they tunnel to the surface, climb up the side of a tree (or some other vertical surface that passes for a tree) and shed their skin. They live only a few weeks out in the open in full adulthood. Their above-earth existences are now consumed with one goal: sex. They want to reproduce before they die. Males usually die right after mating, females after nesting their eggs.

Q: Why do I usually hear cicadas singing at the end of summer?

A: The climate is ripe for sweet love, er, insect mating.

Q: Someone told me boiled cicadas make a tasty treat. Is that right?

A: Well, you might ask your dog or cat, as cicadas often become quite the outdoor goody for animals and fowl on the prowl.

But, yes, apparently people like them, too. Low in fat and high in protein, cicadas are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world and are said to taste something like asparagus. In 1987, when periodical cicadas made their 17-year emergence in the eastern U.S., there was talk of deep-fried cicadas, stir-fried cicadas, cicada pizza, cicada candy and more.

Q: So, can they eat me?

A: No. Relax. They could care less about you. They're vegetarians. They like plant fluids.

Sources: World Book Online Reference Center, Encarta Online Encyclopedia, Cicadamania.com, National Geographic

[Last modified September 12, 2006, 09:51:48]