For residents of Central Virginia, there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and nothing to be done! The Time of the Cicada has come which means it's time for their coming-out party -- quite literally! These creepy creatures are having their "Sweet 17" and it's their time to shine -- or at least chirp their hearts out. And that chirping sure has already created an insanely LOUD noise. It has been so loud this week that it sounds like a car alarm is going off just a few door down or even a wailing siren.
Since it's not actually an alarm at all, it never gets turned off and its battery never runs out of juice. It just continues on and on for hours on end. It's like that everywhere you go. I can even hear the ringing noise right now, even while inside the house with all windows and doors shut. Some scientists have even speculated that prolonged exposure to the cicada noise could potentially cause hearing loss. If you are close to them, the sound can reach up to 90 decibels. Well, fiddle dee dee!
You sure can hear them, but for the most part you can't see them -- not yet anyway. However, there are BILLIONS on their way -- a veritable tsunami of insects emerging from Connecticut to North Carolina! Once they really make their presence known, there can be up to a million covering an acre. There's something to be said for power in numbers! That means crunching on them just walking out your door. Freaking out is pointless apparently. There's not much you can do to get rid of them. You just have to wait them out for a few weeks and enjoy the next lull of 17 years. Thankfully they are not known to bite or sting.
Technically this is not really an invasion per se since apparently those little buggers have been here all along underground sleeping and biding their time for 17 years. It is now time to come on up to shed their shells. hop into the trees, mate, and lay some eggs in tree branches. What an agenda -- yick! The only long-term damage could be to young trees.
They are not poisonous if eaten. In fact, some people -- and dogs -- love to eat cicadas
nymphs" in large amounts, even gorging themselves! Check out the stir-fried cicada entree below! Supposedly they are high protein, low in fat, and gluten-free. Plus they are free! I'll take their word for their deliciousness. I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to food, but there are limits, and this is one for sure.
Anybody up for some yummy Cicada-Portobello Quiche? I'll pass, but for those up for this homegrown feast, go for it! Please tell me what your think. As Julia Child would say, BON APPETIT!
LibbY
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