Periodical Cicadas
I had heard that this year we were being swarmed with the Periodical Cicada (the Magicicada) but for some reason they avoided my neighborhood. Luckily, my brother planned a picnic at Darby Park and it was there that I found thousands of these crunchy creatures, their husks, and a surround-sound chorus of mating calls that reminded me of the sound effect of phasers in the original Star Trek series. I have not researched this, but according to a good friend, the reason that Cicadas are improperly labeled as "locusts" is that in colonial times colonists saw them swarming and equated them to the biblical locust swarms.
Here are a couple Cicada pages to check out:
- Cicadas
Photos of cicadas... some during mass infestations, others just solitary specimens molting.
- Periodical Cicadas
- Molting Cicada
- Related Topics
Periodical cicada at Big Darby Park in May, 2004.
A periodical cicada molting.
A newly emerged 17-Year cicada climbs up a tree to molt.
Husk of a periodical locust.
Periodical cicada that died while emerging from shell at Big Darby Park in May, 2004.
Periodical cicada emerging from mud at Big Darby Park in May, 2004.
Periodical cicada at Big Darby Park in May, 2004.
Husk of a periodical locust.
Periodical cicadas at Big Darby Park in May, 2004.
