17 Year Cicadas, No They Are Not Locusts, And Also Not A Plague

I'm a bit late in writing about the recent, and still ongoing, hatch of 17 year cicadas in my area of Eastern Kentucky. But I was reminded of them, as I am every day at home, by seeing a television news anchor in Lexington at WKYT-27 actually mention on air twice that she could hear the cicadas in the studio. I have also frequently heard reporters and anchors at that station say that they could hear heavy rain and thunder storms in their studio as they work. It has led me to believe that their studio must have been built much more cheaply and poorly than most television broadcast studios are built since soundproofing is a necessary part of that type of media. Anyway, the cicadas seem to be abating somewhat around my house where I have heard them nearly every day since the first two or three began singing in search of mates. As for the title of this blog post, they are CICADAS, not LOCUSTS, not a BIBLICAL PLAGUE, and generally NOT HARMFUL TO YOU OR YOUR PROPERTY IN ANY WAY! Yes, cicadas have always been commonly referred to as locusts especially in this area. A locust is a completely different insect. The best resource I can give to you about cicadas is at this website which is operated by a college entomology professor who happens to be an international expert on cicadas. There are numerous different broods of cicadas and all of them are not living a 17 year life cycle. Some are living a 13 year cycle. They come out of the ground, make their characteristic noise to attract mates, mate and lay their eggs before dying, the eggs hatch, the young and immature larvae go back underground and come out again in either 13 or 17 years. They are not harmful to you and should not be killed just because you are afraid of them or angry at their noise.

And, if you are into exotic foodstuff, cicadas are edible. You can find cicada recipes on numerous websites and many people do eat them. I have to admit that I have not eaten cicadas but I am intrigued by the idea. If my wife would join me in eating some, I would gladly do it. Many millions of people in some of the poorer countries of the world eat large numbers of insects, and they are reputed to be a very legitimate source of protein in impoverished areas. Try some if you are an adventurous eater. I have no idea if I will live to see another hatch of cicadas, and neither do you. If there is anything you want to learn about cicadas, now is the time to do it. Here is a chart for the various species of cicadas. Study it! Learn from it! Become a cicada expert!