Smiley - You're friends are coming soon!

[zap]

Those protein supplemental, down tube coating, tree sucking critters are projected to emerge in a little over 2 weeks. A million plus per acre!!

That boat finished yet?

[Smiley]

sounds like a horror movie. Are you riding with us Saturady before the critters arrive. Bring that piece of paper bike you call the Klien with you to show it off.

[Russell]

my wife swears she already sees little holes opening up in our yard. crunch, crunch

[Kevan]

Cicadas to bring a restless summer

By Patrick Kerns
March 12, 2004


Just about the same time as Hopkins students are bugging out and heading elsewhere for the summer vacation, a species of bugs will be getting airborne for the first time in 17 years.

Millions of periodic cicada nymphs will emerge from their years of underground life in late May in Maryland, producing a racket that hasn't been heard since 1987.

One of two types of periodic cicada, the Magicicada septendecim is the insect with the longest lifespan.

The life of a cicada begins when the nymph hatches from its egg and falls to the ground.

The nymph burrows into the ground where it remains for 17 years, feeding on tiny roots.

Then the nymph emerges and climbs up a nearby tree, where it sheds and becomes an adult.

Adults then live for between four and six weeks, during which they mate.

When the female lays her eggs, she does so into slits that she cuts into twigs or tree branches.

The adults die shortly after they mate and lay their eggs, of which the female can lay up to 600. Nymphs hatch from the eggs after six weeks and burrow two to 12 inches into the ground.

Visually, this type of cicada is noticeably different than the green, dog day cicadas with which most people are familiar. They have red eyes and are mostly black with orange-veined wings.

Periodic cicadas are frequently mistaken for locusts, and some are incorrectly called 17 or 13-year locusts. Locusts are actually a type of grasshopper, but are no where near as dangerous as that species.

Before most people see these cicadas, however, they are most likely to hear their characteristic mating call.

The male cicada vibrates several plates in cavities in their abdomen, called tymbals, to produce the noise, which can be heard up to 440 yards, or 1520 feet away.

The females can also produce noise, but nothing as loud as the males. The females method of producing sound uses their wings in a quick flipping motion, which can produce a variety of sounds.

It is important to note that, while the cicadas can look intimidating, they are completely harmless, except to some trees.

They do not sting, bite or otherwise attack humans. Frequently, they can become a nuisance, with numerous dead cicadas littering people's yards. Additionally, their loud "song" tends to irritate people.

Trees and shrubs may suffer some damage from the cicadas, because of the cicada's method of planting eggs into cuts they make in new tree shoots.

Small trees and shrubs are much more vulnerable than more well-established specimens.

Recommendations for preventing damage to plants include not pruning the season prior to emergence or not covering the plants with cheesecloth to prevent egg-laying. It is also suggested to plant deciduous trees later than normal.

What most people will likely be surprised by is the sheer number of cicadas that will emerge in May.

Periodic cicadas are able to achieve population densities of up to 1.5 million per acre because of their ability to avoid predators during their lengthy underground life.

When they do emerge, predators are not able to make a dent in the population size, because there are many more cicadas than their predators (birds, spiders, snakes, dogs) can eat. This phenomenon is known as predator satiation.

While in certain areas these Magicicada emerge only once every 17 years, there are differ broods of the cicadas, which end their 17-year cycle in a staggered fashion in different geographical areas.

So while this year they will emerge here in Maryland and also in 14 other states from New York to Georgia and Indiana to the Atlantic Ocean.

This year's brood, brood X, is the most widespread of all broods.

Normally, in a given year, a brood only emerges in three to six states nationwide.

For more information on particular brood emergences, go to http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/michigan_cicadas/Periodical/Index.html.

Students at Hopkins seem unconcerned about the cicada's except for those who live in Maryland.

Freshman Aaron Schlothauer said,"They make me mad because they leave their shells on everything in our shed, when I find them I kill them."

With May being an opportune time for outdoor weddings, some couples fear that their plans for the perfect ceremony may be spoiled by the emergence of the cicadas.

Web sites have emerged to address the concern, such as http://www.dancentury.com/cicada/wedding.html, which gives detailed instructions and advice on how to avoid or deal with the cicadas.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
©2004 The Johns Hopkins News-Letter


Thanks JH and PK.

[JohnS]

is that someone from a prestigious university like Johns Hopkins can't convert yards into feet. 440yds=1320ft, NOT 1520. The leaders of tomorrow... :crap:

[Too Tall]

Everybody go buy wifflebats....and earplugs.

[dave thompson]

Makes me glad I'm here, and not there!

[Kevan]

I'm in touch with the school making sure the kid's not on some state or federally subsidized grant. We'll get him booted. :D

[Sandy]

Perhaps the individual from Johns Hopkins is really smart and he or she adjusted for inflation and got the 1520.

CPI Sandy

[Bruce H.]

Imagine living in dirt for 17 years and then absolutely on the exact moment going outside for some fresh air, then returning to the grave.
There are so many interesting and fascinating things in nature!
Don't forget to ask what the little critters will be ri8ding while they are here! Probably have no clue about titanium and composits!
Bruce H.

[csb]

[OldDog]

Maybe Mrs. Jerk has a bug bike for them!

[dave thompson]

Maybe Mrs. Jerk has a bug bike for them!
Smiley you'e vindicated, Cicadas on Hors Categories!

[csb]

hors-d'oeuvres

[TimB]

Okay, here's an idea:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16047-2004Apr15.html

Makes me glad to be a vegetarian!

[Smiley]

were having them critters grilled on the barby for lunch on Saturday , don't tell BBDave please .

[Too Tall]

Place your bets now, who will be the first cyclist to take a digger due to Cicadids? Ooo, this is going to be great. I remember riding motorcycle during the last Cicadid hatch. At hwy speeds you can see the buggers sort of hanging in the air...it's all real Matrix'y...your best option is to aim your helmet at them rather than move. Ewwwww, cicadids down the jersey...I'm zipping up til June.

Smiley, salt, pepper, olive oil and a dash of hot paprika is traditional. ..nothing overdone...just like mom used to make. :rolleyes:

[Tom]

It's a hoot when they come inside with one in their mouth. Your cat's walking around going buzzzzzzz.

[Sandy]

Perhaps you can do a couple of Bumblebees also- Dave and Gen!!

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch,....

Sandy

[zap]

Helmets have bigger vents compared to what was available 17 years ago.

Too Tall - till mid July is what I've read.

At this rate, Smiley will be off the bike for 2 months with all these juicy details!!

[MartyE]

I remember when they "emerged" back in 87, they were everywhere.
Went out for a walk around Falls Church in the evening and the entire
ground was moving (lots of em heading for the trees), looked like a bad
night on acid.
Riding was a challenge to say the least, they got everywhere, were
slippery under tires and made cornering interesting.
They fly into everything (including an unknowing coworkers french fries)
if you don't wear a helmet this would be a good time to start.
guess I'm gonna miss them this year, they just don't get down here
to texas much.

Marty

[flydhest]

from the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16047-2004Apr15.html

[Blastinbob]

Anyone thinking of trying one ?

Maybe they'll be the new snack at the local taverns instead of peanuts. :beer: :beer:

[Sandy]

Ugh!! Double ugh!!!!

Sandy

[Kevin]

I bet they taste like chicken, or is that frogs. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Kevin

[pkerns]

Hello, I'm the guy that wrote the cicada article you folks posted. The coversion error was either a typo or a mistake that I copied from one of my sources.

Anyway, I thought since you folks were speculating about who would take a dive as a result of a cicada, I thought I'd share a funny story.

I went on a cross country bike trip this summer with 24 other people to raise money for cancer research. On the first day, riding out of baltimore a guy tried to doge a cicada and went down on Roland Ave.

[Too Tall]

Um, sorry about that. Thanks for the info. however. Is he OK? I was serious about the "digger" prediction.

[pkerns]

Oh yeah, he's fine. He wasn't that bad as far as injuries for the summer went. Take 25 people and put them on a bike for 2 months, 20 of which haven't ridden a bike since they were about 12 and you're going to have some accidents. I think we ended up calling an ambulance 3 times or so.

Anyway, it's a really awesome trip, we raised about 60 k for the American Cancer Society. If you'd like to check it out, go to www.hokpins4k.org (http://www.hopkins4k.org) .

[Dekonick]

I believe VArider was also taken out by one of these red eyed winged 17 year flying hazards...