Big Bugs

When you hear that "singing" from a big hatch you know just what my tinnitus sounds like 24/7. That's the sound range I have my loss in. One day at the range when there had been a hatch and they were really loud I pulled my hearing aids out to put my muff's on, and like flipping a switch the sound stopped, I couldn't hear any of them, but the "internal tinnitus sound" is always there in the background.
 
There is a cure for that:

Bofors_firing_USS_Hornet.jpg

Ive got a complete but sadly, inert WWII dated shell and head, for those guns if ever "needed." :D
 
You could make 2-3 Japanese horror movies with those boys. The loudest I ever heard them was up on Black Rock Mountain, in Clayton, Ga. They would all get together and just make that old mountain hum. There was a big old lighted cross up there that I hear the PC's made them take down cause it was on public land...I'll bet them old boys ain't singin' like they used to if that's so.

I think they already did, remember Mothra? :D
 
Up here they are only heard occasionally and rarely seen, they are a much smaller critter than your Southern type...we don't ever see lightnin bugs, first time I ever seen them was while stationed in Virginia, I couldn't figure out why I could see lights moving off in the distance but not hear any motors or people running around with lanterns, it was spooky. The biggest bugs we see is probably the odd Praying Mantis, I was told they were brought into the area on the trainloads of boxite that was used at Kaiser Aluminum, they are not real common, some folks have never seen one in the yard.
I heard a cicada the other day at the rifle range and just for fun asked a buddy if he knew what that sound was, he said "some kind a cricket?" I told him that down in the Southern areas that buzzin will almost make ya crazy.
 
you can't trust the 17 year or 7 year thing.
last year, 7 year locusts covered the ground n ate everything in sight.
this year, the same.

Susie:

There are 13 year Cicadas, and 17 year cicadas, but no 7 year ones. Cicadas don't eat things down to the ground, either. They look like the picture I posted for Wayne in post 47 above.

Locusts look like grasshoppers, and frequently "swarm", where up to millions of them come in and can and do eat everything in sight. And they can come every year, although they don't, necessarily. Perhaps out there in the high plains, that is what you have.

Best Regards, Les
 
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I have experienced both Brood X (17) and Brood XIV (13) twice.

Three weeks of a constant high pitched squealing chirp emanating from their wings. And believe me they are every freaking where.

You have to walk through, walk on and drive through hordes of them. They will cling to your hair and clothing and dive bomb you.

They clog radiators, AC units and vents.

They are harmless as they have one order: reproduce and they don't need mouths for that hence they can't bite.

Cats and dogs go insane between the dog whistle like din and the sheer number of slow moving targets.



Some folks are afraid. I would catch one in the music store, stick it on a Sennheiser 441, sample it through a digital keyboard workstation and assign it to all 88 keys.

A skittish person, having just run the gauntlet to get in the door would finally relax. As soon as they did I would lay both arms on the keyboard which was hooked to a pair of 12" highpaks and two 18" tuned subs crossed over at 100 htz.

Some times I had a floor to clean. Most didn't mind as they knew my history and I had the only music store in Ohio with a fully functioning, state licensed wet bar.

My employees, my student's parents, my teachers and customers loved it. Guys would hang out for hours forgeting why they came.

Cicadas are a nuisance but harmless. Kids love catching them and finding the post pupal exoskeleton stuck on tree bark.

Three weeks of fun for all. Your lawnmower becomes a Maxim machine gun that can splatter 500 cicadas a minute on your neighbors house.

There's a bright side.
 
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Cicadas are great for fly fishing. Just put them on a small hook with no weight and let them sit on top of the water flapping their wings.

I am sure you caught fish, but it is not fly fishing if you use live bait, no matter what type of rod you use. :eek: I just watched A River Runs Through It. So now I'm an expert.
 
Here ya go, enjoy, I don't know where to find a pound and a half of them,
I hear them all the time but rarely see one alive. Maybe there is some way to trap them:

Adult Cicada Recipe
Adult Cicadas can be eaten as well as Cicada Larvae. You should pick mature femalesyou’re your dish. Adult Cicada males have hollow abdomens and not much of a meat, but the female Cicadas are filled with lots of fat. Before you start your cooking you need to remove all the hard parts: wings, legs and head. These parts don’t contain much of the meat either but may be very sharp, so its best to get rid of them.
You will need: two tablespoons butter or peanut oil, one and a half pound of cicadas, two serrano chilies, raw, finely chopped, one tomato, finely chopped, one onion, finely chopped, one and a half table spoon ground pepper, one and a half table spoon cumin, three table spoon taco seasoning mix, one handful cilantro, chopped, Taco shells, Sour cream, Shredded cheddar cheese, Shredded lettuce.

All you need to do now is: 1. Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan and fry the cicadas for 10 minuts, or until cooked through.
2. Remove from pan and roughly chop into 1/4-inch cubes/ Place back in pan..
3. Add the chopped onions, chilies and tomato, season with salt, and fry for another 5 minutes on medium-low heat..
4. Sprinkle with ground pepper, cumin and oregano to taste..
5. Serve in taco shells and garnish with cilantro, sour cream, lettuce and cheddar cheese.

Steve W.

Proof anything is good if fried in peanut oil!
 
I have experienced both Brood X (17) and Brood XIV (13) twice.

Three weeks of a constant high pitched squealing chirp emanating from their wings. And believe me they are every freaking where.

You have to walk through, walk on and drive through hordes of them. They will cling to your hair and clothing and dive bomb you.

They clog radiators, AC units and vents.

They are harmless as they have one order: reproduce and they don't need mouths for that hence they can't bit.

Cats and dogs go insane between the dog whistle like din and the sheer number of slow moving targets.



Some folks are afraid. I would catch one in the music store, stick it on a Sennheuser 441, sample it through a digital keyboard workstation and assign it to all 88 keys.

A skittish person, having just run the gauntlet to get in the door would finally relax. As soon as they did I would lay both arms on the keyboard which was hooked to a pair of 12" highpaks and two 18" tuned subs crossed over at 100 htz.

Some times I had a floor to clean. Most didn't mind as they knew my history and I had the only music store in Ohio with a fully functioning, state licensed wet bar.

My employees, my student's parents, my teachers and customers loved it. Guys would hang out for hours forgeting why they came.

Cicadas are a nuisance but harmless. Kids love catching them and finding the post pupal exoskeleton stuck on tree bark.

Three weeks of fun for all. Your lawnmower becomes a Maxim machine gun that can splatter 500 cicadas a minute on your neighbors house.

There's a bright side.

Just play anything by yoko ono--and any bugs would gladly die under a steamroller.
 
Surprised no one mentioned the old legend about cicadas predicting if the world was going to be at war, or at peace.

The way to tell is with the fully mature ones wings. Turn him over on his back, spread his wings, there will a very distinct "W" or "P".

I have seen many a "W"; but so far, nary a "P"..... Wonder why??

There are some with just clear, webbed wings, no letters. I suppose they could have been predicting cold war, or detente.
 
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Surprised no one mentioned the old legend about cicadas predicting if the world was going to be at war, or at peace.

The way to tell is with the fully mature ones wings. Turn him over on his back, spread his wings, there will a very distinct "W" or "P".

I have seen many a "W"; but so far, nary a "P"..... Wonder why??

There are some with just clear, webbed wings, no letters. I suppose they could have been predicting cold war, or detente.

Wow, rog, and I thought I was the only one that had heard that story. I was just a little guy, 6 or so, and we were visiting my Aunt's farm. She took me outside, and showed me that mark on the wing, and explained about the "W" meaning "War"!!! Of course, that was just about the time of the Korean "Police Action", and I believed her. When my kids were old enough, I passed it on. Yep, I'm still looking for a "P"!!!


Best Regards, Les
 

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