Cicadas (or is it locusts?) are coming!

There was an excellent article in the April 22nd Chicago Tribune Home & Garden section on the upcoming "invasion" by the 17-year periodic cicadas, brood XIII.

These red-eyed bugs were last seen in this area in 1990 - I lived in Vermont then, so do not remember that invasion, but I do remember the one prior - 1973. The noise. The bugs. The bulgy red eyes. The noise.

Well, they are set to return in late May. In 1990, they emerged on May 25th. Their emergence is triggered by their body temperature. Once they reach 64 degrees, they emerge from the soil and begin their brief above-ground lives!

Here is a link to Ms. Botts' blog Chicago Gardener: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/chicago_gardener/2007/04/nymphs_no_probl.html

As she points out repeatedly, cicadas are not evil - they may have bulgy red eyes, and may fly into people sometimes, and may seem to be everywhere, and of course they make that noise, but they are not evil. The insects have just one purpose when they emerge - to mate with other cicadas. Once that is done, the females lay their eggs in tree branches, and then they all die off - leaving those cool-looking shells behind.

The only caution I have found is to cover newly planted shrubs and newly planted small trees with tulle (ballerina skirt netting), but only if you actually have cicadas in your neighborhood. If your neighborhood did not have them in 1990, you will not have them this year. And , if your subdivision was built since the cicadas last appearance, you likely will not have them because the soil that the nymphs were living in is now gone.

So, if you are a light sleeper, buy some ear plugs, but otherwise, just sit back and enjoy this marvel of nature - years from now you will be talking about where you were during the 2007 cicada invasion!

Here is a link to another website: cicadamania that has links to a lot of cicada-related information. http://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/category/brood-xiii/