This is one of the millions of cicadas that have been our companions this weekend. When the shooting stops, it sounds like someone's running a giant weed whacker.
There is a species that has something like 13-15 year cycle and when they emerge, they coat everything by the billions. That just happened a few years ago, so there's awhile to go before they emerge again.
When I was a kid in DeeCee, we had the 17-year variety. They looked like 100X-sized bluebottle flies. Huge noise also, and the mess they left was horrible, but after a few summer thunderstorms, it was gone, and DID the birds gorge. There were some species of birds which ate so many of the critters that they couldn't fly.
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I forget: are those the things on the 14 year cycle? Forgive a poor western boy his ignorance...
They do have a a multi-year cycle, but I think different species go at different periods of time.
There is a species that has something like 13-15 year cycle and when they emerge, they coat everything by the billions. That just happened a few years ago, so there's awhile to go before they emerge again.
When I was a kid in DeeCee, we had the 17-year variety. They looked like 100X-sized bluebottle flies. Huge noise also, and the mess they left was horrible, but after a few summer thunderstorms, it was gone, and DID the birds gorge. There were some species of birds which ate so many of the critters that they couldn't fly.
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