# ID This Mystery Bug **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443 "2012-07-16T20:27:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/1 "2012-07-16T20:27:43Z")
Is this a cicada of some sort? Found in Chicago today. It made sort of a buzzing cicada noise. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/2 "2012-07-16T20:38:58Z")
No photo, but if it’s around an inch long, with clear, veiny wings, and big, faceted eyes, it’s a cicada. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/3 "2012-07-16T20:46:58Z")
[Oops!](http://www.flickr.com/photos/46138173@N08/7585363276/) ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/4 "2012-07-16T20:48:33Z")
Yes, that is a cicada ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/5 "2012-07-16T20:53:32Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/6 "2012-07-16T21:03:32Z")
**beowulff** , how did you know, when there wasn’t even a picture up yet? Is it that once-in-seventeen-years again that the cicadas fly? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/7 "2012-07-16T21:16:17Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Is it that once-in-seventeen-years again that the cicadas fly? The one in the photo is an [annual cicada](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibicen), that emerge every year, not a periodical (13 or 17 year) cicada. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/8 "2012-07-16T21:18:33Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > **beowulff** , how did you know, when there wasn’t even a picture up yet? Is it that once-in-seventeen-years again that the cicadas fly? If it walks like a duck… Really, there aren’t too many insects that sound like a Cicada. Also, they are very seasonal, so this is the time that they would be appearing, and they are pretty big as insects go, so they tend to attract attention. They are interesting critters. I believe that they are the longest-lived insects, and have a very distinct niche in the environment. They are essentially invisible for 99.99% of their life, and then they emerge, make a lot of noise, and die all within a few days. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/9 "2012-07-16T22:24:42Z")
I love cicadas. They are gentle and fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/10 "2012-07-16T23:12:48Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I love cicadas. They are gentle and fascinating. And people claim they taste a bit like [canned asparagus](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10256475&postcount=21) :). A claim I have no wish to test myself, coward that I am. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/11 "2012-07-16T23:52:04Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > **beowulff** , how did you know, when there wasn’t even a picture up yet? Is it that once-in-seventeen-years again that the cicadas fly? Bug questions on the SDMB nearly always have the same answers. “What’s this big flying/buzzing bug” is usually a cicada “What’s this leggy bug” is usually a house centipede “What’s this huge ugly-ass bug” is usually a Jerusalem cricket ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/12 "2012-07-17T00:47:34Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > [Oops!](http://www.flickr.com/photos/46138173@N08/7585363276/) Did you find that in Seattle? I didn’t think they could survive here. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/13 "2012-07-17T00:50:04Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Bug questions on the SDMB nearly always have the same answers. > “What’s this big flying/buzzing bug” is usually a cicada > “What’s this leggy bug” is usually a house centipede > “What’s this huge ugly-ass bug” is usually a Jerusalem cricket [The last time I asked](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=617618), it was a ten-lined June beetle. Thank goodness it wasn’t a Jerusalem cricket or a house centipede. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/14 "2012-07-17T03:10:08Z")
pity it’s dead. Talk about a buzz kill. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/15 "2012-07-17T03:54:27Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Did you find that in Seattle? I didn’t think they could survive here. Cicada was in Chicago. Still is. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/16 "2012-07-17T04:47:09Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > They are interesting critters. I believe that they are the longest-lived insects, No, that would be a termite queen which in certain species can live around 50 years. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/17 "2012-07-17T04:53:52Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Bug questions on the SDMB nearly always have the same answers. > “What’s this big flying/buzzing bug” is usually a cicada > “What’s this leggy bug” is usually a house centipede > “What’s this huge ugly-ass bug” is usually a Jerusalem cricket The three most asked bug questions on the SDM… > [@needscoffee](#): > > [The last time I asked](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=617618), it was a ten-lined June beetle. … The four most asked bug questions on the SDMB are… [Carpet beetle larvae](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet_beetle)! I’ll start again . . . 😃 CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/18 "2012-07-17T05:02:48Z")
Cicadas in New Zealand are kind of [small and skinny things](http://www.flickr.com/photos/msbell/3272002783/), maybe an inch or so long including wings and legs. When I moved to Australia and saw what’s here, [huge monstrous beasts](http://www.thinkoholic.com/media/2005/11/22f/DSC01086-2.jpg) that fly at your head and scream, I was most alarmed and fascinated. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/19 "2012-07-17T05:50:51Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Cicadas in New Zealand are kind of [small and skinny things](http://www.flickr.com/photos/msbell/3272002783/), maybe an inch or so long including wings and legs. When I moved to Australia and saw what’s here, [huge monstrous beasts](http://www.thinkoholic.com/media/2005/11/22f/DSC01086-2.jpg) that fly at your head and scream, I was most alarmed and fascinated. Did it taste like asparagus? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443/20 "2012-07-17T13:57:06Z")
Ew, yuck, canned asparagus. I’d rather eat a cicada than that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-mystery-bug/628443.md?page=2)