Checking in from DC, right on the edge of Rock Creek Park and the National Zoo. I have to say I’m a little disappointed, I haven’t seen a single one. (I fear I may live to regret that statement.) And I was wondering how the zoo animals will feel about the winged invasion. Probably a nice diversion.
Damn, I was gonna go down thereabouts and see if the area was covered or not. Thanks for the update.
frickin’ cicadas.
Well, I went over to the neighbor’s house and hung out there all night. Good lord! It looked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie.
Sidekick: Indie. The floor is moving. Why is the floor moving?
Indie: Cicadas! Why did it have to be cicadas!
These things were everywhere around a large tree in their yard. You could here them clawling all over the place, along with the ‘thumps’ when the clumsy thing fell out of the tree. It was great! If I can, I’m heading over there again tonight to try and get some pictures.
For those that can’t find any, I suggest walking around your neighborhoods a bit. I have none in my yard, yet the neighbors a few blocks up are covered in them.
Well, hose them down! Or at least point them toward Olentzero…
I’ve been in NJ this weekend - will I come home to zillions of the little bastards?
FINALLY! Cicadas on McPherson Square. Couple pre-teneral ones, too, but they were too high up to reach. Plenty of 'em around Capitol Hill over the weekend, but no grubs.
It’s fun to pick 'em up out of the grass and make 'em say “Help! Help meeeee!” before you put 'em on the tree.
Nice and quiet here in Cleveland. I think the boundaries of Brood X are somewhere south of Columbus, and Cincy is ground zero.
From what I understand, the zoo animals will think “Buffet!”
Millions of the nasty things everywhere. It stinks of garbage from all the ones that have been crushed by cars. The streets are slimey with their crushed bodies.
Huh. I didn’t see an overwhelming number this morning. I mean, there’s a lot, but not a lot.
Every day, when I walk into work, this is the image that plays out in my head. You painted a pretty horrific picture, herownself. shivers
I’ve seen my first live ones, mainly at work, but haven’t been too fussed by them. Which is more than I can say for the poor folks who tried to host a punch-and-cookies reception in the museum’s sculpture garden. Cicada-mango punch, anyone? 
Still waiting for the little critters to appear here in the northern 'burbs of Cincinnati. We finally got a good soaking rain this past weekend, which apparently is necessary for the buggers to get to the surface. So we’re thinking they should be here soon.
woo woo.
The only time I spent any time in the eastern US, I was in North Carolina getting married. I found a red-eyed cicada on the grass and thought man, these are real different from what we had in New Mexico. Wonder how often they come up? So I went to Duke University library to get bug books to find out more about them. June 6, 1987 I’ll have been married for seventeen years.
I’m getting phobic just reading about this. I feel a strong need to turn around in my deep dark cubicle which is many floors and hallways away from a connection to the outside world (and 3,000 miles from the nasty buggies) just to check and see if there is one that thinks it might try to fly into my hair.
At which point I would scream like a little girl who took voice training and cause massive upheaval among the graduate students. I would have to make up an explanation - like I’m really stressed out about finishing - because there is no way I could admit that I’m freaking out about bugs on the internet. I just won’t turn around, that’s all. No matter how much my hair itches.
JuanitaTech, I’m totally with you. But seriously, you will get through this, and it will be ok, and you will be stronger for it. As much as I was afraid of those fuckers, they never actually did fly into my hair - you can hear them coming and duck. And you are a better person than any bug could ever beat down.
moi, I’m sorry I said mutant roach bordello, if it bothers you. But if it doesn’t, I’m not sorry because I meant every word. shivering backatcha
Saw a lot more dead bodies, and a few more wrigglers. Some with wings, some without. One on my windshield. Fwwwwiiiiiiiipe!
Olentzero, maybe you already mentioned it, but… live or dead better for eatin?
Pfeh, I wouldn’t eat 'em live. Stick 'em in the freezer until they expire, then boil 'em.
Ah! A shame
- cancels booking of Olentzero on Fear Factor *
We have 'em here, and then some.
I was watering my potted flowers last night, and wound up watering a bunch of Brood X’ers instead. 
I ran around shouting out “Cicadas! We have Cicadas!” while hunting for my digital camera. I have a couple of photos out on the Weather Undergroud website. (I’m user SophieMae)
As I was leaving for work this morning, I was taking a look at my newly potted flowers, and noticed that my cat was staring at the big oak tree. I look over in that direction, and there’s one of the squirrels that live in our yard… just as bold as you please - not even 15 feet away. (We live out in the country, so the squirrels around here aren’t all that accustomed to being close to humans). I stood there for a minute and watched to see what was so attractive to the squirrel that would keep it from skittering off… and sure enough, he comes around to the side of the tree closest to us, and picks up a newly ‘hatched’ adult cicada. Breakfast, anyone? He carefully plucked off the wings and very gingerly headed up the tree to the first available branch where he could enjoy himself safely.
Now them’s good eatin’.
This morning was good cicada fun. There were a couple outside of my office this morning, so I picked it up and let it crawl around on top of my hand as I made my way to my desk.
Then I went over to one of my coworkers and put it on the back of her hand when she wasn’t looking. She didn’t notice for the first few seconds, then looked down just as the dumb bug fell off her hand and started buzzing around on its back.
She promptly jumped up and started crying, “Get it away! Get it away!”
We all had a hearty laugh at my coworkers expense. Then I took Jamal outside and put him in some bushes so hopefully he doesn’t get eaten by a bird or a squirrel or something.
When they came up out here last time, I had an outdoor summer job. We had to drive around a lot, and it was like it was raining cicadas.
We turned on the windshield wipers to move their little corpses off the windshield so we could see to drive.
Hooray!
Like Olentzero, I’d been feeling pretty underwhelmed, but the last few days, they’ve really picked up, and now they’re practically coming out of the woodwork. (Ok, ok, they actually come out of the ground, but . . . you knew what I meant, dammit!) Sometime over the weekend, I started hearing them for the first time (I almost shut my window at night, without realizing what the noise was!). Monday night, I went out at 2:30 am to gather tenerels, and yesterday I had mushroom, onion, and cicada pizza for lunch! I brought some back to the office, but hardly anyone wanted to try a slice. 
I also dry roasted some, but I’d already given up and eaten all the chocolate I’d been saving to coat them in. So this afternoon, it’s back to the grocery store, and then tomorrow afternoon, I’ll make chocolate covered cicadas with the kids who live on campus!
The kids were fascinated by the pizza I brought them yesterday! Only the eight-year old boy was enthusiastic about trying it, but one of the two girls his age took a piece to bring to school today for show and tell! (The teacher had been telling the class that some people eat the bugs, and now this girl has proof !) The really little kids (1- and 2-year olds) were eager at first when they saw pizza, but backed off nervously when they say the bug eyes staring up at them! Their parents reasured them that it was alright (though none of them were tasting any!) and they happily chomped away thereafter. One little one-year old boy didn’t even want the pizza, he just wanted a cicada pulled off, which he promptly stuffed right in his mouth!