# What on earth is this?!? (Insect) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 11, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116 "2009-08-11T22:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/1 "2009-08-11T22:22:45Z")
God, I think it was trying to communicate with me. ::shiver:: [![](http://cid-f98326a585345b21.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Creature/HideousMonster.jpg) ](http://cid-f98326a585345b21.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Creature/HideousMonster.jpg) What the heck is it? It was about 3 inches long and about half that in width. The eyes were like that of a hammer head shark, black small globes on opposite sides of a hammer-like head. Also, it said something about needing my socks for fuel. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/2 "2009-08-11T22:27:19Z")
A [cicada](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada). ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/3 "2009-08-11T22:27:38Z")
Looks like a [cicada](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada) to me. eta: beat me by **that** much! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/4 "2009-08-11T22:29:10Z")
To me, it looks like a horsefly (Google Image samples [here](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=horsefly&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g2g-s1g1)). But… 3 inches? Are you sure? I know they get pretty big, but not quite that big. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/5 "2009-08-11T22:29:30Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Looks like a [cicada](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada) to me. Me too! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/6 "2009-08-11T22:47:35Z")
Yeah it was much bigger than any fly I’ve seen, even the big fat pregnant ones ::shiver:: It was definitely a cicada. Thanks guys. Apparently human isn’t on their menu. I can sleep easy now. Actually, going over the wiki page on them, I gotta say, their pretty cool, if hideous little critters. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/7 "2009-08-11T22:55:24Z")
Yeah, I think Cicada is a better fit too… that’s what I get for not previewing my post. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/8 "2009-08-12T00:20:45Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > God, I think it was trying to communicate with me. ::shiver:: Could be . . . they can be rather noisy, in great numbers. I just got back from Provence, where the cicada seems to be the regional mascot, commercialized to death. You can even get battery-operated ones that mimic the sound, or little plush cicadas for kids. I brought back a nice ceramic “weed-holder” cicada for my kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/9 "2009-08-12T00:41:06Z")
Feast your eyes on [THIS!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cicada_molting_animated-2.gif) Some of these bastards lay dormant in the ground for 17 years! Not all, but some. Others have 2-5 year cycles. I hate them. I hate them all. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/10 "2009-08-12T00:50:26Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Could be . . . they can be rather noisy, in great numbers. > > I just got back from Provence, where the cicada seems to be the regional mascot, commercialized to death. You can even get battery-operated ones that mimic the sound, or little plush cicadas for kids. I brought back a nice ceramic “weed-holder” cicada for my kitchen. I want a plush cicada! My mom called them jar flies, for some reason. We don’t have dog day cicadas in our part of NE Ohio, but you don’t have to get very far south of here to be in their range. They make a very distinctive “WEEEEEE-oooo-WEEEEE-oooo-WEEEEE-oooo” sound. My mom also said when we heard them, it was six weeks 'til the first frost. My sister and I called them the “back-to-school bugs,” because they definitely signaled the end of summer. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/11 "2009-08-12T01:09:39Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Could be . . . they can be rather noisy, in great numbers. They can be rather noisy individually. Try touching one. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/12 "2009-08-12T05:00:50Z")
When I was a teenager the Dallas paper held a photo contest for readers with the theme “What summer means to me” - or something like that. I sent in a series of pictures I took of a cicada molting and won honorable mention. For some reason we called them “locusts”. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/13 "2009-08-12T10:38:35Z")
Ah, [memories](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=479948&highlight=Mexico)… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/14 "2009-08-12T13:42:20Z")
After a strong brood year, I collected a bunch of nymph shells once and placed them in my sister’s bathroom sink. I think the scream set off alarms all over the county… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/15 "2009-08-12T14:18:11Z")
A plague!!! ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/16 "2009-08-12T14:23:02Z")
Definately a cicada. A very lucky bug in many Asian countries; symbolic of eternal life, and the subject of my next tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/17 "2009-08-12T14:32:28Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Feast your eyes on [THIS!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cicada_molting_animated-2.gif) > > Some of these bastards lay dormant in the ground for 17 years! Not all, but some. Others have 2-5 year cycles. > > I hate them. I hate them all. Hey, that was a really cool gif! As a kid, we used to collect the abandoned shells and wear them on our clothes. Their feet would hook into the fabric and they’d just hang there, looking weird. (Okay, so I still do it from time to time, when no one’s around and I see a shell on a tree.) ---
**Author:** ![curlygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/41988e/32.png) [@curlygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlygirl)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/18 "2009-08-12T16:04:22Z")
The first time I saw one of those freaky buggers while visiting my parents in North Carolina I about screamed and woke everyone up! It was attatched to the window screen and I saw it when I looked up after sitting on the toilet, thank goodness I was sitting down! ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/19 "2009-08-12T16:33:00Z")
I really like the sound of cicadas and look forward to them every August. And they are cool looking too. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116/20 "2009-08-12T16:42:37Z")
Eeek! I hear the damn things constantly but I’ve never seen one. They’re HUGE and _ugly_. They’re common in this area, apparently, and I am dreading the return of the 17-year bugs that I’m told is going to happen soon. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-this-insect/506116.md?page=2)