# You're kidding, right? (Cicadas and injuries) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 15, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282 "2004-05-15T15:38:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/21 "2004-05-17T14:15:29Z")
\ Why, when I was a kid we didn’t have any of these “cicadas” to use as excuses for hurting ourselves. When we got hurt, we had to tell our parents “Hey Mom, I was stupid and fell off my bike” or “I mistook Billy’s head for a baseball and smacked him with the bat”. None of this blaming insects. Damn kids - afraid of insects that are smaller than their fingers. \ ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/22 "2004-05-17T16:43:43Z")
> [@jastu](#): > > Is killing cicadas a national children’s pastime over there? Just curious, after reading the article all these kids getting hurt trying to kill them, seems strange to me. Not just cicadas. We didn’t have any on the West Coast, but a female friend of mine said when she was a kid her brothers used to collect them and put them in a bag, then dump them in her hair when they had collected 20 or so live ones. Fun for the whole family! We used to collect bumblebees and put them in a pencil box when I was kid. The bees didn’t like it, resulting in several bee stings over the years. Including one on my butt when I was about 4. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/23 "2004-05-17T17:51:42Z")
> [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](#): > > Not all cicadas are on 17-year cycles. This is just a particularly interesting (and numerous) brood (Brood X). I’ve grown up around cicadas, but I didn’t live in this part of the country 17 years ago. This should be interesting, if not a little gross. Just for those that may be interested, there are also 13 year periodical cicadas and yearly cicadas. The 17 year cicadas are generally in northern parts of the USA, while the 13 year cicadas are generally southern and midwestern. The yearly ones aren’t generally noticed much because their development isn’t as synchornized as that of the periodical cicadas. Also, they aren’t dormant for all those years. The nymphs feed on fluids from tree roots while underground. [http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/michigan\_cicadas/Periodical/Index.html](http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/michigan_cicadas/Periodical/Index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/24 "2004-05-17T17:55:31Z")
Kids aren’t the only ones getting hurt. Check out this dim-witted adult [Hoosier](http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/146839-2920-093.html). You’d think that a newspaper article titled “Man ill after gorging on sauteed cicadas” would be from The Onion. But you’d be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/25 "2004-05-17T18:48:02Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Perhaps this is the same physician who wanted warning labels on microwave popcorn bags. Immediately upon opening one, he peered into the steam filled bag and seared his retina. _snort, snort_ Damn, another Hell Point for me for laughing at something that clearly should not have been funny. ---
**Author:** ![DarkPrince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@DarkPrince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkPrince)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/26 "2004-05-17T20:16:07Z")
> [@Triss](#): > > From the article: > I have nothing to add except: Gnaaa! Christ, billions and trillions? Spawn more overlords! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/27 "2004-05-17T20:58:12Z")
> [@sugaree](#): > > Nah. Cicadas are dormant for something like 17 years, so their emergence is a once-in-a-childhood event. Each _brood_ emerges every 17 years (except the three which are on a 13-year cycle), there are 15 current broods in all (see link in **theR** ’s post for details). Cincinnati can expect [Brood XIV](http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/michigan_cicadas/Periodical/BroodXIV.html) in four years. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/28 "2004-05-17T21:13:35Z")
> [@Triss](#): > > Gnaaa! Christ, billions and trillions? > > Shiver me freakin’ timbers. Absolutely precious! :wipes a tear: So people living in Cicadaville get broods every 17, 13…years. These bugs. Do their ranges overlap? I’m thinking that things would get really gnarly every 221 years. OP: Yeah, Doc. It’s the bugs that are causing all these injuries. Now. I can see kids getting freaked out and not leaving the house. Anyone read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books? that description of the locust attack? eeeew. What **Tris** said. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/29 "2004-05-17T22:03:56Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > So people living in Cicadaville get broods every 17, 13…years. These bugs. Do their ranges overlap? Some do, yes. For example, southern Indiana is in for a big mess in 2089 when Brood X and Brood XIX (13 year) both emerge. Check the site that **theR** linked for approximate ranges of each brood. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/30 "2004-05-18T13:41:58Z")
> [@Cerri](#): > > I’m thinking had that sentence read “Dr. Ray Baker of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital was convinced – **stupidity and/or incredibly bad judgement** can be a safety hazard to children.” it’d have been a much more accurate statement. Or just, “Childhood can be a safety hazard to children”. I wouldn’t say “stupidity” is synonymous with “childhood”, but “incredibly bad judgement” often is. Nitpick: **Inigo** , it was grasshoppers in the LIW book. Not that that’s any less hair-rasing. When I have more time, I’ll tell about the giant locust in my house when I was 14. Remind me. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/31 "2004-05-18T15:07:14Z")
> [@DarkPrince](#): > > Spawn more overlords! :eek: Bwaha! _For the swarm!_ ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Pastrami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Captain\_Pastrami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Pastrami)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/32 "2004-05-19T02:20:01Z")
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go ahead with your mocking. [I warn you, you’ll be sorry that you did said mocking.](http://www.cicadaville.com) ---
**Author:** ![cybersnark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@cybersnark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cybersnark)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/33 "2004-05-19T14:51:43Z")
Don’t you innocent naive people realize the DANGER?!?! > [@](#): > > FACT: > > FACT: > > Cicadas are vicious killers. > > Cicadas prey on innocent children and pets. > > FACT: > FACT: Cicadas are seething with deadly venom and flesh-eating bacteria. > > This year Cicadas will kill more people than snakes, spiders, scorpions, and sharks combined! From [HERE](http://www.cicadaville.com) :eek: 😃 :smack: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/34 "2004-05-20T20:02:10Z")
My house on 10 wooded acres is apparently Cicaca Central. We’ve been seeing a few since Sunday but last night there was a mass emergence. I am not exaggerating when I say there were thousands just in the area of my oak tree alone. We took some pictures and had great fun watching them crawl out of the ground and head for the trees. By this morning they had shed their shells and were just sitting on the grass drying. My dogs ignored them until they started to fly then one pounced. That is when he discovered they were edible. Of course I’ve read that dogs (and birds and fish and snakes and nearly every living thing) love to eat them but I thought maybe ours wouldn’t since they are well fed. I was so very wrong. I watched Buck (8 year old Brittany) put his nose to the ground and just walk along hoovering them up. He must have eaten 30 in two or three minutes. I made him stop before he gorged on them. There is also a huge garden snake sitting under my propane tank (located very near an oak tree) eating them by the dozens. Usually a snake will run off if approached but this one just sits there waiting for the next one to crawl by. In the meantime the ones who have dried off and flown higher in the trees are now sitting out there making booty calls. It sounds like several chain saws running. And this should last another month or so. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/35 "2004-05-20T21:52:43Z")
That reminds me, I watched a small bird - either a sparrow or a nuthatch - trying to eat one this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/36 "2004-05-20T23:46:18Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Or just, “Childhood can be a safety hazard to children”. I wouldn’t say “stupidity” is synonymous with “childhood”, but “incredibly bad judgement” often is. Looking back on memories of me and my childhood friends, and some of the things we used to get up to, I can say intermittent temporary stupidity invariably was and most likely still is synonymous with childhood. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/37 "2004-05-21T01:34:51Z")
In 1998 we had 13 year and 17 year broods in southwest ill. The sound was deafening. We would go into the house and our ears would be ringing like after a rock concert. And all the birds got fat!!! They looked like they could bearly get off the ground. The sound is unbelievable. Went to Austrailia last spring and some English girls we were camping with were complaining about the noise of the bugs. To us it was a joke compared to the normal bug noise in the Midwest, and not even close to a Cicada invasion. ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/38 "2004-05-21T10:44:35Z")
In the US, don’t you have cicadas every summer like we do, or are you just expecting more than usual this particular year? From what I’ve gathered from some posts it seems you only have them every 13 and 17 years, is this correct? I’m a little confused on this issue. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/39 "2004-05-21T14:39:25Z")
[All you ever wanted to know about cicadas](http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/michigan_cicadas/Periodical/Index.html). ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282/40 "2004-05-21T23:10:44Z")
More than I ever wanted to know about cicadas 🙂 Very interesting and informative site, thank you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-kidding-right-cicadas-and-injuries/245282.md?page=1)