Cicadas Sing a Heck of a Song
Published by The cicadas are in good voice in Georgia. They’re back after living underground as nymphs for the last 13 years. They are getting ready to mate and start the cycle all over again. The loud droning whine of cicadas are not pleasant to the ear and after a few days of it you might want to wear ear plugs or set off for another country. A guy in Murray county thought his neighbor had forgot and left his weed whacker on. Another fellow thought it was another tornado coming in. But it was only a little bug as small as your finger fiddling away for a mate.
If you have ever head the drumming of cicadas you will never forget the sound. The noise is like an orchestra of thousands playing inside your ears. The constant sound can drive you batty. Thankfully they only come around ever nine to 17 years. Brood 19 is Georgia’s only 13 year sort. They are showing up this year after living underground for the last 13 years. The music we hear is their mating calls. During the next few months they will play their music and lay eggs, then they will die. Cicadas are harmless bugs, other than the high whining music that you can’t get away from. They don’t harm plants or any living thing. Although they are hard to find, if you see a bug with big bulging eyes and strange looking veins in the wings, it’s a cicada.
Image via Wikipedia
Cicadas emerge over several days from the earth as nymphs, find a leaf they can hold onto with their tiny claws and crawl up trees and saplings to shed their skin and become adults.
After mating, the female cuts slits in tree bark and lays her several hundred eggs. When the eggs hatch the nymphs drop off the tree and borrow into the ground. Some types of cicadas go through a two to five year life cycle while others have a 13 or 17 year life cycle. They live underground as nymphs most of their lives, feeding on the juice of roots, then emerge above ground to become adults, where they mate and lay their eggs for the next cycle of life.
Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr
When a couple in Crawford county heard the nagging high pitched drone of cicadas, they thought it was the sirens signalling a tornado was on it’s way. Some thought it might be locusts. Janet Boswell of Bibb county said, “They make one heck of a noise but they shut up about 7 o’clock at night. Otherwise we would have to pack up and leave Georgia.”
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Liked it
On May 2, 2011 at 9:46 pm
We have them here in Louisiana too and they are some noisy. good article Ruby!
On May 2, 2011 at 9:51 pm
It must be the cicadas I have seen and heard in Greece, on holiday, and it is a heck of a noise!
On May 2, 2011 at 10:02 pm
The noise does take some getting used to. Good thing we don’t have to tolerate it too often.
On May 2, 2011 at 10:16 pm
great share
On May 2, 2011 at 10:32 pm
The nature is always interesting.
On May 2, 2011 at 10:38 pm
interesting information, Thanks for sharing
On May 2, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Very good post Ruby.
On May 2, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Excellent article. Thanks for this share.
On May 2, 2011 at 11:38 pm
They can get quite loud here in Florida too. Enjoyed this one.
On May 3, 2011 at 12:31 am
They are loud bugs, aren\’t they? LOL
On May 3, 2011 at 12:56 am
Aw, I love the sound! Relaxing and soothing to my ears.
On May 3, 2011 at 3:24 am
I like the sound of cicadas. When I go to Italy each summer I love listening to them in the evening. It is all part of my holiday.
On May 4, 2011 at 12:31 am
It must be the cicadas I have seen and heard in Greece, on holiday, and it is a heck of a noise!
On May 7, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Actually, the cicadas do harm plants – the nymphs live off of plant root sap and when the females lay eggs, they cut into trees causing scarring. And please don’t state that only applies if you have thousands of them can they cause any harm. We have thousands of them – the incessant drone (the mating drone, not the chirping sound) is horrible and we’ve listened to it for 3 weeks (it seems to get louder every day!). Our magnolia trees, quince tree, pine trees – everything is covered with them. The air is filled with them. The lady from Georgia is correct in that if they didn’t shut up at night, we’d have to leave until they were gone!
On May 12, 2011 at 2:26 pm
It must be the cicadas I have seen and heard in Greece, on holiday, and it is a heck of a noise!
On May 20, 2011 at 1:53 am
Very good post Ruby.