Posted on 05/19/2004 6:18:01 PM PDT by Tribune7
Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said that the periodical cicada will soon emerge over much of Pennsylvania after 17 years underground.
"Around May 20, Brood 10 of the periodical cicada will emerge across the eastern two-thirds of the Commonwealth," said Wolff. "In areas of heavy emergence, the total weight of cicadas have been as high as 1.5 tons per acre, making it the largest of all the broods."
Cicadas in this brood entered the soil as tiny nymphs back in 1987 and have since resided underground, sucking away at tree and shrub roots.
(Excerpt) Read more at zwire.com ...
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These cicadas appear to be the 'liberals' of the insect world.
They're out now in East Tennessee. Monday while cutting the grass, their noise was very easily heard over my noisy old mower.
We've had them south of DC for over a week (or 10 days), but it's pretty spotty. People 5 miles away have nothing at all.
Oh well, at least he's got his priorities right.
> These cicadas appear to be the 'liberals' of the insect world.
What do you mean? It's all about sex?
</ sarcasm
PA gets the cicadas,we got the gay weddings!
At least the cicadas will leave.
The Cicadas Are Coming! Women and minorities hardest hit!
Eastern 2/3rds... can someone please tell me if the Pittsburgh area gets hit? Nobody here seems to have been here 17 years ago. I can't get a straight answer anywhere.
We had them two years ago in Murrysville.
Really? I don't remember that - just up the hill from Murrysville - anyway if they showed up two years ago then they're not the 17-year kind, right?
Different brood - you ain't seen nothin' yet, as they say.
Here is a link from the 2002 post-gazette. There was an article from the Trib (that I can't seem to locate) that specifically talked about the unusual infestation in our neck of the woods back then.
http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20020506cicada0506p1.asp
Oops! Sorry. Thought this was a thread about Hitlery. Pretend I didn't write this. Carry on.
We've had them out for about a week here in the Peoples' Republic of Montgomery [County MD]. This brood is one of the heaviest I can recall, since 1970 anyhow. Our Siberians are having a field day pigging out on the groggy ones. They have been chowing down on them with no ill effects, dead ones, live ones and on the fly - it doesn't matter. The bugs and their husks are deep around a lot of our big trees, about 3" deep around an old silver maple in the front lot. They do a quick one or two minute burst of sound around 4:00AM and then turn it on full around 5:15AM and go for the next 10 or 11 hours. Gets pretty loud by 9 or 10 AM. Truly amazing critters.
They're here in Leesburg, VA. I'll tell you: That's the eeriest damn, alienlike pulsating whirring sound I've ever heard.
They would be from a different brood. Brood X is the biggest brood. But all the broods have a seventeen-year period.
I too am in the People's Republic of Montgomery (Laytonsville). The score here at the top of the first is Dog 17, Cicadas 0.
The French eat them with snails.
Um, you do know that Pittsburgh is not in the Eastern 2/3rds, I assume? LOL If they get hit with this brood, then the article is wrong.
I was in the People's Republic of Montgomery during the '87 infestation; I remember that they were pretty damn loud then. More than a few dropped into my open convertable top that summer...
We can only hope they are gone before the Democrats can pander to them and get them registered to vote. I suppose being "underground" does not really assure us they won't vote..
Yum.
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