Now this Forgotten Hits Alert from our very own Alarmist, Chuck Buell!
More Terrifying Than Godzilla versus King Kong!
Because – THIS is Real!
Billions of Cicadas Will Emerge from their Secret Underground Burrows
in the U.S. in a
Every thirteen and seventeen years, swarms of Cicadas emerge from the Earth to permeate the air and blanket the ground while having a hot time in the city singing their noisy ear-piercing mating songs!
The male insects’ high-pitched buzz can reach up to 100 decibels, roughly equivalent to the sound level of a motorcycle! Or a jackhammer.
Billions of these winged insects will make their presence known across the Midwest and the Southeast beginning in late April to early May for a raucous mating ritual!
And this year presents a rare dual emergence.
There are two Cicada groups, a 13-year Brood and a 17-year Brood, that rarely appear at the same time ... but this year their cycles will align, an occurrence that happens only once every 221 years!
This is a once-in-a-lifetime event!
The Cicada groups happened to have made their homes adjacent to one another with a narrow overlap in Central Illinois!
If your area is affected, you should know Cicadas do not sting or bite humans and they do not carry diseases. They are not pests and do not need to be killed.
In fact, Cicadas can actually be eaten and like all insects, they are protein-packed, low-carb, low-fat, gluten free and have a good balance of vitamins!
So, Bar-B-Que 'em!
Ka-Bob ‘em!
Serve ‘em on a plate!
And Enjoy!
It’s said they taste
like cold canned asparagus. ( WHOA! They lost ME on that! )
Meanwhile, here’s a not-often-seen photo of Cicadas singing!
Nevertheless, you have been warned! Wear protective clothing!
Now, here’s my “Cicada Insect-Infested Chuck Buell Minute Medley!”
CB ( which stands for “Cautionary Boy!” )
As far as I'm concerned, this whole idea of "see ya every 13 or 17 years" is nothing more than an urban legend myth!!!
We get these pesky critters EVERY SINGLE YEAR!!! And while they are essentially harmless, their sound is annoying as hell ... deafening at times ... enough to drown out the tv!!! (What a shame to have to close all your windows on on beautiful spring and summer night, just to tune out this irritating racket!!!)
I don't know where the "every 13 or 17 years" concept came from ...
I can remember when I was just a little boy, my dad taking all of us kids out into the yard and turning over the dirt to expose them living "underground." THAT was the first time I'd ever seen them ... and back then, they really DID only come back every 13 years or so ... it was VERY big news that "this was the year of the cicada!!!" (Although here, they are primarily known as "locust" ... which I guess is essentially the same thing. You say tomato ...)
And I swear that since at least 2007, we've had them back every single year.
(I remember 2007 because that's the year daughter Nicki graduated college ... and we had to park about three block away to walk to the outdoor ceremony ... and the sidewalks and grass were COMPLETELY covered with cicadas ... it was impossible to take a step anywhere without crunching them ... it looked like a complete take-over!!! It was like that final scene in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" where the family tries to quietly walk to safety without disturbing all that surrounds them! I haven't SEEN it as bad since ... but I sure have heard it!)
And today's piece only serves to remind me (no pun intended) as to why I couldn't watch tv shows like "Fear Factor" back in the day!!! (kk)
