Project Update: Counting Cicadas

 Certified Master  Naturalist, Janice Walker, submitted this article about the Cicada Count project.

Cicada: a symbol of carefree living and immortality

 

Living in a pandemic changed many things. Shut us off from our friends, family, work, and pleasure. But the pandemic has given me time to spend outside. Even though I am a Master Naturalist, life keeps me inside most days, usually behind a computer or doing inside chores. One thing is true; there will always be job security in laundry.

This pandemic gave me the opportunity to get outside and enjoy, just being outside. Most days I arrive home too late to enjoy my yard. Spring 2020 has been a wonderful experience. Nature has shown me so many things that I have missed, being away from home every day.

 However, there is one thing I have not missed. The Cicadas or Brood IX as they are affectionately referred to. Like a bad penny or every 17 years they turn up. The first experience I had with Cicadas was exactly 17 years ago or when my eldest daughter turned 13 and had friends over for a birthday pool party. These teenagers screamed and swatted these invaders throughout the entire party. Fairly sure a few of these pests were consumed in a hamburger, totally by accident. Hey, they are edible, known as the “Shrimp of the Land”. Also, low in carbs and gluten free.

Emerging cicada

And in May 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, they returned, by the thousands, millions. They look and sound like a creature from an alien world. When they emerge from their underground homes, they cover the ground, racing to the nearest tree to climb and complete the transformation into a breeding machine. Once they have their wings, they take to the sky, where nothing gets in the way, in search of a mate. They emerge clumsy and edible. A free meal to lots of predators. Eventually, there are so many the predators become full and turn away from the free and easy meal.

 

They (the males only) begin their symphony at full volume after dawn, not stopping until dusk. All day it sounds like an alien space craft is just hovering over the hill. When I encountered these alien creatures at first it was shock but soon after it became passé. I am sorry to say, my daughter and I used a few as badminton birdies. It was fun but even after a few hundred that becomes passé.

I discovered Virginia Tech was looking for photos and Cicada data. So, what the heck sign me up. Using an app on my cell phone, Cicada Safari, for the next few weeks I sent photos and data from my area. It was fun and gave me something to do. (come on there is only so much laundry a person can do in a day)

 

It became personal when these alien creatures burrowed into my young dogwood tree. It was game on. There isn’t anything you can do to prevent these determined insects from their only purpose in life, laying eggs for the next generation. Older trees can survive without serious damage, but young trees like my dogwood do not stand a chance.

 Within a few weeks they had finished their task and died, usually at the base of the tree where they laid their eggs in the above branches. They die in the same numbers that they emerge, by the thousands; their carcasses left behind to decay and feed the soil. Of course, leave behind the stench of decay for us to enjoy for the next couple of weeks. Folklore and myths call the Cicada a symbol of carefree living and are immortal. So true. They have no laundry waiting.

 

Janice H. Walker