They're Back

Started by Redoverfarm, June 04, 2016, 10:22:50 AM

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Redoverfarm

Doesn't seem that long ago since the last visit.  But thinking back my son was 5 years old the last go round so the timing is correct.  17 years.  I guess I can cut back on the dog food for a while.  Plenty of protein for the pets

 




Don_P

Oh boy, ours must not be up yet, I was just in the woods. Their roar is just about maddening.


Adam Roby

Enlighten us non-residents will ya? 

azgreg


Don_P

The sound you hear is from thousands of them all clicking in what seems to be a throbbing undulating roar. There is a constant rain of their poop coming down through the leaves audibly as well. You do have to raise your voice quite a bit to be understood. It's the stuff of biblical plague stories. They do nip back the new tips of the trees and you see some die but for their numbers they don't really seem to do much long term damage. I was thinking the last one was around '02 but I'm not really sure, I was scouring the woods that summer for log cabin repair parts and old chimneys.


MushCreek

We seem to get a few every year, rather than huge waves of them less frequently. I saw my first lightning bug recently, but they seem really sparse this year.
Jay

I'm not poor- I'm financially underpowered.

Redoverfarm

Here is a good little article which explains the life cycle and the damage that they inflict on the trees.

http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/story/news/local/2016/06/02/understanding-cicadas-damage-can/85316968/

Don I think it was around 1999 that they emerged last around here.  Didn't know that the male was the only one that emitted the sound and was to attract the female.

hpinson

They are even in the New Mexico mountains, though I've heard none yet this year. The Pinion Juniper woods are full of their exo-skeletons.

Don_P

Do all the 17 year cicadas appear on the same year everywhere or is it more regional or...? I remember last time they said it was so noisy because two hatches were happening at the same time. The previous one in the early 80's we were living in Raleigh.


Redoverfarm

Don I believe it is a regional occurrence and are staggered in the years they appear.  There are some areas of the county and state that do not have them now. 

I guess the extent of damage has to do with their concentration to one particular tree.  Excluding the migrant flyers they emerge under the same tree that they dropped off of some 17 years ago and migrate up that tree, mate and lay eggs at the limb tips.

Here is your minimal damage.  You can see some older damage (2 weeks) and some more recent which appear to be wilt but actually they are damaged limbs which will turn brown.



A more close up limb tip



Here a massive concentration of a large oak. 



This is going on 3-4weeks and I am tired of them.  There is some evidence that they are gradually dying off as I have found several dead lying on the drive and walkway.


Don_P

The business fire I worked on week before last was for the folks that own the old log cabin, we got to talking, that was '02-'03 so I'm guessing we are a few years offset from your hatch. Interesting, I had never really thought much about the timing before.