THEY’RE BACK!
Yes, the 17-year Brood X cicadas are back by the hundreds of millions — approximately 1.6 million per acre — and from the sounds of it, my backyard is Ground Zero. That shrill, reverberating, relentless whine — is it the screech of a jet engine? Or is it a high-speed drill going through steel with no lubricant? Ponder the sound of that high-speed drill. Imagine that drill going through steel with no lubricant. That pretty much describes the deafening love song of male cicadas and the mating procedure of female cicadas who possess the “drill.” After 17-years of being underground, the males have emerged and are screaming for a mate; just one out of millions of females willing to connect with them so two can become one.
On Memorial Day, Adrienne and I watched the above two cicadas mating on top of my deck bannister. We don’t know how long they’d been at it, but we assumed that cicadas were like birds: mount, connect for two seconds and be done with it. The above photo was taken 20 minutes after we started watching. How long had they been mating? Their privacy invaded, they moved to the edge of the bannister only to be confronted by yet another Peeping Tom:
Their privacy invaded AGAIN, they moved away from Mr. Peeps — while still makin’ passionate whoopee:
These two were connected like this for one hour and 40 minutes. Adrienne and I were exhausted. Eventually, the female pulled away from the male and the male fell off the bannister . . . and died.
The female flew to new-growth twigs near the end of a tree branch, made incisions and deposited several hundred eggs in the slits. Then in the spirit of Lady MacBeth, she died as well.
The last time, Rated X Brood X appeared was in 2004 when Facebook was only at Harvard, Janet Jackson’s breast was briefly exposed by Justin Timberlake during the Super Bowl Halftime Show and Ronald Reagan died at age 93 on my birthday, June 5. Speaking of which, I hosted a cicada-themed birthday party that year.
Stay tuned tomorrow for all the details about the significance of the Brood X 17-year cicadas in my life.
One of these aliens attached itself to my t-shirt yesterday while I was sweeping several dozen off of my front porch. I discovered it while FaceTiming with Adrienne. It was crawling up the back of my neck.
Creepy.
I whipped off my shirt (I was inside my home), the thing disappeared, and I found it later sticking out of my cat, Jem’s mouth. It was STILL BUZZING.
There is a tree in Sharon’s front yard where the cicadas gather. The tree is filled with fluttering wings and deafening sound.
Like Jem, Jake is intrigued by the bugs. Our walks have become hunts for cicadas which have also become his favorite snack.
You all sure know how to have fun! I know it’s hard to believe, but we don’t have ANY cicadas here. We do have reckless gun owners though. They are also loud and a lot more dangerous!
Good point, Beth. I’ll take a gadjillion cicadas over one crazed gun owner any day.
Thanks for your front row seat review. They have not shown up in my yard. I have to go on walks to hear them. Maybe because I walk into the symphony and away, the sound seems more inviting to me. The cycle is truly amazing.
Charlotte, “they have not shown up in my yard”!
WHAT?!
Adrienne and I will send a couple hundred thousand your way. The sound of these critters can reach as high as 100 decibels, which is equivalent to a motorcycle, low-flying airplane or lawn mower starting. I have yet to hear a symphony. I’ll keep my ears to the ground, er, to the trees, bushes, shrubs, garbage bins, my front porch, my back deck, my shirt . . . .
Needed this laugh today, thank you: “Don’t let the bannister scrape your ass on the way out.”
One hour and forty minutes! Amazing! But what I find equally amazing is that you and Adrienne stayed with them all this time, carefully annotating their sexual adventure. Must be something of a writer in you to take note of such detail. Fascinating.