cicadas

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Sheriff's Office: 'Unfortunately, It Is the Sounds of Nature'

Newberry County, SC, residents are complaining about sirens—but the sound is from cicadas

(Newser) - Emerging cicadas are so loud in one South Carolina county that residents are calling the sheriff's office asking why they can hear sirens or a loud roar. The Newberry County Sheriff's Office posted a message on Facebook Tuesday letting people know that the whining sound is just the...

This Snack at NOLA Venue May Make You Squeamish

New Orleans' Audubon Insectarium is serving up cicadas at its 'Bug Appetit' cafe

(Newser) - As the nation prepares for trillions of red-eyed bugs known as periodical cicadas to emerge, it's worth noting that they're not just annoying, noisy pests—if prepared properly, they can also be tasty to eat. Blocks away from such French Quarter fine-dining stalwarts as Antoine's and Brennan'...

'Zombie' Cicadas Are Coming, Thanks to an STD

Periodical cicadas are also nature's strongest urinators, and they're headed to 2 parts of the US

(Newser) - The periodical cicadas that are about to infest two parts of the US ( the Southeast and the Midwest ) aren't just plentiful—they're downright weird. These insects are the strongest urinators in the animal kingdom, with flows that put humans and elephants to shame. They're also...

We'll Go From Shoveling Snow to Shoveling Cicadas
We're in for a
Cicada Double-Whammy
Jan 23, 2024 8:40 AM CST

We're in for a Cicada Double-Whammy

In 221-year first, 2 cicada broods to emerge together

(Newser) - A swath of the country will soon be buzzing—loudly, with up to a trillion cicadas. This April will mark a first since 1803 with the dual emergence of two periodical cicada groups: Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood, which surfaces every 13 years, and Brood XIII, also known...

Too Many Cicadas to Eat? Here's Another Use

Dead nitrogen-rich cicadas can be used as fertilizer

(Newser) - We're about a month into the emergence of Brood X or Great Eastern Brood cicadas, which means the nuisance is nearing an end. "From past cycles, broods last about 4-6 weeks from their first emergence," University of Maryland entomology professor Daniel Gruner tells the Washington Post , which...

Cicadas to Biden's Press Plane: You're Not Going Anywhere

Aircraft grounded ahead of president's trip to Europe after insects swarmed the engines

(Newser) - Cicadas apparently aren't satisfied flying into people's cars —now they're intent on infiltrating President Biden's press plane. Per CNN , the White House's charter plane for dozens of reporters, set to accompany the president to Europe on his first trip abroad since taking office, was...

Driver Gets Unpleasant Surprise During Evening Commute

#NothingGoodHappensWithCicadas

(Newser) - Some people have their eating utensils ready to chow down on the swarms of "Brood X" cicadas that have emerged from their underground lairs. Others simply want to avoid running into them during their evening commute. One Cincinnati driver wasn't so lucky, after what ABC News calls an...

FDA Issues Advice on Eating Cicadas

People with seafood allergies should avoid eating the insects

(Newser) - Trillions of Brood X cicadas have emerged in eastern states after 17 years underground—and while the insects are being praised as a tasty low-fat food source, the Food and Drug Administration has sounded a note of caution. "Yep! We have to say it! Don't eat cicadas if...

Another Cicada Problem: Suburban Development

Cutting down trees takes away the developing insects' food source

(Newser) - Are you wondering where all the cicadas are? You might want to sit down. Billions of Brood X bugs, burrowed in the ground since 2004, are starting to emerge on the East Coast. But in some areas, they’re pretty sparse. Blame urbanization. Cicadas live underground for years, usually 17...

Fungus Takes Over Cicada Brains, Replaces Genitals

Massospora uses amphetamine to turn infected insects 'hypersexual'

(Newser) - Some luckless cicadas are emerging from 17 years underground intent on mating, only to have their brains hijacked and their genitals replaced by a fungus that infects them just before they surface. The Massospora fungus replaces the lower part of the cicada's body with a "white plug of...

After 17 Years, 'Brood X' Is Emerging. Grab a Fork

Cicadas are a low-fat, protein-rich sustainable food source, advocates say

(Newser) - Brood X is about to arrive . That's the name for the group of cicadas that have been nestled underground for the past 17 years, waiting to emerge this month and next month and overrun our yards and parks. Some people enjoy their summer interludes , while others fear them , but...

Billions of Cicadas Are About to Make a Noisy Entrance

Brood X, one of the largest groups, is on a 17-year cycle

(Newser) - Here's a nuisance we haven't had to deal with for a while: Brood X cicadas. They've been burrowed in the earth since 2004 and are almost ready to come topside. Tens of billions of them will be around for four to six weeks, the New York Times...

Billions of Cicadas to Swarm Eastern US

Have earplugs ready as 17-year cicadas 'may amass in millions'

(Newser) - Residents of 15 eastern states and the District of Columbia can experience "a rare wonder of the natural world" this spring—if they can get over the noise. Billions of cicadas are expected to emerge from the ground for the first time in 17 years in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois,...

After 17-Year Break, Region Expects Millions of Cicadas

Insects are harmless to humans, but they're loud

(Newser) - They're no giant murder hornets , but they do make a racket. Millions upon millions of cicadas are due to surface this year after 17 years in the ground, CNN reports. People in Southwest Virginia, parts of North Carolina and West Virginia will witness the event this year, per Virginia...

17-Year Cicadas Are Coming ... as Many as 1.5M an Acre
17-Year Cicadas Are Coming
... as Many as 1.5M an Acre
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 17, 2016 1:35 PM CDT

17-Year Cicadas Are Coming ... as Many as 1.5M an Acre

Get ready Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia

(Newser) - There will soon be a buzz in the air in the Northeast. Billions of cicadas with a 17-year life span have spent the entire 21st century underground in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, reports Fox News . But when nighttime soil temperature hits 64 degrees for four...

How to Survive Cicada Invasion: Eat Them

Cicadas are 'the shrimp of the land,' say scientists

(Newser) - Billions of bug-eyed cicadas are set to swarm the East Coast . So what will you do when "swarmageddon" hits? You can stay inside and grumble about the insects' loud sex noises, or, scientists say, you can just eat them. Cicadas are "the shrimp of the land," entomologist...

Billions of Red-Eyed Cicadas to Swarm East Coast

Bugs will overrun Eastern states looking for sex in 'Brood II'

(Newser) - Any day now, billions of cicadas with bulging red eyes will crawl out of the earth after 17 years underground and overrun the East Coast. The insects will arrive in such numbers that people in the southern state of North Carolina to Connecticut in the northeast will be outnumbered roughly...

Missouri Health Officials Nix Cicada Ice Cream

New flavor bugs food code enforcers

(Newser) - The 13-year cicadas are out in Missouri but an ice cream parlor's attempt to turn the bugs into a seasonal treat has been thwarted. Health officials descended on Sparky's Homemade Ice Cream after its first batch of cicada ice cream sold out and told them not to make...

Coming Soon: 13-Year Cicadas

It's gonna get loud in the South

(Newser) - We saw their parents in 1998; now the 13-year cicadas are emerging again from underground. Get ready for raucous mating calls and shells everywhere, advises the Herald-Review of Decatur, Illinois. (The 13-year cicadas stay mostly in the South but hit parts of Illinois and Indiana.) “They are out...

Cyborg Bugs Could Warn of Fires, Chemical Attacks

(Newser) - Cyborg bugs may sound like creatures in a Michael Bay movie, but they could save your life, New Scientist reports. The Pentagon is trying to implant electrodes in crickets and cicadas—which communicate via wingbeats—and program them to “speak” differently around certain chemicals. “The insect itself might...

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