Brace yourselves for the Great Cicada Storm of 2013. After spending 17 years underground, the cicada members of Brood II are starting to make their presence known. Around a billion young adults in total are expected to emerge all along the Southern and Mid-Atlantic states, from Georgia, to Maryland and Virginia, all the way up to New York and Connecticut.
Note: A billion or so new cicadas equals a billion or so cicada shells!
Young cicadas like to climb up trees, bushes, posts, and walls before shedding their skins. If your exterior wall of your home happens to be near the site of a cicada brood, don’t be surprised to find nymph shells cluttering your gutters. After the cicadas have shed their exoskeletons, they will sing, fly, mate, lay eggs, and eventually die, all within a span of four to six weeks.
The adult cicada is about two to five centimeters in length (roughly the size of a large paperclip), with a wing span of about three inches. They are not harmful to humans, thought it can be a little disconcerting to have these large, juicy insects crashing into your car windshield when you’re driving 65 mph down the interstate.
Cicadas are like the albatrosses of the insect world. They are somewhat graceless in their landings, and they can and will end up in some inconvenient places: decks, drains, driveways, pet’s water bowels, your long hair (if you have it), and yes, on your roofs and in your gutters.
Cicadas are also noisy. Some have said that the mating call of a cicada swarm can be as loud as a jet engine. Bob Dylan’s song “Day of the Locusts” was inspired by his 1970 visit to Princeton University to accept an honorary degree, where the incessant buzzing of these insects caused him to have a few sleepless nights. Cicadas are not actually locusts, though; they have more in common with stinkbugs.)
Not everyone considers cicadas to be pests. Experts say they are a healthy source of protein with a taste similar to shrimp. For the adventurous diner, they can be an eco-friendly, low-carb and gluten-free food.
But all good things must come to an end. In June, when these hapless critters choose your roofs and gutters to shuffle off this mortal coil, remember to call Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning® to schedule an appointment. These creatures may be a fascinating curiosity of nature, but that doesn’t mean you have to put up with decaying cicada bodies clogging your gutters!
Image couretsy of Plate 7 from Insects, their way and means of living, R. E. Snodgrass via wikimedia.org
