Now you see them... now you don't!

Early in the summer of 1998, Charleston and nearby areas were party to one of the true wonders of nature: The emergence of 13-year cicadas.  The periodical (13- and 17-year) cicadas are different than the "dog day" cicadas that emerge every year and have a three-year life cycle.  Periodical cicadas emerge synchronously in huge numbers only every 13 or 17 years depending on what "brood" (or emergence schedule) the group is on.  Although almost all cicadas in a given brood will emerge the same year, different areas will have different broods.  Thus, you could drive to an emergence of periodical cicadas somewhere in the U.S. every year.  Three different species of periodical cicada are synchronized with one another in a brood.  They all look basically the same, but the males have different mating calls and they don't interbreed.  The closest relative to each 13-year species is a 17-year "sibling" species, rather than one of the other 13-year species.

Cicada Facts

Although the cicada nymphs will live for up to 17 years (1-1/2" deep in the soil), the adult only lives a few weeks.

Cicadas do not sting or bite but they can cause damage to small trees from their habit of laying 20-400 eggs in living twigs.

Males call from aggregations or "choruses" that attract females.

Near Charleston, there will be a 17-year cicada emergence in the year 2004 and in 2007 (different broods, of course) and a 13-year emergence in 2002.  The offspring from the 1998 emergence will emerge in 2011.

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A 96 million mile fly-ball... and other silly insect facts.

If one pair of fruit flies were allowed to mate uninhibited for a single year and their offspring were given the same freedom, they would form a densely-packed ball of flies 96-million miles in diameter.

The caterpillar of a skipper is about 1-1/2" long.  It shoots out fecal pellets at a speed of 6 ft/second.  If this feat would be proportionally scaled up to humans, we'd be shooting fecal pellets at over 200 miles/hr!! The Dragonfly larvae are also known to shoot fecal pellets with the human equivalent being a length of 25-30 feet.

Some assassin bugs camouflage themselves by sticking debris all over their body - in some cases, the debris is the empty carcasses of their victims.

Some moths are deaf except for hearing one thing: The high-pitched cries of an echo-locating bat. 

Some male moths can't smell except for one molecule: the female moth's sex pheromone.

Ant lion larvae live in funnel traps of death.  When an insect such as an ant struggles to escape the sides of the funnel, the ant lion throws dirt at it to knock it down into its waiting jaws.

Although the vast majority of insects are harmless, they are frequently subjects of horror movies.  Some favorites: "Them" (giant ants, 1954); "Mothra" (1962); and "The Swarm" (1978).

German folklore states that butterflies are really witches out to steal cream.

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You love lobster...Why not crickets?

Most species of insects are edible.  Some taste quite good (e.g., cicadas have a "nutty flavor") and many species are lower in fat, higher in protein and have a better feed to meat ratio than beef, lamb, pork or chicken.  Raising insects is easy and environmentally friendly.  They are low on the food chain.  The only real problem with eating insect is social acceptance and that depends on the culture.  Insects are prized food by many people.  After all, insects are arthropods, just like the lobster, crabs and shrimp that we pay so much money for!  Try the recipe below to get you started.

Preheat oven to 375.  In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.  In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla; beat until creamy.  Beat in eggs.  Gradually add flour mixture and insect; mix well.  Stir in Chips and nuts.  Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes.

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