Being Thankful for Trees Means Being Thankful for Cicadas

     As I was pulling out of my driveway, I noticed some creatures all along the fence. I stopped the car and got out my camera to snap a few shots. I knew immediately what they were and realized they were not the same species as I had seen a few years earlier. (Earlier post about dated Wed., July 10, 2013)

     The raindrops beautifully adhered to the cicada wings. Their size is in comparison to the nail head you see. They have creamy red eyes, a black body and yellow/brown legs. They were just resting and not making any noise. The males have to warm up before they start the cicada sound that a lot of folks dislike. I enjoy the sound because it always bring back memories of camping.

 

 

     As I was walking the grounds today, I found a few holes where these species of Cicadas have been living underground for the last 13 years. Their arrival has been named, The Lower Mississippi Valley Brood. (Brood XXIII) The next arrival of this particular brood should be in the year 2028.
                                                         
                                                           

Most of the following information was obtained from these two websites: www.cicademania.com/cicadas/the-most-interesting-17-year-cicada-facts/ and www.care2.com/causes/10-reasons-cicadas-are-good-for-the-earth-and-us. 

Cicadas do not eat solid food. They only eat tree sap from the oak, cypress, willow, ash and maple trees. They provide food for birds, squirrels, turkeys, fish and other animals that eat insects. Even domesticated dogs have been know to devour them.

Spraying them with pesticides makes them toxins to the animals that eat them.

Asian people have eaten them for centuries.

They should not be called locusts because a true locust looks like a grasshopper. Many people mistake cicadas for locusts and this is why some have bad feeling about these wonderful creatures they take care of our trees and forests.

Their tunneling aerates the soil. They participate in the "flagging" of trees which means weak branches on the trees will wither and die, thus removing the ones that would cause a tree to fall over during strong winds.

After they die they release nutrients back into the soil which helps trees grow and have better seed production the next spring.

You may find cicada wings laying around. I think I may gather up as many as I can and try to make some nature art from them.

I am just guessing that the animals that ate them didn't like to eat their wings. I guess lucky for me, now to decide what creation I can come up with.

I hope you have found this post interesting and I hope that you know that most animals are on this earth for a reason. Cicadas help feed other animals and help our trees. Without trees we would not breathe clean air. They are a necessity. Cicadas are the necessary in a chain in the life cycle. They are to be appreciated, enjoyed and viewed as the beautiful creature that God meant for them to be.



                                



Throughout the World - Known for their Songs

     Some people might say that they are known for their disturbing sounds. I have gotten used to their songs and they really don't bother me at all. Cicadas are commonplace during the summer months, especially in the country. They remind me of camping, which I like.
     As usual I was outside searching for an animal, any animal. I saw a cicada hanging on the side of some wooden steps and noticed it was covered with dirt. I usually just see the shells with no dirt so I figured this one had just come out of the ground.

     I remember hearing on the news that the people of the east coast of the United States were awaiting the arrival of a lot of them. I guess the news was trying to warn the people to be ready for the noise. I, along with others in the south, are so used to the sound that it wouldn't be that big of news here. I suddenly notice another cicada located on a step right below this one. It had another animal beside it which was green. I didn't know what it was. I thought it looked somewhat like a praying mantis.

     I went inside to do my research and discovered the green animal was actually the cicada emerging from its shell. I read that this cicada was in its final stage of its life cycle. Cicadas live underground anywhere from four years to seventeen years. I had never seen one coming out of its shell. I had seen other cicadas that were brown sitting on trees. There are over 2,500 species and they appear in brown, black or green.                     

 

Diceroprocta

    I was pretty excited in finding an animal I had never seen before because they are often heard and rarely seen. While googling about this particular animal, came across a similar photo taken by in the Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia. It is so amazing to know that from across the world the same animal can appear.
     The cicada is waiting for its beautiful and translucent wings to dry and harden before coming unattached to its shell. I am so glad I didn't disturb this process. The cicada spends the majority of its life waiting on this moment. After spending up to 17 years in the ground, it will only live a short 5 weeks of its adulthood.

      Only the males do the singing. Each species looks different from one another and have their own songs. There are three distinctive songs. One sounds like the word - "pharaoh," one like a sizzling skillet, and one like a rotary lawn mower.                                           
                                                                                                        

The different species sing at different times of day; one favors the early part of the day, another prefers midday and the third takes the later afternoon shift. Cicadas are not locusts, so it is not the end of the world when they emerge. The two insects come from different orders in the scientific classification system. Locusts are the only ones mentioned in the book of Revelation in the bible. They aren't poisonous, they don't bite, and largely keep to the trees. They won't hurt or attack you because they don't move around that much. In China, male cicadas are kept in cages in peoples homes so that the homeowner can enjoy their songs.

      

The cicada is an ancient symbol representing resurrection, immortality, and spiritual realization.