The 13-year cicadas have the teebox

[sloppydisc]

My dog loves them. He's been catching and chewing the little bastards up. Yummy treats!

 

[bergdawg]

Cicada Killers are the best part, those things are cool. If you've never seen one it looks like a wasp only about 10x bigger. They capture Cicadas, paralyze them, lay eggs in them, then put them underground - awesome!

 

[notapro]

I'm not scared of cicadas, or even cicada killers, I am scared of itch mites. Those things are horrible, and I believe they are very active during cicada season (they sure were last time).

 

[Mad Scientist]

We only get the yearly ones here, so they don't appear in giant swarms. But I think it'd actually be an interesting experience.

 

[colton]

they come every summer for Texas but they dont normally get that bad. I remember when I was little there was a huge thing of Grasshoppers that came in they were really big ones.

 

[sidewinding]

I did not notice the 13 year brood here in '98 but I was not playing DG then. It's amazing how much more in tune with nature you become when you play DG every day.

 

[Giv'r]

Yikes. I'm glad we don't have anything like that around here.

 

[snowren24]

I'm not scared of cicadas, or even cicada killers, I am scared of itch mites. Those things are horrible, and I believe they are very active during cicada season (they sure were last time).

thanks for officially freaking me out
I got bit up pretty bad a couple weeks ago, and now all I can think of is that they are really these little things crawling all over me

 

[ChronoDisc]

spare disc = flyswatter... unless they bring the whole swarm i think it wouldnt be a problem

 

[jhgonzo]

Here's a table detailing the different 13- and 17-year broods and where they occur.

I think it was Brood XIII that emerged in 1990 when I lived in Chicago. The streets were crawling with those things!

 

[koogs]

The panda eats, shoots, and leaves.

You mean "The panda eats shoots and leaves"?

 

[vonDrehle]

Here's a table detailing the different 13- and 17-year broods and where they occur.

I think it was Brood XIII that emerged in 1990 when I lived in Chicago. The streets were crawling with those things!

For me looks like the XIV were the loud things I had to play with. Scary to think that just bugs can't make that much noise.

 

[Spatula Cornroll]

You mean "The panda eats shoots and leaves"?

Cue vomiting panda.

 

[Lithicon]

Cicada Killers are the best part, those things are cool. If you've never seen one it looks like a wasp only about 10x bigger. They capture Cicadas, paralyze them, lay eggs in them, then put them underground - awesome!

You can see the size compared to a Cicada. These things are scary as **** if you've never seen them. They're definitely big, but the males don't sting, and the females will only sting if they're captured, or hung in clothing etc. But, they say their sting is actually less painful than that of a Red wasp, since it's only designed to paralyze the Cicada.

 

[garublador]

You can see the size compared to a Cicada. These things are scary as **** if you've never seen them. They're definitely big, but the males don't sting, and the females will only sting if they're captured, or hung in clothing etc. But, they say their sting is actually less painful than that of a Red wasp, since it's only designed to paralyze the Cicada.

Those bastards keep building nests in our yard. They're scary as hell but don't really bother you and are considered to be pretty harmless. They don't like it when you mow over their little dirt piles, either. Fortunately they seem to blame the lawn mower and not the person operating it.

 

[AdamE]

Nice reference TallPaul. We played the Charlie Vettiner Open in 2008 with them. Think they were the 17-year variety. The noise is like being surrounded by those vuvuzuelas from the World Cup and it rises/falls with how much they're agitated. If you can concentrate while they're out, you can concentrate during anything.

I remember that. They were so loud we were yelling out our scores so the scorekeeper could hear it. Next year the cicada's appeared on the tournament stamped disc along with the previous years winner.

Here's a link to the cicada cycles. Apparently this is the largest of the 13 year brood but I don't know how that compares in size to the 17 year ones we had a while back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magicicada

 

[eegor]

They're better than fire ants. Down here in Texas (he says in exaggerated southern drawl), we only get the every year variety that help provide the summer music. We have all kinds of bugs, and we just keep playing. I don't like fire ants... especially those in southeast Texas.

 

[agapedad]

Here's a table detailing the different 13- and 17-year broods and where they occur.

I think it was Brood XIII that emerged in 1990 when I lived in Chicago. The streets were crawling with those things!

Thanks for the table Gonzo - I like how that shows when and which broods are where.

 

[slowRoll]

I had my first up close and personal cicada encounter last night. After filling up my car with gas, one flew in as I was closing my door to leave. Buzzing, swatting, rolling down windows, and comical hijinks to the people around me ensued.

I know that everyone is voting that they don't care about these bugs because of the way I worded the question, and that's fine. But having just one of them in your face is enough to freak a person out. Being surrounded by hundreds of the dang things is something I hope to never experience.

 

[S.Cann]

I live in SC and we get them every 13 years (this is the 13th year). I love the sound of them and don't mind them so much being around.