All Hail the Mighty...

...Cicada!!

Wow, are these things crazy around here! They're EVERYwhere...covering every tree and bush and crunching underfoot!

https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop...a-1-260504.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop...a-2-260504.jpg

Anyone in the "Cicada Zone" have any cool stories to share about this craziness?

That there are supposedly some good recipes :) They are supposed to have a nutty flavor to them. LoL, I know it's kind of goofy, but hey, they're healthy.

LOL...yeah, I've heard of some of the fancier restaurants selling "Cicada-this" and "Cicada-that" but so far, in every instance, it's just a recipe named FOR the cicada...but doesn't actually containy any part of the bug. :P Maybe if they were dipped in chocolate???

Judy, I think we are supposed to get them here, although not as prevalently as VA, but I haven't seen any yet. I suppose if you've got them there, they should be here soon.

Well, you know, mostly ANYTHING dipped in chocolate is going to taste good. LoL :-D

Oh, hey, does anyone know where Jonah's little shopping list is. I've been looking for quite awhile now and can't seem to locate it.

I think this might be it - not sure if it's totally complete but here ya go :)
http://www.ball-pythons.net/PNphpBB2...5-start-0.html

I don't see that many here, but I sure do hear them in our trees! They are goofy looking!!

LOL, those things used to scare the heck out of me when I was a little kid :oops:

Yeah, we even had them in NY, I could deal w/insects better when I was a child though..now, not so much.

May thine windshields be protected form their tresspassing, for they know not what they do. And ye verily if your arms or limbs are hanging from your car as you zip along at 50mph man they HURT when they smack into you!

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

May thine windshields be protected form their tresspassing, for they know not what they do. And ye verily if your arms or limbs are hanging from your car as you zip along at 50mph man they HURT when they smack into you!

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That's for not obeying Mama, who told you not to do that. :lol:

All i can say is they make a satisfying crunch under the lawn mower ;)

I grew up in Az. We had those all the time. My brothers and I used to play around with them, they make good bait for fishing. :wink: But as far as human consumption.. not mine anyway..I dont think so. Not even with chocolate, and thats my favorite thing.

LOL...I'm with you, Jeanne. Nuh uh, no way, no how!

My brother and his best friend used to play with them when we were teens...they'd tie a fine thread around its thorax(?) and let it fly around in circles while they held the end of the thread. And we heard them every summer in Arizona. But I've never seen or heard them in the number that we have here...some sort of 17 year cycle where the ground burps out millions of bugs all at once. It's amazingly loud.

I'd be willing to eat one.. Just think of them as land-shrimp ;) yum yum.. deep fry those puppies w/ a little tartar sauce? Sounds good to me. Kick it up a knotch! BAM!

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Originally Posted by BigKenjDogg

I'd be willing to eat one.. Just think of them as land-shrimp ;) yum yum.. deep fry those puppies w/ a little tartar sauce? Sounds good to me. Kick it up a knotch! BAM!

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All of a sudden the crunchy salad I'm eating right now doesn't seem nearly so appetizing as it did a few minutes ago! :shock: :lol:

Perhaps I should bring my Tarantula, Fluffy, out there :wink:

Hehe...when did you get a Tarantual, Raj? Fluffy is a cute name for one!
I really don't like arachnids of any sort...but I did make myself hold a T. a few months ago as a big step towards getting over my unreasonable fear of spiders.

I've had her for about 2 months now. Will get pics of her as well.

Wow, good for you, Judy! Just don't try to hand it to me. :D

LOL! The irony has always struck me that we can love snakes and not really understand those who don't want to touch or hold one....and yet we have the exact same reaction toward spiders and T's as they do toward snakes.

I don't mind any critters, except crickets. They are just too darn fast for me to handle. I startle easy :oops:

I don't like the crickets either (though i was fine with them as a kid, go figure), but i love my cricket keeper. :) No more touching them!

Wow! That is one cool looking Cicada. I have never seen a black one. The ones we have around here have dark green bodies and light green wings. I think I like the black and gold much better. Those are my old High School colors. I dont have to buy much cat food when they are around. My cats love to eat them.

All the cicadas around here look just like that....except for the very rare ones that have pale blue eyes instead of that dark red. Those are really cool looking (I've only seen pics on the news) but only about 1 in 10,000 have blue eyes. I've heard rumors of large monetary rewards for anyone turning in a blue-eyed bug, but am not sure if that is true or not.

Judy I have not seen one here where I live in Alexandria.
My son has them all over his school field about 3 miles away. His friends dine on them at lunch to freak out the girls and teachers :)
As for crickets they great...for fishing :)

Yes, there are the 17yr. ones and the 13yr. ones and then the 'regular' ones I guess....