Ahhhh, yes, the cicadas. They made their show here in Maryland 3 years ago. I hated 'em. Noisy little suckers! I'm sorry, but I don't know if they have nutritional value for plants or if they will peel the bark back from your trees. I hope not. LOL They're every friggin where, aren't they? I think it's gross too that some people eat those things. Nasty!!!!!!!!!!!!

The adults and grubs do drink sap from trees (or their roots, in the case of the grubs), and the female lays eggs by slitting a stem and depositing them in the slit. So it's not impossible that they might damage houseplants if you had them outside. Probably not severely, but still.

Cicadas contain protein and minerals and all kinds of other good things, but their shells are just chitin (a carbohydrate polymer similar to cellulose); they probably don't have much of anything beyond nitrogen, and I don't know if that would be in a form that would be accessible to the plants. The shells at least wouldn't be *harmful* to plants.

GH, you must have got the 'wrong time' Cicadas..LOL..I remember them talking about how some came out 3 yrs too early,...
I wish there was a cicada forum telling ppl what to do w/their plants..I'd cry if I went out and found chewed up bark on trees..Had enough problems last winter w/o adding more..Thanks..Toni

Mr Sub, one problem, I have about 18 grafted citrus trees, so afraid they'll eat bark from the top half..Do you think my citrus will die afterwards?
I received a video (email) The Life of Cicadas, and though I don't care for them I do feel sorry for those poor insects..what a life!!
17 yrs underground, then after they're finally freed, wildlife and ppl eat them..I admit, I fear picking them up, mainly due to their size, which is big..and they land on us walking outside..lol..
Anyway, don't know what to do as far as taking out trees.
Also, wondering if the entire bug lands in soil if this would be beneficial to plants, (not just shells) And you wouldn't believe the number of cicadas that are flying around right now..I look out my front window, and they look like hummingbirds..Only alien hummers..LOL
Thanks for the info, Toni

Well, I *had* another post several hours ago, but the system ate it, so let's try again:

Cicadas aren't the same thing as locusts. Or at least not locusts in the Biblical-plague sense. Different species, different families. Locusts are grasshoppers that have gotten enthusiastic. So there's no need to worry that you're going to go outside one day and find every green thing for fifty miles eaten down to the ground.

The other thing to consider is that all of these bugs have been sucking tree sap underground for the last sixteen years, and the tree they were feeding on is, in all likelihood, still there. So they have no particular motivation to switch to your citrus, unless they were already *in* your citrus.

I got curious about this and did a web search; there's a .pdf file here --

http://www.nt.gov.au/dpifm/Primary_Industry/Content/File/horticulture/fruit/PAGES+FROM+TB268-CITRUS+DIE+BACK.pdf

that mainly boils down to, the cicadas don't seem to cause any lasting problems if you prune away the growth they've laid eggs in after the nymphs emerge. If you don't prune it away, there's some dieback (it doesn't mention whether any of the trees actually died), and the emerging nymphs can leave openings for disease organisms like fungus to get in, especially if it's wet when the nymphs emerge.

So I wouldn't panic about it, but if any of the trees can be brought inside, I would definitely try to bring in anything that was especially small, valuable, or previously stressed. If they can't be brought in, removing any hardened new growth after the cicadas are gone (I haven't been able to find anything that says how long that's likely to be.) should essentially take care of any damage they've done.

See also this semi-recent thread on the Midwest Gardening Forum at GW:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/mwgard/msg041635348542.html?14

Where in Illinois are you, Toni? I haven't seen one here in Milwaukee yet. Nor have I heard them singing.

Dave
in a silent Milwaukee

Dave, I am in Wisconsin as well and haven't heard the cicadas yet, but I did hear on the local news that this was the year for them in our area.

Last year there was a single cicada I found on it's back in my driveway. As I had never seen one 'live' before I picked it up and set it on a plant in a garden bed.

For the next 2 weeks I couldn't even talk to the person next to me while sitting on the porch near the bed at night. The thing was that loud.

I tried to find it, but as soon as I got near the bed it would shut up.

I can't even imagine what a whole bunch of them will sound like, but I guess you and I are both soon to find out if the local news is right.

Mr Sub, thanks for the sites..they were informative..
In my case, it's not the foliage I'm concerned about. I fear they're going to bother plants such as citrus, gardenias, hibiscus, 'grafted trees'..I'm worried they're going to peel away trunk bark on 3-5' plants...which are still concidered young trees.
We have a huge maple in the yard which blocks sun like you can't believe; they're welcome to the entire tree..they'd be doing me a favor..LOL
Thanks for the sites again..If you read posts on Midwest forum, since I live in the midwest, I left feedback on that site..don't know if you noticed or not.
I haven't found info on the length of time cicadas will be around either, and can't recall how long they hung around 17 yrs ago. I remember walking my dog one night..It was rather dark, and while walking, I stepped on thousands of crunchy-sounding 'things'..the following day I returned to the area and discovered 1000's of cicada shells. It was gross, sounded like crunchy leaves during autumn..My stomach flip-flopped. So far of what I learned, they live above ground 2-5 days, depending on the sources I've heard/read.
Thanks again, especially clarifying the locust info..I'm going to reread the sites you sent, and see if I can make sense or learn something new on their behavior patterns.

Dave, I'm in Brookfield, IL, 15-20 miles sw of Chicago. As far as I know, Chicago isn't seeing/hearing many cicadas yet, but as a native of Chicago, growing up there, I've never heard of cicadas before..Only 7 year locust. Cicadas are loud, an understatement, but to be honest, their chirping doesn't bother me..they sure start singing early in the AM though..sounds like the jungles..lol
Since you and JustAGuy live up north, perhaps that's the reason they've not dug up from the ground yet..do you see holes in the dirt? If so, that's where they live. Poor bugs reside underground for so many yrs, only to come out, see sunlight, breed and die..what a life!
I have seen some on the few plants I've set out for summer...I wonder if they're eating foliage..they just sit there, on leaves..don't notice holes in leaves, so far..then again, they might only enjoy certain plants. I wonder if there's a spray that keeps them away from plants..do u know of any, especially organic type spray..I don't use chemicals. Surely don't want to kill cicadas, just keep them away from tropicals. Thanks guys, Toni

Oh boy Cicadas! I well remember them from school. I grew up in Cincinnati and they seemed to take over the town when they arrived. They would do kamakaze dives at us. It always felt like a old time biblical 'plague' when the Cicadas came to town,lol. I'm glad I don't have to put up ewith them anymore. As for the Cicada pizza,I can't imagine ever getting that hungry.
Grice

Grice, I'm surprised MI isn't seeing cicadas..do you guys ever get them up north?
Oh they surely do kamakaze dives..LOL..thing is you have to get used to them landing on you..they're so big!!
It's funny, you're the second person who mentioned, Biblical plague. LOL
Reminds me of Exorcist 2..LOL..if you or anyone has seen this movie, you'd know what I mean..And because Exorcism is a religious ritual, mainly Catholic I believe, is mentioned in the Bible, I now understand what you two mean by Biblical plague..LOL..Toni