Some more info i found...Some stuff i have never known before. [quote]We had high numbers of Japanese beetle adults in southern and northern Illinois last year, and nothing has occurred since then to decrease their numbers. Central Illinois had lower numbers than predicted last year, and we have still not figured out why. Reduced numbers of Japanese beetles in this area of the country are typically affected by two climatic conditions. Once the larvae hatch from eggs in late July to early August, they need 11 inches of water through the fall before descending deeper into the soil for the winter. They tunnel downwards when the turfgrass root zone temperature drops to 60oF. Thus, a summer into fall drought can cause a reduction in beetle emergence the next year. Of course, irrigation helps the grubs to survive, so the drop in numbers may not be so severe in housing developments where a high percentage of the lawns are irrigated frequently. Deeply frozen soil during the winter is the other climatic condition that reduces the number of Japanese beetles. Most Japanese beetle grubs migrate only about eleven inches deep into the soil for the winter. They can tolerate freezing temperatures during the winter for 2 to 3 weeks before dying. Several years ago, the soil in central and northern Illinois froze 18 inches to 3 feet deep and stayed that way for about 6 weeks. The following summer, only about 1/4 to 1/3 the number of Japanese beetle adults emerged, compared to the previous summer. We had adequate rainfall last summer and fall for the Japanese beetle grubs to survive. Temperatures did not get cold enough last winter without protective snow cover to freeze the soil very deeply. Based on that, we are expecting a normal to high emergence of beetles this year. Male Japanese beetles emerge before the females. They are able to detect females tunneling near the surface of the turf before they emerge, resulting in their being numerous in these areas. As soon as a female emerges, many males will try to mate with her, creating a ball of beetles a couple of inches in diameter. This is referred to as "balling." These become obvious on the closely mowed turf of golf greens and tees. [/quote] http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/cook/blogs/eb21/20080702_2211.html

Cicadas don't eat in the adult winged stage. The damage they do is from cutting slits in tree branches and some bushes to lay their eggs. The young nymphs drop to the ground and bury themselves and feed on tree roots until they are ready to emerge as adults. Pencil sized branches and young trees are at risk, but they won't harm your perennials. (We had them a few years ago here.) Marcia Here is a link that might be useful: article on cicadas

No cicadas, but the Japanese beetles are here in Western Tennessee. They arrived last week. I'm killing them as quickly as humanly possible.

I think it's now fairly safe to say that my yard will not be seriously invaded by the pesky critters. Guess I'm lucky that we bought in a newer development. I can hear the buggers in the older treed areas when I'm in my front yard, but not really in the back garden area. It's actually quieted down a lot in the last week or so. I have found a couple of heads and wings in the garden mulch, but I attribute that to the birds nesting in my ash trees. Wed. evening I did find a live one sitting on the top of hubby's screened seedling cage. Didn't even try to fly away when I walked up to him (or her). My guess is that he was tuckered out & lonely with no friends anywhere within earshot of him. Haven't seen another since then. So ........ keeping my fingers crossed. -- PAM