Yuck.

Mid-May here.

I hear this every year, and I've only seen it happen once in the time that I've lived in the "east". That is, east of the Mississippi. I remember being a senior in high school, and you couldn't walk anywhere without crunching.

I doubt it will ever be that level ever again, but I'll admit it, if it happens. I won't hold my breath, because I probably would just pass out at this point 😉

Luckily...we're NOT in their path. At my last house, I found 2 and sprayed them with wasp killer. 27 years, never saw another one. But....in Denver out in the boonies....or down south....I do hear them.....late in the Summer.

Tasty little buggers. Don't miss the treat!

We will probably just get one of these broods in my area. Can’t wait. Love cicadas. Not as a treat though :)

The birds and other wildlife will be happy if they show up.

They are noisy but don't bother anyone one. The cicada wasps that feed on them are another thing. THEY are nasty. They dive bomb anyone who comes near their nest.

I'm not exactly sure what they are, but it seems I should be glad we don't have them here in the PNW.

I still call them Locus Olychick. Does that sound familiar?

Locusts are different than cicadas. And are different from grasshoppers. All different species.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/05/09/cicadas-locusts-how-they-compare/4946562001/

One thing I learned in gardening club, the only plants you need to "worry about" are young trees. They leave flowers (unless it's a very large plant, even then it's "might suck the roots") and lawn alone, and only dine on trees. Mature trees can handle their boring and young ones cannot.

https://www.orkin.com/pests/cicadas/what-do-cicadas-eat

Lol, Kevin!

Cicada killer wasps don’t ”dive bomb”. considering their solitary nests are small tunnels in the ground. They aren’t considered particularly aggressive but their sting, when delivered, is a mighty one. I stepped on one in my bare feet several years ago and I’ve been told that my screech can still be heard to this day, wafting in the morning mists of the Lowcountry.

The male wasps are harmless and cannot sting; the females, though armed, never attack an intruder. Arcy is confusing these dive bombers with something else. If anything, these particular wasps should be considered beneficial and left alone.

don't let your pets over indulge on them ... they love them.

a couple of years ago ...

I rather like them.....it is a sound of summer....but, I don't have to wait until summer to hear them.....with my tinnitus, I hear them all the time....just not quite as loudly as in the summer.

I am fascinated by the progression of the emergence. And the sound, over the course of a few days, is like the mother ship approaching. It’s fun to watch the outdoor critters indulge, and the battle of prey and predator is less upsetting than watching lion and gazelle.

marilyn, interesting about the tinnitus. Mine tinittus is much more pronounced than 17 years ago, I wonder what my experience will be this year.

It will be a food fest for weeks! Squirrels love them, as do many types of birds, possums, skunks, raccoons, and more.