Ahh, signs of spring. Time to splash your sportfishing machine, burn your socks, tend to your flower beds. And, oh yes, time for cicadas.
They're back! Billions of Brood II Cicadas will reappear this spring after a 17-year hiatus. Expect a billion bugs per square mile to swarm the East Coast from North Carolina to New York, putting Bay boaters smack in the middle of the action. The cicadas are expected to arrive when the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees, which won't take long with the heat wave we've been experiencing this week in Chesapeake Country. Look for them to arrive sometime between mid-April and late May.
Cicadas have a short life cycle. They start as nymphs and shed their shells. They mate; the females lay eggs, and they die. All within about a month's time. Their infamous buzzing sound is the mating call of the males. Females make a noise too, with their wings, but it's much quieter. Do not fear them. They are not attracted to humans, although they may accidentally bump into you. Click here for some funny questions and answers about cicadas.
Anyone hungry? According to Jenna Jadin's 2004 "Cicada-licious," if you eat crabs, shrimp, crayfish, or lobster you've already eaten members of the class of Arthropoda, of which cicadas are a part. She says cicadas were a part of the diet of Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, New Guineans, and Siamese people, as well as a delicacy in ancient Rome and Greece. Jadin even offers cooking tips and recipes. Call me a picky eater, but no thank you. Not for me. Crabs will do me just fine, but I wonder....do they go well with Old Bay?
Thursday, April 11, 2013 - 09:07
Ahh, signs of spring. Time to splash your sportfishing machine, burn your socks, tend to your flower beds. And, oh yes, time for cicadas.
They're back! Billions of Brood II Cicadas will reappear this spring after a 17-year hiatus. Expect a billion bugs per square mile to swarm the East Coast from North Carolina to New York, putting Bay boaters smack in the middle of the action. The cicadas are expected to arrive when the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees, which won't take long with the heat wave we've been experiencing this week in Chesapeake Country. Look for them to arrive sometime between mid-April and late May.
Cicadas have a short life cycle. They start as nymphs and shed their shells. They mate; the females lay eggs, and they die. All within about a month's time. Their infamous buzzing sound is the mating call of the males. Females make a noise too, with their wings, but it's much quieter. Do not fear them. They are not attracted to humans, although they may accidentally bump into you. Click here for some funny questions and answers about cicadas.
Anyone hungry? According to Jenna Jadin's 2004 "Cicada-licious," if you eat crabs, shrimp, crayfish, or lobster you've already eaten members of the class of Arthropoda, of which cicadas are a part. She says cicadas were a part of the diet of Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, New Guineans, and Siamese people, as well as a delicacy in ancient Rome and Greece. Jadin even offers cooking tips and recipes. Call me a picky eater, but no thank you. Not for me. Crabs will do me just fine, but I wonder....do they go well with Old Bay?