You let the dog out at night to use the bathroom and the sound covers you in a wave.
Not music.
Just noise.
The uncomforting buzzsaw-like call of cicadas waking up after a long slumber at about 100 decibels or about like standing in front of a hairdryer.
UA Extension photos
The good news is cicadas don’t live for particularly long, once they come out of the ground.
A recent article from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension notes the insects will live for four to six weeks.
The current brood in Arkansas is XIX, the group where the adult insects emerge every 13 years.. Because, why not, the country is also seeing the emergence of Brood XIII, the one that emerges after 17 years underground. Only southern Illinois is expected to get both sets of broods emerge and both broods haven’t emerged in the U.S. in over 200 years with the last report being in 1803, or around the time of the Louisiana Purchase.
Not particularly superstitious but 2024 had been a weird convergence of total solar eclipses, earthquakes in unexpected places and now plagues of what some called in ancient times “locusts.”
So, just saying, if you see Four Horsemen cruising around, make right and prepare for the end.
The bugs themselves have large red eyes and hard-shell bodies. They’re also harmless as they neither sting nor bite. They’re also not harmful to dogs, or other pets, in case they decide to feast.
“I do not know of any poisonous or toxic effect that cicadas may have on pets that happen to eat one or more,” said Jeremy Powell. professor of animal science and veterinarian for the Division of Agriculture. “However, they do have that very heavy exoskeleton that could be hard for pets to digest and may lead to some minor intestinal upset. That scenario would likely be short-lived.”
The total number of cicadas in Arkansas is expected to be in the millions.
Hey, buddy
“The insect army poised to invade are still nymphs, in the very last stage of their development,” said Jon Zawislak, extension urban entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “After feeding on fluids from tree roots for 13 years, slowly growing and molting underground, they will make their debut by crawling up and out of the soil when it warms to about 64 degrees Fahrenheit and is softened by rains.”
Cicadas, Zawislak said, at least the mature adults, “don’t feed and don’t even have functional mouthparts with which to bite. Having spent the last 13 years doing little more than eat, they emerge with the single-minded goal of making more cicadas.”
Nymphs, you know.
All that noise is to attract mates. Because, as typical, the adult males get loud to attract lady friends, with the females clicking in response to indicate they’re ready. Then after their business is concluded, the female cicada will cut a hole in a tree to deposit up to 20 eggs.
Then she gets really busy and will continue to mate over and over again, producing up to 600 eggs in three to four weeks.
Those eggs, Zawislak said, will hatch about six weeks later, falling harmlessly to the ground.
“They quickly burrow into the soil and will tap into plant and tree roots to feed,” Zawislak said. “They will continue to feed like this, sometimes moving to new food sources as they slowly mature. These nymphs will grow and molt four times over the next 13 years, when it’s time for the next generation to emerge.”
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Cicadas make noisy addition to town
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They’re the worst neighbors you've ever had.
Loud. Very loud.
You let the dog out at night to use the bathroom and the sound covers you in a wave.
Not music.
Just noise.
The uncomforting buzzsaw-like call of cicadas waking up after a long slumber at about 100 decibels or about like standing in front of a hairdryer.
The good news is cicadas don’t live for particularly long, once they come out of the ground.
A recent article from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension notes the insects will live for four to six weeks.
The current brood in Arkansas is XIX, the group where the adult insects emerge every 13 years.. Because, why not, the country is also seeing the emergence of Brood XIII, the one that emerges after 17 years underground. Only southern Illinois is expected to get both sets of broods emerge and both broods haven’t emerged in the U.S. in over 200 years with the last report being in 1803, or around the time of the Louisiana Purchase.
Not particularly superstitious but 2024 had been a weird convergence of total solar eclipses, earthquakes in unexpected places and now plagues of what some called in ancient times “locusts.”
So, just saying, if you see Four Horsemen cruising around, make right and prepare for the end.
The bugs themselves have large red eyes and hard-shell bodies. They’re also harmless as they neither sting nor bite. They’re also not harmful to dogs, or other pets, in case they decide to feast.
“I do not know of any poisonous or toxic effect that cicadas may have on pets that happen to eat one or more,” said Jeremy Powell. professor of animal science and veterinarian for the Division of Agriculture. “However, they do have that very heavy exoskeleton that could be hard for pets to digest and may lead to some minor intestinal upset. That scenario would likely be short-lived.”
The total number of cicadas in Arkansas is expected to be in the millions.
“The insect army poised to invade are still nymphs, in the very last stage of their development,” said Jon Zawislak, extension urban entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “After feeding on fluids from tree roots for 13 years, slowly growing and molting underground, they will make their debut by crawling up and out of the soil when it warms to about 64 degrees Fahrenheit and is softened by rains.”
Cicadas, Zawislak said, at least the mature adults, “don’t feed and don’t even have functional mouthparts with which to bite. Having spent the last 13 years doing little more than eat, they emerge with the single-minded goal of making more cicadas.”
Nymphs, you know.
All that noise is to attract mates. Because, as typical, the adult males get loud to attract lady friends, with the females clicking in response to indicate they’re ready. Then after their business is concluded, the female cicada will cut a hole in a tree to deposit up to 20 eggs.
Then she gets really busy and will continue to mate over and over again, producing up to 600 eggs in three to four weeks.
Those eggs, Zawislak said, will hatch about six weeks later, falling harmlessly to the ground.
“They quickly burrow into the soil and will tap into plant and tree roots to feed,” Zawislak said. “They will continue to feed like this, sometimes moving to new food sources as they slowly mature. These nymphs will grow and molt four times over the next 13 years, when it’s time for the next generation to emerge.”