Infrequent Visitor

Cicada time is here again in Missouri, as the 13-year variety have emerged (they spend the first 12 years of their lives underground). I have never experienced cicadas (as far as I know), so this is a first for me. Here's a photo I took:

If you want to get specific, this is Brood XIX, the Southern Brood, that has emerged. Back in 1998, this brood's emergence coincided with that of a 17-year brood (Brood IV). Unfortunately, I missed that, and it won't happen again until 2219. Also, it is only the genus Magicicada that emerges in 13- and 17-year cycles.

These are some discarded cicada skins. Cicadas molt after emerging from the ground, and this is what they leave behind, stuck to the spot where molting occurred.

A month or so ago, I noticed these weird holes in my garden. They were quite wide, and well-defined in the hard soil of my garden, so I didn't think they were wormholes, even though I have giant worms (or nightcrawlers or whatever) in my yard. Maybe these were cicada burrows. I was gone from home for two weeks, though, and the cicadas arrived before I returned, so I can't be sure if the timelines are right for this.

One more interesting note: I only have these in my front yard. The garden holes I mention above are in my backyard, so that would seem to suggest my theory about their causation is wrong. I'm not sure why the cicadas don't like my backyard, except that cicada eggs come from trees, and my backyard trees are not all that mature.

Cicadas are known for their noise. I have been waiting for it, but it wasn't until today that I heard it. Driving the last mile home from work today, I could clearly hear the chorus in the trees bordering the highway on both sides. At home, the constant buzzing was readily audible.

I guess these cicadas will hang around for a month or so longer, then lay their eggs and die, with their offspring not to emerge until 2024. However, Brood IV will be back in only four short years.