Year of the Cicada

Beng

Beng

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Apparently this is the 17th year and cicadas will come out in hordes on the east coast. Perhaps this is just news agencies stretching the truth, but I really know nothing about this insect as i've never dealt with them. Is this something to worry about? Apparently the 17 year cicada moves in hordes unlike the minute amount that hatch on a yearly basis.

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/...ngs-cicada-invasion-generates-early-buzz?lite

http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=456

www.cicadamania.com/where.html

http://www.cicadamania.com/pictures/main.php?g2_itemId=3618

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada
 
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I have been having the year of the cicada I my house for about 4 years now
 
Great!! Just what we need.

And I am just getting started. Maybe better that I don't have much to loose.
 
The every year cicadas are apparently a lot less then the 17 year. I'm thinking of ordering tanglefoot liquid to go on the bottom of my benches legs. I also figure they'll be flying around up high mostly rather then in my yard. But i haven't been doing bonsai for 17 years so I don't know how they travel....
 
Cicadas are nothing new here. They're pretty annoying, as far as their general noisiness. I don't think they'll hurt your bonsai much though.

They were often used in the background soundtrack of classic chambara (samurai) films. So there's a loose Japanese culture connection in there somewhere.
 
I like to hear them. It means we are deep in a southern summer.
 
Where I am at we get hundreds of these suckers...
DHGHDHUHDHUHWZGLYHPH1ZNH3HNH9ZRL2ZMH5ZLL6Z0LTH8H8ZILUZHLUZMLFHWHLRXLGZLL6Z.jpg
And they will eat anything green.
 
I actually enjoy listening to cicadas, especially at night. As jkd said, it's a sound that many associate with the tranquility of a hot, Southern summer.

I can also attest to the "year of the cicada" effect. There are both 13 and 17 year cycles, and I happened to be visiting family in D.C. during the emergence of the 13 year cycle cicadas; you couldn't walk outside without stepping on the things, there were so many. According to some cursory internet research, this is actually a defense against predators called predator satiation. The idea being that so many cicadas emerge in any given area, there are simply too many for local predators to eat. They predators can eat their fill, and the vast majority of the cicadas can go about their business without worrying about being preyed upon. Pretty cool stuff, actually.

I have no idea how they would affect bonsai trees, however, they are known to damage trees and shrubs in the form of scarring where the females lay their eggs in the branches. I imagine this wouldn't be to much off a problem for bonsai, though, as actual trees would make more appealing egg-laying locations due to having larger branches.

They're also a delicacy in some places, so if worst comes to worst, fry 'em up!
 
Cicadas can and do come out every year, but the timing of major swarms is predictable. I had heard it was 13 years last time they hit the Cincinnati Oh. area. It was about 6 years ago and they were as thick as the lovebug swarms in Fl. The only difference was when you were driving these things hit your windshield sounding like rocks and left a big orangish smear, plus cicadas will wash right off at a car wash and you practically need a sandblaster to remove dried on lovebugs.

I was working on a commercial job downtown Cin. Oh. during the swarm doing a parking lot. There was not an over-abundance when I started but after about 40 minutes of running a 13 hp wheeled blower cleaning the lot I assume the noise attracted them. They came in so thick it shaded the sun, literally! When they would land on you their legs would grasp your skin trying to hold on and it felt almost like you were being bit. I really dont remember any tree damage though, but you could not walk by a tree or any pole that did not have the skin-shells where these things had shed their exo-skeleton on and it was on the news every day for a month about the damage that could happen fom them. It must have been a slow news month as every story was about the potential loss of millions of trees, crops, pets and childen possibily eating the shells etc.

ed
 
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The mosquitoes would run them out of town here. No worries
 
unless i am recalling a different event, not only are they so thick on the ground that you DO have a hard time walking without stepping on them, but the also do damage tree branches. They chewed the undersides of branches and created a definite scar that many branches died from. I'm pretty sure this was the event that caused many trees to lose branches (small branches, maybe up to 1/2" diameter). WATCH YOUR TREES REGULARLY AND FREQUENTLY. I still have two cicadas I saved from 1996 (? I dont remember a year, just where I lived when they were here last)and my wife HATES them to this day. UFB how thick they were and how constant their noise was. Do you recall the noise they make on hot summer nights? Well, multiply that by a bazillion. If you have never experienced these little pains in the ass, pay attench! Your bonsai are at risk!
 
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Cicadas will NOT eat your trees. They don't come out to eat. They spend 17 years underground attached to tree roots eating. When the get above ground it's all about mating. THAT activity can cause minor to major damage according to the size of your trees. The female cicada excavates a channel, usually at the conjunction of branches and/or twigs. It can be as wide as a pen. She lays her eggs in it and after they hatch the younguns drop to the ground and burrow in. You may seen shed exoskeletons of the insects on your tree, but that just means one crawled out of the ground, shed it's skin and flew off. Nothing to worry about.

I've been through this before. Had NO significant or even minor problems with the things, other than stepping on them and having them fly into me. They have access to larger landscape trees and forests.

I really wouldn't worry about them too much...
 
rockm said:
Cicadas will NOT eat your trees. They don't come out to eat. They spend 17 years underground attached to tree roots eating. When the get above ground it's all about mating. THAT activity can cause minor to major damage according to the size of your trees. The female cicada excavates a channel, usually at the conjunction of branches and/or twigs. It can be as wide as a pen. She lays her eggs in it and after they hatch the younguns drop to the ground and burrow in. You may seen shed exoskeletons of the insects on your tree, but that just means one crawled out of the ground, shed it's skin and flew off. Nothing to worry about.

I've been through this before. Had NO significant or even minor problems with the things, other than stepping on them and having them fly into me. They have access to larger landscape trees and forests.

I really wouldn't worry about them too much...
Click to expand...



Pen
Sized holes... Sounds bad, i'll keep my eye out for them. Do they usually come out in summer? I work with mainly shohin sized material although I have a few larger trees.
 
We have a ton every year here in Fla. You can here their annoying buzzing-like call high up in the pines. I know they love to eat my annuals, orchids, and amarylis every year. Havent had alot of problems with them attacking my bonsai though.
 
rockm said:
Cicadas will NOT eat your trees. They don't come out to eat. They spend 17 years underground attached to tree roots eating. When the get above ground it's all about mating. THAT activity can cause minor to major damage according to the size of your trees. The female cicada excavates a channel, usually at the conjunction of branches and/or twigs. It can be as wide as a pen. She lays her eggs in it and after they hatch the younguns drop to the ground and burrow in. You may seen shed exoskeletons of the insects on your tree, but that just means one crawled out of the ground, shed it's skin and flew off. Nothing to worry about.

I've been through this before. Had NO significant or even minor problems with the things, other than stepping on them and having them fly into me. They have access to larger landscape trees and forests.

I really wouldn't worry about them too much...
Click to expand...
We may be splitting hairs here with semantics. They may not literally eat trees, but there was definitely damage to deciduous trees in my yard when this happened last. I dont really care that they dont ingest tree parts, but I do care that damage did occur from cicadas, and I for one will be keeping a close eye on my little trees. If damage on the scale of landscape trees happens to bonsai, a tree could be ruined with the damage or loss of just one branch.
 
lordy said:
What you have there my friend is a grasshopper. THIS is a red-eyed 17 yr cicada.
Click to expand...
Yep, I know the difference !!!
That would be why I said "where I am at we get these..."
Thanks though...
:)
 
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